• Kanto Audio launches Obi3 Gen 2 turntable
• Follows on from October 2025 previous model
• Has speed sensor, user-friendly manual arm, automatic size sensing

Canadian hi-fi brand Kanto Audio has just unveiled a second-gen model of a turntable it originally unveiled in October 2025; now the Obi3 Gen 2 is here, and it's another low-cost record player with a few considerations for novice vinyl owners.

Selling for $249.99 / £179.99 (about AU$360), the Obi3 Gen 2 undercuts our favorite budget turntable: the Sony PS-LX310BT, at least in the US (it matches elsewhere). And given that the rest of our best turntables recommendations cost much more, it's clearly a great pick for first-time buyers who want an affordable deck.

Looking at the Obi3 Gen 2, you can see why. It's fairly small, taking up a 43.2 x 36cm footprint, without unnecessary extra bells and whistles to hog space. Unless you're moving house and can set up your turntable first, hi-fi space can be a privilege, and so smaller units are great for people who haven't already earmarked shelf space for the device.

But I've tested a few budget turntables in my day, and there are a few other useful tools on the Kanto which should appeal to the newcomer and veteran alike...

Get into the groove

The Kanto Audio Obi3 Gen 2 has a built-in speed sensor, which monitors how fast the turntable platter is rotating and makes adjustments if the motor is running too fast or slow. It means you won't have your music accidentally changing pitch if the motor plays up. This also doubles as a speed selector, so you don't need to flick a dial or press a button if you switch between 33 1/3 or 45 RPM records.

Unlike most other budget turntables I've used, the Kanto is a manual turntable, so you don't have to rely on simply pressing a 'play' button to get your music running. However the arm has an adjustable counterweight, anti-skate design and reference marks, so you can experiment with the complexities of manual without it being too complicated.

The stylus is an Audio-Technica AT3600L, which is pretty common for this kind of record player, and it has auto-stop technology for when your record is over.

The Kanto connects wirelessly via Bluetooth 5.3, or cabled using RCA. The company, of course, recommends using its own speakers (like the 5-star Kanto Ren, for example?) the Obi3 Gen 2 will connect to a range of devices.

You can buy the Obi3 Gen 2 in black, white, green, ice blue or walnut models, the second and third of which you can see pictured. Kanto is also selling it alongside a range of accessory kits like the TT-GKIT, a gel cleaning kit for your record and stylus, and the TT-SB, a cleaning brush for the same kit.

• No sign of Pixel Buds Pro 3 at Google's recent unveiling event
• Some new upgrades have come to existing buds
• …As well as a new Pixel Buds Pro 2 colorway

At the recent August Pixel 11 unveiling event, we saw some new folding (and unfolding) phones, an updated smartwatch and even a location tracker, but one member of the Pixel family who wasn't invited was the Google Pixel Pro 3.

Despite the Google Pixel Pro 2 being practically two years old now, and the cheaper Pixel Buds 2a being nearly a year old, the brand is not updating its earbud line-up just yet.

Given that the company isn't known for its Samsung- or Apple-style sporadic launches, (Google has typically updated with greater regularity, with true wireless earbuds landing in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024 and 2025, most recently with the Buds 2a) that could point to an August 2027 release date for new Pro Buds.

Maybe Google wants to keep its buds in the oven a little longer this time, given that we've historically not given them glowing reviews to date. If the company was truly fixated on major updates for its phones, it probably wouldn't have released new smartphones in which the only major update is a notification LED, a feature that while nice to have, is something many a rival phone was able to boast 10 years ago.

Technically, one new pair of Google earbuds did arrive at the August 12 event: Pixel Pro 2 now come in an olive green colorway, which is on sale now. But perhaps more interesting is that some new features are coming to the Pro 2 and 2a from September.

New Pixel Buds features: the lowdown

None of the new Google Pixel Buds features are groundbreaking — or would cause those review scores to shift — but they might be useful for existing owners. Admittedly, they won't have me dusting off my Buds 2a, but they're worth reporting.

Firstly, you can now use the Gemini chatbot to change audio settings. Whether it's quicker to say "Hey Google, turn the volume up" or just turn the volume up yourself, is up to you. This also works for frequencies in the mix (think, "Hey Google, turn the bass up").

Secondly, the live translation mode can now be triggered by tapping your earbud, and the Pixel Buds will automatically hear and translate for you (the upgrade being that you no longer need to use your phone to do this).

You need a Pixel phone for that tool — and for this next one, a Pixel Watch is needed. If you go to sleep listening to music, your Google-made smartwatch will recognize this, and pause your tunes. It'll also turn off the Buds' touch controls and silence notifications, so you won't be woken by a late-night WhatsApp message, say.

There's one more feature, which sounds like the most interesting, but it's only for the Google Pixel Buds Pro 2. It's called Dynamic ANC, and it'll change noise cancellation based on the fit of your earbud. In practice, this means if the buds wiggle around in your ear and affect the tip seal, the Pro 2 will compensate for resulting changes in sound.

Look, it's a welcome new feature within Google's current Pro Buds, even if the cynical among us might suggest Google could've achieved the same end result by releasing new earbuds with an emphasis on fit…

• Sonos Ace Ultra spotted in FCC listings...
• ... and leaks, and rumors, and more
• Upcoming launch sounds imminent for the second-generation over-ears

It's been two years since the release of the Sonos Ace, the inuagural premium over-ear headphones from the well-known wireless multi-room audio pioneer. And it sounds like a new follow-up pair are on the way... with a linguistic upgrade in stock.

We know a Sonos launch event is happening in September, and now, FCC listings point to a new pair of wireless headphones. It doesn't take a genius to put two and two together to deduce that Sonos' second stab at wireless cans are the product cleared for launch?

And if that wasn't obvious enough, a pair of headphones called the Sonos Ace Ultra have been leaking left, right and center. Winfuture recently published a suite of pictures and details about them, which ensure (if the images prove genuine, of course) there's very little mystery left to uncover.

These images of the headphones look pretty similar to the original Ace, but with bigger ear cups and a slider on the body. In terms of design, then, they still look closer than most to Apple's AirPods Max, albeit with more pill-shaped ear cups.

Ultra by name, ultra by nature?

By all accounts, then, Sonos has some AirPods Max 2 rivals, ready to drop on us at a moment's notice (or competitors to the Sony WH-1000XM6, Bose QuietComfort Ultra 2nd Gen, Dali IO-8, take your pick from one of the many premium headphones out there).

