Sony MDR-3R Review: Walkman Nostalgia Wins Again

There’s something about those stupid little orange foam earcups. When I see a throwback to Sony’s iconic Walkman headphones, my eyes are at attention, like when a bird sees a worm or when Cookie Monster gets a whiff of something that makes nutritionists frown. I can’t help it; I’m conditioned to appreciate retro vibes—by my generational peers, by the seemingly endless/shameless cheap ripoffs from audio brands, and now, once again, by Sony itself. Sony’s newest audio release is technically an old one—it’s reviving the iconic MDR-3, the original 1979 headset companion to Sony’s Walkman TPS-L2 cassette player. It’s a cheap-ish pair of headphones with a few upgrades, but the most important thing is that it’s dripping in nostalgia, and if you’re at all affected by the art of the throwback, you should steer clear if you don’t feel like spending $60 right now. Sony MDR-3R The MDR-3R headphones are dripping with nostalgia and have surprisingly good sound, but they feel a little flimsy. The look, man Sound is surprisingly good! USB-C Lightweight Flimsy feeling $60 is a bit much Lots of noise bleed A simpler time with an even simpler sound The MDR-3R, as they’ve been dubbed, are dutiful in their recreation of Sony’s bygone era of Walkman cassette players. They have the same kind of flimsy silhouette, the same scratchy foam earpads, and the same reliance on wires, though this time you get USB-C. What’s even more surprising is that Sony didn’t stop at making the MDR-3R look like the original headset from nearly half a century ago; it actually worked to mimic the sound, too. © Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo According to Sony, the modern-day MDR-3R have been “re-engineered” to use the same 23mm drivers as the original pair, in an attempt to “reproduce sound quality close to the original.” Without access to the near-ancient MDR-3, which came out well over a decade before I was born, I can’t tell you how well Sony does in trying to reproduce that sound, but what I can tell you is that I think the MDR-3R sound pretty damn good, and so does pretty much anyone that I let try the headphones. Don’t get me wrong, these aren’t WH-1000XM6 levels of soundstage, nor are they anywhere near what you’d get from any pair of flagship headphones, but for wired headphones that feel a bit performative in their nostalgic schtick, they hold their own. In my go-to test tracks like “Any Major Dude Will Tell You” by Steely Dan, I got a satisfying mix of frequencies. Mids and highs were bright and clear, and the stereo separation was solid. I was able to pick out rhythm guitars in the mix, and nothing felt super drowned out or overpowered. © Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo As you might expect, bass is not a particular strong suit of the MDR-3R given their size, but Sony still does a good job of making sure low frequencies are audible, if not punchy or enveloping as they would be in a pair of bigger over-ear headphones. In bass-heavy tracks like Daft Punk’s “Da Funk,” the central driving bass is still present and mixed well with lead synths and the rest of the frequency range. These aren’t the headphones I’d pick if I wanted the fullest soundstage, but you probably already knew that—these are about style. These are also not the headphones you should pick for clear calling. Though the in-line microphone does pick up your voice fine, it also picks up pretty much all the ambient noise of the room you’re in. In the span of 15 minutes, the person I called could hear everything happening in my apartment, including my cat’s automated toy, typing on my keyboard, and soft music playing from my laptop. I wouldn’t take calls with these headphones unless you’re someplace very quiet. © Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo Still, for a pair of headphones that look and feel like something you’d use in a high school library, the soundstage and ability to convey a full frequency range is impressive, though there are some drawbacks you should be aware of going in. The pros and cons of open-ear I write a lot about open-ear audio nowadays, but it’s not really a new concept. Earbuds without ear tips are technically semi-open audio products and have been around for quite a long time, and so have headphones like the MDR-3R. See, unlike over-ear headphones, the MDR-3R are decidedly on-ear, which means they rest on top of your ear without creating a seal around it for passive noise cancelling. That means, as you may have guessed or know from using headphones like this, that you get noise bleed. © Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo That may sound like an unquestionably bad thing, but I don’t mean it that way. There are plenty of occasions where you want to hear audio and your surroundings at the same time—that’s the whole point of open-ear audio and the numerous earbuds and headphones it’s spawned. The MDR-3R live in that one-ear-in and one-ear-out space. When I wear these headphones, there’s never any question about what’s happening around me, which is great if you want to keep an ear on people doing weird stuff on the subway, for example, or if you need to hear announcements at the airport. It is not great, however, when you decide you want to block out said people doing said weird stuff on the subway or drown out crying babies once you’re already on said plane. While you can achieve a level of immersion by just cranking up the volume on the MDR-3R, they are not a pair you want if blocking out noise is high on your list of priorities. © Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo On the subway, for example, I hear pretty much everything going on around me, arguably more than if I were to wear a pair of clip-style earbuds like those made by Bose or Shokz, and I hear a hell of a lot more than I would if I were wearing other on-ear headphones from Sony like the WH-CH530, which cost about the same price. As long as we’re talking about things you should know about the form factor, it’s worth mentioning the fact that when I say these are a dutiful recreation of the original MDR-3, I really mean it. That means the look, but also the feel, and the feel—for anyone who’s not familiar—is kind of flimsy. © Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo Attaching both earcups on the MDR-3R is a thin plastic band that feels like it would be easily snapped. Even the metal on both ends, which you can slide to adjust the fit, feels very thin and readily bendable. Even the earcups have a good amount of wobble to them, though this does allow them to automatically adjust to the fit on your head without any additional fussing around. I appreciate the inclusion of in-line controls, but those feel a bit cheap to the touch, too, even if they work fine for play/pause and volume adjustments. On the bright side, it makes the MDR-3R feel incredibly lightweight and easy to wear for long periods—no oppressive weight here—but it also adds up to them feeling a bit cheap or almost toy-like. © Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo Personally, I don’t mind the look and the feel, especially knowing that it’s a part of the schtick, but if you’re expecting some kind of premium-feeling experience, I don’t think this pair of headphones is going to get you there. © Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo The good news is, if you can forgive the look, the MDR-3R are an absolute jolt of nostalgia from a visual perspective. Visually, they’re everything you’d want in a pair of retro-style headphones, and they even come with either orange or blue earcups so you can switch the look up; though, let’s be honest, the orange ones are clearly the superior choice. Gimmicks are in the ear of the beholder Whether you find the MDR-3R fun or a total gimmick will depend entirely on your propensity to fall for audio nostalgia. If you look back on the golden era of Walkmans with fondness, the MDR-3R are a perfect way to cosplay your way into a little dopamine hit. If that rose-tinted reminiscing does nothing to your brain chemistry, then there are better ways to spend $60, or around that price, to get the most out of an audio experience. © Adriano Contreras / Gizmodo If nothing else, the MDR-3R are fun, and for a little bit of cash, you can don a flimsy pair of on-ear headphones and pretend like Spotify doesn’t exist.