Sony has remade the headphones that shipped with the first Walkman in 1979. The new MDR-3R keeps the thin on-ear design and the blue and orange ear pads, but swaps the old 3.5mm plug for USB-C, so it works straight from a phone, tablet or laptop that has the port.
It costs $59.99 in the US and $99.99 in Canada, and Sony announced on 5 November that it is on sale now. A Stranger Things edition is open for pre-order at $79.99.
The MDR-3R is wired and has no battery. Sony says there is nothing to charge, pair or update: you plug it in and it plays. Calls are handled by a microphone and a small remote on the cable, two things the original never had. Sony fitted the same 23 mm drivers as the 1979 model and says it tuned the sound to stay close to the original, with small changes for how people listen today.
The 1979 original had a grey plastic headband that extended on metal sliders and round orange ear cushions, and Ars Technica says the new pair looks just like it. Both are light, on-ear designs, a long way from the large padded headsets that are common now.
The design is faithful on purpose. Sony says the packaging and the printed manual also follow the original MDR-3, and the body uses some recycled plastic, with plastic-free packaging that Sony says can vary by region. The open-ear, lightweight shape is meant to stay comfortable for long sessions, according to the company. The first Walkman headphones were sold as the MDR-3L2, and Sony uses MDR-3 as a name for that whole family.
The Stranger Things edition adds an engraved logo from the Netflix series, red and black ear pads and special packaging. Sony’s announcement lists the standard model at Sony’s own store, Amazon, Best Buy and other dealers, and the special edition at Sony, Netflix’s shop and Amazon US.
Sony frames the launch around a revival of wired listening. Sony argues that listeners are coming back to wired pairs because they are simple and never need charging or pairing, almost 50 years after the Walkman and the MDR-3 made portable music normal. The company says the MDR-3R was redesigned for modern use while keeping that idea. The Stranger Things edition takes its look from Max’s headphones in the series and from the Upside Down.
There are limits. Sony notes that some functions may not work, or settings may need changing, depending on the phone or app, and it does not recommend using the MDR-3R with a Walkman player. The report points out that with no noise cancelling the microphone will struggle on loud streets, and that anyone after strong bass should look elsewhere.
Sony has not listed prices for other regions, so the figures above are US and Canadian only.