The real question is, what does the 'Ultra' in the name mean? Will these cost even more than the original Ace? Perhaps an advanced multi-driver set-up? Maybe some extra features, as in the Sony 1000X The Collexion? Or, most pertinently here: will they work within Sonos' multi-room ecosystem, for true audio hand-off to and from the grouped Sonos speakers in your home? The original Ace could do this only to your Sonos Arc, via the TV Audio Swap feature, which made many fans disappointed.

So far, the leaks don't really explain what's Ultra about these headphones, so that's something Sonos will have to sell us on when the new headphones arrive.

TechRadar's Audio Editor Becky Scarrott suggests that anything other than proper audio hand-off to the Sonos wireless speaker array in your home would be a misstep for the company. It's something fans really want — and that rival Bowers & Wilkins has been offering for quite some time in its headphones and earbuds, including the Bowers & Wilkins PX8 and five-star Pi8 earbuds. Both are controlled by B&W's Music app, which enables audio hand-off from your buds/cans to your home system when you walk through the door, to any speaker in Bowers & Wilkins’ own Formation range, including the Formation Wedge and newer Zeppelin Pro.

Hopefully, we will see this though; the name suggests that these headphones aren't a sequel to the Sonos Ace (which gained mixed reviews and a four-star review from this publication), but a 'pro' version. And the features will need to match.

For now, watch this space… 

• Samsung unveils hearing test and hearing aid-like features
• Coming to Galaxy Buds 3 Pro and 4 Pro by end of year
• Similar to the existing hearing health suite found in AirPods Pro 2 and 3

Hearing health is becoming an increasingly important earbuds trend — just yesterday I covered ear-friendly IEMs designed to protect your listening — and now (perhaps predictably) Samsung is getting in on the action.

The brand has announced that its new Hearing Aid earbuds feature has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

The "holistic hearing health experience" tool, according to Samsung's missive, comes in two parts. First, there's a five-minute Hearing Test mode which analyzes your hearing to categorize whether you have any hearing loss. It'll label each ear individually as mild, moderate, severe or profound (or, of course, 'normal' if you have no hearing loss).

Part two of the tool is the Hearing Aid mode, which uses the test's learnings to amplify sounds you might otherwise struggle to hear. It can also eliminate certain noises, such as background rumble or low-level voices in a busy bar, using the buds' ANC.

The aim is to let the Galaxy Buds act as medical hearing aids, without requiring a prescription or visiting a health center; the FDA has approved the Hearing Test results as medical-grade.

From bud to bud

Samsung's press release confirms that two of its flagship models will get the feature: the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, and Galaxy Buds 4 Pro. You'll also need a Samsung smartphone running One UI 8 (or later).

Apparently, it'll be coming to the US "and select approved markets" towards the end of the year; "Q4" to be precise, which should be October, November or December.

However, you don't need to wait to use a set of earbuds as hearing aids, because Apple has been offering this tool for nearly two years now, depending on where you reside (it gained approval for its UK release much later, for example). The AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 can carrying out a hearing test and amplify certain sounds around you, just like the Galaxy Buds.

You can even control them from your Apple Watch, MacBook or iPad, or use your hearing aid test results to influence the EQ of your music or videos.

So, Samsung isn't offering anything groundbreakingly new hear, but it's a still a useful feature to have if you're ensconced in a Samsung ecosystem — and it's yet another way in which Samsung's AirPods Pro rivals emulate the world's most popular buds.

• Spotify is introducing AI Persona tags in mid-September
• The platform aims to improve user transparency by differentiating real artists from AI-generated ones
• Spotify only reviews an artist's profile and images, and not the music itself

Spotify has fallen short on the AI transparency front compared to some of the other best music streaming services, with users pining for a fix — and now the platform is taking its biggest step yet towards combatting AI slop.

The streaming giant announced today (August 11) the arrival of new AI Persona tags, which are designed to differentiate human artists from ones that are AI-generated. Spotify says these tags will roll out to mobile in mid-September, and will appear in an artist’s profile banner, ‘About’ section, in Search, and in song rows in playlists.

Once they become available, users can be safe in the knowledge that the artists they’re listening to haven’t been generated by AI. Spotify added that artists with AI Persona tags will be excluded from all personalized recommendations by default, ensuring that your music-discovery regime remains uninfected by slop.

Though AI Persona tags won’t roll out for another month or so, Spotify says artists can already disclose if their profile is AI-generated. If an artist declares this, a tag reading ‘AI Persona’ will appear next to their name. ‘We hope artists will be transparent, so we are giving them the opportunity to disclose,’ the service shared in its announcement — but it’s not putting all its trust into self-disclosure.

Instead, Spotify says it will take matters into its own hands if need be, and will conduct reviews of profiles where it thinks an artist’s images have been created using generative AI to imitate a lifelike persona. If Spotify detects that an artist profile might be AI-generated, it will display a tag that reads ‘Likely AI Persona’, and the artist will be notified and given the option to self-disclose or appeal.

It’s taken Spotify a long time to catch up to the likes of Deezer when it comes to improving its transparency on AI-generated music. Deezer was the first major audio streaming service to roll out tags that explicitly say if a track has been AI-generated, and recently its Head of Research told us why we need AI filters more than ever.

Spotify’s own AI Persona tags mark a big shift for the platform, and will certainly improve the user experience by giving listeners more peace of mind. However, Spotify’s feature comes with an important caveat.

It reviews the profile only, not the music

AI Persona tags are just one of the ways Spotify has been working towards improving transparency for users. Verified by Spotify was launched a few months back — this is a certification feature that shows if an artist is legitimate, but it’s not as watertight as we’d hoped it would be.

Additionally, Spotify’s SongDNA gives listeners a comprehensive overview of the creatives behind their favorite songs, while AI Credits give artists the opportunity to share where and how they’ve used AI in their music production. It’s not as upfront as Deezer’s methods, but the measures are in place nonetheless, and AI Persona tags are the cherry on top.

That said, AI Persona tags target an artist’s public image, not how the music was made, which could present some issues, as it still leaves room for AI-generated music to slip its way onto the platform.

If Spotify detects that an artist is human-presenting, how are we to know that artist won’t upload AI-generated music to their profile? There’s nothing stopping that artist from publishing slop, because Spotify reviews their name, imagery, and public identity, not the music they upload.

It’s a tricky one, because while Spotify has measures in place that evaluate music and artist image respectively, it doesn’t have a comprehensive tool that reviews both components simultaneously, which again isn’t as upfront as Deezer.

As far as AI-generated content in Spotify goes, I’ve been one of the lucky ones who hasn’t encountered this issue. Because my love for physical media and radio impacts what I listen to on Spotify, I suspect that my algorithm has been trained enough to push AI slop out of my recommendations.

