Best Audio — Curated from The Hiro Report

In a surprise move, Apple announced a proper v2.0 update for the AirPods Pro Max line this week. This new version finally brings the H2 chip so it gets Live Translation, Adaptive Audio, and Conversation Awareness like the AirPods Pro 3, reportedly higher fidelity sound, and 1.5x improved Active Noise Cancellation. While this all sounds awesome, as someone who is still rocking the OG AirPods Pro Max with a Lightning charge port, I'm perhaps most excited that I finally have some good reasons to update beyond just desperately wanting to have all my devices on USB-C.

The folks at Maxell, makers of basically all the cassettes you made mix tapes on back in the day, are back with a really great looking modern portable tape player. It has 11 hours of battery life, offers both a headphone jack and Bluetooth connectivity, and :gasp: USB-C fast charging. I honestly don't think I have any cassettes left, but I kind of want to grab one of these when they come back in stock.

I've got an enormous pile of old CDs in my closet and have been thinking about brushing them off for little listening parties. This beautiful transparent desktop player may be just what I need. It's got a clever modular, magnetic design that lets you split the Bluetooth speaker off from the CD player so you can take the player on the go, or bring the speaker with you as you move around the house. The CD player can also transmit via Bluetooth to any Bluetooth headphones or speakers you might have. Features aside, they had me the moment I saw the beautiful transparent case.

Thanks to Michael for the tip on this one. The SnowSky Mini is a pocketable, digital audio player (DAP) that mimics an old cassette player in its styling, while still offering high-quality audio while playing MP3, FLAC, OGG, M4A, WAV, DSD, and other format music files. It has Bluetooth 5.3 support as well as both 3.5mm and 4.4mm headphone outputs. I've been considering getting into the standalone DAP life; this may be a good entry point. I need to find some good in-ear monitors though — anyone have good starter recommendations?

This amazing little portable record player is impressively compact, plays remarkably well, and features both wired and Bluetooth audio out options. This is essentially a crate digger's dream. I want one.

The best headphones got even better this year. The improvements to active noise cancelling are fantastic, and I find the new ear tips more comfortable for longer wear.

These desk speakers are another Black Friday/Cyber Monday deal pickup that I've been enjoying. I'm far from an audiophile expert, but they sound great to my ears, easily fill my home office, and have lots of nice features like Bluetooth connectivity, adjustable bass and treble controls, and multiple stereo ports. Highly recommended if you're looking for something for your computer, a little record player, etc.

- The wizards over at 12South recently released an update to their awesome AirFly dongle which lets you turn any headphone auxiliary jack into an audio device to which you can connect your AirPods or other Bluetooth headphones. Although originally designed for use on planes to be able to use your own wireless headphones to watch inflight movies, I find it useful for using my AirPods with retro gaming handhelds during late night gaming sessions when I want to listen to the chip tunes without disturbing my partner. This new version now has buttons to make it easier to pair up to two sets of headphones simultaneously without needing to use a splitter.

- This is probably a somewhat niche recommendation, but I knew I would be conducting a lot of formal and informal interviews at the SCA Coffee Expo this weekend and I wanted a hands-free way to capture the audio of the conversations. I settled on the DJI Mic Mini and was extremely pleased with the size and quality of these tiny, wireless lapel-borne microphones. Interestingly, the Mic Mini is the smaller and cheaper sibling to the DJI Mic 2, but somehow manages to have both longer battery life and greater range for wandering away from the camera or audio receiver. I kept one transmitter on my shirt and the receiver plugged into my iPhone in my pocket, and just recorded straight to my Voice Notes app for quick transcription. Just that one mic was enough to capture both sides of the conversation even in the crowded, noisy exposition hall.

- Let me start by saying that the Bogasing is not the best portable speaker you can buy. But here's the thing— I don't need the best portable speaker I can buy. I need one that I can throw in my backpack and not worry about it getting crushed or scratched up. I also need one that lets me connect to it every which way— Bluetooth, Aux Cables, USB A and USB-C, and more. The Bogasing does all of that while kicking out an impressive amount of sound given its diminutive form factor and costing only $40-$60 depending on whether you can catch it on sale (which it frequently is). I've had mine for over a year now and it still works great, has crazy battery life and works equally well as a garage gym speaker and a monitor for my TE OP-1 Field. *Not sponsored, but this is an affiliate link to support the site at no additional cost to you.

