• Wired audio is a growing revival trend, but not everyone's on board
• Noble Audio unveils Astrid, wireless IEMs with three drivers and a fit test
• Breggz's new Zohn 2 sport dual drivers and IMAX Enhanced certification

Are you getting a bit tired of this wireless audio resurgence? Are you glad of the option to forego tangling cables, starting to shirk a source device that isn't your phone, or finding it ironic that Sony's new Walkman headphones don't work with actual older Walkmans? You're not alone.

On the same day (today, November 10), two premium audio brands have come to market with two high-end wireless earbuds, (hopefully) giving audiophiles something to enjoy without the tangling cables.

Meet the Noble Audio Astrid and Breggz Zohn 2. And keep your eye on your bank account, because neither of these earbuds sit within the budget category.

The Noble Audio Astrid is available to buy right now for $539 / £499 (about AU$1,000 — ouch!) but the Breggz is even more expensive, yours for £549 (about $600, AU$1,100). Zohn 2 will hit shelves in the UK from November 17, and will be rolling out to other countries through 2027, so US and Australian buyers will likely have to wait just a little longer for these earbuds.

Noble Audio Astrid: what you need to know

Let's look at Noble's Astrid first; partly because you can buy them right now, and partly because I've tested some similar buds in the form of the Noble Osprey.

These premium IEMs have three drivers per bud: an 8.3mm dynamic driver, 6mm planar driver and balanced armature unit, which means they can cater to the broad audio range.

But that's not the best bit: Noble has continued its partnership with Audiodo, who helped on the Noble FoKus Artemis, to bring a personalized listening test and equalizer. This'll let you fine-tune the buds to best cater for your ears, so you can make those buds work for you.

The earbuds have 11-hour battery life, ANC and, as with previous Noble buds, have a lovely textured design for the buds and case — something that looks like a high-end IEM headshell but without the wires. This time, said design flourish looks like petrified palm fronds, or the natural cracks on a crystal. Nice.

Breggz Zohn 2: what you need to know

Next up, Dutch brand Breggz is here with an expensive model... that's way cheaper than its $1,750 Zohn-1 which launched in 2024, and the new model also quietly ditches the 'in-ear computer' mantra its predecessors failed to make waves with.

No; the Breggz Zohn 2 are here for enhanced movie watching and more. At least, that's certainly the implication behind their IMAX Enhanced certification, making them the second buds to receive this award after the original pair (it's a title usually saved for soundbars and AV receivers). This certifies that the buds meet IMAX's audio standards for movie watching, so if you want to watch The Odyssey on your iPhone, say, they'll give you the true listening experience.

The earbuds also have five drivers per bud including a 10mm dynamic, 6mm planar driver and three BA drivers for detail. What they don't have is ANC, so the buds seem to be designed for home listening rather than the great outdoors (though there is a transparency mode).

Hidden in the press release, Breggz also confirms that its carry case has a replaceable battery, so the Zohn 2 are repairable to a certain degree. For buds at that price, it's a great thing to add, so one fault won't wipe them out. They have a 7-hour battery life, but the average IMAX movie is only about five hours, so you're safe.

Will they challenge some of the best earbuds we've tested? And can the audio beat any of the best wired earbuds on the market? Time will tell. Let's see…

• Gadhouse unveils Eric (a new CD player, not a robot)
• It's about a third of the price of other portable options we've seen
• Bluetooth, multiple headphone jacks, an FM radio receiver and a screen

I write one piece of audio news every day of the week for TechRadar's audio editor, and it's been ages since I covered any new earbuds or headphones for her. Why? Because so many new CD players, turntables and cassette players are launching. It's like I'm working in the 80s.

Taking the spotlight today is Eric. Not any old Eric; the Gadhouse Eric, with unconfirmed reports (which I've only just made up) saying that it was named after a man down the pub. Gadhouse is apparently turning into a madhouse for the physical media revival, after showing us the Gadhouse Miko cassette player earlier this year — and let's not forget last year's Gadhouse Duke & Roy powered speakers and turntable combo for vinyl lovers.

The Gadhouse Eric is set to cost just $84.50 / £59.99 (about AU$120), so it's a lot cheaper than the likes of the Shanling EC Player or FiiO DM13; they're both about three times the price.

At that money, this could be the budget portable CD player to beat. It's on sale right now, though Gadhouse says that it'll be launching new color options through 2027.

A range of extra features and tools

You want a CD player to do one thing: play CDs. Eric does that, sorted. Wait, it does more?

That's right, Gadhouse has slapped an FM radio receiver into the Eric, so you can skip the doomsday prepping with a hand-cranked option and use this if you'd prefer. This is presumably arranged via its little display, and the slider you can see in the picture.

What else does it do? Well, it lets you connect wirelessly using Bluetooth, which I bet your grandad's CD player doesn't do. It also has not one, but two 3.5mm audio jacks; you can connected to two headphones at once to share music, or connected to a hi-fi system if you'd prefer.

If there's any potential problem I foresee, it's that the battery life is only 4 hours long, so you're going to struggle taking this travelling. It can be recharged via a USB-C port in the back.

• United Airlines now lets you stream Spotify on its in-flight entertainment system
• Available on some flights now, but rolling out to wider destinations in 2027
• Doesn't cost you for in-flight Wi-Fi (although you'll need a Spotify account)

Passport: check. Boarding pass: check. Water bottle you'll forget to empty until the security gate and will therefore have to drink in one go? Check. But have you remembered to download your Spotify playlists so you can listen while your phone is in airplane mode? Probably not — I always forget until the flight's boarding too.

Well, Spotify says there's no such thing as too late, because its new partnership ensures you can listen when you're at cruising altitude. This collab is with United, a US-based airline which the music streaming giant worked with before.

Rolling out immediately, but only to certain flights, you'll now be able to access your Spotify account via the plane's in-flight entertainment system. Initially, this'll just apply if the plane has a Starlink connection, but apparently in 2027 more of its fleet will support the function.

This is the second stage of United's Spotify collab. The first part put limited Spotify account libraries onto the airline's in-flight entertainment machines, with 450 hours of podcasts and playlists accessible — but if you share my views on what the streaming site tries to push, you'll agree that it's much better to be able to choose what you listen to.

Hitting those Wrapped numbers

You won't need to pay for in-flight Wi-Fi access to be able to use the United Spotify terminals. Otherwise, why wouldn't you pay for Wi-Fi and use it on your phone? However Spotify's press release didn't say if it's for all users, or just paid-for Premium accounts.

