Digital music

There's a good chance that the headphone jack of your laptop or PC doesn't offer stellar plugged-in audio quality. Chinese hi-fi brand Fiio is aiming to offer a significant quality boost with a mechanical keyboard rocking its own DAC/headphone amp.

Back in 2015, Sweden's Teenage Engineering launched a bunch of pocket-friendly synths and samplers called, appropriately enough, the Pocket Operators. Now the team has announced a higher-end, almost pro-level version called the EP-133 KO II.

IK Multimedia's gorgeous ToneX pedal remains unrivaled at its price point as 2023 comes to a close, replacing your guitar amp with a cornucopia of tone profiles either captured directly from your own rig, or downloaded from thousands online.

UK music hardware company Roli has launched an updated version of the Seaboard Block controller, which "promises to bring infinite expressive possibilities to musicians everywhere, whether at home, in the studio, on the go, or on the stage."

A new study has found listening to our favorite music and the emotional responses it produces, particularly if it’s bittersweet, is more effective at reducing our perception of pain than unfamiliar relaxation music.

Fender says its new eight-core multi-effects and amp modeling floor unit is the best-sounding, most powerful and easiest-to-use digital floor pedal ever built. It's got a legit claim to two of those three titles – but is it undergunned in 2023?

The Woovebox micro music workstation rocks a stripped-back design reminiscent of Teenage Engineering's Pocket Operators, but has more to offer the mobile groove creator – packing in a synthesizer, sequencer, sampler and beat maker.

"Quintessentially British" audio gear company Ruark has launched the first in a new series of integrated music systems. The R410 offers modern streaming, internet radio and connection to hi-fi gear – all enclosed in gorgeous 1970s-inspired wrapping.

Back in the late 1960s, creating music anywhere was made much easier with a now iconic toy-like pocket synth called the Stylophone. Now Dubreq is aiming to do the same for beat makers with a portable drum machine.

Linkplay Technology's compact "audiophile-grade" Wiim Pro Plus gives folks who listen to music using treasured legacy hi-fi setups a way to bring their aging systems into the modern streaming age, without having to fork out silly money.

Back in 2019, Artiphon launched a Kickstarter for a battery-powered handheld music-creation tool called the Orba. Now the company has returned to the platform with Chorda, a portable synth, looper and MIDI controller shaped like a short guitar neck.

Ever wondered what it would sound like if Michael Jackson, Cardi B and Jay-Z made a song together? Now you can find out with a new app that uses AI to help you make a mashup of your favorite songs – no DJing experience required.