With homage to the original Apple iPod, the Esther M1 embodies the philosophy of having the absolute best possible audiophile sound rivalling the quality of a stand-alone desktop solution wrapped up in a portable package no bigger than a standard deck of playing cards. The Soundaware Esther M1 line-up of portable digital audio players, or DAP, is the antithesis to todays smart-phones. While the general user is seemingly willing to trade off overall quality with a mindset of “it’s good enough”, in the world of audio enthusiasts this approach simply will no do. While convenient as these devices are, there is a trade off to cramming in so much technology into an ever shrinking design Jack of all trades, master of none. Gone are the days of the stand-alone music player, the all-in-one/always online/app driven/selfie taking smart device now rein supreme. Nowadays, thanks to the advent of the Smart Phone, virtually everyone has the ability to enjoy their music anywhere and at any time. The cutting of the cord was born with the Regency TR-1 transistor radio, solidified with the Sony TPS-L2 Walkman, and perfected with the game changing Apple iPod. Portable music devices have been cemented into our daily lives for nearly 60 years.
