Tag Archives: music lovers

2025, Audio, Streaming, Technology, The Gadget Man

Streamplayer: The Little Box That Brings Every Speaker Back to Life

December 3, 2025 Matt Porter Leave a comment

There is something rather special about great audio gear. Whether it is a cherished pair of bookshelf speakers from the seventies or a hefty amplifier that once powered many late nights, older kit carries a charm that refuses to fade. The trouble is that modern streaming rarely considers this history. We juggle apps, fight with compatibility issues, and often end up restricted to one manufacturer’s ecosystem.

Streamplayer: The Little Box That Brings Every Speaker Back to Life

Atonemo, a young company based in Stockholm, has stepped in with a refreshingly simple answer. Their new device, the Streamplayer, aims to bring every speaker you own into the streaming age. It works with speakers of any brand, size, or era and gives older equipment a modern purpose again.

Listening to music used to be an uncomplicated affair. You pressed play, and the sound travelled through a cable without any fuss. Today, we navigate multiple services that do not always get along. Streamplayer strips away that complexity by giving you a single, universal way to stream music across your home.

The concept is brilliantly straightforward. Streamplayer is a compact wireless audio streamer that connects to any speaker or amplifier. Once it joins your Wi Fi network, you can play music through AirPlay 2, Google Cast, Spotify Connect, or Tidal Connect. Your vintage hi fi becomes wireless. Your modern speakers can work side by side with your older favourites. You can even synchronise completely different speakers into one unified system.

For fans of classic audio equipment, this is especially exciting. Many older speakers sound superb but lack the streaming features that modern life expects. Atonemo’s mission is to bring them back into everyday use, turning beautiful old gear into fully capable modern systems.

Atonemo’s Approach

The company was founded by two childhood friends, one a mathematician and the other a designer. Their shared passion for music and frustration with over engineered audio systems inspired them to create products that feel human, simple, and purposeful. Their philosophy focuses on clear communication and design that does exactly what it needs to do without clutter.

Key Features

Streamplayer is small, but the specification is impressive:

24 bit 192 kHz audio
Gapless playback
AirPlay 2, Google Cast, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect
Analogue line out and optical S PDIF out
Wi Fi 6 with WPA2 and WPA3 security
USB C power
Works with active speakers, amplifiers, hi fi systems, and vintage audio gear

Everything about it is built around compatibility and convenience. It arrives with a USB C power cable, an AUX cable, and a simple quick start guide, making setup as painless as possible.

A Simple Idea with Real Impact

The launch of Streamplayer feels like a moment for anyone who loves audio but dislikes unnecessary complication. It brings your favourite speakers back into daily use, unifies the systems you already have, and avoids locking you into any single brand.

For anyone with a cupboard full of forgotten gear or a cherished pair of speakers that deserve to be heard again, this little box might be one of the most appealing products of the season.

More information is available at atonemo.com.

2025, Audio, Cassette Player, retro, Retro Gadgets

Duran Duran teams up with We Are Rewind for a gorgeous new cassette player

December 3, 2025 Matt Porter Leave a comment

Every so often a product lands on my desk that pulls me straight back to the excitement of discovering music on a physical format. This week it is the WE-001 Duran Duran Special Edition from We Are Rewind, a modern portable cassette player created with the band’s full blessing and visual flair.

Duran Duran teams up with We Are Rewind for a gorgeous new cassette player

If you grew up with cassettes, you will remember the thrill of flipping an album over, hearing the clunk of the keys, and watching the spools spin. This special edition brings all of that back with a welcome dose of modern engineering. Even better, it arrives with a fresh cassette reissue of Pop Trash, complete with those familiar metallic and neon touches that have always followed Duran Duran through their career.

A cassette player built for the present day

The WE-001 looks and feels like something from the band’s own design board. The aluminium shell has a satisfyingly weighty feel, the buttons have a smooth mechanical action, and the audio side of things has been taken very seriously. A dedicated headphone amplifier gives the tapes far more presence and clarity than the portable players many of us owned the first time round.

It connects to wireless headphones and speakers thanks to Bluetooth and charges by USB C, giving around twelve hours of playback. It even records. Plug in a powered mic or use the line input and you can capture your own mixtapes in proper analogue fashion.

For anyone who wants the full nostalgic experience, a pencil is included in the box. You know exactly what that is for.

A collaboration with real heart

The band’s creative art director Andrew Day summed up the project perfectly. When Pop Trash came out, streaming barely existed. Two and a half decades later, celebrating the album with a beautifully designed cassette player feels surprisingly right. He described the finished product as “more Pop and less Trash”, which is a very neat way of putting it.

We Are Rewind founder Romain Boudruche added that Duran Duran’s long history with physical media made the project a natural fit. At a time when music discovery is often reduced to an endless scroll of digital tracks, it is refreshing to see an artist celebrate the value of something you can actually hold.

Interestingly, UK cassette sales rose by more than two hundred percent in the first quarter of this year, so the timing could not be better.

Price and availability

The WE-001 Duran Duran Special Edition is priced at £149 and is available directly from We Are Rewind. If you are a fan of the band, a lover of physical media, or simply someone who enjoys a beautifully built gadget, this is well worth a look.

