Feel that? Brisk spring temperatures are beginning to give way to warmer summer weather, and that means opportunities for balcony dinners, picnics in the park, and BBQs in the backyard. And even though outdoor entertaining means different things to different people, depending upon the amount of space you call your own, almost any party benefits from adding music to the mix. In the age of MP3 your smartphone can become the ultimate party DJ when partnered with the right portable speaker (and a well curated playlist), so we've gathered the best of the portable and wireless available now and coming soon... More

Owen & Fred are offering cigar and audio aficionados a way to combine their two interests in one form factor: Sweet Cigar Box Speakers. Made from genuine salvaged wood cigar boxes, the handmade cedar cigar box house a 2.5" aluminum cone speaker with a self-powered with an internal 10 watt per channel amplifier inside... More

There's nothing more annoying than going for a run or being out during an errand with your favorite pair of earphones, and having to constantly fiddle with them so they stay put. In my experience, specific types of earbud covers are needed to prevent earbuds from popping out. Here are some easy ways to making them stay put from a DIY perspective... More

Following the trend of retro-tech themed furnishings, designer Jeff Skierka has designed and manufactured a 12:1 scale replica of an audio cassette tape in coffee table form! And of course, the table surface offers reversible sides A and B.... More

A few episodes back during an otherwise tense episode of Mad Men, Pete Campbell was grinning ear to ear while showing off a brand new console hi-fi stereo system and the "tiny orchestra" playing inside the basketball player length setup. For the most part, in the era of mobile audio, these type of setups have gone way of the tail-finned Caddy... More

I've got a friend who still swears by the analog sounds of an old timey dial-style AM radio even in this era of Bluetooth and Airplay audio devices. He says he likes the quality of the mono sound, and probably more importantly, he holds a flame for a bygone era where audio equipment borrowed many the stylings cues from home furnishings. But even a time traveling day dreamer like my friend owns an iPhone and listens to MP3's, thus he might be a candidate for one of these elegant retro-styled radios engineered that look like yesterday, but work with today's mobile music devices... More

I'm in the market for new iPhone speakers and a charging dock, but this time around I want function and style. Really, with so many products flooding the market, there's no reason you can't have both. I'm drawn to simple, sleek wooden wares — hopefully they will be as functional as they are pretty. Here's a roundup of products for the iPhone or iPod that fit the bill. More

Audyssey Audio Dock Air
• $349.99
• The Ghostly Store

If you're invested in Apple audio, Airplay enabled options have finally expanded enough to the point there's a healthy selection of wireless speakers to choose from. The Audyssey Audio Dock Air is notable for a two-sided design where dual 3/4" tweeters, 3" woofers, and 4" passive bass radiators that can serve uncompressed, wireless streaming sound to two sides of a room at once in unassuming fashion from your iTunes library (from your computer or iOS device). And unlike some Airplay speakers, the Audyssey BassXT brings the low end with enough bump in the trunk for bass heavy tunes, perfect for spring-summer BBQs...

ARIS Wireless Speaker
• $499.00
• Aperion Audio

Aperion Audio's SLIMstage30 sound bar was a fairly impressive apartment dweller-friendly home theater solution we tested about a year ago. And now they're back with a wireless wi-fi audio speaker designed for Windows 7 and 8 users, designed with music appreciation in mind. A full 100 Watts RMS total power for two 1" Neodymium and two 4" woofers means the ARIS speaker system should be more than sufficient for everyday listening...and then some. Visually, I particularly love the black brushed aluminum cabinet with dramatic angled red steel stand, a design statement communicating the ARIS is to be noticed both aurally and visually.

A lightweight aluminum foldable design, ultra-linear neodymium magnets and precision damping speaker components, cushy-comfortable memory foam ear cushions swathed in ultralight acoustic fabric (don't you just want to press the ear pad shown above?), and Bowers & Wilkin's signature eye for smart design make for a compelling reason for the P3 as your next headphone if you're looking for over-ears headphones... More