Instead, you need to log into your flight's United Wi-Fi network, open Spotify on the seat-back screen, and use your phone's camera to scan a QR code to log in. You'll quickly have access to all of your Spotify playlists and podcasts to enjoy on your flight. Presumably, you'll be automatically logged out once your flight ends.

Of course, the caveat here is that in-flight entertainment generally requires a wired headphone connection, but thankfully there are receivers which let you use your wireless headphones on flights and we covered some new ones recently.

Personally, when I'm not reading on a flight, I like to use those seat-back screens to smash through some recent movies I haven't seen before — watching them on a 240p display that judders in turbulence is probably just what the director intended. But if you prefer to be listening to music non-stop, or have a go-to napping playlist which you've forgotten to download, this'll be a useful addition to your journey.

With Spotify wrapped coming up, if you've got an intended result in mind, it's time to start playing that track on repeat so it's top of your charts. United's making that easy: log in, put Mmmbop on repeat, and nap through it for your 12-hour flight.

• Audiolab unveils new 6000CDT MK II
• It's a CD transport, dedicated to processing a disc (not the full player)
• Requires a DAC and other separates to let you play the music

I'm writing constantly about the physical media revival, and cover new CD players every week, but new disc buyers might not be aware of how frail these things can really be. One scratch can wipe whole songs off an album, and a cheap CD player might be putting undue risk on your collection.

For that — and several other reasons — CD transports exist, and Audiolab has just unveiled a new model in the form of its 6000CDT MK II. No, I'm not talking about those wallets which you used to use to carry hundreds of discs around with you.

These are, to a certain extent, CD players: they have disc drives and let you control your tunes. But they don't have Digital-to-Analog converters, or DACs, which are vital for converting the sound from your physical media into something your amplifier and speakers (also not included here) can understand.

So why buy a CD device which can't play music from the box? Well firstly, housing the CD reading tech away from other electricals can ensure a clean and stable read, and it also lets audiophiles pick their favorite sound by choosing their own DAC, amp stage and speakers.

Transport you to the (Audio)lab

It also lets the CD transport focus on what it does best: reading discs. Everything in the Audiolab 6000CDT MKII is designed around the process; this lets you get the best from the medium, and ensures your little slivers of music are protected while they're in the machine.

Audiolab has rebuilt the device from the original to make sure all the components like the laser, spindle and disc loader are stable, make no noise and are consistent. The laser correction, which counters any unpredictability in the spin of the disc, has been designed to avoid any unnecessary actions, again making sure no noise gets in the way of your playback.

Looking at the technical specs, the 6000CDT MKII supports standard CDs as well as CD-R and CD-RWs (rewritable discs, basically, for which support can often be unreliable).

The device is set to go on sale at the end of November, for a price of £399 (about $540, AU$800, and we're waiting on exact global pricing).

Of course, if you buy it, you'll also need to pick up the other necessary accoutrements, but Audiolab would love to nudge you towards its very own similarly-styled 6000A MKII amplifier, which has a DAC built in — and judging by press pictures, the company is really hoping you'll pick up both. Fair warning though: it may sound very, very good . And his runs the risk of starting a bona-fide hi-fi collection, which can be quite a slippery slope.

Obviously, you'll also need some pretty nice speakers to appreciate them with. Fortunately, I have listed a few below…

• Sony has launched MDR-3R, an update on its 1979 'Walkman headphones'
• The aesthetic is virtually unchanged — even down to the packaging
• Two key upgrades: USB-C (not 3.5mm termination) plus an in-line remote
• Oh, and for $20 / £20 / AU$10 more, there's a Stranger Things edition… 

Well now. 'Newtro' (a portmanteau of 'new retro') audio kit is trending, and doesn't Sony know it? The company says it sees people embracing wired, physical music products for "both functional and cultural perspectives", and it is seizing the day — just as Bose has, with its new, affordable, wired noise-canceling earbuds.

I am fortunate enough to have lived through the introduction of Sony's original Walkman in 1979, to have seen Julia Roberts singing Prince in a bath tub in Pretty Woman and to have fallen in love with Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly, skateboarding with an Aiwa CassetteBoy clipped to his denim jacket pocket in Back to the Future.

Cut to around 40 years later, and the kids are watching Max fight Vecna using Kate Bush's Running Up That Hill and a Sony Walkman WM-8 as her only weapon in Stranger Things. And who could forget Peter Quill's Walkman (a Sony TPS-L2 Walkman and Headset, complete with alternate orange ear pads) given to him by his mom long before he became one of the Guardians of the Galaxy?

Want a bit of that? Yearning for a simpler time, when your copy of a musical recording actually belonged to you and Bluetooth connectivity didn't open the door to sign-ups, account creations and data capture? You're not alone — and that's why Sony has just released the MDR-3R.

You can't spell America without Erica, and you can't get this sound without wires

It's not hard to see the new 2026 Sony MDR-3R's resemblance to the Sony 1979 MDR-3 — in fact, it's incredibly difficult to tell the difference between them (and I know because I attended a briefing and saw the old and new products side by side).

It's a significant moment. Nearly half a century after the originals launched (Sony says it went back to work on the drivers using Sony's hand-drawn diagrams from the 70s), the new set is in, and one of the only real differences is that they end in a USB-C termination.

So no more 3.5mm jack, but the iconic silhouette and signature aluminium frame, look, hinges and so on are all virtually identical. There’s the trademark cheeky bend (or kink) in the aluminium frame just above the earpiece, the Sony logo, that soft plastic ‘flexible adjuster’ piece across the top of the crown, square slider hinges and the ‘sound holes’ (no, those aren’t just design flourishes). At 38g, the MDR-3R is also by far the lightest pair of overhead headphones in Sony’s lineup.

What of the sonic chops? Sony says the original MDR-3’s sound quality was "surprisingly good", but nevertheless Sony's audio engineers have taken the classic analog warmth and built on it with a few tweaks. The MDR-3R's 23mm driver is still based upon original hand drawings for the 1979 model, but Sony claims to have eked a wider frequency range out of it, particularly in the bass registers. Also, you now you get an in-line controller with a mic for hands-free calls along with the updated cable and plug.

Wondering how you’ll choose between those Guardians of the Galaxy -style orange foam pads or the MDR-3's original blue pads? Don’t stress, you get both in the box!

The in-line remote also has volume up, volume down, plus a play/stop button that can be double-pressed to skip forward or triple-pressed to skip back. You can hold it to activate your phone's voice assistant, or press it to answer and end calls. So three buttons in total, but lots of added functionality.