This is one of the most fun toys I’ve gotten in recent years. It’s a great fun beat maker and sampler from the kings of fun physical product design. $$$$

Records are just obscene fun, and this one is a great way to break into it without breaking the bank. $$$$

- I’m not above a nearly pointless tech gimmick. This certainly appears to be one, but I’m almost certainly putting it on my Christmas list anyway. Watch this video and tell me it’s not awesome. It’s giving me early '90s Aphex Twin vibes mixed with the alien language from Arrival. *Amazon-affiliate link

Thanks to Mr. BC for the recommendation, I recently devoured this amazing sci-fi novel by Andy Weir, author of The Martian. This book has so many fun twists that I recommend learning as little as possible before starting. If you liked The Martian or any sci-fi where the protagonist overcomes obstacles with legit, non-fictional science, you’ll love this book. The Audible performance is fantastic and won the 2022 Audies award for best audiobook.

ElevenLabs makes some insanely good text-to-speech software, and lately, I’ve been really enjoying using their Reader app. In short, you can take any article, PDF, ebook, etc., and this app will read it to you in a very natural, human-sounding voice of your choosing at whatever speed you like. I’m loving being able to listen to some of the longer journalism pieces I’ve had on my “to-read list” forever.

This is just a prototype of an app under development, but I'm so excited about the possibilities of what this could do for music production with synthesizers and drum machines.

Oh boy, I was excited to find RIAFC this week. It's a curated, streaming internet radio station that exclusively plays obscure, retro global music that would very rarely ever have been heard outside of their native countries. Over the course of listening this week, I've heard a recording from the 50's of Jordanian bedouins singing accompanied by their own rifle fire, Ghanain pop, folk music from Belize, and more. Great to put on and just be surprised. If you like this, you may also like Radiooooo, which I've mentioned on the Report in the past, which lets you pick specific countries and time frames and hear music from the place/period.

Cabel Sasser set out to preserve some never-before-heard recordings of an incredible Dixieland jazz band made up of mostly Disney employees, the Firehouse Five Plus Two. But along the way, he accidentally discovered an incredible lost song that was cut from Walt Disney's Cinderella. This is an amazing story, worth enjoying over a coffee or other beverage.

Having been tinkering with modular synthesis lately, I've been listening to a lot of blippy, bloopy, ambient music to pair with the new hobby. A lot of it is very pleasant to have on in the background but not particularly interesting. Arushi Jain's music, by contrast, is really stimulating and rich listening. Well worth a listen.

As I've been trying to learn about sampling and beat making, I've been consuming a whole lot of Youtube videos and tutorials. This video from Captain Pikant is fantastic- a brief, musical history of the classic 808 drum machine which set the rhythm of so many classic hip hop and electronic tracks. The Captain's other videos are a treat as well, consider Drum Machine 101 and How to Glitch Like Aphex Twin.

I've been going down a rabbit hole on Modular Synthesis the last week or two-- In short, using discreet modular electronic components strung together to create your own instruments, then using other components to apply various filters and effects, and then having yet more components sequence and/or play the instruments for you. Apart from being just an awesome aesthetic, I really enjoy the music I'm discovering while researching it. Ingrid Linnea is an album by artist, Elin Piel, that I've listened to a lot while working this week.

Radiooooo (yes, with 5 "o's") is a globe-trotting musical time machine. You load the app (or website) and are presented with a map of the world and a selection of decades from the present going back to 1910. Choose a country and a decade and get a stream of songs from that country and decade. All the songs are hand picked by a team of volunteer DJ's with what seems to be impeccable taste. I've loved just about every song I've come across.

The Gift of Gab is back at it with another ridiculous flow. How does he do it? (Youtube Link)

On a recent flight, I binged several hours of Cowboy Bebop, a show I've always meant to watch but never gotten around to. For those who might not be familiar, it's a sci-fi anime about a bounty hunter and his crew wondering the galaxy, with strong influences from old noir detective movies and cowboy westerns. It's considered by many to be one of the best gateways for someone looking to explore anime. I really dug it! Very stylish art, fun and weird storylines... and amazing jazzy soundtrack. Trust me, whether you like jazz or not, it's super cool. I've been putting it on for everything from background music for work, mixing cocktails after work, and just driving around running errands.