With the sheer amount of Bluetooth headphones available and the seeming demise of the humble 3.5mm audio jack on some devices, it's easy to assume that the days of wired headphones is numbered. However, with the resurrection of portable CD players, MP3 players and even cassette players, it's possible that you just might be in the market for a new pair of wired headphones.
I remain a fan, and I still regularly use my precious (and sadly now discontinued) Oppo PM-3 over-ear headphones, which I hook up to my slightly battered 160GB iPod Classic through a portable Oppo HA-2 amp. Wires? Yes, a few - but the sound is wonderful and crystal clear.
Below, you’ll find nine pairs of wired headphones which I think are worth a closer look. Some are wired only, while others have the option to whip out the cable and go fully wireless. The choice is yours. Some of the headphones I’ve chosen might not be the latest models - such as the Sony WH-1000XM5 - but I think they still stand up remarkably well, and as an added bonus, they’re also cheaper to buy.
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