Things can get even Stranger…

While the packaging of the 'basic' MDR-3R is very similar to the original 1979 box (think light blue and geometric, but with modern 2026 techniques and nods to sustainability), there is another option as well.

There’s a special Stranger Things-themed edition, complete with red ear pads (you also get black in the box) and a moody black top headband. The box is black, and there’s a Stranger Things logo on the headband too.

You may want to go full Upside Down with the themed set. For me, the choice of blue or orange ear pads and a true 1979 aesthetic is the one.

Either way, for $59 / £49 / €59 / AU$89.95 for the Sony MDR-3R, or $79 / £59 / €69 / AU$99.95 for the Sony MDR-3R Stranger Things variant, someone's Christmas present just got sorted — and I wouldn't be surprised to see them in our best wired headphones guide, if I can only put them through their paces for a full review…

• Bluetooth LE gets support for High Data Throughput (HDT)
• It boosts the standard's maximum supported bit-rate by almost four times
• That means support for hi-res audio, spatial audio and multi-channel audio

Good news for the best headphones of 2027 and beyond: the latest Bluetooth technology includes High Data Throughput technology, HDT for short, which gives Bluetooth LE a huge performance boost. It can transmit almost four times as much data as the current version, enabling it to send hi-res audio, spatial audio and multi-channel audio to other devices.

The fact that HDT is part of Bluetooth is important, because that means you aren't reliant on a proprietary technology for your hi-res music: if manufacturers choose to use HDT, which we'd expect them to do, then you'll have compatibility across a huge range of headphones, Bluetooth speakers and other home entertainment hardware.

There are other benefits too, as many current hi-res audio streams are sent via Wi-Fi rather than Bluetooth. Sending them over Bluetooth LE removes that traffic from your home network, potentially cutting down on congestion, and it is likely to boost your headphones' battery life, too.

Faster data transfer means less work for your Bluetooth radio, whether you're listening to hi-res audio or lower-res streams.

What's new in the blue

HDT is an optional feature in the newly published Bluetooth Core 7.0 standard, and it ups the bitrate of Bluetooth LE connections from 2.5Mbps to 7.5Mbps. Those are headline speeds, and as ever you'll get a bit less in the real world. But it's still a huge boost.

The benefits aren't just limited to headphones and other audio equipment. Anything that currently transmits or receives data via Bluetooth could benefit from the improved throughput of HDT, whether that's a smartwatch, smart glasses or a smart home device. If HDT can make updating my Apple Watch software take less time than forever, I'm sold on it already.

The downside is that you can't buy an HDT device yet. That's because there's always a lag between a new version of Bluetooth being published and products with the latest version appearing on shelves.

Bluetooth 6.0 was released in September 2024 and the first Bluetooth 6.0 headphones arrived in June 2026, with major headphone brands such as Sennheiser updating their flagships mid-year. You can expect a similar time frame with Bluetooth 7.0, so that's a summer to look forward to.

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• FCC listings hint to another pair of Samsung earbuds coming soon
• This pair looks set to have exercise hooks
• Samsung may be aiming at sporty users, as open earbuds go mainstream

If you cast your mind back to a time Before The Pandemic, you might remember that Samsung used to release products with the 'Gear' name. These were smartwatches and earbuds designed for fitness (see the Samsung Gear Icon X for reference, also in the main image of this piece), but the line was retired when the company started making its all-in-one Galaxy gadgets which could do everything, making its fitness-specific tech all-but obsolete.

But it looks like Samsung's Gear range could be back — in spirit.

An FCC filing for an as-yet-unreleased pair of Samsung earbuds have been spotted. No, these aren't the Galaxy Buds On open-ears, because they're already out in many parts of the world. This is another pair of mystery earbuds.

The documents refer to them as the Samsung Galaxy T1, though that's possibly a code-name. Either way, it points to a new pair of earbuds coming from the company soon, and a previous leak pointed to the T1 earbuds having sports loops.

Earbuds with sports loops are, naturally, made for fitness users, as they keep the buds locked in place when you're running or jumping up and down. So these could be the first pair of exercise-designed buds from Samsung since the Gear line was ditched (it's worth noting that Gear earbuds didn't actually use sports loops, just ear ridges to lock them in place, like in the picture above).

It's unlikely that Samsung will revive the Gear name itself, but if it did put out some exercise earbuds, they'd be Gear in spirit.

Samsung's return to fitness earbuds

Since it stopped making Gear earbuds, Samsung hasn't made bespoke workout headphones. Instead, it pitches its standard buds like the Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro as being great for running, and as someone who's tried to work out with them, their fit issues ensure this is not the case.

Perhaps that's why the tech giant began branching into the world of open-ear headphones. These non-noise-blocking buds are bought for a range of safety and awareness reasons, but their initial (and, to my eyes, still primary) use case was for running in busy areas while remaining aware of your surroundings.

As we covered recently, stats show that open ears are massively surging in popularity, so the release of the Galaxy Buds On makes sense. But what about noise cancelling exercise earbuds? I can't find any sales figures that suggest this kind of bud is 'booming', more than just growing at roughly the same rate as the entire market is.

Discounting open earbuds, the bespoke sports earbuds market is a rather quiet one. Options from brands such as Skullcandy, JBL, JLab and Soundcore mark some of the few in-ear buds with sports loops, and new releases aren't afforded the attention or buzz that non-sports-buds are.

Does Samsung know something we don't? Hopefully. It has its own research and sales figures that we're not privy to, and so any decision to release sports-specific headphones or earbuds likely points to the market segment being bigger than we realize.

That would also explain why Sammers also supplements its fancy premium smartwatches, such as the Galaxy Watch 9, with cheaper options like the Galaxy Fit 3: it knows sports users want their own tech, not just jacks of all trades. It's as true in wearables as it is in hearables.

When I tested the Galaxy Buds 4 Pro, their in-ear fit was the big issue. If Samsung released them but with a sports loop to lock them in place, they could be the best headphones on the market... for exercise users and normies alike.

• Win a RIG R8 PRO headset with a Miami-inspired Mod-Set
• Choose between the HS (PlayStation) and HX (Xbox) model
• Enter by signing up as a TechRadar Insider, which is free

Now's a great time to become a TechRadar Insider, because for a limited time we’ve teamed up with Nacon to give members in the US the chance to win a RIG R8 PRO headset.

As we noted in our RIG R8 Pro review, it's a well-built, great value $179.99 wireless gaming headset with "tight, distortion-free sound", a replaceable 60-hour battery, and dual wireless connectivity.

