Audio
Hands-on reviews and wishlist picks in Audio.
50 posts
JBL Quantum 120 - Affordable JBL Gaming Sound Under $50
JBL's entry-level wired gaming headset with a 50mm carbon driver and detachable mic
$49.95 (JBL official store, local pricing to be confirmed)
Andover FreePlay - A Portable Hi-Fi Boombox With True Stereo Sound
An IP67 waterproof stereo Bluetooth boombox from turntable maker Andover Audio
$429 (international list price, Korean pricing TBD)
FiiO QX11 - A Pocket-Sized DAC with Desktop-Class Sound
A portable headphone amp with dual flagship DAC chips and even a gaming mode
$169.99 (international list price, KR pricing TBD)
Shanling Q2 - The Click Wheel Returns in a Pocket-Sized 4-DAC Hi-Fi Player
An ultra-compact DAP that revives the old iPod click wheel. Four Cirrus Logic DACs, true audiophile hardware with DSD512 support
Need to check
CMF Clip Pro - Open-Ear Earbuds With Physical Controls That Actually Feel Alive
An open-ear earbud from Nothing's sub-brand CMF. Reviews praise its crisp physical controls and distinctive case design
Need to check
Shokz OpenFit Air 2 - A Lighter Open-Ear Earbud Built for Workouts
The second generation of the ear-hook open-ear earbuds. 17.6% lighter, with a nitinol frame that reduces pressure on the ear.
$129.95 (official store price, official Korean retail price needs confirmation)
FiiO CP11 — A Hi-Fi Cassette Player with Bluetooth Built In
A curated look at FiiO's portable cassette player, which directly addresses the missing piece of the cassette revival: a genuinely well-made player
TBD
Syitren RM1 - A Transparent Acrylic CD Player That Bares Its Own Mechanism
A curation of a transparent acrylic-frame CD player that turns a spinning CD tray into a piece of wall art
TBD
Sennheiser MOMENTUM 5 - Earbuds With a Battery You Can Actually Swap Yourself
Sennheiser's new wireless earbuds let you replace the battery yourself instead of tossing them once it dies
TBD
Sennheiser MOMENTUM True Wireless 5 - The 5th-Gen Flagship Earbuds, Perfected
The 5th generation of Sennheiser's MOMENTUM line brings flagship earbuds with aptX Lossless and Dolby Atmos on board
$449.95 CAD (roughly $330 USD, based on North American launch price)
Xiaomi Magnetic Speaker — a $29 Ultra-Compact Bluetooth Speaker That Snaps Right Onto Your Phone
Xiaomi's $29 ultra-compact Bluetooth speaker that magnetically attaches to the back of your phone and doubles as a stand
around $29 (KRW price TBD)
JBL Pulse 6 - A Portable Speaker That's Also Ambient Lighting
JBL's new portable speaker/mood light that refuses to compromise on either sound or atmosphere
TBD
Ruka Studio TD-1 — A Wall-Mounted Vertical Turntable
A vertical record player that skips the floor space and becomes a wall-mounted interior object instead
Needs confirmation
A-PQ1 — An Industrial Audio Unit That Chose Not to Hide Its Wiring
An audio processor by industrial designer Hagar Guri that openly exposes its VU meters and wiring
Price TBD
JBL Pulse 6 - A Speaker That Doubles as Ambient Lighting for Your Next Party
JBL's new portable speaker wraps a 360-degree light show around its body, pairing mood lighting with sound
Price TBD (reportedly launching abroad at around $370)
Pixel Buds Pro 2 - Noise-Canceling Earbuds With Gemini Built In
Pixel Buds Pro 2 with Google's Gemini AI assistant built in. A curated look at active noise-canceling earbuds with a twist-fit design
$229 (pre-order price, KR pricing TBD)
AP30 Hi-Fi Audio Player - An $85 DAP That Mixes an iPod Nano with a Game Boy
A portable music player with retro vibes that packs a hi-fi DAC into a Game Boy silhouette
About $85 (KRW price TBD)
