The Gadhouse Eric CD player is affordable and feature-packed

Gadhouse unveils Eric (a new CD player, not a robot) It's about a third of the price of other portable options we've seen Bluetooth, multiple headphone jacks, an FM radio receiver and a screen I write one piece of audio news every day of the week for TechRadar's audio editor, and it's been ages sinc

<![CDATA[ <article> <ul><li><strong>Gadhouse unveils Eric (a new CD player, not a robot)</strong></li><li><strong>It's about a third of the price of other portable options we've seen</strong></li><li><strong>Bluetooth, multiple headphone jacks, an FM radio receiver and a screen</strong></li></ul><p>I write one piece of audio news every day of the week for TechRadar's audio editor, and it's been ages since I covered any new earbuds or headphones for her. Why? Because <a href="https://www.techradar.com/audio/the-cd-renaissance-is-going-strong-and-cd-players-are-looking-a-little-different-this-time-around-here-are-the-quirky-disc-spinners-you-need-to-see">so many new CD players</a>, turntables and cassette players are launching. It's like I'm working in the 80s.</p><p>Taking the spotlight today is Eric. Not any old Eric; the Gadhouse Eric, with unconfirmed reports (which I've only just made up) saying that it was named after a man down the pub. Gadhouse is apparently turning into a madhouse for the physical media revival, after showing us <a href="https://www.techradar.com/audio/everyone-seemingly-hates-modern-tech-this-brand-new-retro-cassette-player-proves-the-hipsters-right">the Gadhouse Miko cassette player earlier this year</a> — and let's not forget last year's <a href="https://www.techradar.com/audio/gadhouse-duke-roy-review">Gadhouse Duke &amp; Roy powered speakers and turntable</a> combo for vinyl lovers. </p><p>The Gadhouse Eric is set to cost just $84.50 / £59.99 (about AU$120), so it's a lot cheaper than the likes of the <a href="https://www.techradar.com/audio/portable-media-players/this-retro-inspired-portable-cd-player-looks-super-sleek-has-audiophile-credentials-including-a-headphones-amp-for-spicier-cans-lasts-12-hours-and-offers-bluetooth-3-5mm-4-4mm-and-coax-output-too">Shanling EC Player</a> or <a href="https://www.techradar.com/audio/i-didnt-know-i-wanted-a-super-cool-wireless-audiophile-portable-cd-player-until-i-saw-fiios">FiiO DM13</a>; they're both about three times the price. </p><p>At that money, this could be the budget portable CD player to beat. It's on sale right now, though Gadhouse says that it'll be launching new color options through 2027.</p><h2 id="a-range-of-extra-features-and-tools">A range of extra features and tools</h2><p>You want a CD player to do one thing: play CDs. Eric does that, sorted. Wait, it does more?</p><p>That's right, Gadhouse has slapped an FM radio receiver into the Eric, so you can <a href="https://www.techradar.com/audio/dab-radios/3-cheap-reliable-hand-crank-radios-still-available-that-arent-just-for-preppers-hear-emergency-broadcasts-if-the-power-grid-fails">skip the doomsday prepping with a hand-cranked option</a> and use this if you'd prefer. This is presumably arranged via its little display, and the slider you can see in the picture.</p><p>What else does it do? Well, it lets you connect wirelessly using Bluetooth, which I bet your grandad's CD player doesn't do. It also has not one, but two 3.5mm audio jacks; you can connected to two headphones at once to share music, or connected to a hi-fi system if you'd prefer.</p><p>If there's any potential problem I foresee, it's that the battery life is only 4 hours long, so you're going to struggle taking this travelling. It can be recharged via a USB-C port in the back.</p> </article> ]]>