The headset also comes in two versions, one for PlayStation (HS) and one for Xbox (HX), which the winner gets to pick from based on whichever suits their console.

One of its standout features is the swappable earcup plates, and — to make the most of them — the winner will also get to choose one of two Miami-inspired Mod-Set designs: Coastal Cruise or Horizon Haze.

To have a chance of winning one of the French gaming brand’s highly rated accessories, simply sign up to become a TechRadar Insider by clicking "Join Now" at the top of this page. The best part? It costs nothing to join.

If you're already a member, head over to the competitions hub to enter. Entries opened on 3 November, 2026 and close at 8am ET on 1 December 2026, and are only open to those that live in the US, with some specific exclusions.

Please read the terms and conditions (below) before entering. If you have any questions about how to enter, email membership@techradar.com and we'll get back to you. Good luck, gamers!

*No purchase necessary. Prize draw opens 08:00 (ET) on 11/03/26 and closes 08:00 (ET) 12/01/26. To enter the prize draw, entrants must submit their email address while signed into an active membership account, or by creating a free membership account at the time of entry. To enter by mail, send your full name, mailing address, and email address in a stamped envelope to: TechRadar's RIG R8 PRO headset giveaway, Future US LLC,130 West 42nd Street, 7th Floor New York, NY 10036. Limit to one entry per envelope. Mail-in entries must be received by 08:00 (ET) 12/02/26 to be valid, and carry equal weight in the drawing as online entries. Late or incomplete entries will be disqualified. 18+, US residents only (excluding Rhode Island, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, U.S. military installations in foreign countries, or any other U.S. territory where prohibited or restricted by law, employees and direct family members of employees of Future US LLC "Future" and Nacon. One entry per household. No automated entries allowed. One winner will receive a RIG R8 PRO gaming headset (either the HS / HX) and their choice of one of two Miami-inspired mod-set designs.. The winner/s will be randomly drawn and notified by email within 28 days of the closing date by Future, and must provide a US delivery address; the prize will be delivered by Nacon. If no response is received within 28 days, an alternative winner will be drawn. Future reserves the right to substitute the prize with an alternative product of equivalent value. Prize is non-transferable and non-refundable. No cash alternative. Void where prohibited. Winners of $2000 or more worth of prizes in a calendar year will receive IRS form 1099. Prize value may be taxable, and winners are solely responsible for all applicable taxes. By taking part in this prize draw you agree to be bound by these terms and conditions, the competition rules at: http://www.futureplc.com/competition-rules/, collection of personal data in accordance with Future's privacy policy at: https://www.futureplc.com/privacy-policy/. and collection of personal data in accordance with Nacon’s privacy policy at: https://corporate.nacongaming.com/en/privacy-policy/

• Two new Sony digital audio players have gone on sale
• Both are expensive, with a range of features
• People are more excited for a teased Walkman headphone launch

Despite beginning as a range of cassette and CD players over four decade ago, Sony's Walkman line is still going strong, though nowadays they've ditched the physical media in favor of digital hi-res music. Two new Walkman devices make that point exceedingly clear.

These are the NW-WM1AM3 and NW-WM1ZM3, which were announced in mid-October ahead of a November on-sale date (in most regions, at least, but in the US they're due in January). Checking Sony's website, the AM3 is due to sell from November 27, or Black Friday, while the ZM3 is already sold out. Clearly the Walkman's return is proving popular.

That sold-out model is the priciest of the two, selling for $5,899 / £4,299 / AU$6,499. The real appeal of the NW-WM1ZM3 is in the build, using materials such as oxygen-free copper for top conduction, gold-plated screws and wiring done by a brand called Kimber Kable which focuses on the cabling in audio products. Otherwise, it sounds pretty similar to the $2999 / £2,099 / AU$3,999 NW-WM1AM3.

Both are digital audio players with 5.5-inch screens, 35-hour listening, Wi-Fi or onboard music listening, use the Sony DSD Remastering Engine to upscale PCM audio, and have dual headphone jacks. They have 256GB on-board storage, as well as the ability to expand that with an SD card.

So they both sound like premium digital audio players for people who value high-quality music. Yet they've been totally overshadowed by another Walkman product which isn't even out yet.

Meet the mystery retro Walkman accessory

On social media, Sony has begun teasing a brand-new Walkman device, due to be unveiled on November 5 (tomorrow, at the time of writing):

People are pretty confident about what this is, largely because you can see the outline, and the color scheme harks back to them. It's looking like these will be a new pair of Walkman headphones, like the classic MDR-3 which came alongside the first-generation TPS-L2 Sony Walkman in 1979.

Wired audio's making a comeback, as is retro audio tech, and clearly Sony's leaning on the nostalgia angle here. Presumably, it's set to unveil some new on-ear headphones, but we'll find out more tomorrow.

The real question to me is whether Sony's about to re-vamp the MDR-3, or if it's about to re-vamp the MDR-3 and release some other Walkman products. We're constantly seeing new cassette players and CD players, because of the aforementioned retro audio tech boom, and it wouldn't be surprising if Sony were to release such options too.

After all, Walkman remains the most recognized name in portable audio playing, so if any brand wanted to capitalize on this new trend, Sony would be the one best placed to do so.

We'll see what Sony unveils tomorrow, but whatever it is, it's already overshadowed the WM1AM3 and WM1ZM3.

When I moved to Utah as a student a decade ago, I was alarmed to be handed a survival pack upon reaching my dorm. These were supplies to help me, should 'The Big One' strike. This cataclysmic confluence of earthquakes and tsunamis across the San Andreas fault was, I was told, long overdue, and could plunge half of the country into a Fallout-like situationship for a little while.

Well, now I'm back living in the UK, and apparently the apocalypse is coming for us here too: the government in Blighty has told us to stock up on tinned beans and survival supplies, and has even put out an emergency checklist of kit we should have prepared.

Among the obvious items on the list (tinned food to last three days; three liters of bottled water per person for each day we're stuck; blankets), the government advises you to own an FM radio, ideally a battery-powered or wind-up (see also: hand-crank) one. And retailers are reporting that many such models are selling out.

For people confused about this: an FM radio is an old gadget from before Spotify and podcasts existed, which lets you tune into broadcasts put out by various companies (you could choose between dry BBC talk shows or countless playlists of awful music, punctuated by the most annoying ads).

I guess the government thinks people will start listening to the radio again if a 28 Days Later situation does arise; maybe they'll give you important broadcasts on the news, a droll hour-long report on a book from 50 years ago, or the same three pop songs on repeat.

