so they’ve gone all-in on the retro music trend — at least, you think they have?
Tells include (but are not limited to) shunning Spotify in favor of rifling through thrift store CD and cassette tape piles, re-watching Stranger Things to see what 80s audio gear Max was actually wearing when she fought Vecna, spending Sunday afternoons at an independent record store, or re-organising their room ready to accommodate a set of tower speakers, turntable and hi-fi stack.
Maybe they’ve expressed an interest in a set of wired earbuds? That is great! Why? Because as a gift, they’re perfect — provided you know what they’ll be plugging them in to. If the headphones (or earbuds) are going straight into their phone or tablet, you’ll almost certainly want something that ends in a USB-C connection, such as the Bose Noise Cancelling Wired Earbuds, the oh-so-business Sennheiser CX 80Uor, for a more retro look, the delightfully 1979-esque Sony MDR-3R.
If, however, they want a DAC to get better quality audio from their phone — I’ve suggested the inexpensive and excellent iFi GO Link 2, which connects to your deviceect a set of headphones that terminates in good old 3.5mm. Here, you simply cannot go wrong with the Sennheiser IE 200(Sennheiser’s mostaffordable, modern classic IEMs) or the cheap-and-cheerful 1More Triple Driverearbuds, which even come with a USB-C adapter
For visibility, I’ll continue explaining my recommendations below the roundup. Scroll on down if you came here for players of speakers…
The best wired audio gifts of 2026
We’ve written odes to these inexpensive little beauties with a USB-C termination, just see our feature: Wired earbuds are in right now, and this budget-friendly pair from Sennheiser are so good I’d spend my own money on them
Or, read our full review: I tested Sennheiser’s new USB-C wired earbuds and was wowed by their stellar sound, luxurious looks, and legendary low price
Maxell
Wireless Cassette Player
Another player that boasts about being ‘wireless’ (and there is Bluetooth 5.4 onboard) but really, we know you’ll be using its 3.5mm jack…
Read our full review: ‘A blast from the past’: The Maxell Wireless Cassette Player is a magic carpet ride of audio nostalgia
What if they’ve got the USB-C, they’ve got a set of wired 3.5mm headphones or earbuds, and they want to bridge the gap between the two while levelling up the audio?
Answer: this little beauty. What you need to know is, it’s simple to use (simply plug the USB-C end into your device, your 3.5mm headphones into the other and hit play as you normally would) and it works — but do consult our full iFi Go Link 2 review for further details.
Bose
Noise Cancelling Wired Earbuds
They’re so new, our full review is incoming. But Bose has worked extremely hard on this passion project — and I predict a huge hit.
‘There’s definitely been a return to less technologically driven products’: Bose president Raza Haider talks releasing $99 wired earbuds with no app or AI, and why they’re only here because his daughter thinks they’re cool
Sony launches two new elite Walkman devices, then teases a retro-inspired third Walkman-adjacent release (which I’m far more excited about)
This set of wired IEMs launched in Sennheiser’s revered IE lineup in 2023, and quickly became firm audiophile-on-a-budget favorites — so they landed long before the wired renaissance really took hold.
I own these wired earbuds and I love them, especially since the earpieces are nice and small and that cable will not tangle, no matter how much I dance around while wearing them. And if that’s not as comprehensive a review as you’d like, there’s a full review to follow: Sennheiser IE 200 review: affordable wired earbuds but with audiophile-grade sound
Yes, there’s Bluetooth, but there’s also a lovely 3.5mm jack, for use with some of the other wired headphones in this gifting guide (not the Sony MRD-3R or the Bose Noise Cancelling Wired though — they sport USB-C terminations, which this player only uses for charging).
This portable CD spinner comes in various shades, but isn’t this neon option a looker? Or there’s even an official Death Stranding 2: On the Beachversion of km5’s CP1, in the same orange as the game’s ‘BB Pod’ (the glowing jar that contains the adorable baby), if white or black are too boring — and that variant even also comes with stickers to complete the look.
An option that’ll now work for 3.5mm and USB-Cn-ear wired headphones way back in 2017, and while 1More has now added a USB-C connector to the package, otherwise they’re unchanged — and when they sound is this good for this little, we don’t mind it
Read our 1MORE Triple Driver In-Ear Headphone review: great value for money
Again, there’s Bluetooth, but the real flex is going full analog when listening to cassette tapes. Grab a set of wired headphones that end in a 3.5mm termination — the Sennheiser IE 200 or 1More Triple Driver options in this list might be perfect.
What a set of headphones these are! They terminate in 3.5mm, but you get a 6.35mm screw-on adapter in the case. They’re also open-back cans, which means they’ll leak a fair bit of sound — but oh, the sound you’ll be hearing!
Read our full review: ‘Can’t fault the HEDDphone D1 in any meaningful way’: HEDD’s progeny are emphatically excellent wired headphones at a not-unreasonable price
Astell & Kern
Astell & Kern PD5
Although that price may seem high (because it is, relatively speaking), this is very much entry-level territory for A&K, a company that has been making high-end digital audio players (or DAPs) for a long time now.
This is the company’s latest and most ‘affordable’. We’ve reviewed it and we have to agree; if you’ve got the budget, they’ll love it… Astell & Kern PD5 review: the most ‘sensible’ player yet from A&K visually — but sonically it soars above the competition
Does the person you’re buying for have their own place? And if they don’t own a set of standalone passive speakers (but they are looking to get a traditional hi-fi stack), will anybody living with them mind inviting such a thing into the home?
All important things to consider. But take it from us: provided all of those requests and potential pitfalls can be answered properly, the talent of this particular set of Ruark speakers should be accepted without question.
Read our fully star-rated review: I thoroughly recommend these discreet passive speakers’ impeccable design and detailed sound — you just need a relatively small room to enjoy them properly
The three physical music players in this guide — the Maxell Wireless Cassette Player, the Gadhouse Miko (also a portable cassette spinner) and the Km5 Cp1 CD spinner — all accept 3.5mm wired headphones or earbuds, and wouldn’t that look special?
Finally, let’s briefly get into audiophile adjacent ‘big present’ territory, just in case. The Astell & Kern PD5 digital audio player is a step above (hi-res files only, mind — no discs or tapes here) that’ll accept 3.5mm headphones/earbuds and balanced 4.4mm alternatives. Or, if they’ve got an elite player already, the best headphones I’ve heard all year are the HEDD Heddphone D1; they’re open-backed, gloriously huge — and not at all cheap. Lastly, the Ruark Audio Talisman-R passive stereo speakers are among the best traditional hi-fi stereo towers for fledgling audiophiles. And they’ll absolutely work in smaller apartments, too.