I do think that on top of my streaming habits, Spotify’s anti-AI music measures have helped to keep the fence up and block out unwanted songs to a certain extent — I just wish its approach to tagging was a bit more robust.

• New Beats headphones teased during 2026 World Cup...
• ... and Beats has been silent for following two months
• Reddit fans think they'll come some time after iOS 27, in September

It's been two months since the sporting event of the summer began: the 2026 World Cup kicked off on June 11. That means it's also been two months since Beats started teasing its new headphones, putting them onto footballers like Lamine Yamal and Lee Kang-in to drum up some publicity.

"Publicity for what?" you may well be asking, and it's a fair question. Since then, we've heard neither hide nor hair about these cans, even though we infiltrated Beats impressive HQ to see what was going on, last month.

However, if you were hoping for an imminent release, Redditors have some bad news.

In a post on the r/beatsbydre subreddit, which is currently awash with question regarding these headphones, one forum mod has a theory about when they'll come. User jforsander points out that every previous pair of Beats headphones had iOS support added months prior to their release.

Of course, this new pair of headphones hasn't, suggesting that they're still a long time away from an official launch. In fact, the user thinks that we won't even see this software support until September, because that's when iOS 27 will come.

It follows that the headphones will be released a few months later; perhaps even up to six months later. Gulp. Unfortunately, that tracks with what we heard when we visited Beats HQ — or rather, what we didn't hear. Clearly, Beats is in no rush to strike while the iron's hot.

Will we have to wait that long?

It's worth taking this missive with a slight pinch of salt. If there's no existing software support for the Beats headphones, how were those footballers using them? Surely they weren't just decoration — not at such an important sporting event, where the right pre-match playlist would surely be of paramount importance?

The cynics among you might rightly point out that the players weren't ever photographed listening to the headphones, just wearing them around their necks or attached to their bags. And it's also possible that Apple found a temporary solution for their headphones, rather than a full software rollout.

But it still stands to reason that Beats would give them a way to sporting stars who could actually listen to the headphones, and so it's possible that software support exists and online sleuths… missed it?

Something that the Reddit poster points out is that Apple might simply have become better at hiding its updated software support for new Beats devices (Apple, of course, owns Beats). They call it unlikely, but feasible.

If we are waiting past September to hear any more about these new headphones, all the money spent on soccer players might have been wasted; the buzz garnered by the move is already dying down (that is, in most places beyond the r/beatsbydre subreddit). Hopefully Beats will shift into action sooner than that.

• Brand called Saccater lists 'aéra' IEMs on Kickstarter...
• ... and very quickly jumps past funding targets
• Designed to protect your hearing (and they look good too)

About one third of adults in the UK, and a similar number in the US, have some kind of hearing loss (according to RNID and Hearing Health Foundation respectively).

It stands to reason that those little music-playing speakers we place into our ear canals, really rather close to our ear drums (with their ever increasing driver sizes and/or driver counts nestled into the headshells) don't exactly help. But one company is offering something of an alternative.

On Kickstarter, a brand called Saccater has unveiled some new in-ear monitors called aéra. These are audiophile-friendly buds with 9.6mm planar magnetic drivers, silver-plated copper wire and dual-sided concentric coils, but with some added extra considerations to protect your hearing.

That fits with Saccater's other Kickstarter projects; a series of earplugs designed for various everyday tasks. The aéra have already been fully funded on Kickstarter, with HK$210,000 (about $26,000, £19,000, AU$38,000) already pledged out of the modest HK$30,000 (roughly $4,000, £3,000, AU$6,000) goal. Each pair of buds cost HK$860 (about $110, £74, AU$150), and are due to ship in October 2026.

That means the Saccater aéra have hit their goal nearly seven times over, proving there's a big appetite for hearing-friendly earbuds.

Hear, hear(ing health)

You're probably wondering, what does 'hearing-friendly' actually mean in IEMs such as these — because they look just like the IEMs I know and love?

One of the key considerations is weight and design; according to Saccater, you perceive sound worse when your ear is uncomfortable, often prompting people turn turn up the volume higher than they need to. So the aéra use a "zero-pressure fit" and are incredibly light, at just 4g per bud.

Whether or not they actually protect your hearing health, then, they'll be pretty comfortable to wear.

The earbuds also come with a hearing manual to guide you through best practice to avoid damaging your ears, as well as the brand's other earplugs in the box, so you don't use the aéra just to block out noise. This latter is, according to Saccater, another way people unintentionally damage their hearing.

Despite the focus on hearing health, the aéra seem suitable for audiophiles too. They support 24 bit / 96kHz playback, a 20Hz-20kHz frequency response, and come with a range of ear tips to choose between.

They also look pretty simple and beautiful, ditching the shiny or textured designs of most modern IEMs for something understated.

Now, all of these specs and pledges are from Saccater itself, so it's hard to know just how effective the aéra will be. But the early success of the buds goes to show that hearing health is something we're all waking up to.

• Spotify has added a new 'skip ahead' button for all podcasts on the platform, except for Spotify Originals
• It allows you to skip over built-in ads and other promotional content, but does not apply to ads sold by Spotify
• Ad-funded shows could be significantly impacted, now there's concern for the future of podcasts

One of the best parts of having a Spotify Premium membership is the ad-free music streaming experience, however some podcasts still come with ad interruptions — but the platform has quietly rolled out a solution users have been pining for.

Last week users spotted a new ‘Skip ahead’ button that allows listeners to skip through certain parts of a podcast episode more efficiently, including sponsorships, introductions, and any kind of promotional content. This doesn’t apply to ads sold by Spotify, however.

Though Spotify hasn’t formally announced the new tool, it’s been cropping up for more users (including myself) since it was first spotted. We reached out to Spotify, who shared the following statement with us:

“We regularly conduct tests at Spotify — some tests become permanent features, while others help inform future product development. We're exploring ways to make podcast listening and viewing more intuitive for Premium subscribers based on how people use the platform, with the goal of helping listeners spend more time enjoying podcasts. We'll continue to evolve the experience as we learn.”

If you thought that all podcasts in Spotify were ad-free like music playback, you’re mistaken. Basically, when creators record podcast shows they often receive sponsorship from brands which are mentioned throughout an episode, so these podcasts are delivered to Spotify with ads already baked in.

Prior to the rollout of the ‘Skip ahead’ button you could skip through ads by tapping the 15-second skip icon, but this required a lot of guesswork and you're more prone to accidentally skipping further than needed. With Spotify’s new skip function, it skips through promotional messages straight through to the beginning of the next section doing the work for you.

