TOKYO (The Thursday Times) — Sony has brought back the headphones that came with the first Walkman in 1979, keeping their slim grey headband and orange foam ear cushions but swapping the old headphone plug for USB-C, so they connect straight to a modern phone or laptop.
The new MDR-3R is a near-exact copy of the MDR-3, which launched alongside the Walkman TPS-L2 cassette player and helped make listening to music on the move an everyday habit. It has the same adjustable plastic band with metal sliders and the same light, on-ear design, a world away from the heavy, padded headsets that dominate today. It comes with both orange and blue ear cushions.
Sony said it had used “the same 23 mm driver units as the MDR-3 to reproduce sound quality close to the original”. “The MDR-3R has been redesigned for modern use while preserving the experience value of freely taking music out into the world, which the original MDR-3 helped popularize,” the company said.
What is new: unlike the original, the MDR-3R has an in-line remote and a built-in microphone for calls, though without noise cancellation. Being on-ear, it lets in much of the sound around the wearer. Early reviews describe clear mids and highs and a light, slightly flimsy build, and put its price at about $60.
The relaunch taps a revival of interest in wired headphones, cassettes and other physical formats among younger listeners. The Walkman name itself lives on, though today’s Walkmans are Android-powered media players with touchscreens rather than tape decks.
