In a world of plastic, throwaway gear, Audio-Technica is bringing out headphones with a very distinctive difference. They use wooden housings, bringing a luxurious sense of quality that plastic just can't compete with.

The ATH-EW9 are clip-on headphones with a housing made of Hokkaido cherry wood. Not a crappy wood veneer, but real Japanese cherry. They'll retail for $330.

The over-ear ATH-ESW9A headphones are designed for high-end performance. The housings on these are made from African paddock wood, supposedly contributing not just to the aesthetics, but giving them "superior acoustic reproduction."

Rounding out the wooden lineup is the over-the-top ATH-W5000. Absolutely gorgeous, with a striped ebony housing, these are quite the lookers. This is a closed-back dynamic design with a 2-inch neodymium driver. The frequency response is said to be 5Hz to 45 kHz — now that is impressive, though not nearly as impressive as the price tag. They'll set you back $1,700. But, it includes a hard-shell case and cable bag. That's the least they can do at that price!