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The Most Interesting Audio Products from IFA 2026
IFA 2026 was a notably strong show for audio, with room-corrected studio monitors, serious desktop electronics and unusually capable wireless headphones among the highlights.
IFA has traditionally been broader than the specialist audio shows, but the 2026 event in Berlin was a particularly good one for audio. The dedicated audio area was expanded, and new exhibitors such as Edifier and Moondrop joined returning brands including Fosi Audio. For Edifier, this was its first IFA appearance: IFA’s own exhibitor announcement lists the company among the new exhibitors for 2026. The show covered everything from studio monitors and desktop electronics to wireless headphones and AI-enabled earbuds.
Rather than list every product on display, these are the announcements that seemed most relevant to Informed Listening: products that introduce useful technology, address a real listening problem or suggest where mainstream audio is heading next.
Edifier XR6: a serious active monitor with room correction
The most interesting Edifier product at IFA was probably the XR6, a three-way active studio monitor with an aluminium enclosure and integrated room-acoustic calibration. The system combines onboard DSP with PC software to measure and compensate for the listening environment, while Edifier says the acoustic design is intended to maintain a flat response both on- and off-axis.
That combination is more significant than another conventional powered speaker. Controlled directivity, adequate low-frequency capability and room correction address several of the problems that make loudspeaker performance difficult to predict in a domestic room. Edifier was also showing the M90, which I have already reviewed on Pragmatic Audio, alongside the matching MW6T dual-6.5-inch subwoofer. The XR6 points towards a more ambitious form of active monitoring, while the MW6T gives the system a route to deeper bass when the room and listening priorities call for it.
Official Edifier XR6 and IFA 2026 product page
Source: Edifier: IFA 2026 audio innovations ↗
Edifier WH950NB Pro: a new dual-driver ANC headphone
Edifier also used IFA to show the WH950NB Pro, a new flagship wireless ANC headphone. It combines a 40 mm woofer with a dedicated 10 mm tweeter in each earcup, alongside adaptive hybrid ANC, spatial audio with head tracking, LDAC, Bluetooth 6.1, multipoint and USB-C digital audio. Edifier says the headphone can provide around 70 hours of playback with ANC disabled, although the product was not expected to go on sale immediately after the show.
The dual-driver arrangement is the detail I will be watching most closely. It is a more ambitious approach than the single full-range driver used in many wireless headphones, but its value will depend on the crossover, DSP and measured response rather than on the driver count alone. Readers interested in Edifier’s current approach to affordable ANC headphones can also see my Pragmatic Audio review of the Edifier W830NB, which includes measurements and discussion of its built-in PEQ.
Official Edifier WH950NB Pro product page
Fosi Audio ZH1: a compact desktop DAC and headphone amplifier
Fosi Audio brought four new products to IFA, but the ZH1 desktop DAC and headphone amplifier is the one most closely connected to the category that first made the company interesting to me. It is specified to deliver up to 2 W from its balanced headphone output, supports PCM up to 32-bit/768 kHz and DSD512, and includes parametric EQ functionality.
I had already listened to a pre-release ZH1 at CanJam London, and came away very impressed. It is an unusually good-looking headphone amplifier, but the appeal was not just visual: it sounded like a serious, thoughtfully specified piece of desktop equipment even before the final production version was available.
With a planned price around €170/$150, the ZH1 enters a competitive segment occupied by products from FiiO, Topping and SMSL. Whether its DAC is transparent is unlikely to be the interesting question in 2026. The more useful questions will be how well Fosi has implemented the headphone stage, how flexible the PEQ is and whether the software is straightforward enough to use every day.
Source: Fosi Audio: four new products at IFA 2026 ↗
EarFun Wave Pro X: useful DSP in an affordable ANC headphone
The Wave Pro X was officially released around IFA, and it is the product here I know best because I have already been using and measuring it for my Pragmatic Audio review.
It combines a 40 mm DLC dynamic driver with a coaxially mounted 10 mm LCP driver, Qualcomm’s QCC3095 platform, Bluetooth 6.0, LDAC, aptX Adaptive Lossless, Auracast, USB audio and hybrid ANC. The feature that matters most from an enthusiast perspective, though, is the new 10-band fully parametric EQ, with selectable filter types and master-gain control.
That makes the Wave Pro X more interesting than another competent ANC headphone. A measured response can be corrected accurately rather than approximated with a fixed-band graphic equaliser. At $129.99, it is also priced aggressively against most flagship wireless headphones. The full review covers the measured response, sound and practical limitations in more detail.
Source: EarFun: IFA 2026 Wave Pro X ↗
Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max: when the charging case becomes part of the product
Soundcore took a different approach with the Liberty 5 Pro Max. Its charging case includes an AMOLED display and a built-in microphone that can act as an AI note recorder. The case can record nearby meetings, lectures or interviews and generate transcripts and summaries, while the earbuds support LDAC, ANC and Soundcore’s app-based sound customisation.
The AI functions are peripheral to sound quality, but the underlying trend is worth watching. A charging case is becoming an active computing and control device rather than simply a battery with a few status lights. Soundcore’s product was also selected as an IFA 2026 Best in Audio honoree.
Source: Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max ↗
Moondrop made its IFA debut
It was also great to see Moondrop make its IFA debut. They were demoing their new speakers and a few new headphones, including the Darkside and the GM01 Pro.
I recently reviewed the Moondrop GM01 Pro on Pragmatic Audio, a remarkably capable low-cost wireless gaming headset that is worth considering as a headphone in its own right.
Why IFA 2026 mattered
IFA 2026 was a great show for audio because the interesting products were not simply expensive demonstrations of familiar categories. They showed useful technology moving into more accessible products.
Edifier is putting DSP-based room calibration into active monitors. Fosi is extending its affordable ecosystem into desktop DACs, headphone amplifiers and streaming hardware. EarFun has added a genuinely useful parametric EQ to a $130 ANC headphone. Soundcore is turning the charging case into an active part of the listening product.
That is a more meaningful direction than another DAC or passive loudspeaker promising marginal improvements. Room correction, PEQ, transparent amplification and better software integration are becoming normal features rather than specialist extras, and IFA 2026 provided several convincing examples of that shift.
Source: IFA Berlin: IFA Audio 2026 ↗