Bose QuietComfort Headphones 2nd Gen — The Noise-Cancelling Icon's True Successor
Curating the Bose QuietComfort Headphones 2nd Gen. A new over-ear model that Bose says improves noise cancelling even for glasses wearers
$359 (preorder price, KR price TBD)
Instant Disc Audio Cp1 - A Limited-Edition CD Player Inspired by Death Stranding's BB Pod
A limited-edition wireless CD player from Death Stranding 2, born from a collaboration between Kojima Productions and Japanese audio brand km5
Need to confirm
CMF Clip Pro - Open-Ear Buds That Answer Calls With a Dial
Clip-on open-ear earbuds that hook over your ear. CMF's first clip-style audio product, with call controls handled by a dial on the charging case
TBD
DJI Mic Mini 2S - A 12g Clip-On Mic With Built-In 32-Bit Float Recording
A curation of a 12g clip-on wireless microphone that packs 28 hours of 32-bit float recording into a single transmitter
Needs confirming (Hong Kong launch price HK$1,299, roughly $166 USD)
Fiio Snowsky Echo Nano — A $50 Hi-Fi MP3 Player
A $50 hi-fi MP3 player worth choosing over a used iPod, in a minimal stick-shaped design
$50 (₩ estimated)
Khadas Tea Pro - A $199 Headphone Amp That Snaps to Your iPhone Like a Wallet
A portable DAC amp that snaps onto the back of your iPhone like a card wallet, cutting out the usual compromises of portable audio
$199 (₩ estimated)
Khadas Tea Pro - A Desktop-Grade Portable DAC Amp as Thin as a Card
An ultra-slim magnetic DAC amp just 8mm thick, supporting both iPhone and Android — the Khadas Tea Pro curation
About $199 (₩ estimated)
Hollyland MELO P1 - An Entire Recording Studio in One Case
Hollyland's ultra-light wireless audio studio packs a mic, mixer, monitoring earbuds, and remote all into a single case
TBD
MAONO P1 USB Hybrid Audio Interface — A Palm-Sized Podcast and Streaming Console
An ultra-compact audio interface that connects your mic, guitar, PC, phone, and camera all at once. One-click mute and auto-gain make it easy even for beginners
$129.99 (promo price $99.99)
Sennheiser Accentum Clip-On Earbuds — Outlasting the Bose Ultra Open on Battery Life
Sennheiser's first clip-on earbuds, a $200 open-ear that reportedly beats the Bose Ultra Open on battery life
$200 (roughly ₩270,000, at time of review)
Anticater VK-01 — A Desk Volume Control Knob With Real Character
Anticater's desk volume control knob combines a CNC aluminum body with tri-mode wireless connectivity
Need to confirm (sold through custom keyboard group-buy channels)
Marshall Acton III x Hendrix - A 60th Anniversary Limited Speaker Wrapped in Crushed Velvet
A velvet-finished limited-edition Marshall Bluetooth speaker celebrating Jimi Hendrix's 60th anniversary
About $299.99 (roughly ₩420,000)
Glorious GHS Wireless InfinitePlay — A Headset That Keeps Playing While You Swap the Battery
Uninterrupted gaming with hot-swappable batteries — a $230 wireless gaming headset that rethinks the problem
$230 (US launch price, local pricing TBD)
Hidizs AP30 Music Boy - A Game Boy-Inspired Ultra-Mini Local Music Player
A Game Boy-style portable music player focused on local file playback instead of streaming
About $129 (per media reports, needs confirmation)
HealingFit TWS - Wellness Earbuds That Stop Just Measuring and Start Intervening
Wireless earbuds that don't just read your stress and sleep data, but actively intervene with TES stimulation
Price TBD
Orchid ORC-1 - The Portable Synthesizer That Builds Chords For You
Telepathic Instruments' portable synth that produces a full chord with a single key press
$649 (roughly ₩900,000, official domestic sale unconfirmed)
MorningBlues SonicGlass A1 — A Transparent Display Speaker That Shows Lyrics