Either way, you're going to need a wind-up radio so you're not dependent on mains power, so here are three options worth going for.

Philips TAR1609/00

The web is full of cheap Amazon wind-up radios that look like they'd break after three uses, so I've tried to keep it to known companies on this list. Case in point: Philips has its own model, and at £29.99 it's pretty cheap too. You can find it on Argos' website here.

The catchily-named Philips TAR1609/00 has 32 hours of listening, and charges via a USB-C port, a solar panel or, of course, a hand crank. It functions as a power bank, with a USB-A plug to connect devices (a capacity isn't stated though), and also has a giant built-in torch and SOS alarm system.

To me, it looks like a giant camcorder. But if the future presents challenging times, a retro aesthetic might be of some comfort…

Mesqool DAB+/DAB/FM Wind Up Radio with 12000mAh Rechargeable Battery

Immediately after saying I'm not going to recommend some cheap option from a random brand, I'm doing just that... sort of. The Mesqool radio (which you can find on Amazon here) may not be from a known brand, but it's not cheap either (the MSRP is $59 / £56, but it's about 10% off at the time of writing).

I'm picking this one because it's a contrast to the other options in that it's big. This isn't as much a hand-held option as the others, but something a bit chunkier.

This is useful: it means its hand crank is bigger, its solar panel is bigger and its battery capacity is larger (12,000mAh, as much as a mid-sized power bank). It even has space for a little screen.

It has Bluetooth, as well as both a torch and a smaller reading light. As well as solar or kinetic energy, it can be plugged in to power or uses AAA batteries. It's more of an industrial-sized option for if you've got a larger family sheltering from the storm together.

Midland ER100 (or slightly pricier ER310)

For my third suggestion, I did some research via online prepper communities and stores: the Midland ER100 was recommended quite frequently. It's looking a little bit hard to buy, likely because of the current rush on demand, but its UK Amazon listing is here for when stock returns. It seems to sell generally for £50, so ignore the current third-party stores on Amazon pushing it for £100.

In the US? The Midland ER40 is available, for $59.

Like the other options mentioned on this list, the Midland has a hand-crank as well as a small solar strip, and you can charge up your own device with it too. Of course it plays radio, with some simple buttons making it easier to manage than the other options.

The appeal of the Midland ER100 seems to be the brand: it's a known name in the survival equipment field, so you can rely on the Midland better than any old gadget made by a cheapie manufacturer.

I'll also add a link to the slightly larger and more feature-packed ER310 — again, slightly bigger and powerful, but also a little pricier. Now, stay safe out there!

• Spotify's AI remixing tool is tipped to arrive early in 2027
• Premium users may have to pay $4–$5 extra for it
• Reaction from potential users has been lukewarm

Back in August, Spotify announced plans to introduce new AI-powered features to let users create custom covers and remixes of their songs, and a new rumor suggests the feature may arrive in February — at the cost of a $4–$5 surcharge on top of existing Premium subscriptions.

That's according to the Financial Times (via Android Authority), which reports that "people familiar" with the plans reckon a launch could be scheduled to coincide with the Grammys — the music awards show is on Sunday, February 7 — or could happen on some other date within the first quarter of 2027.

Spotify is apparently still trying to get artists and labels to embrace the technology, which would (for example) let you turn a dance track in your library into a country ballad, or have one of your favorite artists cover a song recorded by a different singer or band.

It's worth bearing in mind that these details are still to be confirmed, as, per the FT, the timing and pricing have not been finalized, though we know from what Spotify has already said that it's keen to push this new feature out.

Winning over artists and fans

The plan seems to be to reward artists who let Spotify use their music for AI purposes, and one analyst quoted by the FT estimates that 7–8% of US Premium subscribers (of whom there are thought to be around 75 million) would pay the extra few dollars for the feature.

"Winning over major contemporary stars has proved more challenging than securing participation from some established older artists," says the FT — with Olivia Rodrigo mentioned as one of the artists who have previously taken a public anti-AI stance.

If the Reddit boards are any indication of feeling, there's not much of an appetite for these new AI tools among users either. One thread responding to the FT report is filled with negative comments and recommendations for alternative music streaming services.

"Who wants this?" is indicative of the comments, while the words "gross" and "horrible" are also thrown around. Spotify doesn't, of course, have to convince all of its users to adopt the AI add-on to make it profitable; but as this report suggests, getting artists on board might be the bigger issue.

Imagine the scene. You're in the park with your family, you're running to catch up with them, and your earbud case falls out of your pocket, scattering your earbuds. You find one but the other has vanished and all you can see is gravel. Who ya gonna call?

For Just-a-fungi893 on Reddit, the answer is: ChatGPT.

"I spent a solid 10 minutes searching, knowing there's basically no way I'm going to find a tiny white earbud in a sea of white gravel, especially with the sun setting," they explained. "I use ChatGPT for A LOT of stuff, and it suddenly dawned on me to ask it for help instead of pointlessly scanning the area myself."

Five minutes later, earbud and owner were reunited, with ChatGPT steering him towards the exact point in the relevant photo. It's not because ChatGPT has magic powers, but because LLMs are really good at spotting tiny things in big pictures: earbuds in gravel, needles in haystacks, indicators of tumors in X-rays. It's all pattern recognition.

It's time to embrace our AI overlords vs no, it isn't

As fun as the story is — I'd never have thought of taking a photo and feeding it to a chatbot; it's smart thinking — one of the other comments on the Reddit thread made me laugh: Mindless-Apricot-236 responded that they once lost a screw outdoors, uploaded a picture to ChatGPT and "asked the oracle to help me find it. It said it found it. Showed me the picture... It just modified the original picture and put a random screw on it lol"

Other commenters had suggestions that didn't involve AI at all, such as 4-jr1's "how about next time you just open Spotify and listen for the one rock among hundreds that sings out loud" — although that wouldn't work if the headphones weren't on and paired; I have Bose QuietComfort earbuds and they don't turn on until they're in my ears — and SpehlingAirer's "When this kinda thing happens to me I turn on my phone's flashlight and bring it low to the ground pointing almost horizontally. The way the light reflects off the common background (gravel, carpet, grass, etc) and the way it reflects off the glossy plastic are often different enough to help spot it quickly."

And of course many of the best earbuds have some variation of Find My, enabling you to locate them from your phone. But it's nice to know that all those years we've been identifying bicycles, stairs and traffic lights in website CAPTCHAs has paid off: computer vision has become really incredible.