It’s safe to say that many subscribers will be thrilled about the addition of the ‘Skip ahead’ button, because skipping through ads is one of the most-shared pet peeves among podcast listeners. Besides, it’s frustrating to be paying for a ‘Premium’ experience and still having to sit through these segments. It also puts a lot of the control back into the hands of subscribers, but what looks like a mere skip button to users is industry-changing for creators and businesses.

For a large number of ad-funded podcasts, creators and hosts rely on users to listen to promotional messages in episodes in order to generate revenue. Not only is it one of the primary ways for podcasters to make money, it's a tactical way to sneak ads into the Premium experience.

While the tool is a big win for listeners on the one hand, others argue that it opens the door for a huge loss on the other — the more users skip through an episode’s ads, the less money hosts make. And because the ‘Skip ahead’ button appears when a creator promotes premium subscriptions for brands that sponsor them, they miss out on other opportunities for monetization.

In addition to the losses it could pose for podcasters, the hypocrisy of Spotify exempting its own shows and ads from the ‘Skip ahead’ tool has sparked criticism as it could have a serious impact on its competitors and their ad-funded shows.

Max Tani from Semafor dissects in his own coverage, sharing the following: “The new skip button underscores Spotify’s push toward premium subscriptions. It’s prioritizing steady, recurring revenue and cementing a two-tiered advertising system, in which marketing bought directly through Spotify can’t be skipped — while publishers’ own ads can be, devaluing them”.

With these concerns circulating, Spotify clarified to us that its new 'Skip ahead' button won't cause any long-term changes to podcasts and creators alike. The platform told us that its new skip button "has been designed to improve the Premium listener experience while maintaining the integrity of ad delivery".

The platform added that it's been "seeing audiences reinvest the time saved by listening to more content and spending more time with podcasts overall, so [we] don't expect these changes to impact monetization for creators negatively".

Spotify’s new skipping function is still very fresh, but one that's already proven to be quite divisive. It's unclear whether or not the company will device to build on this, but as far as the user experience goes, the tool seems to have improved it slightly.

• Soundpeats announces UU2 clip buds
• Successors to 4-star Clip1
• Sound leakage avoidance, physical buttons, long battery life

Of all the cuff-style earbuds I've tested, the Soundpeats Clip1 are my favorite that cost under $100 / £100 / AU$100 — probably my flatmate's too, given how keen he was to 'inherit' them — and now, a follow-up has been announced.

These are the Soundpeats UU2, which have been on sale in Japan for a few months, but are now available in the US, UK, Australia and several European countries. No, I don't understand the name either, perhaps Soundpeats' execs come from a place where the buds have no name… (But to clarify no, as far as we know, there is absolutely no link with Bono et al).

You can buy the earbuds now for $49.99 / £59.99 (around AU$70) which is a small saving too, when you consider the $69.99 / £74.99 / AU$79.99 asking price of the original Clip1.

However these new buds make a place for our best open-ear buds list with a few premium features, likely inspired by higher-end models on the market.

Who's Gonna Ride Those Wild Earbuds

The Soundpeats UU2 get a 10-hour battery life, and 42-hour case life, both of those being longer than on the Clip1. I don't imagine anyone will be disappointed by that change.

More impressive is the introduction of a sound leak reduction mode, solving a common open-earbud problem in that people around you can hear what you're listening for.

Some earbuds have solutions: the Shokz OpenDots Air have an EQ mode to reduce it, and the Xiaomi OpenWear Stereo Pro had an entire driver to eliminate sound leaking, and I imagine Soundpeat's solution will fall into one of those two categories.

Another pain of clip-style buds is that their touch controls can be pretty sensitive, so the UU2 have physical buttons to control the issue. Budget buds often go for haptic controls, with actual clicky buttons saved for premium models, so I'm somewhat surprised to see the Soundpeats rock them.

A seemingly-unchanged spec from the Clip1 is the driver: 12mm here, so I don't expect a sonic overhaul. The call clarity is said to have seen an increase, though.

We've yet to thoroughly test the Soundpeats UU2, but we've got our hands on them, so we'll soon see if they can outshine the Clip1 — and the ever-growing number of budget cuff-buds out there right now.

• Elite Swiss audio specialist Goldmund launches Telos 9800 amplifier
• Looks like Eve from Wall-E
• Costs $500,000 / £370,000 (around AU$705,000)

You can get Wall-E toys for about $10, but if you want a huge-scale prototype model of Eve (which also plays your music), it'll cost you a little bit more… 

I jest, of course. Swiss home audio company Goldmund has unveiled the Telos 9800, a new amplifier which looks inspired by the Pixar movie — or, to my eyes, one of the robots from Love, Death & Robots' Three Robots episodes.

This amplifier costs $500,00 / £370,000 (about AU$700,000), so it's a lot more expensive than a toy — and let me be clear, this is no toy. It's a serious product for hi-fi enthusiasts-slash-audiophiles and a luxury item, to be sure.

What does Telos mean? According to a brief Wikipedia search (after a brief Google search, in which AI Overview gave me something totally irrelevant), it's a term Aristotle used to refer to the intended end state of a natural creature. Deep.

The power tower

In our case, the Goldmund Telos 9800 is the end state of your home hi-fi set-up, and not just because it'll blow every last penny out of your budget.

It offers a whopping 1,560W of power at 8 ohms, with a built-in transformer (9.7kVA capacity), to avoid frying your hi-fi kit.

As you'll see in the images, there are two stages of the Telos: one is a power supply and the other is the amplifier, connected but not pressed up against each other.

It connects via XLR or RCA, with S/PDIF input and output too.

As you can imagine from the pictures, this thing is pretty huge. It's 1.367 meters tall, with a base of 50 x 50cm. The unit weighs 360kg too, so if you're ordering one, you really do need to factor in shipping and delivery costs.

Ultimately, it's not built for the average home hi-fi set-up. It's built for the "money no object" buyer, and for those of us unburdened by delivery costs. That is not this writer. But one can still dream…

• Bose has just unveiled second-generation QuietComfort Headphones
• Introduces two-way USB-C audio, better ANC, Bose Immersive Audio and more
• Costs less than 2023 model, brings not one but two Shrek-y color options

It's been three long years since the Bose QuietComfort Headphones arrived (which were themselves an update on the iconic Bose QuietComfort 35 II, initially released way back in 2017).

And now, the brand has finally updated the series as its more affordable option to the flagship QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen).

These are, as naming experts can probably guess, called the Bose QuietComfort Headphones (2nd Gen). They bring a range of upgrades over the original pair and, most importantly, a lower price. That's right: 2026, aka the year of price hikes, has just thrown us a bone — although only in the UK.

