I tested the Gadhouse Wesley Headphones — and they’re bringing 1986 into 2026

As my 56-year-old Spotify listening age will tell you, 80s music is my bag, so these wired headphones are pretty much made for me. The Gadhouse Wesley Headphones are retro, stylish, and extremely comfortable. They have easy-to-use controls on the wire, and the sound offers a clear vocal performance.

But are they some of the best wired headphones? Sadly, no. At high volumes, audio tends to be muddy, but if you care about fashion over function, these are the cans for you.

To find out more about these headphones, keep reading this full Gadhouse Wesley Headphones review.

Gadhouse Wesley Headphones review: Cheat sheet

• What is it? Retro wired headphones
• Who is it for? Anyone who cares about style and loves a nostalgic moment
• What does it cost? The Gadhouse Wesley Headphones are available for $82 / £59
• What do we like? They look great, are comfortable with easy controls, and make vocals sound clear
• What don’t we like? Audio quality suffers at higher volumes, and the long wire is easily tangled

Gadhouse Wesley Headphones review: Specs

Gadhouse Wesley Headphones review: Price & availability

The Gadhouse Wesley Headphones are available at Amazon U.S. for $82 and are also available at Amazon U.K. for £59. This is pretty reasonable for a fashion over function product, but if you really care about perfect audio, it’s not really worth spending this kind of money.

These headphones sit in a league of their own with a style dedicated to the 80s, and something like this is pretty hard to come by unless you’re rooting through old storage boxes. If you’re specifically looking for something that can make you feel like iconic characters from Max Mayfield to Star-Lord to Mia Thermopolis, the Lightwear HP1 headphones ($143) by KM5 might fit the bill, and they even offer ANC. For a much cheaper option, the FiiO Snowsky foam headphones offer the same aesthetics at $16.

But if it’s not style that drives your purchases and you’re instead looking for stellar audio on a similar budget, then you should take a gander at the FiiO JT3 wired headphones ($69), which cater to audiophiles looking for driven yet clear sound. But these are open-back headphones, so they are only really meant for home listening.

Gadhouse Wesley Headphones review: Design & controls

The Gadhouse Wesley Headphones make your retro dreams a reality. Whether you want to cosplay as Patrick Bateman or live out your Pretty Woman hotel room dreams, they’re the perfect gateway back to the late 80s and 90s.

And if you have your ear to the ground in the fashion world, you’ll know that Vogue says wired headphones are back, and as such, we must obey. I don’t make the rules, but Chloe Malle does.

Okay, so now we know how cool these things look, let’s get into the nitty-gritty. The stainless steel headband with PU leather padding is super thin, which means that these headphones are ultra-lightweight. They only weigh 3.7 ounces, so they never get uncomfortable, and there are sliders on each side for easy size adjustment.

The foam ear pads are incredibly soft and squishy, so again, they are comfortable to wear for long periods of time. The headphones measure 7.1 x 6.2 x 2.4 inches, so they’re really not that bulky, but that 1.5-meter wire proves tricky when throwing them in your bag, so just be sure to wrap them up. Otherwise, they become a tangled mess at the bottom of your bag, so it’s hard to grab them quickly. Unfortunately, the headphones don’t come with a carry case or dustbag.

The wire has a control on the left side also has a built-in microphone. There’s a single button that needs to be clicked once to play/pause, twice to skip songs, and three times to go back to a song. This is simple to get the hang of, and I was using the controls like a total pro after about an hour of listening.

The headphones connect with a 3.5mm jack input, but if you have a different connection type on your device, there are accessories to help with this. Included with the headphones are two adaptors. A 3.5mm to 6.35mm adapter allows you to use the headphones with jack inputs, and the 3.5mm to USB-C adapter allows you to plug into your phone or computer.

Gadhouse Wesley Headphones review: Audio quality

I enjoyed using the Gadhouse Wesley Headphones, but I don’t think they’ll be my go-to choice for everyday listening. The treble, bass and mids all sound clear, but you’re not getting the sound quality you’d get from commercial headphones like the JLab JBuds Lux ANC ($79). There’s quite a lot of static when listening through the Wesley headphones, but that’s the authentic 80s listening experience, right?

Nevertheless, I first listened to Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) by Kate Bush — it would be criminal not to. The vocals were clear throughout the whole song, even when the drums and synth get more powerful in the bridge. The instruments sounded mostly clear and well-balanced. However, the song became a little muddier at around 60 to 70% volume

I then put on another 80s classic, I’m Your Man by Wham!. This is a high-energy song, and while I enjoyed it (obviously, it’s Wham!), everything sounded a little hollow, like a lot of the soundstage wasn’t being filled. That said, the breathy, reverbed vocals in particular sounded great. At higher volumes, though, the Wesley headphones lost a little instrument separation. The sound meshed together and muddied at the low end.

But it’s not just fantastic pop that the 80s are known for — we need to pay homage to classic rock, so I listened to You Shook Me All Night Long by AC/DC. I heard a good level of sound separation in this song, with the prominent guitar riff focused on the right side before picking up in the left just before the chorus. The vocals were also pretty clear, but got lost among the cymbals on occasion.

Gadhouse Wesley Headphones review: Verdict

The Gadhouse Wesley Headphones are perfect for anyone looking to unlock a little bit of nostalgia in their daily listening, or even twin with some of their favorite on-screen characters. They’re stylish, comfortable, and the on-wire controls make using them a total breeze.

The clear vocal replication gives these cans some points, but at higher volumes, everything gets a little muddy. They are by no means competing with high-end audio. The 1.5-meter long wire may also be annoying for some people, but in my opinion wired = fashion.

So are these headphones going to give you the best audio you’ve ever heard? Absolutely not. But are they maybe the coolest-looking headphones you’ll ever wear? Absolutely yes.