Mike Kobrin

Building a traditional amplifier isn’t rocket science, but making a digital one that’s a fraction of the size and just as powerful is. Part of a wireless music-streaming system, the tiny Sonos Zone Player ZP120 is able to drive giant speakers like the B&W 803s [pictured] using the same kind of power supply found in satellites.

Playing the harp isn’t the most high-tech pastime—unless, like Stephen Hobley, you use lasers in place of the strings. Though not the first home-built laser harp, Hobley’s creation is unquestionably the coolest. Played by disrupting the laser beams with his hands, it can produce just about any sound. Better yet, it’s also a fully functioning controller for a version of Guitar Hero.

Sacrificing sound quality for size was clearly not on the agenda when Ultimate Ears set out to create these top-of-the-line buds.