A curation of the MorningBlues SonicGlass A1, featuring real-time lyrics streaming across a 21.5-inch transparent display
MSRP $999 (early bird $646, stereo pair $1,299, currently on Kickstarter)
HIFI WALKER H20 Pro - A Portable Hi-Fi Player with Dual ES9219C DACs
A 3.2-inch touchscreen hi-res audio player that separates the left and right channel DACs to reduce crosstalk
About $192 (sale) ~ $240 (retail)
Turtlebox Cub - A 5.3lb, 118dB Outdoor Speaker You Can Throw in the Water
An IP67 waterproof, floatable mini outdoor Bluetooth speaker packing 118 decibels of output
About $330
Huawei FreeClip 2S - Open-Ear Earbuds Whose Case Doubles as a Jewelry Box
Open-ear clip-on earbuds with a case roomy enough to stash a ring or pendant alongside them
$229 (about $229)
Fosi Audio MD3 - A Portable DAC That Snaps Onto Your Phone with Magnets
A balanced portable DAC/amp that attaches via MagSafe. ESS Sabre chip, plus a circular display
$149.99 (approx. ₩210,000 KRW)
Razer Hammerhead V3 X HyperSpeed — Low-Latency Wireless Gaming Earbuds
Low-latency gaming earbuds that hop between PC, mobile, and console over 2.4GHz HyperSpeed wireless
$99.99 (US, local pricing TBD)
Tiny Vinyl Mini Record Player - A $50 4-Inch Vinyl Turntable
A turntable built exclusively for 4-inch mini vinyl. A tiny record shelf that packs in a speaker and storage
About $50 (KRW price TBD, need to confirm local pricing)
MONDO by DEFUNC - Transparent Over-Ear Headphones That Show Everything Inside
Bluetooth over-ear headphones with a skeleton design that reveals the internal structure
$149
Shanling M0 Pura - A Hi-Res Player the Size of Your Thumb
Ultra-compact hi-res music player with dual DACs. Doubles as a Bluetooth receiver and USB DAC
About $129 (KRW price TBD)
Sony IER-M500 - The In-Ear Monitor Earphones Once Worn by Artists on Stage
Sony's high-isolation professional in-ear monitors. A new product that brings stage-performance design straight to consumers
$119.99 (based on overseas pricing, Korean release and pricing to be confirmed)
Teenage Engineering EP-133 K.O. II — A Palm-Sized 64MB Sampler
A portable sampler composer that lets you sample a record straight off the turntable, with cassette-inspired UI charm
$390
MorningBlues Record R1 - A Circular Display Speaker Where Album Art Comes Alive
The MorningBlues Record R1 streams album art and lyrics across a circular display. A design-audio curation piece that pairs Jamo-tuned Hi-Fi sound with visual storytelling.
About $999 (list price $1,699 · Korean retail price TBD)
Teenage Engineering OB-4 - A Portable Speaker That Even Plays Cassettes
A retro portable speaker from Teenage Engineering with tape playback, radio, and Bluetooth all in one
$630
Teenage Engineering TP-7 Field Recorder — A Palm-Sized Steel-Dial Recorder
Teenage Engineering's TP-7 field recorder. A curation of the minimalist high-end recorder operated entirely through a single circular dial
$1,590
Nothing Ear (3a) - Wireless Earbuds Around $99 With Built-In Audio Recording
Curation of Nothing's new earbuds, adding 42-hour battery life and an audio recording feature
$99 (roughly ₩130,000)
FiiO CP13 Cassette Player Review — A Modern Revival of Analog Charm
An in-depth review of the FiiO CP13 cassette player. Aluminum body, 13-hour battery, and a blend of analog charm with modern tech. Everything to check before you buy
$129
AirPods Max 1-Year Review - An Honest Take on Apple's Premium Headphones
An honest review after 1 year and 3 months with the AirPods Max. The pros and cons of Apple's first over-ear wireless headphones - noise cancelling, sound quality, and comfort.
$599