We know the Bose QC Headphones (2nd Gen) will cost $359 / £299 / AU$549.95. For context, the first-gen model cost $349 / £349.95 / AU$549.95, so the discount in the UK is pretty significant. There is, however, a $10 increase in the US, while in Australian they launch at the same price.

The new headphones will go on sale on August 13, and we'll start testing them soon to see how they stack up in a congested market. The thing is, this aesthetic is highly desirable: when I take public transport I see countless pairs of the older model, despite their relative age.

Anyway, let's look at some key upgrades!

What's new in Gen 2

By the sounds of things, the new Bose cans match their predecessors in terms of audio chops. The older siblings had a 40mm driver, though the company hasn't confirmed what size (and type) of driver the 2nd Gen set are packing.

However, there's now Bose Immersive Audio, a feature previously exclusive to the Ultra lineup, which offers some useful presets. One, which Bose highlights, is a Cinema Mode that aims to create a wide soundstage and boost dialogue.

There's now also support for USB-C wired audio, so you can listen to lossless audio from your phone, and boosts to the ANC. Given that the 'Quiet' part of 'QuietComfort' is a pledge of noise cancellation prowess and the fact that Bose essentially wrote the book on ANC, it's good to hear (or, more appropriately, not hear).

Bose has made a few design tweaks on the QCH(2G) too, with comfier cushions and more ovular earcups. The brand also says the sliders are smoother to use, and presumably that refers to the headband sliders or small Bluetooth slider on the top plate of the right ear cup, because the first-gen model didn't have any kind of on-ear volume slider.

And, because you read it in the headline, there's one more change we should discuss. Beyond black and white color options, three limited-edition models are being unveiled. Rosewood Mauve is a bold purplish option — see our glowing Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) review for reference — while Eucalyptus Green, pictured in the main image, will make you look like you're wearing Shrek ears. The third is Dewdrop Mint, with a two-tone pale and dark green. To my eyes this particular finish looks like the hue a pair of kids' headphones would come in.

I imagine that most people might prefer to pick up the black or white models, but Shrek fans out there might differ.

• A user on Reddit shared a solution to stop AirPods from slipping out of your ears
• They switched to liquid silicone tips instead of Apple's standard silicone ones
• The user claims these have solved the slipping issue, and they fit just as well as foam tips

We’ve tested pretty much all the best earbuds out there, and the AirPods Pro lineup always lands in our list of top models — but keeping them tucked securely in your ears can be a bit of a challenge during activities that involve a lot of movement.

If you find that your AirPods Pro slip out while running, or even walking and chewing, you’re not in the minority. Turns out, there’s a whole community of AirPod users out there who are running into the same issues.

I switched from earbuds to using some of the best headphones a while back, but when I had my old AirPods I endured the same frustrations of having to push them back into my ear every now and then. It’s quite annoying, especially if you use AirPods Pro for exercising — but one user has found a fix.

Liquid silicone is the solution (apparently)

In a post on Reddit (see below), u/LatissimusDorsi26 shared that they decided to ditch their Apple-made ear tips for cheap liquid silicone replacements they bought from Amazon (they said it cost them $5 for 4 pairs in XS, S, M, and L). They said the tips ‘permanently’ solved the problem for them and their AirPods Pro 2.

Yes, AirPods Pro come with silicone ear tips out of the box, but they’re not 'liquid silicone', which is what the author of the Reddit post believes makes the difference, detailing the replacement tips’ "sticky/ tacky finish on their surface which makes them stick to your ear canal".

I know what you might be thinking: won't your AirPods then be too big to fit in the charging case?. I thought that too, but according to the poster, they fit just as perfectly as they would with standard Apple earbud tips, and you won’t need to remove the tips for charging.

Since sharing this, fellow AirPods owners flocked to the replies, and it's sparked a deeper conversation about silicone vs foam tips for earbuds.

Though silicone tips are pretty much the go-to for a lot of earbud brands, and not just Apple — the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro 4 also have silicone tips — a lot of users choose to upgrade to foam replacements from brands such as Comply. There are many reasons for this.

In short, foam tips can provide a grip that’s a lot more snug, and are arguably better for locking in audio and preserving noise cancellation. That said, foam replacements are expensive alternatives and don’t have the same durability as silicone — one user in the replies highlighted that Comply foam tips are the best part of $25 for three pairs, while another said that they still keep slipping out.

That’s not to say silicone tips don’t have their setbacks. By standards, some versions don’t fit quite as tight as foam ones, and transparent ones as shown earlier don’t quite fit the clean-cut aesthetic of the AirPods themselves. But silicone wins on the durability front, and won’t need frequent replacing like foam tips.

Based on this Reddit poster’s hack, it appears that there is a way to solve the pain points on both sides after all. On the one hand the liquid silicone tips stick to the user’s ear canal, providing a secure fit, and are durable and affordable on the other — all from a mere $5 Amazon purchase.

• AI audio giant Suno has launched a vinyl pressing service
• Yes, it is seemingly just for AI tracks generated on its site
• It's eco-friendly, apparently

Among many audiophiles, vinyl records are considered sacred; I concur, which is why my turntable was the first thing I set up when I recently moved home. But that's clearly not the case for everyone.

For me and, I hope, fellow record-lovers, the draw is that vinyl is an undeniably human way of listening to music. By their sheer nature, records are full of everything and with nothing edited out: there are mistakes and imperfections (just as we all have), but the analog result is warm and familiar… and somehow welcoming.

However, in our 'everything-is-AI' modern world, someone somewhere had the tiring thought, "What if AI came to records too?" and so we have this news.

AI 'music'-making service Suno is now encouraging you to press tracks generated using the site onto records, and to buy them for $45.

That's right, you can now sully a perfectly good bit of PVC plastic with 'songs' made by a computer, bringing a hearty dose of cold inhumanity to this all-so-human format.

Apparently, you can only order one record per creation from your Suno library, which can be up to 46 minutes, so this isn't a way of mass-producing AI slop to vinyl (thankfully). And Suno claims the material used for the records is sourced in an "eco friendly" way — a pretty hilarious assertion given how disastrous for the planet AI is proving itself to be generally. It's like chopping down trees with a pre-owned chainsaw.

One for the record

To audiophiles (or how about actual human bands, whose markup on a physical music product is far bigger than in streaming?) Suno's move feels destined to anger.

For me, it devalues a beloved format. It pulls apart the big black disc — with all the human, tangible attributes that makes me revere it — and makes it fake. When talking this piece through with my editor, she said, "I think it is a hideous idea that makes me feel unclean".

