Audio

The best (and my favorite) high-res audio player has improved its UI. The Qobuz player has more targeted recommendations, dynamic lyrics that follow along as you listen, and expanded song information. I’m loving the improvement so far, and find it’s also more intuitive to change bitrate and audio output.

Its $299.99 Acton III Bluetooth speaker is now dramatically more groovy to celebrate the brand’s 60 year anniversary of working with the musician. But it’s not just about the new aesthetics. When you power the speaker on or off it also plays unique sounds sourced from Hendrix’s recordings.

The new affordable earbuds will launch alongside the Phone 4B, but WinFuture has published what appear to be official promo shots of the buds in all four colors: yellow, pink, white, and black. Will we see a return of the odd charging case microphone Nothing introduced in the more premium Ear 3?

A new firmware update for the Sony WH-1000XM6 and 1000X The Collexion headphones is now available through the Sony Sound Connect mobile app. In addition to performance improvements the update adds support for the low-latency Bluetooth Gaming Audio Profile, but keep in mind the device you’re pairing with needs to support GMAP, too.

After teasing the upgraded model alongside the original Mic Mini 2 that launched in April, DJI has announced the ¥629 ($93) Mic Mini 2S in China. It adds 14.5GB of storage in each transmitter for redundant recording (with a boost in audio quality) and the ability to wirelessly connect up to four microphones to a single transmitter.

Following the recent debut of its Momentum 5 headphones, Sennheiser is joining companies like Bose and Sony with a new pair of open earbuds worn on the back of the ear. The Accentum Clip offer up to nine hours of battery, and while they won’t launch in the US, they’ll be available in Canada starting July 23rd for $269.95 CAD.

After launching the Verified by Spotify badge for musicians a few weeks ago, the service now has a sticker for podcasters who actually exist in real life, as AI-generated podslop floods RSS feeds.

Look, I’m not saying Sony’s audio naming scheme is good, per se, but you can’t deny it’s distinct. Is it really willing to throw that away?

A product called “1000X The Collexion” with an over-ear headphone model number of “WH-1000XX” briefly appeared on Sony’s region websites. There are no images, but a previous report suggest that the limited-edition model will launch for €629 (about $740) on May 19th.

The latest project from Swedish designer Love Hultén is the NES-SY2.0 — a bespoke synthesizer that includes an NES Poly chiptune synth, KeyStep and Flamma FS22 interfaces, and a custom-made MIDI visualizer. And yes, Hultén says the system supports NES game cartridges!

When Victoria Song reviewed the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2, she found a lot to like about their slimmer ear hook and wireless charging, even before their iOS 26 upgrade. Now, Beats is launching this color-splashed collaboration, which is at least bright, even if it lacks the internal hardware updates of Apple’s new AirPods Max headphones.

The $799.99 Bromley 450 includes the same replaceable 40+ hour battery, mic and instrument inputs, and hidden light show as the original Bromley 750. It’s just a good chunk smaller, and substantially cheaper to match.

Apple’s original AirPods Max are pretty extraordinary headphones with some very obvious flaws. More than five years on, we’re finally getting a sequel — which fixes absolutely none of them. Make it make sense, Apple.

Originally shown at CES 2026, Rode has officially announced its new $599 Rodecaster Video Core, a buttonless video switcher featuring similar connectivity to last year’s Rodecaster Video S. It can automatically switch between connected cameras by detecting who’s speaking (including iPhones connected wirelessly) or you can manually switch between sources by pairing it with the Rodecaster Pro II and Rodecaster Duo audio mixers.

Retailer Alto Music has leaked a new portable sampler by Akai that looks inspired by the company’s MPC60 and MPC3000, according to Synth Anatomy. The streamlined $399 Akai MPC Sample will pair 16 pads with a color screen, a mic and speaker, a sampling engine, a sequencer, various effects, and a host of audio ports on the back.

The Wave:3 MK.2 microphone is $20 more expensive than the original version at $169.99, but Elgato has upgraded it with a new Wave FX chip that processes digital effects like a compressor and low-cut filter right on the mic. The MK.2’s multifunction dial now also has a glowing interactive ring around it showing audio levels and other feedback while you talk.

MIDI was introduced in 1983, and hit version 2.0 back in 2020, an update cadence we think more of the industry should aspire to.

Specifically, head gestures like nodding or shaking to accept and decline calls, SammyGuru reports. The upcoming Galaxy Buds 4 and Buds 4 Pro will also reportedly let you operate your phone camera remotely by squeezing the earbud stems, and activate Find My Phone using the earbud charging case.