Philips turns back time with new retro-inspired audio range: boomboxes, headphones and some totally gnarly 80s designs

Whether you’re hankering for the music hall sepia toned days of the gramophone, or the day-glo vibes of the 80s ghetto blaster, a new line of retro-inspired audio gear from Philips will send you (radio) ga-ga.

Celebrating 100 years in the audio business, the Philips Retro Range revives and modernises designs and classic products from across Philips history, dipping into the different trends, styles and passions of music lovers across the decades — all the while keeping the modern conveniences expected of the streaming generation.

There’s a lot to look at, from old-school headphones to colourful boomboxes and mid-century styled turntable decks. We’ve been checking out the new design-led range at a worldwide launch event in the company’s hometown of Eindhoven — here’s a sneak peek at the new products ready to rock in the coming weeks and months.

The Tina — compact all-in-one turntable with heritage styling

Compact, all-in-one turntables are an easy way to get into the vinyl revival, but they tend to be a bit hit and miss when it comes to quality. The Philips Tina wants to plug that gap with a design that not only harks back to the glory days of the record player, but fills it with current tech.

Combining turntable, DAB+/FM tuner, USB audio and Bluetooth 5.4 (with Auracast multi-device daisy-chain connectivity), this integrated system pumps out 120W power (making it the world’s most powerful all-in-one) in a 2.1 configuration.

Two 1-inch tweeters, and two 2.5-inch mid-range drivers sit alongside a 4.5-inch subwoofer to give some rarely-seen oomph in this form factor, while a two-speed precision belt-drive, solid aluminium diecast platter, extruded aluminium straight arm and a replaceable Audio Technica MM cartridge give it credibility for the vinyl diehards. SBC and LC3 codecs on the digital side will make your MP3s and streamed audio sing, too.

The key draw here though is the look — with a dark oak-like casing and a chunky speaker grill that sits below the vinyl platter, it harks back to the legacy radio and hi-fi designs that Philips made its name with.

• Price: £399.99

The Stevie — Tina’s soulful little bro

If The Tina is simply the best, The Stevie is the master blaster for those looking to get a foot in the door at the entry level with turntables. More reserved in its design and nodding to the black plastic casings of 1990s hi-fi, it’s an affordable one-stop device for the next generation of vinyl lovers.

It’s a three-speed, belt driven turntable with a replaceable Audio Technica MM cartridge, with the system offering a more modest 12W power output. Like the Tina, it’s also well equipped for wireless playback, making use of Bluetooth 5.4 and the SBC and LC3 codecs.

• Price: £129.99

The Janet — Portable radio with atomic-age curves

Philips was one of the early consumer radio pioneers, and The Janet takes its cues from the golden age of radio, the 1950s with its atomic-era optimism, reflected in this new FM & DAB radio’s curved exterior. Measuring just 180mm x 100mm x 60mm, The Janet squeezes in a 2.4-inch colour display, a range of FM and DAB presets, Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity, alarm clock functionality and a replaceable battery that’s good for 15 hours of playback per 3.5 hour charge.

• Price: £69.99

Image 1 of 6

The Freddie and The Ringo — Throwback open-backs, and light band on-ears

Classic Philips designs return in the portable over-ear headphone range element of the Century line-up, too. The Freddie is the stadium filling rhapsody here, packing 50mm neodymium drivers, spacious over-ear sound and wired connectivity. The Ringo is the wireless option, and will be familiar to anyone who was best friends with a personal cassette player, marrying the 80s era metal headband with 40mm drivers, Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity and 26-hours playback per charge.

• Prices: The Freddie (£99.99) / The Ringo (£29.99)

The Moving Sound range - The Roller, The Tube, and more TBC

The most fun elements of the line up might be the stuff we’ve got to wait longest for — Philips is reviving its Moving Sound range, bringing modernised versions of its classic, colourful 1980s range back.

Boldly coloured with yellow chassis, black speaker grilles and primary coloured buttons, they’re speakers and personal audio gear that look like a bag of liquorice all sorts. Two main products will lead the range — the roller-skate inspired, curvy-shaped The Roller, and a larger, beefier The Tube device which will be block-party ready with its audio output.

Both boast 24-hour playback and bang-up-to-date Bluetooth 5.5 connectivity with Auracast multi-device linking, so it’s size and output the differentiating factors here. The larger The Tube measures 510mm x 200mm x 165mm and pumps 140W of power through its two 5-inch woofers, two 1.5-inch tweeters, and two side firing passive bass radiators. The Roller measures 380mm × 200mm × 120mm, and offers 60W output. Both are designed to be used on the go, each with carry handles and The Tube with a shoulder strap, while an IP67 rating keeps them safe in harsh weather.

Though aping the look of portable cassette decks of the 80s, these will be digital-only playback devices, built for streaming and Bluetooth playback — but will feature a screen animated to hark back to the mechanics of cassette playback. Thankfully without the chewed up tapes and pencil rewinders.

Image 1 of 4

A line-up of over-ear headphones and in-ear true wireless buds complete the range — the MS1 and MS5 — while a karaoke box is also being considered.

The kicker? We’ll have to wait until a vague “Q2 2026” release date for these items, and both their final designs and tech specs are still to be finalised. But if legwarmers and Now That’s What I Call Music compilations tickle your nostalgia gland, you’ll get as much a kick out of these new speakers as the ‘yoof’ they’re aimed at. We’ll keep you posted as their releases come into focus.

• Price and release date: TBC

• Apple AirPods Pro 3 review: The best in-ear noise cancelling you’ll ever not hear