If there's any possible silver lining, it's that Suno's vinyl offerings might encourage people who use the site to discover the joys of real records; think older, couldn't-be-AI albums (and if that's you, why not check out our list of the best turntables to listen with, and I'll forgive your AI use if you buy something).

Or perhaps this is the last angry gasp of an AI slop machine? Google Trends data shows that interest in Suno is slowly dropping: as of early August, search is 10% down month-on-month, and over three months its interest is slowly dropping too.

Perhaps this could be fueled by the rebellion against AI music, with a growing number of streaming sites keeping it at bay. Deezer is bringing down the hammer hard, and we recently spoke to Qobuz's managing director about its own stance against slop. Even Spotify is belatedly taking some baby steps.

So is this Suno's victory lap against 'real' music, showing it's so prominent that nothing is sacred? Or is this its attempt to catch up, by adopting a format beloved by audiophiles? It's hard to say. All I know is that no AI slop record is getting anywhere near my turntable.

• Nothing's cheaper CMF arm just launched CMF Clip Pro, its first clip-on buds
• LDAC, new '3-point Clip Design', 10.8mm driver and just 5.9g per bud
• £79 / $99 / AU$179 with no flagship 'Audio Snapshot' or call recording — and I'm glad

Loved Nothing until recently, but now you’re not so sure? If you looked at my recent Nothing Ear (3a) review and thought "Wait, they record calls? Why?" you're not alone.

Thankfully, the firm’s cheaper CMF arm just launched its first-ever clip-style open earbuds with LDAC and the basics — ie., no in-call recording — and they're delightfully chic and affordable. I predict a return to form.

CMF says the Clip Pro (for that is their name) are designed to deliver a listening experience that "feels as natural as it sounds" and that the buds are built for "people who move through busy cities, long workdays and active lifestyles".

Open earbuds of this type are growing rapidly in number, but achieving comfort, the ability to hear your surroundings (to be clear: the 10.8mm driver in each earpiece rests in the well of your outer ear, like an ear cuff), and decent sound quality is one of this category's biggest challenges. With Clip Pro, CMF says it set out to solve these issues.

How? First, it starts with a new 3-point Clip Design, which the company describes as a "carefully balanced three-point support system that distributes pressure naturally across the ear instead of concentrating it in a single area". Lovely stuff.

CMF Clip Pro: what you need to know

The design features an "elastic titanium wire core" with a "slim C-bridge" to fit your shell-like, and at 5.9g per earpiece, a barely-there wearing experience is the goal.

In terms of audio chops, the 10.8 mm dual-magnet dynamic driver in each earbud is aided by CMF's own Ultra Bass Technology, which the company says "intelligently enhances low frequencies while simultaneously reducing treble distortion" for a more engaging experience through those tricky-to-nail-in-this-design lower frequencies.

Clip Pro supports LDAC, for higher-quality wireless streaming. It's not the first time we've seen the better-quality codec supported in Nothing's affordable earbuds, but it's welcome at this entry-level price if you own a Samsung or Sony phone.

Think they'll be a bit hit-and-miss for calls? CMF thought of that too. Clip Pro combines what the company calls its "flagship VPU-powered Clear Voice Technology and a four HD mic system" to separate the wearer's voice from surrounding noise in real time.

For users who value privacy (and I'd say that's all of us), CMF says its Sound Seal system should reduce sound leakage by intelligently managing mid and high frequencies. The goal? Making conversations and music less audible to people nearby.

All of this can be customized in the Nothing X app (a companion app I like very much, having tested most of Nothing's output to date), with dedicated settings for calls or both calls and audio playback.

Oh, and Clip Pro also totes CMF's signature smart dial, as seen in the CMF Buds Pro 2. It's a tactile rotating control built into the charging case for adjusting volume, managing playback, answering calls and pairing devices without needing to unlock your phone. We were wary of the implementation previously, summarising in our review of those July 2024-issue buds: "The dial is prone to accidental turns or presses in your pocket, the notification sound to tell you that a function has been triggered is startlingly loud, and there’s a significant delay between using the dial and hearing its result", so it'll be interesting to see if CMF has tweaked its efficacy here.

You also get on-ear physical controls (which the company says will work even if the user is wearing gloves) as well as a low-latency mode for gaming, dual device connectivity and Nothing's 'find my' solution, which makes your lost earbud emit a rattlesnake-like sound to help you find it under the couch, say.

Your color options here are Dark Grey, Light Grey, and Coral. In case I haven't stressed this enough, you should not wear all three hues like the model in the main image of this missive. The buds are also IP54 rated for water and dust ingress.

Stamina? Of course: Clip Pro's battery claim is up to 10 hours of continuous playback on a single charge and up to 32.5 hours of total playback with the charging case.

Let's talk money: £79 / $99 / AU$179, and they'll hit shelves on August 15, 2026. We can't vouch for them yet, but we'll be working on it…

• Audio company Syitren is launching a transparent CD player on Kickstarter
• It showcases the inner mechanics, displaying your spinning CD like a piece of live art
• The CD player put playback at the forefront of the experience, spotlighting physical music formats

Physical music formats are becoming increasingly popular once again, and audio company Syitren is launching a new CD player to help you escape the algorithms of streaming services — but crosses the threshold from 'CD player' into 'art piece'.

Now available to pre-order on Kickstarter for a reasonable $89, the Syitren RM1 CD player is a transparent device that reveals all of the player’s inner workings. Syitren is already known for its roster of funky CD players and classy turntables, but the mechanical, see-through design of the RM1 gives the device a completely different personality.

While most CD players conceal your discs, the RM1 does the opposite, suggesting that hardware smarts are just as important as the audio. Essentially, it’s one part music player and one part living art, because your favorite albums should be showcased, not shunned.

Sandwiched between two clear acrylic frames, the RM1 can be mounted to a wall, stand upright, or be simply laid down flat on a surface, promising between 6-8 hours of continuous playback. But the pièce de résistance is the player’s mainboard, which is put on full display and includes a playback progress bar, as well as a warm yellow LED matrix square that exhibits track numbers, volume level, battery, and small animated graphics interchangeably.

To ensure playback remains the focal point, the RM1 isn’t plagued with endless buttons on-device. Instead, it comes with a small remote that allows you to control the standard playback functions, in addition to three playback modes: repeat once, play in order, and shuffle. When it comes to audio output, this is where it requires additional hardware.

There’s one thing to note with Syitren's CD display and that it’s a player, not a HiFi device. Understandably, the company has left internal speakers out of the equation, meaning it doesn’t compromise audio quality and can be easily integrated into your existing audio setup.

