Music Player

In the running for best budget headphones of 2026, OneOdio's Focus A1 Pro outperform what you'd expect from a pair that'll set you back US$34.99. While they won't outshine premium audio tech, they leave the competition in their price bracket for dead.

Not everything old is worth a modern makeover, but this is something audio-lifestyle brand Gadhouse seems to understand. Following on from some stunning retro-modern turntables, it's now reviving 1980s portable audio paired with modern convenience.

Japanese consumer electronics company Maxell, known for its high-performance chromium metal cassettes during its 80s zenith, has now released a modern update to the portable cassette player.

iBasso’s DX340 flagship digital audio player launches with a durable, lightweight titanium chassis and a modified AMP15 card. Featuring dual OS, an AMOLED screen, and a dual-battery system, it delivers elite, high-resolution audio performance.

What if your music could move you in ways it never has before? That's what Groove Thing promises to accomplish with 'the world's first internal music player,' where its vibrator "transmits music sound waves as rich, nuanced physical sensations."

Back in mid-2020, a project out of Taiwan launched on Indiegogo to produce a gorgeous little mechanical music box that could play tunes loaded in using a smartphone app. Now its makers are aiming for double the fun with the Muro Box N40.

Astell&Kern has announced an upgrade to 2021's "mass premium" A&norma SR25 MkII digital audio player. The SR35 comes with new amplifier technology, four DACs, a 20-hour battery life and a fresh new user interface.

It's been a busy week for high-end portable audio brand Astell&Kern, with the launch of the fourth member of its Kann performance line of digital audio players plus a new pair of in-ear monitors in collaboration with Campfire Audio.

Recording artist Tom Vek has designed a digital music player that's big enough and square enough to adequately display album art, and is looking for Indiegogo backers to help put a limited number into the hands of similarly minded music lovers.

We've recently seen several different examples of high-tech portable cassette players, but is audio tape really making a comeback? Perhaps not, which is where Pl8ty comes in – it uses your smartphone as the cassette.

While rowing machines provide a good workout, they do require users to keep their hands on the handle at all times – this makes it hard to control a smartphone's music playback function. The ergRemote, however, puts a Bluetooth remote on the handle.

Haptic feedback is becoming a bigger part of entertainment. Now, a German startup is launching the Feelbelt, which adds the element of touch to games, music, movies, and basically any other device that outputs sound.