Whether streaming new sounds, digging through your analogue archives, collecting field recordings or making transcriptions, there’s a dedicated device for every format. With Astell&Kern continuing to refine the art of making mp3 players, and other companies staying committed to old analogue formats, we’ve also explored recording devices that’ll capture all forms of audio and even transcribe it.
Astell&Kern SP3000M audio player
First up is the latest offering from South Korean luxury audio brand Astell&Kern. The SP3000M follows A&K’s well-worn path of weighty angularity, with extremely high quality components and performance. Pitched at audiophiles who can appreciate and detect a device’s ability to be, variously, ‘overwhelming,’ ‘delicate’, and ‘accurate’, we’ll only add that the SP3000M is powered by a Snapdragon processor to ensure the 4.1inch HD touch screen is nice and responsive, as well as ten hours of playback time and the ability to store up to 1.5TB of music using a microSD card.
Astell&Kern SP3000M, £2,299, AstelllnKern.com, Selfridges.com
Moondrop DiscDream 2 ultra portable CD player
This is Moondrop’s DiscDream 2. A long and elaborate name for what is essentially a very straightforward object; a portable CD player. As you might have guessed, Moondrop is a brand name associated with a large, anonymous Chinese manufacturer, in this case Shenzhen Audio. China is one of the few places where niche products like this can still be considered viable. Beautifully finished with a brushed aluminium grille lid, through which you can see your disc spinning, the DiscDream 2 might not be as robust as an old school plastic-bodied Discman, but it should serve up excellent sound quality.
Moondrop DiscDream 2, $289.99, ShenzhenAudio.com
Retrospekt CP-81 cassette player
Retrospekt’s CP-81 goes even further back in format history, with the option of a clear plastic finish for this portable tape player. The CP-81 is pretty basic, even by cassette player standards, and although the see-through aesthetic is once again finding favour in modern electronics (cf Nothing phones, for example), no-one’s going to mistake this for a brand new device. The coloured foam on the wired over-ear headphones is the perfect finishing touch. Retrospekt is also a fine source for the cassettes themselves, whether pre-recorded new releases or blank.
Retrospekt CP-81, $99, Retrospekt.com, @Retrospekt_
Plaud Note voice recorder
Plaud’s USP is that it’s an AI-assisted voice recorder, with smart transcription abilities baked into the slender cased device. The benefits are a physical device with one press recording and easy archiving and storage of recordings, plus the ability to record up to 30-hour chunks of audio in one go. Cynics point out that there’s nothing Plaud can do that the latest smartphone can’t match. However, the Note sits discretely on a phone or case when transcribing calls and as a standalone device, it has an ultra-long-lasting battery that far exceeds any contemporary handset.
Plaud Note, from $159, Plaud.ai
Teenage Engineering TP-7 field recorder
Teenage Engineering’s fabulous palm-sized TP-7 field recorder has been given a few new features, courtesy of a new firmware update. Enhancements to this delightfully tactile recording device – which owes a debt to early Sony and Braun hardware – include the ability to make multi-track recordings (complete with count-in and metronome functions), better editing functions so that you can set markers and re-do takes (perfect for pocket podcasting) and even an update to the accompanying app that turns the TP-7 into a transcribing note taker.
Teenage Engineering TP-7, €1,499, Teenage.Engineering, @TeenageEngineering
Sony MZ-RH1 MiniDisc Recorder
If you’ve stumbled on a treasure trove of MiniDiscs, or you used Sony’s ultra-compact digital recording medium back in the past, you’ll know there are no new players on the market. As a result, scouring the internet – and sites like eBay and Etsy – are the best way of finding a surviving player. We’d recommend the workhorse Sony MZ-R70 from 2000, or the very last Sony MiniDisc player, the MZ-RH1, which came out in April 2006 (aspects of which have clearly influenced the industrial design of Teenage Engineering's TP-7).
Sony MZ-RH1, refurbished and second-hand only, more information at MiniDisc.wiki
Gadhouse Mathis Turntable
It’s cheating, perhaps, to describe a turntable as portable (much less pocketable), but the new Mathis turntable from Gadhouse is mid-priced but decidedly not lacking in high-level functionality. With an Audio-Technica VM95E cartridge and built-in phono stage and Bluetooth 5.0, the Mathis can sit at the heart of a multi-room set up, thanks to its built-in preamp and traditional RCA line-out connectors, stream to wireless speakers via Bluetooth or simply be moved around the house depending on where you need it most.
Gadhouse Mathis turntable, £199, Gadhouse.com