Instead, the RM1 comes fitted with a 3.5mm AUX port if your setup consists of wired speakers or, if you prefer to listen through the best wireless speakers, the player supports Bluetooth 5.3 for seamless wireless connectivity.

A hurrah for physical music collectors

I’m currently going through a bit of a personal renaissance with retro tech. Earlier this summer I swapped Spotify for a cassette player which birthed a new physical media collection, and I revisited intentional photography with a 2000s-inspired digicam — now I have a thirst to revive my love for CDs.

Syitren does two things very well with its new RM1 player. As mentioned, it flips the traditional CD player on its head, thrusting the mechanics of playback into the forefront of the listening experience. It also gives the device a unique look that’s different to a lot of modern CD players.

But at the same time, its focus on displaying physical music formats is an equally important part of the device. Just how vinyl collectors can proudly display their gatefolds on the wall and see their favorite albums spinning, the RM1 adopts a similar display factor reinforcing the timelessness of physical media.

The CD player couldn’t arrive at a better time. Now that users, including myself, are seeking more ways to enjoy music intentionally as opposed to relying on an algorithm to do it for you, there's never been more of a need for new music players.

Not only do they bring back classic ways to enjoy music, these devices are reimagined to fit perfectly into the modern era of HiFi hardware. It’s the best of both worlds.

• Astell & Kern is launching an 'entry-level' DAP to supersede the SR35
• We'll have to believe it for now, because no actual price has been provided
• Highlights include EnviroTune ambient noise awareness and an Octa-DAC mode

Astell & Kern has straightened things out. We gave its wonky, quirky SR35 digital audio player a glowing five-star review, and now a successor is here in a more conventional form factor.

The A&K PD5 is the new 'best' in question, and very much an upcoming contender for our best high-res media player list. And we'll decide whether it is, as soon as we learn a few key details about it such as when it's actually coming out and how much it'll cost.

Pitched as an entry-level audio player, this hopefully won't cost a huge amount, but we'll have to wait to find out. It's been unveiled as part of an AV show in Hong Kong, and it'll be making its way around a few other similar shows in Shenzhen and Southern California before its wider release.

So we don't know much about it, but there are some key selling points which Astell & Kern have unveiled — and very promising they are too.

It's always listening

The PD5's biggest spec is that it packs in eight DACs at once, and you can choose between 4-DAC or 8-DAC playback. The former lets you listen for longer (28 hours, to be precise), the latter allows you to enjoy higher-quality listening. A&K refers to 'class-defining performance'. Woof.

Another tool here is EnviroTune, which apparently is always listening to you... and, specifically, ambient noise around you. Then it can tweak the sound you're hearing to cater for different environments. It sounds like a proto-ANC, in other words.

For raw specs, the PD5 plays back in 32-bit/384kHz PCM and DSD256, with support for dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3 and a vast range of codecs. The player runs on Android, though Astell & Kern didn't say which build of Android it'll run.

The player is housed in an aluminum shell, but A&K didn't provide dimensions, so it's impossible to tell how it compares size-wise to the SR35.

The real question here is still the price. This might be Astell & Kern's best entry-level audio player of all time, but its definition of 'entry-level' might vary wildly from yours. Evidently, we'll have to wait and see what the chips fall.

• km5 is collaborating with Kojima Productions on a limited edition CD player
• The Cp1 features Bluetooth 5.3, a 3.5mm headphone jack and more
• It's inspired by Death Stranding 2: On the Beach and comes in neon orange

Sony might be planning to wind down its production of PlayStation game discs, but physical media still has plenty of fans. Among them is auteur game director Hideo Kojima, whose studio Kojima Productions just announced a new collaboration with boutique Japanese audio brand km5 to celebrate that fact.

You can now buy an official Death Stranding 2: On the Beach version of km5's Cp1, a compact CD player that looks like a minimalist picture frame. It features wireless Bluetooth 5.3 connectivity so you can hook it up to one of the best Bluetooth speakers, or your wireless earbuds, in addition to a 3.5mm headphone jack if you'd prefer a more retro vibe.

It's got all the expected controls (a Bluetooth pairing button, play/pause, stop, fast forward, and rewind) in a row of clicky tactile buttons, and even a built-in battery which supports roughly eight hours of playtime, so you can take it on the go. And unlike retro players with nasty AA-type batteries, charging here is via USB Type-C. There's also a little LED display, which shows the current track number, and a little sleeve that you can use to display album art.

The Death Stranding 2 edition is, naturally, translucent neon orange and is designed to look like the BB Pod from the game — that's the glowing jar that contains the adorable baby that you use to detect invisible enemies. It's got a few little decals to really drive home the look, including little text warnings like 'ensure lock is tight', and comes nestled in special packaging alongside a card insert inspired by the series.

It looks like a lovely collectible and I already know that it's a capable little CD player, having used its big brother, the Cp2, for a few years now — the only real difference between the two models being the addition of a small speaker on the Cp2. I picked it up in Tokyo before the brand was more readily available worldwide, wanting a cute CD player that would be compact enough to fit on my shelf next to my extensive (and dare I say, pretty impressive) J-pop collection.

I normally have mine hooked up to my beefy JBL Boombox 4 (in a setup that TechRadar audio expert Matt Bolton once described as "insanity") blasting tunes as I work — right now Ano's single Kill Love. While the fidelity is obviously not quite as good as lossless streaming, there's simply nothing quite like the properly exploring a beautifully made physical album or the tactile sensation of popping in a new disc.

If you want to get your hands on this limited edition CD player, you can grab it online via the km5 website for $199 / £175 / AU$315, excluding shipping and any customs duties. That makes it about $40 / £40 / AU$60 more than the standard model. You might want to make haste though, as I expect it to sell out fast.

• AirPods with cameras are apparently still coming...
• ... but the next model, due in 2026, won't have them
• In truth, little is known about these new buds (which is how Apple likes it)

For some reason, Apple fans are clamoring for new AirPods with cameras built in, and we've been hearing plenty of rumors that they're on the way. But a new report suggests they won't actually be the next Apple earbuds we see.

According to stalwart Apple correspondent Mark Gurman (via his Power On newsletter), Apple has two AirPods models on the go.

The flagship ice-white buds we've been reporting on are set to have tiny AI cameras — and Gurman has now backed up rumors of their being slated for a 2027 release.

But some models are expected in 2026: Gurman mentions another pair of buds (with a lot less known about them) that are likely to come along the 2026 iPhones at the end of the year.

The coverage doesn't specify whether these are AirPods, AirPods Pro or even over-ears, but the latter seem unlikely, because the AirPods Max 2 are only a few months old.

