New releases
Every new release, as it lands.
New headphones, IEMs, amplifiers, DACs and DAPs the day they are announced: driver, price and availability, with the announcement attached. Nothing here is measured or scored; verdicts live in reviews.
Latest launch
Bose brings Ultra-tier immersive audio to the second-generation QuietComfort
The refreshed QuietComfort arrives with a reworked industrial design, Bose's immersive audio mode inherited from the Ultra line, and three limited-edition colourways.
Just announced
- Wireless
Bose brings Ultra-tier immersive audio to the second-generation QuietComfort
The refreshed QuietComfort arrives with a reworked industrial design, Bose's immersive audio mode inherited from the Ultra line, and three limited-edition colourways.
- IEMs
SNOWSKY releases the FH3 LUMI, a $99.99 hybrid tuned around Cantopop vocals
FiiO's sub-brand ships a 1DD + 2BA hybrid built on a cashmere and wood-fibre diaphragm, with a filter aimed at the 6-8 kHz band where sibilance sits, at $99.99.
- DAPs
Astell&Kern announces the PD5, an eight-DAC player with a switchable half
The successor to the SR35 carries eight Cirrus Logic converters and lets the listener run four or all eight, trading measured performance against up to 28 hours of playback.
- Dynamic Drivers
beyerdynamic launches the DT 275 PRO for location and broadcast work
A compact closed-back aimed at professionals working outside a studio, sold on high passive isolation, a neutral tuning and all-day comfort rather than on a new driver.
- IEMs
Juzear and KOTO launch the Nebula, a $129.99 five-driver hybrid
The collaboration puts a dynamic driver, three balanced armatures and a micro-planar behind a four-way physical crossover at $129.99, tuned for vocals.
- Dynamic Drivers
Viking Audioforge takes the Draupnir to production at £1,799
A year after the prototype won an innovation award, the dual glass-diaphragm open-back is on pre-order at £1,799, with shipping estimated at around three months.
- DACs
FiiO swaps the R7's delta-sigma converter for a resistor ladder in the R7 R2R
The all-in-one desktop streamer, DAC, preamplifier and headphone amplifier returns with FiiO's own R2R converter in place of the ES9068AS, at around $700.
- DACs
Fosi Audio shows the ZH1, a dual-CS43131 desktop DAC for around £130
Shown at CanJam London ahead of a September release, the ZH1 puts two Cirrus Logic converters and more than a watt of output in a hexagonal chassis, for roughly £130.
Headphones
Dynamic Drivers
New dynamic-driver headphones as they are announced: what changed against the outgoing model, what it costs, and what stays unmeasured until a unit reaches the rig.
beyerdynamic launches the DT 275 PRO for location and broadcast work
A compact closed-back aimed at professionals working outside a studio, sold on high passive isolation, a neutral tuning and all-day comfort rather than on a new driver.
Viking Audioforge takes the Draupnir to production at £1,799
A year after the prototype won an innovation award, the dual glass-diaphragm open-back is on pre-order at £1,799, with shipping estimated at around three months.
FiiO's SNOWSKY Nature is a 50 mm closed-back headphone for about $44
The SNOWSKY sub-brand's first full-size wired headphone weighs 280 g, takes a detachable cable that can be run balanced, and lands at roughly $44.
Final opens pre-orders for the DX10000 CL, a diamond-diaphragm flagship at $8,499
Final's closed-back flagship uses a 40 mm diaphragm grown from CVD diamond rather than coated with it, at $8,499, or $8,999 for the first 150 units.
Planar
Planar launches as they land. Efficiency claims matter as much as price here: a planar that needs a bigger amplifier costs more than its sticker says.
FiiO shows the FT15, an open-back planar expected to replace the FT5
Shown at CanJam London with expected UK pricing around £499, the FT15 continues FiiO's push into full-size open-back planars.
HiFiMAN relaunches the HE6 Remastered at $1,899, and it still needs a big amplifier
The remaster revives the original HE6 driver design and fits HiFiMAN's second-generation composite headband, but does nothing to soften the amplifier demands the original was notorious for.
Dan Clark Audio announces the ÆON CORE, an $899 closed-back planar
DCA puts what it calls its most efficient driver yet into a closed-back ÆON chassis at $899, with a revised reference tuning.
Audeze announces the MM-520, successor to the MM-500
The $1,699 successor to the MM-500 adds Audeze's SLAM airflow technology to a 90 mm open-back planar, developed again with mixing engineer Manny Marroquin.
Wireless
New wireless and noise-cancelling models. Feature lists travel fast at announcement; cancellation depth and the tonal cost of any spatial mode do not.
Bose brings Ultra-tier immersive audio to the second-generation QuietComfort
The refreshed QuietComfort arrives with a reworked industrial design, Bose's immersive audio mode inherited from the Ultra line, and three limited-edition colourways.
Audeze ships the Maxwell 2 ANC gaming headset
At $429, the Maxwell 2 ANC is the first headset in Audeze's entire range to carry active noise cancellation, on the same 90 mm planar drivers as the standard model.
In-Ears
IEMs
New in-ear monitors, from budget stage models to flagship releases: driver configuration, price, and what the announcement does not tell you.
SNOWSKY releases the FH3 LUMI, a $99.99 hybrid tuned around Cantopop vocals
FiiO's sub-brand ships a 1DD + 2BA hybrid built on a cashmere and wood-fibre diaphragm, with a filter aimed at the 6-8 kHz band where sibilance sits, at $99.99.