As to whether it's reliable, I'll just leave this, by AnalogAngeleno, here: "I tried something similar at a used bookstore. Took a photo of the shelve and asked it to help look for books since they were not in any kind of order. Unfortunately it started making up books that were not even there."

Still, you'll get different results depending on the type of task and the model you're using — evidently, this one worked well enough, and seems like a good tip to keep in mind for your own earbud emergency.

• iFi unveils the UP Travel Max
• It's a Bluetooth adaptor for audio systems that rely on 3.5mm jacks
• Can be used on flights, in cars, and on your ancient iPods

I'm always struck by how odd it is that airlines seem comfortable to let modern tech trends fly straight by.

Only last year, I was given a pair of antique cheap wired earbuds for an in-flight entertainment system, and there's no way of using your own premium Bluetooth headphones instead — that is, unless you own one of a very select set of headphones or earbuds. Models such as the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8, Jabra Elite 10 Gen 2 or LG Tone Free T90S offer a case retransmission function to ping audio to your preferred listening gear wirelessly, from connected analog or digital sources.

But what if you don't want to buy new headphones for better flights? The other option is to buy a Bluetooth adaptor like iFi's new option. It is called the UP Travel Max, and it's up for preorder now for $129 / £129 (roughly AU$260, but iFi's Aussie website doesn't list a price), before going on sale at the end of November.

This device, like the Twelve South AirFly View which arrived only a day prior, is designed to be plugged into a 3.5mm jack. You then pair it to your Bluetooth headphones or earbuds (or speaker, if you're a maverick), letting you connect your wireless option into the wired medium.

The iFi has a 10-hour battery life, supports LDAC and aptX Lossless playback and has a built-in DAC, borrowed from other iFi devices. That's why it's a little pricier than more basic options: you don't just get the function, you want clean audio too.

Audio comes, audio goes

The iFi UP Travel Max is a little different from some other Bluetooth adapter dongles, because it receives or transmits, depending on which mode you put it in.

Plug it into a flight console, and it can transmit from the screen to your headphones. But connect it to your personal vehicle's stereo, and it can receive from your smartphone, to use the big speakers while you're on the go. A button on the device lets you flick between the two.

Using transmit mode, you can also connect wireless headphones to older gadgets, like your classic iPod (which just celebrated its 25th birthday) to avoid using whatever wired headphones you have lying about to enjoy your old-school tunes.

I'm sure there are plenty of other niche use cases that could benefit from the iFi UP Travel Max too; my PC doesn't have a Bluetooth module so I'd be able to use it to pair wireless headphones, for example. The world is your oyster... or you could just use it on flights, to avoid those awful, highly breakable standard-issue buds.

• Samsung unveils its first open-ear buds
• Galaxy Buds On feature twin drivers for open adaptive listening
• 9.5 hours of battery life

Staying connected to the real world is the hot new thing, or so it seems if you've been paying attention to the parade of new clip-on (or cuff-style) open earbuds arriving from Sony, Anker, and Bose, to name a few. The solution is so good when done well that you'll regularly see these buds occupying a healthy chunk of our best open earbuds buying guide. And now Samsung is joining the trend with its first pair: Galaxy Buds Open.

Unlike over-the-ear headphones or in-ear buds, open-ear options must deliver quality sound without the benefit of an audio seal betwixt your ear canal and the buds' driver housings, and all while not making you feel like you're wearing too-heavy ear cuffs (each earpiece here weighs 6.65g). As a Samsung exec told us, "Designing these buds is a complex challenge because of the unique anatomy of ears and the difficulty to find the perfect balance between a secure fit and a comfortable fit."

Part of that is acknowledging that every ear is different. Samsung told us it used AI and "analyzed 119 million ear data points to find the optimal fit for the widest range of users possible." Engineers used that information to optimize the components, including wire length, weight, bridge length, battery, speaker placement, and to select an alloy that flexes for the clip-on components but also stays secure. Samsung claims you could almost forget you're wearing them.

The sound of things

Samsung sounds confident in the fit, but it also had to do some fairly complex audio engineering to make these open earbuds capable of delivering high-quality audio that doesn't leak out to the person next to you.

One of the most interesting aspects of this audio design is the TwinBoost drivers that can be used to both enhance the open-ear audio quality and cut down on audio leakage. The way it works is the open earbuds project "matching reverse soundwaves" from the rear of the speaker, which could cancel out some of the escaping audio. It's a claim we obviously can't confirm until we test the Galaxy Buds On. This is essentially like active noise cancellation, which these buds lack, but instead of the buds creating antiphase sound waves to counteract the noise leaking into your ears, it uses counteracting sounds to cut down on noise leaking from the speakers near your ears.

Galaxy Buds On can't seal you off from outside sounds; in fact, they're designed not to, but they can help keep your calls clear. To manage call quality, the earbuds include three mics and a "voice pickup unit". Samsung claims the Galaxy Buds On capture your voice through the mics and even "jaw movement" to help isolate your voice from other external noises. For those sounds that are not blocked by these audio features, Samsung added some machine learning to automatically cancel out recognized noises such as car horns and construction work.

The buds also support head gestures for accepting and rejecting calls, Gemini access, and Quick Voice Memos. More impressively, Samsung is rating the Galaxy Buds On for 9.5 hours of audio playback and, with the charge case, a total of 38 hours of battery life. Battery life with calls is 5.5 hours and 25 hours with the charging cradle.

Galaxy Buds On, which are only available in black, list for $229 (AU and UK pricing were unavailable at the time of writing) and in early November. That price puts them a touch cheaper than the excellent (and also noise-reducing) Shokz Openfit Pro, at $249, and makes them quite a bit more affordable than Bose Ultra Open ($299).

We'll have more to say about the actual fit, audio quality, external noise cancellation, and battery life when we get a chance to test out the new Galaxy Buds On. But things are looking good on paper.

Correction 10-28-2026: An earlier version of this story mistakenly called the new Samsung earbuds "Galaxy Buds Open". The formal name is "Samsung Galaxy Buds On".

• Samsung Galaxy Buds On cost $229, on sale November
• European price unconfirmed, will hit shelves some time in 2027
• That asking fee makes them some of the priciest new open earbuds

One of the biggest draws of the best open earbuds is that they're pretty inexpensive. The lack of ANC, fancy ear tips and oodles of in-ear-exclusive features means that the go-to picks generally cost no more than the best cheap earbuds.

