4 Cool New Audio Gadgets With Nostalgic Design – BGR

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They say that everything is cyclical. What was once new becomes old, and what was once old becomes new again, as can be seen with the popularity of new retro gadgets. Nostalgia is a powerful emotion that oftentimes drives design. Those same people who grew up with the technology of the 1980s and 1990s are now the engineers and designers creating the technology of today, something that can be seen with the likes of the retro-inspired Synth-a-Sette.

And then there’s the average adult consumer who might be looking to recapture a bit of the nostalgic charm that helped to define their youth. This is something that can clearly be seen in the audio technology sector, where design oftentimes plays heavily into a product. It’s not a case of form over function, but rather a case of form and function.

Exploring Amazon for new audio gadgets shows the plethora of fun design ideas like the Topiei Bluetooth Beanie. Many of these cater to providing very modern technology wrapped in a vintage aesthetic. The following featured items all hold a high Amazon user review score and just might help you to relive those less stressful days of your youth — or at least dream about an era that may have passed you by.

If you grew up in the 1990s, chances are the one piece of technology that you always kept on you was some type of portable tape player. From popping in your favorite mixtape that you made by recording songs off the radio to listening to the radio itself, the portable tape player was a staple piece of hardware for youths in both the ’80s and ’90s.

And while cassette tapes are still a lot of fun, they aren’t quite as practical in the modern era where streaming and large-storage smartphones exist. That’s where the SnowSky Echo Mini does things a little bit differently. It takes the style and aesthetic of an old tape player and turns it into an impressive and very modern digital audio player (DAP).

The SnowSky Echo Mini features a digital screen and supports multiple formats, including DSD, WAV, FLAC, MP3, OGG, and more. It also features a 15-hour battery life and an audio input allowing for use with high-quality wired headphones, giving users that true authentic retro experience. Add in the ability to use microSD cards up to 256 GB for tons of storage, and you have an impressive modern DAP in the guise of a retro tape player. 

There’s just something about that mid-century modern look that can class up any space. Seeing clean rounded wood curves, soft boutique mesh patterns, and physical piano-style switches all make for a retro yet somehow always modern look. And the Edifier Retro Wood Bluetooth Speaker is the perfect example of this retro-modern aesthetic.

This small 20-watt stereo speaker comes in a number of vintage colors, features thickened foot pads for better vibration prevention, and is made with a wooden enclosure that helps provide a warmer sound over a plastic one. Those beautiful piano-style switches give the speaker a very 1950s look and feel. Being so used to touchscreen controls, having physical buttons makes you feel like you are actually in control of your music.

Users on Amazon praise the Edifier Retro Wood Bluetooth Speaker’s sound quality for its small size and long battery life. Many online highlight its beautiful retro design and the modern convenience of having Bluetooth for streaming content, USB-C for power, and TF card support for loading your own music onto it. And because it’s not bulky, you can take it with you from room to room, or have it with you when relaxing somewhere outside.

If you grew up in the ’80s, then you know there was one thing that would instantly make you one of the coolest kids in the entire school: having a boombox. The humble boombox has become a pop culture staple of the era, with it adorning the shoulders of the coolest characters in ’80s film, television, and music. And the Aiwa Retro Boombox brings that same cool factor back, only with a ton of modern new features.

With a retro design, portable form factor, and several striking color options, the Aiwa Retro Boombox has it where it counts. But it’s more than a simple boombox, featuring a number of audio options. Included is the requisite AM/FM radio with antenna, but also a single tape deck with recording function for cassettes, and a CD player for more modern audio content options.

You can also take advantage of the USB port, SD card slot, AUX inputs, and dual microphone ports allowing for this little boombox to become a karaoke powerhouse. This is a great example of having those vintage vibes with the benefits of modern sound. And while expensive, users on Amazon give it a lot of praise, especially when compared to cheaper looking, sounding, and feeling alternatives.

There is something to be said about the simplicity of the past. Having a vintage car oftentimes helps one connect more with the driving experience. Every physical action has an equal reaction, not relying on some computer brain to mimic much of the driving experience. It’s just you and the road, not you, the road, and a ton of technology getting in the way of the experience.

But what happens when you have a classic car and want the convenience of the modern era? What if you want to add audio functionality without losing the aesthetic of what makes classic cars so cool? Nobody wants to sully a car from the 1970s with a modern car stereo system that distracts from the overall aesthetic. Voxxbass seemed to understand this when it released the Voxxbass Retro Vintage Radio for Classic Vehicles.

Designed to mimic the car radios of the 1960s and 1970s, Voxxbass has taken the chromium classic look and modernized it. The unit features physical buttons, chrome knobs, and retains the retro look for classic car enthusiasts. Adding Bluetooth and support for USB and SD cards, Voxxbass has created a truly stealthy car stereo that packs all the modern convenience without sacrificing that classic look.

When selecting the audio gadgets to include in this list, we sought out highly reviewed products available on Amazon. Each featured item is well regarded by the audio community on the platform and holds a high user review rating of at least 4 stars. Beyond Amazon, the general audio community online and tech and audio experts on sites like YouTube were used for independent product overviews and reviews. And lastly, we used personal experience with several items, especially with those that don’t have hundreds of reviews on Amazon.