• Esoteric knows more of us are embracing CDs — and we'll love SACDs too
• Meet the elite K1XE SACD player and optional PS1XE external power supply 
• How much is it? If you need to ask, I fear it's going to be too much… 

Well well well. We knew CD players were having a moment because we can't seem to stop writing about them — whether ultra-luxe, super-fresh and with aptX Bluetooth, be they hefty and toting both analog and digital inputs, fully transparent like some sort of award, inspired by Death Stranding 2: On the Beach in neon orange or even an affordable little ripper, from FiiO.

So there's a CD player for everyone in 2026. TechRadar even published a roundup of 9 of the coolest new CD player releases not six weeks ago, in an effort to stay abreast of them all.

And now, there's an option for people in possession of an awful lot of money. And why not? It's your money and if you have a collection of SACDs you want to make use of, along with a sizeable chunk of cash to invest into the experience, you should be able to do so.

What am I talking about when I say 'SACD'? These delicate little beauties are shiny and circular just like your regular CDs, but the moniker stands for 'Super Audio Compact Disc'. It's a high-resolution optical audio disc format first introduced in 1999 and developed jointly by Sony and Philips Electronics. Unlike CDs, the format uses a 1-bit resolution with a sampling rate of 2.8224 MHz, also known as DSD64, to provide a data rate of 5.6 Mbps — and that walks all over your typical CD's 16-bit/44.1kHz resolution, or a data rate of 1.411 Mbps, in the hi-res audio stakes.

So, it makes sense to get a serious player for your seriously detailed recorded music, right? That's clearly what Esoteric was thinking too. Behold: the ultra-luxe K1XE SACD player. You may see it as an outrageously high-end player, for a format many people thought was largely done and gone. I call it a huge win for offline hi-res listening.

How many of us still dig SACDs? I'd say the number is growing…

Anyway, what you're looking at in the main image (and the one above) is the Esoteric Grandioso K1XE, the ultra-luxury Japanese audio specialist's new flagship Super Audio CD player.

It features the VRDSATLAS (try saying that out loud, or writing it out several times in a news piece), Esoteric’s proprietary SACD transport mechanism, featuring an "exceptionally rigid, heavyweight platform engineered for outstanding mechanical precision". Also inbuilt is the proprietary Master Sound Discrete DAC G2, a next-generation, discrete digital-analog converter developed entirely in-house by Esoteric.

The K1XE is a fully dual-mono DAC configuration. Esoteric explains that this "large scale" architecture incorporates five independent linear power supply systems to achieve what the company calls "full-bodied sound reminiscent of vinyl playback".

OK but what's the thing on the right, in the main image above? That's the Grandioso PS1XE, an also-new optional external power supply — because you want to power this player properly, don't you? Doing so will reduce electrical interference, lower the noise floor for cleaner SACD sound, move high-voltage AC and heat a sensible way away from those sensitive audio circuits, including that beautifully rigid, hefty transport.

Both products will be available for international shipment from the beginning of November 2026. And it's worth considering shipping costs too (although if you're bothered by those, it's probably a little rich for the blood) because the K1XE alone weighs 34.3kg / 75lbs, which is roughly the weight of a large adult dog — think German Shepherd or Golden Retriever.

Will this glorious beast still play your regular CDs? Almost certainly. Esoteric hasn't confirmed this in its marketing, but practically all SACD players are fully backwards-compatible and are able to read the standard Red Book CD layer of an audio CD (sometimes called a CD-DA) without issue.

And that's important, because CD sales revenue was up 58% in the opening six months of 2026 (and 45% in volume) in the US, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Also, the burgeoning popularity of newer portable CD players (along with the growing trend for wired earbuds that do away with streaming and generally being online) proves that music lovers are buying new, pristine CDs alongside inheriting caches of old (possibly scratched) collections. And isn't listening to a full concept album in superior quality one of life's great pleasures?

Let's tackle pricing: both The Grandioso K1XE and PS1XE will be available worldwide starting November 2026. And I'm just going to write it quickly: the Esoteric Grandioso K1XE SACD player has an MSRP of US $45,000 / £37,999 (or around AU$72, 399). The PS-1XE external power supply is priced at $19,000 / £16,500 (approximately AU$36,199).

Just imagine how good those SACDs are going to sound though…

• We Are Rewind's WE-001 tape player gets a limited-edition The Dark Side of the Moon edition with a custom design
• Includes the first tape version of the album's 50th anniversary remastered edition in the box
• Available today for $199 / £159 (about U$310)

Every so often, I'll receive an email about products that a product launch that actually makes me say "Oh damn!" out loud. And seeing the first images of We Are Rewind's new version of its cassette player decked out in Pink Floyd livery was one of those occasions.

The limited-edition 'Pink Floyd X We Are Rewind' version of the WE-001 portable cassette player (which I first got my hands on in its regular edition back at CES 2025) is obviously super-tempting for its beautiful The Dark Side of the Moon imagery on the front (with a Pink Floyd logo on the back), but it also comes with a certificate and a tape version of Dark Side in the box.

The cassette is especially interesting, because it's the first time the 50th anniversary remaster of the album has ever been available on tape — and might well be the only time.

Pink Floyd's Nick Mason joked, "I still have my Nakamichi on the shelf and look forward to testing it with the new The Dark Side of the Moon cassette. Am I correct in assuming that the next major issue will be The Dark Side of the Moon in a large package consisting of the album divided up into 78 RPM discs?"

I already have a WE-001 sitting on my shelf at home, next to my amp, and yet I find myself extremely tempted to pick this new version up anyway.

The WE-001 player is modernized tape player, with a cool aluminum design, and Bluetooth 5.1 support as well as an audio jack for wired headphones. A release from We Are Rewind says there's a "unique headphone amplifier designed with cassette playback in mind" — and it sounds nice, I have to say, though if you're picking up vintage tapes the quality may vary depending more on the tape than what's inside the player.

Even more pleasing is that if you want to get back into mixtape culture (and I do! I've written about wishing streaming services offered more options around this in playlists), there's a line-in — so you can record to tape from another player.

But my desire for this version isn't really about anything the player can do or what it sounds like. I just want that thing on my shelf.

If you feel the same way, it's available to buy now (while it lasts) for $199 / £159 (about U$310). The non-Floyd version of the WE-001 costs $159 / £129 /AU$269.

If prog rock isn't your thing, you might also be drawn in by another We Are Rewind special edition with quite a different look: the jewel-encrusted Duran Duran version.