Sony Revives Its First Walkman Headphones With USB-C and a Microphone
Sony has announced the MDR-3R, a wired version of the headphones it sold alongside the first Walkman, updated with a USB-C connector, a built in microphone and an in line remote, and priced at RM259 in Malaysia. The standard model reaches shops in the country from next week, with the special edition following later in the year.
The original MDR-3L2 arrived with the TPS-L2 in 1979, the cassette player that put personal stereo into a generation's hands, and Sony treats MDR-3 as the family name covering the MDR-3, MDR-3L1 and MDR-3L2 that followed. That pairing of a pocket player and a light pair of headphones is the template the portable audio market still works from.
And the timing says something about the market. Wired headphones are being rediscovered by listeners who are tired of charging another device and pairing it before every flight, which is why a company with a large wireless business is now selling the simpler thing again.
The design is a deliberate copy. Sony says the MDR-3R carries forward the original shape, and the box includes two interchangeable pairs of ear pads in the blue and orange of the period, so a buyer can change the look on a whim while the packaging and the instruction manual echo the 1979 artwork.
Underneath the retro shell the engineering is a revival rather than a reissue. The headphones use the same 23mm driver units as the original, with tuning close to the first model and small refinements for modern taste, and the light open ear fit is meant to stay comfortable through a long listening session. The 23mm figure fixes the character of the sound more than its volume, and it is the part of the original Sony chose not to change.
But the accessories are where the product makes its modern argument. Plugging into USB-C means no charging, no pairing and no software updates, a microphone turns the headset into a call device and the in line remote handles playback without reaching for a phone, which is the whole pitch in three features.
The special edition is the marketing engine. A Stranger Things version, built around the character Max's headphone style and the show's 1980s setting, adds an engraved logo and custom packaging, and Sony will charge RM299 for it at the end of the year against RM259 for the standard model.
Materials get a line of their own in the release. About a quarter of the plastic in the product is recycled and the packaging is plastic free, which matters more for a nostalgia product than for a flagship because the volumes are small and the story is the point.
So the read for buyers in the region is straightforward. The MDR-3R is a cheap, corded headset for people who want nothing to do with batteries, and the interesting part is that its simplicity is now a selling point rather than a compromise, in a market that spent a decade removing the headphone jack and calling it progress.
Sony announced the MDR-3R, a USB-C wired version of the headphones sold with the first Walkman
It goes on sale in Malaysia from next week at RM259
The headphones use the same 23mm drivers as the original MDR-3
A Stranger Things edition follows at the end of the year for RM299
About 25 per cent of the plastic used is recycled and the packaging is plastic free
Source: Sony Malaysia
