Sony's best headphones

All my life, I’ve loved Sony gear.

When I was a teenager, I scrimped and saved to get a Walkman portable cassette player. The flimsy headphones were rubbish, and I spent hours repairing the cassettes it regularly chewed up with a pencil and some tape, but I loved it.

My dad had various Sony stereo components that always sounded better than the cheapo British brands we could afford (mostly acquired on layaway or from our hippie neighbor Will, who bought and sold used stereo gear to supplement his dole).

Steve Jobs was always a huge admirer of the brand, too.

Jobs emulated Sony’s premium design, attention to detail and constant innovation. He even collected Sony marketing materials.

Jobs also modeled Apple’s first factories on Sony’s after he toured one in Japan. He even wanted Apple workers to wear factory uniforms like their Japanese counterparts — an idea American workers rejected. But Jobs liked the idea of uniforms so much, he adopted it for himself with his iconic black turtlenecks.

Sony has a lot more competition these days in the electronics market, but still makes a lot of the best stuff out there — including headphones.

In fact, Sony’s diversified lineup of headphones and earbuds can be a bit intimidating at first glance. Our headphones expert, David Snow, breaks it down. Here’s all you need to know about Sony’s headphones and earbuds and how they work with Apple devices.

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— Leander Kahney, EIC.

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