Juzear and KOTO launch the Nebula, a $129.99 five-driver hybrid
The collaboration puts a dynamic driver, three balanced armatures and a micro-planar behind a four-way physical crossover at $129.99, tuned for vocals.
SIVGA debuts the Lyrebird, a $150 IEM using four driver types
Lyrebird puts a dynamic driver, a balanced armature, a micro-planar and a piezoelectric ceramic tweeter in one shell at $150, first shown at CanJam London 2026.
Sony launches the IER-M500 stage monitor at $119.99
A high-isolation in-ear monitor aimed at musicians and sound engineers on stage rather than at the audiophile market, at $119.99.
Earbuds
New flat-head earbuds and open-fit designs as they are announced.
Amplifiers
Solid AMPs
New desktop solid-state amplifiers. Output power into a stated impedance is the number that decides what they can actually drive.
MASS-Kobo brings the $20,000 Model 491 monoblock headphone amplifier to London
Hand-built to order in Shizuoka, the Model 491 runs twin balanced monoblocks with independent left and right supplies, rated at 3.5 watts per channel into 32 ohms.
Luxsin shows the B9, an R2R desktop amplifier with per-headphone EQ profiles
Shown at CanJam London as an engineering sample, the B9 pairs a discrete R2R DAC with six watts of headphone output and a stored correction profile per headphone, at around $1,500.
FiiO's JadeAudio GIGAS 1 is a $49.99 desktop amplifier aimed at cheap planars
A Class AB discrete design rated at 4,600 mW per channel balanced, built specifically to drive entry-level planar headphones, at $49.99.
FiiO details the CLASS A, a fully discrete one-watt desktop amplifier
A fully discrete, pure Class A design rated at one watt per channel, part of a 2026 desktop roadmap FiiO has been publishing openly, and one of several entries pushed to summer.
Portable AMPs
New dongles, portable amps and Bluetooth receivers: the category that changes fastest and where spec sheets are least comparable.
Audma's Brioso PHPA1 is a £4,400 portable amplifier with soundstage controls
Named best portable DAC and amp at CanJam London 2026, the Brioso PHPA1 pairs an AKM flagship converter with Stage and Angle controls that reshape the stereo image.
FiiO's SNOWSKY GAME TAIL is a gaming dongle with a dedicated microphone port
On FiiO's published 2026 roadmap for a summer release, GAME TAIL is a USB dongle DAC aimed squarely at mobile gaming, with virtual 7.1 and a separate microphone input.
ULTRASONE's NAOS MICRO is a €199 dual-DAC dongle with a balanced output
The only source component in ULTRASONE's five-product July premiere: two CS43131 converters, 3.5 mm and 4.4 mm outputs, PCM to 384 kHz and native DSD256, at €199.
FiiO's SNOWSKY TINY is a $21.99 USB-C DAC and amp with a 10-band EQ
A pocket dongle at $21.99 carrying a DSP engine and 10-band parametric EQ through the FiiO Control app, with support for the major lossless streaming tiers.
Tubes
New tube and hybrid amplifiers as they are announced.
Sources
DAPs
New digital audio players: onboard DAC, output power and battery, plus what the price is really buying.
Astell&Kern announces the PD5, an eight-DAC player with a switchable half
The successor to the SR35 carries eight Cirrus Logic converters and lets the listener run four or all eight, trading measured performance against up to 28 hours of playback.
Fosi Audio shows the DAP Neo, a sub-$100 player with no internet at all
A prototype shown at CanJam London: an offline-only digital audio player in an iPod-shaped body, deliberately without streaming, Wi-Fi or apps, expected below $100.
FiiO previews the M25 and M25 R2R, one player with two converter architectures
Shown at CanJam London, the two players share a chassis and a platform but split on the DAC: AKM's separated architecture in one, FiiO's second-generation R2R ladder in the other.
Cayin announces the N8iii at $3,999, limited to 500 units
The flagship digital audio player returns with tube modes, an AKM DAC, up to 1.285 watts of output and a 13,500 mAh battery, in a run of 500 worldwide.
DACs
New digital-to-analog converters for desktop and portable rigs, as they are announced.
FiiO swaps the R7's delta-sigma converter for a resistor ladder in the R7 R2R
The all-in-one desktop streamer, DAC, preamplifier and headphone amplifier returns with FiiO's own R2R converter in place of the ES9068AS, at around $700.
Fosi Audio shows the ZH1, a dual-CS43131 desktop DAC for around £130
Shown at CanJam London ahead of a September release, the ZH1 puts two Cirrus Logic converters and more than a watt of output in a hexagonal chassis, for roughly £130.
FiiO teases the K17 R2R Pro, a resistor-ladder DAC and amp with Wi-Fi
Coming mid-2026, the K17 R2R Pro uses a proprietary resistor-ladder architecture in place of a conventional delta-sigma chip, with global pricing announced in June.
Topping rebuilds the DX1 as the $119 DX1 II, with a balanced output and PEQ
A ground-up revision at $119: an ES9039Q2M converter, a four-channel amplifier stage, a 4.4 mm balanced output, optical I/O, a microphone input and a 10-band parametric EQ.
These are announcements, not verdicts. Specifications come from the manufacturer and nothing is measured until a unit reaches the rig. For tested products see the review archive, for how a claim gets checked see the methodology page, and to read a graph for yourself start with the explainers.