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Portable Audio

Portable audio covers music gear built to travel - digital audio players, pocket DAC and headphone amplifier units, and in-ear monitors. These devices carry high-resolution playback away from the home system and past the limits of a phone.

Stas Ustenko

Stas Ustenko

Audio

FiiO BTR25 - DAC and Headphone Amplifier with Bluetooth 6.2

FiiO has released the BTR25, a portable DAC and headphone amplifier designed both for high-quality wired listening and wireless operation (featuring support for the modern Bluetooth 6.2 protocol).
Stas Ustenko

Stas Ustenko

Audio

Sony Unveils Gold-Plated Walkman Players Priced Up to $5,900 or 4,999 EUR

Sony has launched three new portable digital audio players, though their price tags - ranging from $1,900 to $5,900 - are certainly steep. The legendary Walkman line, which last saw an update several years ago, now returns with a promise to offer audiophiles "the ultimate in portable sound quality."
Stas Ustenko

Stas Ustenko

Audio

Fosi Audio DAP Neo – A Stylish Portable Hi-Fi Player

Fosi Audio has introduced the DAP Neo, a portable audio player that blends modern music playback technology with iconic ergonomics - highlighted by a distinctive control wheel on the front panel.
Stas Ustenko

Stas Ustenko

Audio

Astell & Kern PD5 – 28 Hours of Hi-Res Music

Astell & Kern has released the PD5, a portable Hi-Res music player that serves as an upgrade to the renowned SR35 model. The digital-to-analog conversion module now utilizes eight Cirrus Logic CS43198 chips, effectively doubling the conversion power. However, if you need to extend battery life, the player can be switched to a 4-DAC mode, achieving an impressive 28 hours of playback on a single charge. A full charge takes 2.5 hours, thanks to support for the PD 3.0 standard.

Hifiverse Editorial Team

Audio

FiiO SnowSky Retro Nano – Continuation of the Company's "Cassette" Series

FiiO SnowSky Retro Nano is the latest portable digital-to-analog converter and headphone amplifier, presented in the SnowSky series and distinguished by its appearance stylized as a compact cassette (or tape) player. The model is equipped with a 0.96" TFT 80 x 160 bezel-less display and displays animation of tape playback during operation.

Hifiverse Editorial Team

Audio

Moondrop Psyche – $1,999 Hybrid In-Ear Headphones

Moondrop has unveiled its flagship Moondrop Psyche in-ear headphones, a very expensive new product with handcrafted faceplates featuring the MITSUKIYUKI character. The Moondrop Psyche headphones are equipped with a hybrid assembly of ten drivers and emitters, including two dynamic 10-mm drivers, four balanced armature emitters, and four planar magnetic emitters!

What portable audio is & why it matters

A phone sends audio through a compact converter and a weak headphone output shared with every other task. Dedicated portable gear separates those jobs. A DAP (digital audio player) holds its own converter chips, battery and amplifier, while a dongle or pocket DAC adds a better output stage to a phone or laptop. Paired with demanding in-ear monitors, the extra drive and lower noise floor become audible, and battery life becomes a real specification.

What you'll find in this tag

Three portable launches are covered here - a new Astell & Kern player with long runtime, a FiiO portable DAC and headphone amplifier with a retro look, and a hybrid in-ear monitor from Moondrop. Each story lists the key specifications, chips and driver layouts, so devices can be compared on battery, outputs and converter choice before a purchase.

Key models to know

Astell & Kern PD5 - a player with eight Cirrus Logic CS43198 converters and up to 28 hours in Quad-DAC mode. FiiO SnowSky Retro Nano - a pocket DAC with a small TFT screen in a cassette-shaped body. Moondrop Psyche - an in-ear model with ten drivers mixing dynamic, balanced armature and planar magnetic units, two of them 10 mm dynamic woofers.

Related topics & where to go next

See Portable Music Players (DAP) and In-Ear Monitors (IEM) for device types, Portable Speakers for battery speakers, and Planar Magnetic Drivers for driver technology. Browse the Headphones section of the catalog for players and earphones on sale now.