Glow-in-the-dark CD player adds Bluetooth, but US buyers pay extra
A Japanese company has made a portable CD player that glows in the dark, and you can't easily buy it in the US or UK. Sincere Inc. calls the limited edition Pixel Tunes After Hours. It sells in Japan for ¥12,980, roughly $83. Outside Japan, the only routes are import services and resellers, who add a hefty markup.
Pixel Tunes After Hours is the only one of four colors with a glow-in-the-dark shell.
The glow
In daylight, After Hours looks like a smoky, translucent CD player with its internals partly visible. Switch off the lights and the shell glows green. The effect comes from a phosphorescent material that soaks up light and releases it slowly, so there are no LEDs involved.
It is one of four colors, alongside Warm Gray, Ray of Light and 1983. Tom's Hardware notes that only this edition glows.
The hardware
The retro look hides modern parts. Bluetooth 5.3 sends music to wireless headphones or a speaker, such as Marshall's party speaker. There is also a 3.5mm headphone jack and built-in stereo speakers.
The player has Bluetooth 5.3, a 3.5mm jack and built-in speakers.
A rechargeable lithium-ion battery charges over USB-C and lasts five to seven hours at 50% volume. Physical buttons handle play, pause, stop, skip and search. A dial doubles as the volume control and power switch.
The player also has ESP, or electronic skip protection. It keeps a 60-second buffer so music doesn't cut out when you bump it.
Physical buttons and a volume dial that doubles as the power switch.
The catch
Sincere doesn't list support for CD-R, CD-RW or MP3 discs. If your collection is burned discs, this isn't the player for you. Playing audio over USB-C isn't mentioned either. Rivals handle more formats, including the FiiO DM13 at about $129 and the Studebaker SB3706 at about $60 with MP3 CD support.
The price
There is no official Western distributor. Amazon Japan ships some orders abroad, though that depends on the seller and your country. On eBay, listings run about $136 to $150 in the US and around £101 in the UK. That is a markup of 60% or more over the Japanese price, before any import duties.
Wireless audio is spreading into older formats. Yamaha's R200A did the same for a hi-fi receiver, adding Bluetooth and a phono input. For After Hours, the glow is the selling point. If you just want to play CDs with Bluetooth headphones, cheaper players are easier to find.
