Korg Handytraxx Portable Record Players
Korg brought a new line of portable record players to the 2025 NAMM show, designed for everyone from DJs and vinyl enjoyers to serious archivists. The Handytraxx traces its origin to the Vestax Handy Trax that debuted in the early 2000s, and was designed with Handy Trax co-creator Toshihide Nakama before he passed in 2023. The Handytraxx lineup encompasses three models. The Handytraxx Play is designed for DJs and live performing, with a built-in crossfader, low and high-pass filters, EQ, delay, and a variable-speed looper for sampling and creating beats. The Play uses an AC adapter or six AA batteries and has a pair of 2.5-watt speakers and a headphone jack. The Tube adds an aluminum platter and software to monitor pitch and speed to optimize playback. The tonearm has an adjustable counterweight and features Korg's Nutube tech that emulates traditional tube amplification. Topping the range is the 1bit upgrades the Play with Korg's AudioGate 4 software to digitize vinyl to the Direct Stream Digital format. Instead of traditional 16-bit, 44.1Hz sampling, the 1bit samples the incoming audio at 5.6 million times per second for archival-quality digital recordings. Korg didn't give a release date for the Handytraxx lineup, but expect it to launch sometime this year.
