Sony has brought back the small silver headphones that came with its first Walkman in 1979. The new Sony MDR-3R keeps the thin metal headband and the foam ear pads, but swaps the old headphone jack for a USB-C plug, so it goes straight into most new phones and laptops.
The short version
The Sony MDR-3R is a remake of the 1979 Walkman headphones with a USB-C plug, a built-in mic and a remote. It is light and cheap, but it is open-air, so it leaks sound and lets outside noise in.
- In the US the silver model lists at $59.99, and a red and black Stranger Things edition lists at $79.99.
- Sony’s spec sheet lists a 23 mm driver, a 1.2 m (about 3.9 ft) cable and a weight of about 38 g without the cable.
- It has a built-in mic and remote, so it works for calls and video meetings on a USB-C phone or computer.
- It cannot plug into a 3.5 mm jack or a Lightning iPhone without an adapter, and Sony warns that behavior can differ by phone model.
- The downside: open-air ear pads let sound out and noise in, so it is a poor pick for a train, a plane or an open office.
What the Sony MDR-3R is
The original MDR-3 shipped with the first Walkman cassette player. The MDR-3R copies its look: a thin headband, small round ear cups and foam pads. The silver model comes with two sets of ear pads, blue and orange, so you can switch the color yourself. A red and black Stranger Things edition is up for preorder.
According to Sony’s product page, here is what you get:
- Type: open-air, on-ear
- Driver: 23 mm with a neodymium magnet
- Plug: USB-C, on a Y-shaped cable about 1.2 m (3.9 ft) long
- Weight: about 38 g (1.3 oz), not counting the cable
- Built-in remote and microphone for calls and online meetings
Sony’s Japan page lists a Nov. 20 release there. In the US, Sony Electronics said on Nov. 5 that the silver model is available now at a suggested price of $59.99, sold through Sony, Amazon, Best Buy and other dealers, and that the Stranger Things edition is up for preorder at $79.99. When we checked on Nov. 8, neither Amazon nor Best Buy had a listing up yet. Stock can be thin in the first weeks, so check the listing before you build a gift plan around it.
Will the Sony MDR-3R work with your phone?
If your phone or laptop has a USB-C port, most likely yes. That covers most Android phones sold in the last few years, iPhone 15 and newer, recent iPads, and most current laptops. Sony adds a small warning: how the headphones behave can differ by phone model, so test the mic and the remote buttons in the first days while you can still return it.
If your device only has a 3.5 mm headphone jack or a Lightning port, the plug will not fit. You would need an adapter, and at that point a pair with the right plug is the simpler buy.
What changes for you: a wired USB-C pair takes the phone’s only port. If your phone has one USB-C port, you cannot charge it and listen at the same time without a splitter. On a long day out, that matters more than the sound.
Who should buy it, and who should skip it
At $59.99 the Sony MDR-3R costs about the same as a budget pair of wireless earbuds. The difference is not sound quality. It is how you live with them.
- Buy it if: you want light headphones for a desk, a quiet room or a walk, you hate charging one more gadget, or you are buying a gift for someone who remembers the original.
- The downside: open-air pads leak sound and let noise in. The person next to you will hear your music, and you will hear the bus.
- Skip if: you commute by train or plane, work in an open office, or need noise cancelling. A pair from our earbuds guide for every budget will serve you better.
If you are shopping for the holidays, keep it next to the picks in our tech gifts under $50 and our Black Friday tech deals list, and check whether a sale beats the list price before you pay.