Samsung disagrees. It unveiled its first open earbuds, called the Galaxy Buds On, at the start of the month, but only for the Korean market. However, the company has now revealed worldwide availability (while telling us about how its engineers made them), and there are some pieces of disappointing news.

Firstly, if you're in Europe, put your excitement on the backburner. The buds will only launch there (including, presumably, the UK) in 2027, so you can't arrange to try these any time soon. No world on an Australian release either.

If you live in the US, you can buy the earbuds from early November, so you won't have long to wait. But you might want to think about them for now, until the price drops (possibly during a key sales event?), because they cost a princely $229, which is about £170 or AU$340, but I imagine they'll cost a little more in those regions upon launch.

The price of open earbuds

The Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro launched for $249 / £219 / AU$399 at the beginning of the year, which might make these open earbuds look like a budget alternative. But given how cheap and cheerful these buds tend to be, $229 is a significant sum.

To my knowledge, there are only two pairs of current open earbuds which cost more: the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds (2nd Gen), released in September for $299 / £299 / $449 and the Shokz Openfit Pro, which arrived in January toting ANC-like noise reduction, for $249.95 / £219 / AU$399. Bose clearly knows they're expensive, which is why it launched them alongside a cheaper alternative — and the Shokz set boast a feature very rarely seen in such designs.

Other than the Sony LinkBuds Clip, which sell for $229 / £180 / AU$329 (and which we weren't impressed with in our initial tests), I can't think of any open earbuds I've tested recently that come close to this in price.

Anything over $200 or thereabouts is a premium price for open earbuds, and I wouldn't blame you for thinking twice before buying them. Even Shokz, another segment leader, only charges $199 / £179 / AU$339 for its also-premium Shokz OpenDots 2.

And there are some fantastic options for less. The Soundcore AeroClip 2 , from a reliable brand, go for $169 / £159 (about AU$240). I've been using the Baseus Bowie MC2 for a few months, ever since publishing my review in August, and they cost just $79 / £89 (about AU$180). And other brands have loads of options too, like Soundpeats and Earfun, which also cost little.

As I said when I covered in influx of open-ears earlier this week, there isn't a huge difference in design, feature set or sound quality in any of these earbuds, which makes it really hard to justify splurging for a premium pair. You can get basically the same earbuds as the Galaxy Buds On for half the price, and I'd personally never spend more than about $120 on this kind of earbud.

Because of this, I was expecting the Galaxy Buds On to sell for less than the Galaxy Buds 4 ($179 / £159 / AU$299), and I'm really surprised that's not the case. If you're interested in this form factor, I'd recommend picking up a cheaper pair from a competitor, or waiting to see if they get discounts further down the line.

• Musical Fidelity launches the B1xcd compact disc player
• Offers audiophile-level audio and some handy features
• It's not cheap, but it costs less than certain alternatives

Physical media is officially back; just look to the fact that we're covering new turntables, cassette players and CD players every week. And sometimes there are options that marry all three, then allow you to put it all vertically on your wall. OK, most of the new propositions are affordable and often portable, but high-end SACD-spinning kit is coming back too.

Just look to the new Musical Fidelity B1xcd as further proof; it's been unveiled ahead of a release "from October 2026" (so any time now, then). It's a standing CD player designed to be used as part of a hi-fi set-up in your home, not carried around for music on the go.

Musical Fidelity is pitching this as an affordable option with "an incredibly attractive price". You might raise your eyebrows to learn that its MSRP is €599 (about $670, £500, AU$1,000), but that's actually affordable compared to many similar picks on the market right now. And for reference elsewhere, the recently-launched Oppo A7 Pro Max smartphone carries the same asking fee, and that is very much billed as a budget handset. Kind of puts things into perspective, no?

Last year we tested a Rotel Michi option which costs ten times the Musical Fidelity B1xcd's price, and last week we covered a new SACD player which goes for a hundred times the cost, so you can see how this might still be considered affordable in the CD-spinning space. Saying that, FiiO launched an option in September which is much cheaper and can also rip your discs.

But do you get that (Musical) Fidelity?

So what do you get for your money? The Musical Fidelity B1xcd is a large-body device with a metal chassis, LCD screen for track information, and aluminum control icons. The unit weighs 5.8kg, so it's not light.

The machine has a built-in ESS DAC designed for audio CDs, with Red Book CDs supported by the device. Red Book is the original CD format specification, created in 1980, so clearly the B1xcd is designed for the old-school discs you find in thrift stores. It also remains the go-to standard for audio discs.

The player has both analogue and digital outputs, so you can connect it to the rest of your hi-fi set-up; there's an RCA, coax and optical output.

Many of the new CD players we've seen so far are portable CD players like this Shanling option. But if you'd rather something to use at home, then the Musical Fidelity release is an interesting, and comparatively affordable, option.

• Samsung Galaxy Buds On go on sale, in Asia
• OnePlus Buds Clip are revealed, but you can't buy them either
• The clipping-bud market is getting overwhelming

If you've been idly browsing our best open earbuds guide, you might find your job getting a little more tricksy with each passing day. Why? Because it feels like more clip-on open earbuds are launching than there are days in the week. Case in point, two new options are here... sort of.

First up is the Samsung Galaxy Buds On, which we covered the launch of, at the start of the month. These are Samsung's debut open-ears, and they're finally going on sale on Tuesday 27th October... in Korea, at least. We're still waiting on global availability, but apparently some European websites have listed the buds (and have since had said listings quickly removed), which makes it sound like a worldwide roll-out is on the near horizon.

What about a brand new pair? The OnePlus Buds Clip have also been unveiled, and they sound like something I'd love to test. They have dual drivers, sound leakage prevention, an above-average battery life and automatic left-right detection so you can clip either bud on either ear and get the right music.

The catch? OnePlus retreated from the US and UK earlier this year. While the buds will sell in Asia, Europe and several other regions, you or I won't be able to buy them. And despite a market that continually makes me ask, 'How many is too many open earbuds?' that's a shame.

You have plenty of other options though, as I mentioned above; the clip-style open earbuds market is absolutely saturated at the moment. In fact, buying a new pair is pretty overwhelming.

Don't get c-lippy with me

According to sales figures, open earbuds are massive right now, and I get it. They're comfortable to wear, don't block out the world around you, have great battery lives (thanks to the typical lack of ANC), often cost less than alike standard in-ear buds, and don't sound all that bad any more.

This all explains why there are so many open earbuds on the market right now; in fact, most brands have multiple options. Bose recently unveiled two options. Shokz sells the OpenDots Air alongside its premium model. Soundcore recently shook up its range with two near-identical options. Many more entry-level audio companies such as Soundpeats, Baseus and Earfun have even more.

