# The 14 Best Sony Headphones Ever Made

> Studio workhorses, a wooden-cup rarity and the noise-cancelling cans you see on every flight all sit in one pile here, decades apart.

*By YPB Team · Published November 7, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/the-14-best-sony-headphones-ever-made*

---

## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **WH-1000XM4** — score 1000/1000
   The 2020 follow-up to the XM3 that added multipoint Bluetooth pairing and Speak-to-Chat.
2. **WH-1000XM5** — score 927/1000
   A 2022 redesign of the 1000X line with a non-folding headband and eight microphones for noise cancelling.
3. **MDR-CD900ST** — score 877/1000
   A closed-back monitor developed with CBS/Sony's Shinanomachi studio and sold since 1989, a fixture of Japanese recording studios.
4. **MDR-R10** — score 800/1000
   Sony's 1989 flagship with wooden zelkova housings and bio-cellulose diaphragms, made in small numbers at a very high price.
5. **WF-1000XM5** — score 709/1000
   Smaller and lighter 2023 earbuds pairing the QN2e and V2 processors for noise cancelling.
6. **MDR-V6** — score 466/1000
   A closed-back, folding studio monitor headphone Sony launched in 1985 that became common in recording studios.
7. **MDR-7506** — score 466/1000
   Sony's professional closed-back monitor from 1991, with a coiled cable and folding design, widely used in broadcast and film sound.
8. **WH-1000XM6** — score 466/1000
   The 2025 model of the 1000X line with the QN3 processor and a folding design that returned after the XM5.
9. **WF-1000XM4** — score 466/1000
   The 2021 earbuds that added the V1 processor, IPX4 water resistance and foam ear tips to the line.
10. **LinkBuds** — score 466/1000
   Open earbuds from 2022 with a ring-shaped driver that leaves a hole so outside sound passes through.
11. **MDR-3** — score 0/1000
   Lightweight on-ear headphones with foam pads that Sony introduced in 1979 alongside the original TPS-L2 Walkman.
12. **MDR-CD3000** — score 0/1000
   A 1990s closed-back audiophile headphone that enthusiasts nicknamed the baby R10.
13. **WH-1000XM3** — score 0/1000
   A 2018 wireless noise-cancelling headphone built around Sony's QN1 noise-cancelling processor.
14. **MDR-MV1** — score 0/1000
   An open-back studio monitor released in 2023, designed for mixing and spatial audio production.

Tags: headphones, audio, earbuds, sony, gadgets