Let those old, rubbish headphones rest in peace
11/6/2026
Translation: machine translated
For years, I’ve kept reading about the supposed retro trend in headphones. Yet the trend remains a niche phenomenon – and for good reason.
We Are Rewind has unveiled a pair of retro headphones – the successor to the EQ-001. It offers 14 hours’ battery life and weighs just 66 grammes. The manufacturer’s recommended retail price is 49 euros.
Source: We Are Rewind
Are retro headphones a trend?
Retro headphones like the new model above are reportedly all the rage. Bluetooth is the exception here; they usually use a cable. Every now and then, you read that cables are now a fashion statement. As early as 2022 and 2023, various models made a point of appearing in public or even on the catwalk wearing wired headphones.
In our shop, sales figures do indeed show a trend reversal towards wired models: whilst the share of wired headphones fell steadily between 2016 and 2024, it has risen again over the last two years.
Nevertheless, I maintain that this retro trend is very minor and is being artificially inflated.
Wireless is still popular
First of all: Wired and retro are not the same thing, as the example from Rewind shows. In the high-end sector, cables are the norm, even for models with a modern design. Nor would I by any means describe USB audio as «retro». The trend towards more wired models can have many causes. This is particularly true for the year 2026, where only sales up to mid-May have been taken into account. People are likely to buy different devices as Christmas presents than they do during the rest of the year – tending towards something expensive rather than a spontaneous, cheap purchase. Many wired headphones, such as the one shown below, are primarily cheap. These would then be over-represented.
But even if, for the sake of simplicity, I equate wired with retro, I can only detect a faint trend. In the current year, the proportion of headphones sold with Bluetooth functionality stands at 75 per cent. Given that smartphones generally no longer have an audio jack, this should come as no surprise to anyone.
Hypothesis: the wireless hype is levelling off; wired remains timeless
I suspect another reason for the relative increase in wired headphones is that technological progress in Bluetooth headphones has slowed down. Sound quality and active noise cancellation have been at a high level in top-of-the-range models for some time now. When it comes to charging speed, the switch to USB-C in particular made a big difference; since then, there have only been minor improvements. I still have the Sony WH-1000XM4 from 2020 and am completely satisfied with them.
Over the last decade, many people therefore bought something new every few years. The hype has now died down. After five years, Apple has re-released the AirPods Max without any significant improvements. This says something not only about Apple, but also about the headphone industry as a whole.
There was no such hype surrounding wired headphones that might now be waning. For certain purposes, they have always been the first choice and still are today. For example, in the lowest price segment, in the audiophile sector, or when monitoring recordings where the sound must be heard without delay. Demand is therefore likely to have remained stable in these areas.
Fashionable? Certainly – but not at the expense of function
Headphones can certainly make a fashion statement. After all, they’re worn in plain view in public.
But they should still do their job to the usual standard. With these on-ear foam things, that’s hardly likely to be possible. Ambient noise isn’t blocked out, and if you turn the volume up high, everyone can hear what you’re listening to. They sit unevenly on your ears. The cables get tangled and break over time. Eventually, the foam starts to crumble too.
Anyone who reads reads my audio articles knows: I’m definitely open to a bit of audio nostalgia. But I won’t shed a single tear for the cheap headphones of the last century.
Header image: Shutterstock
David Lee
Senior Editor
David.Lee@digitecgalaxus.chMy interest in IT and writing landed me in tech journalism early on (2000). I want to know how we can use technology without being used. Outside of the office, I’m a keen musician who makes up for lacking talent with excessive enthusiasm.
Opinion
This is a subjective opinion of the editorial team. It doesn't necessarily reflect the position of the company.
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