Players

Music Players—Everything You Need to Know

If you are looking for the best listening experience, you're going to need a top-quality music player. Whether you're an audiophile who can't get enough of lossless audio formats or a casual listener who likes to keep an MP3 close to hand, read on to find out what you should look for when choosing a player.

• Wide compatibility ensures that the music player can handle various audio and video formats.
• Rich connectivity allows you to connect various external sources and audio accessories.
• Charging adapters are useful if you plan to use your music player in places without access to a power outlet.
• WiFi and Bluetooth support are indispensable for wireless multimedia streaming.
• Players with water and dust resistance are best for parties, garden barbecues, the river or beach, and even building sites.

Music Players—Should I Go for the Latest Technology or Timeless Classics?

Music players are available in a variety of designs. A Hi-Fi music player is the best choice for the discerning listener, while frequent travellers are more likely to opt for a compact MP3 player. If you like a retro look at home, a turntable is an obvious choice. But that's not where your options end, far from it.

Turntables—Players with a Retro Touch

Turntables play vinyl records that are popular due to their classic design, the collectability and value of the records. Most of all, records are desirable due to their high playback quality, which is analogue and does not lose resolution when converted to digital formats.

CD Players

CD players play digital compact discs. CDs score points for their audio recording quality, affordability and easy storage. CD players can operate independently or as part of a micro or mini system. You can even go portable with the legendary Discman music player.

Cassette Players

In the past, a cassette player or cassette recorder was a must-have audio player for every music enthusiast. Some cassette players give you the chance to make magnetic tape recordings or copy an existing recording to a new cassette.

You can also get portable cassette music players or boomboxes.

MP3 Players—Music in Your Pocket

MP3 players are compact devices for listening to music anywhere. They usually have an expandable internal memory, a long-lasting battery and support the most common music formats such as MP3, WAV and WMA.

What Are Micro and Mini Music Systems?

Micro and mini music systems are players that come with accessories. A single system gives you player and speakers. Sometimes you get an amplifier, a condenser and other goodies. You can even get systems that function as multimedia players with video support.

Why Choose a Video Player?

A video player comes in handy if you like to relax while watching your favourite movies, TV shows, music videos or holiday footage. You can find Blu-Ray players, DVD players, complex multimedia centres and portable MP4 players.

Blu-Ray and DVD Video Players

Video players are used to play Blu-Ray and DVD discs. When choosing a video player, look for useful features, including support for USB and external drives or recorder functions.

Get a DVD recorder/player to record content to watch later.

Portable MP4 Players

Portable MP4 players work similarly to the MP3 variants. The difference is that they support extended video formats, including MP4, AVI and MPG. MP4 players boast compact dimensions, a long battery life and memory card support.

Multimedia Centres—All In One Systems

Multimedia centres are capable of playing a wide range of audio and video formats. They can also connect to popular streaming services, internet radio and external storage. The most popular media centres come with Apple TV and Google Chromecast.

• Apple TV is a multimedia player running tvOS.
• Google Chromecast is compatible with Android, Windows and Apple.

Network Players

Network players allow you to play multimedia from local storage or internet services via a WiFi or Ethernet network connection. Network players can also share music and video on your local network, while providing easy access to your entire library from any room with a connected player.

Is price the most important thing to you? Take a look at our most affordable music players.