Audio, Music

We Are Rewind Curtis GB001: The Cassette Boombox Renaissance We’ve Been Waiting For

November 27, 2025 Matt Porter Leave a comment

The cassette tape’s resurgence has been one of the most joyful twists in personal audio. After years of streaming convenience running roughshod over the tactile pleasure of physical playback, along comes something that finally bridges the gap without losing the charm that made tapes brilliant in the first place.

The Curtis GB001 from We Are Rewind is a premium cassette boombox built for the modern era. Designed in France, it carries the unmistakable spirit of the classic ghetto blaster, but with a refined materials palette and contemporary engineering that make it feel purposeful, not kitsch.

We Are Rewind Curtis GB001: The Cassette Boombox Renaissance We’ve Been Waiting For

It has presence in the way only proper hardware can. A hefty aluminium frame meets real walnut panelling. There’s a solidity to the unit that suggests it belongs on a shelf, in a studio, or under a Christmas tree without ever feeling incongruous or overdesigned. This is a product that’s been considered, prototyped and built with genuine affection for the medium.

Big, Bold Sound from a Single Cassette Deck

Curtis is built around one high quality cassette deck. No double deck accoutrements or tape dubbing circus here, just a single drive that plays tapes with real fidelity. That’s not a compromise, it’s a statement: great sound comes from focus.

The playback is warm, dimensional and immersive, the sort of audio experience that makes you forget how sterile compressed streams can sound. Bluetooth 5.1 is onboard for those odd occasions you don’t have a tape handy, but the headline act is the tape mechanism itself, delivered through a stereo driver architecture that extracts every bit of depth your recordings have to give.

Controls are gloriously physical. Buttons push with reassuring resistance. Dials turn. The unit is rechargeable and portable, but it doesn’t lean on portability as its personality. The GB001 earns affection by being good at what it is.

In and Out Options for Every Listener

The input choices are refreshingly sensible and fully modern where they need to be: USB C for power delivery, RCA input for proper audio gear, and 3.5mm line in for plugging in almost anything with a headphone jack.

It’s a ghetto blaster that doesn’t discriminate on age or audio source. If you grew up making mixtapes, you’ll love it. If you’re new to tapes but want a boombox that looks as good as it sounds, you’ll love it. And if you just want a premium Bluetooth speaker that happens to play cassettes, you’ll love it too.

A Christmas Gift with Longevity

There are only a handful of tech gifts that genuinely transcend trends. The Curtis GB001 belongs in that rare group. It doesn’t chase a fashion cycle. It nods to an era and elevates it.

If 2025 is truly the year of the cassette boombox revival, this is one of the few units that feels ready to lead the charge. It’s distinctive, memorable, supremely listenable and built with an exacting eye for design and sound quality.

Final Thoughts

The Curtis GB001 from We Are Rewind is an honest, confident cassette boombox debut for 2025. One deck. Big sound. Proper materials. Bluetooth onboard. Inputs present and correct. And most importantly, it rekindles a love for a format that never should have been sidelined in the first place.

Premium? Yes. Unnecessarily so? Not a chance. This one has earned its space.

2025, Audio, Majority, Matt Porter, The Gadget Man

The Majority Folio Turntable Blends Style, Simplicity and Sound

October 10, 2025 Matt Porter Leave a comment

Cambridge, UK — Majority has unveiled its latest creation, the Folio Turntable, a compact and stylish record player that brings together timeless vinyl charm and modern listening convenience.

Designed to be the centrepiece of any music lover’s home, the Folio offers the perfect balance of form and function. Its clean, minimalist aesthetic pairs beautifully with built-in stereo speakers and a transparent cover, while its versatile connectivity options make it ideal for both traditional and contemporary setups.

The Majority Folio Turntable Blends Style, Simplicity and Sound

At its core, the Folio features the acclaimed Audio-Technica AT3600L Moving Magnetic Cartridge, delivering crisp, detailed playback across 7”, 8”, 10” and 12” records. With pitch and RPM controls, users can fine-tune playback for everything from vintage pressings to modern reissues.

Beyond its classic appeal, the Folio is built for today’s listener. Bluetooth 5.3 allows effortless wireless streaming from smartphones, tablets and laptops, while USB playback and recording offer the flexibility to enjoy or archive your vinyl digitally. The RCA and AUX connections make it simple to connect to external speakers or amplifiers for an expanded soundstage.

Key Features Include:

Bluetooth 5.3 – Stream wirelessly from any compatible device
RCA & AUX Outputs – Connect to amplifiers or external speakers
USB Playback & Recording – Convert vinyl to MP3 or play digital tracks
Pitch & RPM Controls – Fine-tune playback for perfect performance
Integrated Stereo Speakers – Enjoy balanced sound without extra equipment
Audio-Technica Cartridge – Trusted performance and long-lasting precision

Compact, finely built, and easy to use, the Majority Folio Turntable fits effortlessly into any living space. Whether placed in a modern apartment or a vintage-inspired home, it delivers an authentic vinyl experience enhanced by contemporary design and functionality.

The Majority Folio Turntable is available now for £169.95 from Amazon and other leading retailers.