Hi-Fi MP3 players are nothing new. Over the past few years, standalone MP3 players offering high-quality audio (such as those available from HiFiMan) have become more and more available. But have any of those been modeled after the majestic design of the Sega Saturn? ACTIVO is changing that right now. Feast your eyes on the ACTIVO CT10 Sega Saturn. Those with deep-pockets and an eye for interesting electronics can own one of these bad-boys starting November 22, 2018. The device will come in 2 different variants (white or grey) and will retail at around ¥44,800. At the time of this writing, that roughly translates out to $397.97.
The players themselves are capable of playing back many different audio formats including WAV, FLAC, MP3, WMA, etc. They will include 16 GB of onboard flash memory as well as a microSD slot capable of expanding the storage by an additional 400 GB. They will also feature capacitive touch screens and support Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity. For anyone a bit more interested in technical details, this device will also function as an amp for USB audio and as a DAC (digital-to-analog convertor) for digital audio sources. More impressive still, it will support playback of MQA sound sources. This is a high-fidelity audio technology which is still in its infancy, but has recently been turning some heads (mine included).
Besides its basic function as a Hi-Fi audio device, the CT-10 will also come several pre-loaded BGM tracks from popular Sega Saturn games. These tracks will vary depending on which model you purchase and will not be ripped from a high-res audio source. Unfortunately, these devices are limited to just 500 per color (1000 overall) and are not for sale outside of Japan. If you do manage to find a site selling them worldwide though, leave a comment below to let us know. For more information on the device, please check out its official product page.
