Sony just reached into 1979, pulled out the headphones that launched alongside the original Walkman, and handed them a USB-C cable. The new MDR-3R is a wired revival of the MDR-3 series — same throwback silhouette, sixty bucks. Meanwhile the rest of the audio world wants $300 for earbuds with a two-year lifespan. Sony said: how about a cable that never needs charging.
Forty-seven years of audio history in one photo — the revived cans, the original cassette Walkman, and the phone they'll actually plug into.
Same silhouette Sony shipped in 1979 alongside the TPS-L2 — now with a USB-C cable hanging off the side.
The box, straight out of the '80s. Bloomberg pegs it at $60 wired — in 2026, that's basically free audio history.
The foam pads up close. Mashable's hands-on calls it a modernized '80s classic — and possibly the cheapest time machine in audio.
My wallet heard "retro revival" and braced for a collector's-edition price. Then Sony said sixty dollars. The cassette Walkman never got this second life — its headphones just did.
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Source: Ars Technica{target="_blank" rel="noopener"} · Image source: Ars Technica, Mashable