Portable Audio

Digital music players and smartphones pretty much caused an extinction event for portable analog audio. But RecordingTheMasters is banking on a comeback for tapes with the launch of Mystik portable audio cassette player.

While many of today's digital audio players aim for a slick modern aesthetic, the Shanling Q1 goes back in time for inspiration – to the curvy, colorful 1950s. The cutesy device supports Hi-Res music playback, and has cooked-in Bluetooth.

Bluetooth speakers come in all shapes and sizes, from portables you can hold in your hand to mains-powered table-top belters. And then there are those from Denmark's Soundboks – suitcase-sized beasts with concert-level output.

Astell&Kern released the first portable audio player with dual DACs in 2013, and it's the design of the AK120 that has informed the overall look of A&K's latest offering, the SA700.

Sonos is looking beyond the confines of the home with the introduction of the Move, which the company says "resets the bar for portable speakers."

​If you came of age in the 1980s, chances are pretty good that you loaded all of your favorite music onto a mixtape. Now you can break out your dusty tapes once more thanks to Nimm Lab, which has just injected a portable cassette player with Bluetooth.​

​Astell&Kern has been striking fear into the wallets of mobile music lovers for a few years now, putting out high-spec portable audio gear with a hefty price tag. And so it is with the company's A&ultima SP2000 flagship, which was launched at High End Munich last week.​

Before pocket-friendly Digital Audio Players or even portable CD players, there was the Walkman. And before playlists, there were mixtapes. Now Crosley Radio is looking to inject some new life into the almost-forgotten cassette tape with the release of two retro players.

Mighty Vibe is a tiny, water- and shock-resistant music player that clips to your clothing while you exercise. Think of it as an iPod Shuffle for Spotify users – you fill it up with your playlists, then it streams to your wired or Bluetooth headphones for over five hours.

Wireless speakers are not exactly uncommon nowadays, so manufacturers have to offer something a little different to stand out from the crowd. The Ai-2 is modular in nature, meaning that you can put two or more together to form a curved TV soundbar, or stack 'em high and wide to create a sound wall.

Sound Devices has been designing pro audio gear for years, and has now added a new member to its MixPre family. The MixPre-10M is a first of its kind 12 in, 4 out portable multitrack audio recorder developed especially for musicians, by musicians.​

Samsung's C-Lab is heading to CES next week to show off a wireless speaker designed to offer the private listening benefits of earphones without the long-haul discomfort. The S-Ray speakers work by beaming sound directly to music lovers in a way that won't disturb others around them.