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Wired headphones may now seem out of place on a modern pair of headphones, but Sony is bringing back the very iconic MDR-3R – in its original design that accompanied the original Walkman in 1979, right down to the blue and orange ear pads. But with a modern twist: It now now connects through USB-C.

In short, it’s just like the original headphone where you just plug it into the headphone jack of a device. Everybody loves retro devices in 2026 and I can see why the resurrected MDR-3R will be appealing for both old and young audiophiles. But there is also other quality of life changes, including a built-in microphone for calls and an in-line remote, so the retro look doesn’t mean giving up the conveniences we expect from contemporary wired headphones today.

Retrolicious design

The MDR-3R keeps the original’s lightweight, open-ear design and uses the same 23mm driver units as the original MDR-3. But Sony has also made some subtle refinements to cater to the modern listening ears, while keeping to the original sound. You also get both blue and orange ear pads in the box. Even the packaging and instruction manual borrow from the original.

Sony is also leaning into the headphones’ 1980s roots with a Stranger Things Edition. Inspired by Max’s headphones and the TV show’s Upside Down, it features an engraved Stranger Things logo and custom packaging. If you’ve watched the Netflix hit series, you’ll get the synergy here.

Availability and pricing

The standard MDR-3R will be available for S$89, while the Stranger Things Edition goes for S$129. Pre-orders are open through Sony Store and Sony Store Online, with both models launching in Singapore from December 2026.

Kevin Scott, Microsoft’s chief technology officer, speaks during an interview on the sidelines of the Nikkei Forum Global Management Dialogue 2026 in Tokyo on Nov 11. (Photo by Satoko Kawasaki)

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If you’re looking for hints and answers for Strands for Wednesday, November 11, 2026, read on—I’ll share some clues and tips, and finally the solution to the puzzle with the theme “Work it out.”

For an easy way to come back to our Strands hints every day, bookmark this page. You can also find our past hints there as well, in case you want to know what you missed in a previous puzzle. (If you play Wordle or Connections, check out our hints for those games, too.) 

Below, I’ll give you some oblique hints at today’s Strands answers. And farther down the page, I’ll reveal the spangram and the answers. Scroll slowly and take just the hints you need! 

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Hint for the spangram in today’s Strands puzzle

How a personal trainer might categorize various parts of the body or organize a workout.

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Hint for the theme words in today’s Strands puzzle

Things you might want to grow or strengthen at the gym. 

BEWARE: Spoilers follow for today’s Strands puzzle!

We’re about to give away the answers to today’s Strands puzzle. 

What is the spangram in today’s Strands?

Today’s spangram is MUSCLEGROUP.

What are the theme words in today’s Strands?

The theme words today are BICEPS, OBLIQUES, PECS, LATS, QUADS, HAMSTRINGS. 

Here’s what the board looks like when the puzzle is solved:

How I solved today’s Strands

If two people were in an argument, they might be told to “work it out,” so I’ll look for words related to conflict resolution. 

I see SPECIES in the upper left, and that’s not a hit, unsurprisingly. 

I can make QUIB in the upper right—I thought I might be able to make QUIBBLE, but that doesn’t work.

I guess “work it out” could also be related to exercise—I see SQUAT, but that’s not a theme word, either.

SMASH, SQUIB, and SQUARING aren’t theme words.

Oh, I see MUSCLEGROUP going across the center—it’s the spangram. 🟡 OK, so it is exercise related after all.

BICEPS is across the top row. 🔵

The QU in the top half of the puzzle is part of OBLIQUES. 🔵

The QU in the bottom half is part of QUADS. 🔵

HAMSTRINGS is in the bottom right. 🔵

PECS is below the start of the spangram. 🔵

Lastly, LATS. 🔵

Strands #983
“Work it out”
🟡🔵🔵🔵
🔵🔵🔵

How to play Strands

You can find the Strands game on the New York Times website and in the NYT Games app. 

When you start playing, you’ll see a game board with an assortment of letters, flanked by a clue that gives a hint at the board’s theme—this will be a phrase, like “Better with age.” Your job is to find the hidden words within the board that reflect the puzzle’s theme.

A crossword crossed with a word search

The most important word to find is the “spangram,” a word that more explicitly states the puzzle’s theme. (For example, the spangram for the puzzle with the theme “Better with age” is FERMENTED, which describes products that are, you guessed it, better with age.) The spangram will span the entire game board, either from left to right or top to bottom (hence the name). When you find the spangram, it will be highlighted in yellow. Solving the spangram usually makes the rest of the puzzle much easier to complete.

In Strands, words can travel any direction (up, down, left, right, and diagonal), and you will only use each letter once. There is only one correct solution. When you correctly identify one of the puzzle’s words (for example, KOMBUCHA, MISO, or KIMCHI), it will be highlighted in blue. 

If you are struggling to solve the puzzle, you can submit any non-theme words you see (as long as they are four letters or more) to receive credit toward a single hint. If you submit three non-theme words, the “Hint” button will be clickable; if you click it, all of the letters in one of the theme words will be highlighted for you. You will still have to link these highlighted letters in the right order to form one of the theme words. If there is already a hint on the board and you use another hint before solving for that word, that word’s letter order will be revealed.

How to win Strands

Unlike Connections and Wordle, you cannot fail Strands. When you submit guesses, you will either correctly identify an answer, receive credit toward a hint, or the text will shake back and forth, indicating that the word you submitted is too short or not valid. You can’t run out of guesses, and there is no time limit.

You win when you’ve correctly used all the letters on the board, meaning that you have identified the spangram and all of the theme words. Like other NYT games, upon solving the puzzle, you will see a shareable card that indicates how you performed that day: blue dots 🔵 indicate theme words you found, the yellow dot 🟡 indicates when you found the spangram, and a lightbulb 💡 indicates words that you received a hint for.

Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Strands.