Competition is good, but to a point. Case in point: open earbuds don't have the scope for variety that, say, in-ear buds do, and 99% of the pairs I test feel largely the same. They fit the same, sound the same and work the same.

So it makes it harder for new buyers to know which pair they should be picking up, and I imagine many people are put off by the deluge. The frequency of releases also means it's easy to lose faith in your choice; a new option will be on shelves before you know it.

Want my advice? Cut out the noise and just buy from a brand you trust at a price that fits your budget (or use our suggestions below if you need pointers).

• Écoute unveil improved TH2 headphones
• Use valve pre-amps for analog sound
• They're not cheap!

British audio brand Écoute — no, not French, despite the name — wowed us in January 2025 by sticking valve amps into headphones for a classy hi-fi appeal. And now it's done it again, but apparently better.

The Écoute TH2 promise improved noise cancellation, a more comfortable fit, design tweaks to reduce chances of microphonic interference in the valves — and, most importantly, improved sound quality. The brand hasn't changed the make-up of its cans, just made some adjustments and improvements.

The new cans use a redesigned resonance chamber to improve bass and reinforced shielding to avoid the interference with the analog valve design.

Getting tubular

Despite being an older form of tech, valve amps are beloved amongst audiophiles because they're an analog form of amplification, giving a warm and natural sound while offering loads of the perks of digital amplifiers. We've covered it before: valve amps sound better thanks to physics.

On most hi-fi pieces of kit, valves are large and fragile, but Écoute uses the smaller and lighter NuTube 6P1, so the tubes don't shatter as soon as you sneeze, and don't weigh too much.

The Écoute TH2 connects via Bluetooth 5.3, USB-C and, of course, 3.5mm, and they even work with external amplifiers if you'd rather not use the tech you're paying for.

Another perk is that you can change the EQ and it applies to the DSP, instead of overlaying a blanket change, giving you the ability to make more nuanced changes to your sound.

The catch? These aren't showing up on our list of the best cheap headphones any time soon. They sell for $999 / £999 / AU$1,446, and that's for the fabric band. Getting the leather option costs even more (£1,099 in the UK, and I can't find pricing elsewhere just yet) and both go on sale in November.

If you're a fan of the first-gen iPod, or if you're too young to have experienced Apple's OG music player and want to know what the fuss was all about, you're going to love what Apple's hidden on its Apple Music website: a fully working iPod.

The iPod lives on Apple Music's "page not found" page, and you can control it with your mouse, trackpad or touchscreen to recapture the magic of the music player that changed everything.

The library is absolutely massive so I haven't been able to test every tune, but every random selection played the appropriate song (albeit for just over a minute rather than the full track).

It's a great way to market Apple Music, but it's also a great reminder of how brilliant Apple's original portable player was.

The iPod changed everything

It's 25 years since the original iPod launched, and everything is different. We rarely rip, mix and burn, and the 1,000 song limit seems impossibly small compared to Apple Music's instant access to 100 million songs. But playing with the virtual iPod has made me smile, because it's reminding me of how excited I was by Apple's game-changing device and its successors.

I think it's really hard to overstate how much Apple changed the way we listen to music. I wrote about it earlier this year, saying I wish we'd stuck with iPods: "what Apple did was what Apple does so well. It learned from other people's mistakes and then marketed its own products perfectly. 1,000 songs in your pocket."

I've owned pretty much every iPod: 3G, 4G, Nano, Shuffle, Mini, Video, Classic… and I miss their style and simplicity. I've seen people make Walkman emulators for the iPhone Duo; I think that screen would be perfect for an iPod, so I'd love to Apple to make a secret option in the Music app to browse your library with this virtual iPod.

And standalone music players are on the rise in popularity — Apple might not bring the iPod back, but there are several new devices that feel inspired by the old Nano and Shuffle designs, and more recently one that looks like a cross between the Classic and a Zune. My colleague Matt Bolton, meanwhile, is convinced that it's time for Apple to bring the Shuffle back in a wireless form.

• Grado's new S150 are the most affordable in the Signature Series
• Newly developed 44mm S driver derived from the firm's higher-end S950
• $295 / £295 (which is around AU$420, taking the US figure as a guide)

Regular readers (and anyone who adores audiophile-grade open-back wired headphones) will likely remember our largely glowing review of the Grado Signature S750.

But, at $1,695 / £1,695 (about AU$3,400), it's fair to say those Signature Series cans are aimed at a very… specific type of buyer. However, the new S150 — billed as the "most accessible entry point into Grado's expanding and award-winning Signature Line" — will set you back less than one fifth of that asking fee.

And Grado assures us that you're still getting the Grado goods. It's all thanks to the S150's newly developed 44mm S driver, which is derived from the family-run firm's much higher-end HP100 SE (yours for a cool $2,495 / £2,795, or in the region of AU$4,230) and Signature S950 headphones (which go for $2,195 / £2,495 or about AU$4,900. And do remember that your audio-curious ears deserve the best your budget can stretch to).

I love Grado's aesthetic, but this toned-down set might have even broader appeal

Let's get into the slight style change, shall we? Grado calls the earpieces an "all-new single-piece housing design", noting the "modernized Grado styling with unmistakable identity". I say — and I think a lot of people might agree — I really like it. They're just slightly less brutalist than what we're used to aesthetically from Grado; see the high-end Hemp or the more affordable SR80x for further reference.

The new driver (they're still open-back headphones; this is Grado we're talking about) incorporates a paper-composite diaphragm, based on the technology found in the larger 52mm S drivers from the HP100 SE and S950. So you're getting a smaller 44mm driver unit, but it uses the same tech that makes much pricier cans great. And I think it shows that Grado’s committed to distilling its expertise down to more accessible levels.

Also, despite that more palatable price point of $295 / £295 or equivalent, you still get the detachable Signature Bronze cables (a standard perk within Grado's Signature Series) plus what Grado calls a "comfortably padded leather headband" for those long critical listening sessions.

The S150 features 3.5mm connections at each ear cup, and the included cable terminates in a 3.5mm plug at the source end, but is supplied with a 6.3mm adapter to provide compatibility with a wide range of the best portable audio players, headphone amplifiers, and assorted home audio kit.

Grado also tells us that the S150 can also be ordered with alternative cable terminations should you prefer, allowing listeners to select the connection that best suits their system.

Do I want to test them? Oh, you betcha I do. Watch this space…