Pioneer Receivers Make iPods Plug ‘n Play

By Nick Mokey Updated January 10, 2009

Perhaps realizing that a myriad of acronyms and fancy sounding names have made its premium receivers a tough sell in hard economic times, Pioneer injected its new VSX series receivers with a price and features that are a little more accessible to the common man. First on the list: they play nice with iPods right out of the box.

Simply connecting an iPod or iPhone to the USB jack on the front of the receivers allows tunes to flow off the players digitally, along with album art, and also enables full control of the iPod through the receiver remote. Unfortunately, the receivers do not support playing video off of iPods.

The VSX-919 and VSX-1019AH, the two highest models in the budget-oriented VSX line, will offer the support. Pioneer will debut them in April for $400 and $500, respectively.

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Miss the iPod? Astell and Kern has the cure — for a price

Astell & Kern Kann Max portable digital audio player.

In a move that has been anticipated for years, Apple finally -- if somewhat awkwardly -- confirmed that it will no longer make the iPod Touch, the last remaining iPod version. The reasons, according to Apple are clear: Given our ability to access music through all of our other digital devices (phones, laptops, tablets, and smart speakers), we've all moved beyond needing a dedicated device for listening to music on-the-go, especially one that can't connect to streaming services like Apple Music through mobile data.

That may be true, but Apple's devices have in any case never fully satisfied audiophiles -- a group of music lovers who expect convenience to go hand-in-hand with quality, not one at the expense of the other. Astell&Kern's (A&K) lineup of hi-res digital audio players has been filling that quality gap for a while now, and its newest products push portable listening to new heights -- both in terms of performance and price. Here's what the Korean audio brand is set to debut this month at High End Munich, a show that caters to the most discerning listeners on the planet:
A&K Kann Max, $1,299, available in June 2022

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Your iPhone can now guide you to your lost AirPods Pro

AirPods Pro resting on an iPhone with open charging case nearby.

There's good news for folks who routinely misplace their AirPods: Thanks to iOS 15 and a firmware update that started rolling out on October 6, your iPhone can guide you to within a foot or so of your missing true wireless buds. The new capability is baked into Apple's Find My app and works with the AirPods Pro and AirPods Max, but not Apple's regular AirPods.

In the past, if you wanted to locate your missing AirPods, your iPhone could certainly point you to their last known location, and even provide directions on a map. But when it came time to actually locating that errant earbud, all you could do was trigger the "play sound" feature and hope that they weren't buried so deeply in between the couch cushions that you wouldn't be able to hear them. Now, the Find My app can give you a radar-like interface that actually guides you toward your headphones using a three-level proximity indicator.

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Happy Plugs’ $80 Hope earbuds are AirPods for fashionistas

Happy Plugs Hope earbuds shown in a leopard print.

For those who love Apple's iconic white AirPods, but wish for something a little more in tune with their personal sense of style, Swedish audio brand Happy Plugs may have the answer: Its Hope true wireless earbuds come in eight different colors and patterns, and they cost $80. You can order them today from the Happy Plugs website, with deliveries scheduled for September 18 to 21.

The Hope earbuds closely resemble Apple's AirPods, including the instantly recognizable drop-stem and the semi-open design of the portion that sits in your ear. Some people find that this shape, paired with the glossy plastic finish of the AirPods doesn't sit securely enough. Happy Plugs attempts to solve for this with color-matched silicone sleeves that wrap around the body of the Hope earbuds, giving them a surface with better grip.