Could it be a possible Beats release? TechRadar's Jacob Krol recently spent a few days at Apple's Beats HQ and pressed the highly successful Apple subsidiary brand on some much teased Beats headphones, spotted on various occasions at the World Cup recently, but the company remained tight-lipped on those.

For now, we'll have to wait and see.

Are cameras worth the wait?

Questions concerning whether AirPods with cameras would even work aside, Apple faces the question — given the recent backlash over glasses that see — over whether most buyers would even want that.

The point of the tech is, apparently, to let an AI assistant see what's going on around you. The hardware is part of a big AI push Apple is undergoing.

That's despite consumers' appetite for AI dropping as fast as companies' desperation for AI increases. I don't see many AirPods buyers opting for a new pair of earbuds without a genuine reason they'd be useful (and no, smarter Siri doesn't count), especially if their whole schtick is that they're always spying on you.

Often when we see a tech product delayed, it's because it's just not ready yet. But with the camera-toting AirPods, it's more likely that we're not ready yet... or maybe we just don't need them.

• It's a full Dolby Atmos mixing studio... in a shed
• Designed to deliver accurate Atmos audio with pin-sharp precision
• Artists are delighted with the mixes, which required no tweaks

If like me you used to have, or still have, a backyard office or shed for working in, you're going to be green with envy at the sight of mixing maestro Kurt Martinez's personal Dolby Atmos studio.

The award-nominated Atmos expert designed and built his own backyard office and filled it with enviable gear, and if he doesn't call it his Spatial shed I'm going to be very disappointed.

Martinez has been nominated for the prestigious Music Producers Guild award as Atmos Engineer of the Year, and he spent three years as the Head Dolby Atmos Mix Engineer at the world-famous Dean Street studios. He's worked on live and recorded music by a host of stars including Kylie Minogue, Def Leppard, Soft Play, Billy Idol and Duran Duran.

Like many freelancers, Martinez figured that having a home office was a much better idea than a long commute into the city, and in Martinez's case that decision was compounded by being a new dad. So he built an entire Atmos mixing studio in his back garden, doing everything himself apart from the electrics and internet connectivity.

How to make a spatial shed

As Mixonline reports, Martinez built the 2.5m x 3.5m garden office with a combination of porous timber walls to absorb the low frequencies, acoustic panelling in the ceiling and sides, a large rear bookshelf for dispersion, and acoustic slat panels at the front. There's thick acoustic underlay below the laminate floor and even the furniture has a function: the armchairs and rug are there to absorb audio reflections.

With the building ready, the next step was to add the tech. Martinez uses a Pro Tools system based around an Audient ORIA, which sends audio to a Ginger Audio Ground Control Sphere that's controlled by an Elgato Stream Deck+.

The speakers are striking. They're PMC6-2 left and right monitors, a PMC6 center speaker, an 8 Sub LFE, and Ci30 height and surround monitors. Final mixes are tested on AirPods Max and a Sonos home theater setup to check that still sounds good on consumer Atmos hardware as well a studio-level setup.

I used to have a very similar-looking setup for my own home studio, but sadly I didn't have Martinez's high-end gear or even more importantly, Martinez's ears, which is why nobody's nominating me for anything.

But I do love to see a good audio project, and it's clearly been very successful: according to ETNow.com Martinez's last five full-length records, which he mixed in that studio, required no tweaking at all when he tested them in large commercial studios.

All five of those records have been signed off by their delighted artists. I'd like to think that one of them was Shed Seven.

I've had a Spotify premium account long enough to be hit with multiple price hikes from my original, stable subscription plan.

Throughout those years, the streaming platform has defined how and what music I listened to, mostly for the better, though in some ways for the worse; it could be my stage of life, but I don't feel music like I used to.

So when I recently rediscovered my iPod nano in a drawer during a clear out, it was the shot in the arm that this tired music lover needed.

The model in question was the iPod nano (2006) in black, and I couldn't for the life of me remember when I had last used it.

I peeled my old portable media player free from its disintegrating soft case and drank in that slice of nostalgia, running my fingers over its aluminum casing and wheel.

I just had to know what music I had painstakingly added to the 8GB of flash memory, however long ago that was.

After persistent rummaging, I found the 30-pin to USB charging cable I needed and, after a moment, sure enough my nano sprang back into life...

The time capsule I needed

2015. That was the most recent period of the music and playlists on my iPod nano. Had it really been over a decade since I had last used a portable media player and moved exclusively to Spotify streaming?

My albums, and more specifically my playlists, spanned 2011 to 2015, with the majority being pre 2013 — the year my first child was born. Back then (pre kids), I was clearly into three genres; electronica, alternative and Christian gospel.

I span the click wheel with my thumb to scroll through the lists, neatly categorized into Playlists, Artists, Albums, Songs, Genres, Composers and Search options.

God, I had forgotten that tactile feeling of the click wheel and the outright simplicity of the distraction-free interface. And with my Bluetooth-faff-free wired headphones attached, I started exploring this little audio time capsule.

Reader, I used to painstakingly curate Final Mix playlists of my favorite tunes each year, and 2012 was so prolific I had also split it into two parts. Three, year-long alternative and electronica playlists! Heck, I even made my own Desert Island Discs list (dated 2013) packed with my eclectic all-time faves, which spanned everything from the hymn Amazing Grace sung by Aretha Franklin to dance house classics like Rez by Underworld and my wedding first dance, Your Love Gets Sweeter by Finley Quaye.

I cued up my 2012 playlist, which opened with This Year by The Mountain Goats, a defiant narrative of endurance in tough times and a simple chorus that resounded "I’m gonna make it through this year, if it kills me".

Eyes closed, I was already finding myself getting emotional.

These were house party days, pub hang-outs and those conversations that went, ‘Hey have you heard this?’. Songs recommended by friends. Songs shared by friends.

I locked in on that playlist, clicking the wheel to crank up the volume to levels probably unsafe for my ears, with no on-screen warning micromanaging my experience.

A timely reminder to simplify

Immersing myself in that old iPod nano reminded me why I love music. It took me back to the times when listening to an album might be the only thing I was doing in that moment.

Today, music is far more likely to be an accompaniment to the multiple activities I simultaneously have on the go, interrupted by the notification alerts and social apps on my phone.

For me, Spotify streaming had turned music into fast food. The iPod Nano was like a sit down meal.

And although my Nano’s battery is effectively dead — it needed constant power to operate — it has called me back to enjoy music in a deeper way once more. That fast food had grown dry, and I was appreciating deeper flavors again.