It’s not easy to imagine big sound coming out of a small package, which is what Sony endeavours to deliver here with its wireless Bluetooth Speaker Ball. The SRS-BTV5, which is the product’s actual model number, is a bit like a baseball, except it’s lighter and much more colourful. It’s meant to be versatile, but what it outputs in sound is what makes it tough to listen the way you’d like to.

Not everybody is a DJ, but it’s one of those things that most people appreciate in some way. Whether it’s dancing the night away in a nightclub or listening to a great set of tracks in your car, DJing seems to have become an art people are drawn to, and the power of smartphones today means you can do a little bit of it yourself. To be fair, the iRig Mix Mobile Mixer isn’t going to replace expensive DJ gear outright, but it is a good entry point into mixing tracks.

The iPad has been a pretty interesting device for musicians over the last few years. There is a growing ecosystem of hardware and software that makes these tablets invaluable to musicians. One of the latest such products I’ve been able to check out is the Focusrite iTrack Solo. This handy little device lets you record guitar and vocals straight on your iPad without the need for any computer intermediary, so it is a great solution for use in the studio or on the go.

It’s already widely known that Vevo is the go-to app for watching music videos on a smartphone or tablet, but what if you wanted to watch music videos based on songs you have in your own collection? MusicTV is a neat little app that does just that; it scours YouTube and plays a music video that matches the song you’re playing.

Sennheiser isn’t known for releasing headphones that will attract the kind of attention celebrity-themed ones do these days, but the quality of the product and the trust the brand earns is why you should consider a good pair from them. The Momentum over-ear headphones are a stylish pair (by Sennheiser standards) that offer some of the most balanced sound you can find for the price.

I’ve learned to play a handful of musical instruments over the course of my life. I love watching how the technology changes and seeing what new possibilities there are. Most of the keyboards I’ve owned have been from Casio but taking a look at their lineup today, things have really come a long way from the keyboards of my youth.

If you were ever on the fence about trying out Rdio, you can go way beyond just the seven-day trial they usually offer and stream music for free for a full six months instead. The new deal, announced earlier today, allows you to sign up without any credit card or payment information to start listening to anything in the full catalog of 18 million tracks.

Like SMS Audio in the post below, we’ve got another cosmetic change for a pair of headphones — Sennheiser’s Momentum. Future Shop carries the original brown model that came out last year, but Sennheiser will be releasing a black model with a red cable within a few months, I was told. There’s nothing different under the hood, so the sound will be the same, and the $399.99 price tag will likely be, too.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to talk to 50 Cent himself about the latest SMS Audio headphones bearing his name and likeness, but then again, there wasn’t a whole lot of news to report, either. The one piece of info that might interest you is that new colours for the Street on-ear headphones were presented at CES, and word is they’ll be hitting Canada sometime soon, possibly before the spring. There are no technical differences between these and the original models, so this is purely a cosmetic change. The new colours are navy blue, monster green, metallic orange, metallic pink, metallic red, metallic teal.

Ion is a company known for making smartphone and tablet accessories that are a little unusual, but plenty of fun. The Party Rocker is a big standing speaker that can play music wirelessly from any Bluetooth-enabled music player or via a standard 3.5mm line-in cable. The light at the top projects lights like a disco ball onto the walls and ceiling of a room, and can change the colours and patterns based on the beat of the music you’re playing. There’s also a microphone for those who want to go all-out and start singing along.

Got a quick look today at the Navigator on-ear headphones from Skullcandy, and this sunglasses-inspired set is a light and stylish design that should be coming to Canada before the spring after having been out in the U.S. since the fall. They’re going for $99 south of the border, so expect to see a similar price point up here in the Great White North.

Bob Marley’s son, Rohan, was on hand at a pre-CES show to talk about the new products House of Marley will be showcasing when CES officially kicks off tomorrow. Two of the standouts I confirmed will be coming to Canada are Bag of Riddim speaker system and Liberate headphones.

It might not be a stretch to say that satellite radio has just gone through a little bit of a makeover because of how listening to the content has changed. It used to be something you’d keep in the car or near a window at home. Some Internet functionality came in with certain speaker systems and the mobile apps a couple of years ago, but the Lynx from SiriusXM takes those things and brings them to a standalone device.

If you have a Sonos sound system, you will be interested to know that you can now stream music and podcasts you have stored on the device directly, instead of having to do it through your Mac or PC. Update your Sonos Controller app on your iOS device and you’ll see your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch appear under the Music menu.

Those of you who have a smartphone, tablet, computer, or any combination of the three — as well as a PlayStation Plus subscription — might be interested to know that Sony has is also offering its Music Unlimited music streaming service for just $12 for a full year. That amounts to $1 per month for something that is normally $9.99 per. There’s no word on how long the promotion will last, but it’s there to scoop up on your PlayStation 3.