I'm not an audiophile by anymeans but I think having solid equipment really increases your enjoyment of music. I remember when I first got access to a speaker and having my mind blown at how good everything sound. Sure I still loved plenty of stuff on laptop speakers and cheap earbuds but it felt so alive with even mid-grade equipment. I also love the various pieces I have for physical mediums. The way we used to produce consumer technology was so sick, wish we kept up that energy.
I've talked about them on my PC hardware page, but the Edifier R1280DB's are the main way I hear music. As stated before they're not incredible but are great for the price and size. Definitely would recommend if you want a solid starter, but I'm not a particular expert on speakers. My roommate has a sound system set up in the living room that gets used by the entire apartment. I use it pretty frequently and contribute some of the hardware to it. I forget the exact details at the moment, but the speakers are these older ones that were fixed up by her.
My only pair of Headphones at the moment are Sony a WH-1000XM4. Sony still makes pretty solid gear even if it's not as cool as it used to be. Great headphones, I used to use these all the time when I first got em in high school. My first pair got stolen unfortunately, and when I got another one years later I refused to use them out of fear. I basically only use them during extended trips or late night listening at home. I had a couple pair of beater headphones over the years for on the going listening. My favorite were the Mpow H7s, which got a couple good years of daily use before breaking. Great cheap piece of equipment, perfect for what I wanted. Unfortunately they aren't sold anymore, as I was really looking for a replacement after I lost my Airpods a year or 2 ago. I'm not really a fan of earbuds but I used the Airpods for a decent bit since I got them as a gift. Solid product, I just think earbuds aren't worth it since they are the worst when it comes to ear health.
Over the past couple of year's I've been grabbing more dedicated and better players for the 3 major physical formats (tape, cds and vinyl if you happen to be unaware). Before I mostly had portable or budget options that got the job done, but with my growing collection I figured I should finally get some real shit. I still need to get a reciever (borrowing my roommate's one currently), there's an Onkyo I'm eying at a nearby store. I hope it isn't gone!
For CDs I have a Sony DVP-NC665P 5 DVD/CD changer. I initially was using my parent's Sony 5CD/DVD changer but my mom requested I return it so I started hunting for my own. I went through like 3 units in thrift stores before I found this one. The other ones were either broken in ways that couldn't be repaired, or had proprietary inputs for the audio out :/ . Pretty nice model, unlike the other 5 disc changer's I've used it doesn't instantly go to the next disc automatically after it finishes. This is sorta annoying for any multi disc releases but personally I prefer it so much. Often time's I just wanna loop the album or keep it there for the next time I want to listen. I just prefer the control it gives me. I might still look for another one, I tried a nice 5CD only changer at my friend's parent's place and it had some features I don't see on the DVD/CD ones. I'm curious if I'd get use from those features, something to research.
My tape deck is also Sony, a TC-WE435. Currently it's not actually working though. The internals are great and it functions perfectly, but the tape belt melted. I've been meaning to get a replacement but it hasn't happened yet. My roommate keeps yelling at me to do it lmao.
After looking for a while, I finally found a good turntable. It feels weird to have one now, since I used to be pretty against vinyl for years. Nowadays I've figured out the actually interesting/cool vinyl to get so I realized I should get my own. With some birthday money, I scoured facebook marketplace until I found an insane deal. A Technics SL-3200 for less than 150! Technics machines are an absolute beauty, and they make really high quality gear. They are generally super sought after, I frequently see their low end turntables on sale for 200+. It's got pitch control and it's separate for each RPM. Needs a new cartidge at the moment and is missing a dust cover but I'm super happy with it. Aside from the switches having some corrosion it also looks pretty darn nice.
For a while, small players were the main way I listened to my tapes or discs. This was both due to money and also not living in rooms that gave me the space for more dedicated set ups. I still enjoy these devices, and I've also found myself looking for explictly portable players.
Another Sony here, I've had this CFS-B15 boombox for years now. I think it was the first piece of equipment I had? A hand me down sure, but when I started getting more into music in high school I dug it up from the basement. It's a solid little boombox, can get real fucking loud but I've never bothered with it. It's the only piece of gear I've customized currently. I have a Trill Hill Tapes sticker on it and I hung a Gojo cat keychain a friend gave me around the radio antenna. This unfortunately causes some static noise to appear during playback but uh its funny.
Along with the turntable, I also was looking at Facebook Marketplace for some Walkmans and Discmans. They've been going up in price as of writing this (early 2026) so I wanted to get ahead while I could. I found a nice deal for both and walked away with 2 Discmans and 1 Walkman for 30. My walkman is a Sony sports model (WM-FS191). I like the yellow coloring and its much more compact than what I'm used to seeing for Walkmans. I dig the latch and all the water protection features though I find them pretty funny. My friend has this really nice cassette corder device, so I still might grab another portable unit just so I can get something more classic styled and sleek. As much as I like the yellow coloring, I adore the style of the famous model.
The 2 Discmans I got were a Sony D-CJ506CK and a Philips EXP2550. The Sony is a later model one with skip protection and some other features I don't recall seeing in other models. It's a little beat up and chunky but still a cool unit. I love the orange background on the LCD screen. Unfortunately my Philips doesn't work on the moment. I gambled on it due to the price of these units being usually 100 dollars. I'm gonna try to get it working still, cause I love the look. It being a hockey puck is hilarious to me.
Crosleys are infamous now for their shit quality, but I found an earlier suitcase piece of theirs at a thrift store for dirt cheap once and took a chance. Turns out it had a decent cartidge already in it, and it was very clearly meant for 45s. Trying to find info on this has been tricky, since Crosley doesn't have info on their back catalogue and no one online has seemed to archive it. My guess is it was made in the 90s or 2000s. The case is really nice, turquoise blue with a textured quality to it. Unlike the current models, when you open it up a component folds out and lays flat on the ground. It's got a speaker on the side next to the fold out with some neat looking sliders for volume and tone.
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