Hidizs has introduced the AP30 Music Boy — a palm-sized player in a game console body. The plastic version costs $85, and the aluminum one costs $93. All five colorways are currently listed as out of stock in the brand store.
Form factor. The body copies a handheld game console: it carries a 2.0-inch screen, an ALPS volume wheel and physical buttons. Inside there is a retro puzzle, which Hidizs calls a built-in game. The player is meant to be worn, so a magnetic snap for a phone case, a neck strap and a bag clip are provided. A whale engraving is applied to the back plate, and the brand links it to the WDC fund.
- 2.0-inch IPS screen, ALPS volume wheel and physical buttons
- Chain: RKNANOD chip, CS43198 DAC, RT6863 amplifier
- DSD256 and PCM 24bit/192kHz decoding
- The 3.5 mm output delivers 61 mW per channel, the balanced 4.4 mm one 137 mW per channel at 32 Ohm
- USB DAC mode and Bluetooth 5.3
- Hi-Res Audio certification and the in-house HIDIZS OS
- Two builds: lightweight plastic and CNC aluminum
Power. The balanced output is rated at 137 mW of power per channel, and the regular 3.5 mm output provides 61 mW of power. Hidizs gives both figures at a 32-Ohm load and publishes no other values. On high-impedance headphones the headroom will be smaller, but the official data does not let us calculate by how much.
Where to buy. Hidizs sells the player through its own store. That is where the catch showed up: all five colorways are marked as out of stock, and the brand does not publish a restock date. The price tag is already up while there is nothing to order.
Plastic versus aluminum
Plastic.
- Price $85
- Colorways: Classic White, Shadow Black, Crystal Ocean Blue
- Lightweight plastic body
Aluminum.
- Price $93
- Colorways: Arcade Black, Pixel Purple
- Aluminum body, CNC machined
Where the AP30 lands in our ranking of portable players, and whether the console body ends up mattering more than the sound — our test will show. I have followed Hidizs for years, though from a different side: our news on the HIDIZS MP143 Salt planar in-ear monitors covered headphones, not a player.
Is a player in a console body just an attention grab, or is it a console plus a player in your pocket? Tell me in the comments.
