Gifts for Audiophiles

The bookshelf speaker most often used as the reference in this class. A 12th generation Uni-Q coaxial driver with Metamaterial Absorption Technology that absorbs 99 percent of unwanted rear tweeter energy. 85 dB sensitivity, so they want a real amplifier like the CXA81 below. This is the speaker an audiophile has on a shortlist for years.

80 watts per channel into 8 ohms with a toroidal transformer, an ESS Sabre ES9018K2M DAC, aptX HD Bluetooth, and balanced XLR inputs. It replaces a receiver or a vintage integrated with a clean, current design that drives the LS50 Meta or the SVS towers properly. Our HiFi listening room guide covers amplifier matching.

A 3.5-way tower with dual 6.5 inch woofers, a 4.5 inch midrange, and a 1 inch aluminum dome tweeter, rated 87 dB and down to 30 Hz. The gift for someone with a larger room who wants full-range sound without a subwoofer. Read our Prime Tower review.

The streamer for someone with a serious DAC or amplifier. Bluesound's 2024 Node has a THX AAA headphone amp, HDMI eARC, USB out to an external DAC, and BluOS with Tidal, Qobuz, and Roon Ready. It replaces a laptop or phone as the source, which is usually the weakest link in an otherwise good system.

The turntable that most enthusiast reviewers point to first at this price. A carbon fiber tonearm, a heavy steel platter with TPE damping, electronic speed switching, and a pre-fitted Sumiko Rainier cartridge. It replaces a suitcase or all-in-one player with a real deck that can be upgraded for a decade.

The alternative at $100 less. Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge fitted from the factory, an acrylic platter, servo speed control, and isolation feet. The 2M Blue is a genuine upgrade cartridge that most people buy separately for $240, so the RT85 is the better value if the recipient does not already own a good cartridge.

The music subwoofer. Sealed cabinet for tight, accurate bass, 12 inch driver, 325 W RMS, app-controlled DSP with parametric EQ. It fills in the bottom octave under bookshelf speakers without the boom of a ported movie sub. Our subwoofer guide compares sealed and ported.

For the audiophile who wants one box on a desk or shelf. A 150 W amplifier built in, a 24-bit DAC, aptX HD Bluetooth, and an analog input for a turntable with a phono stage. It replaces a computer speaker set or a small Bluetooth speaker with a real stereo pair.

The travel headphone. Sony's latest QN3 processor with twelve microphones, LDAC high-resolution Bluetooth, a folding design that returned this generation, and about 30 hours of battery. The gift for the audiophile who flies.

The reference open-back design refreshed with more low-end extension and a lower 300 ohm impedance than the HD 650, so it runs from the DACs below without strain. Open-back headphones are what most audiophiles use at home because of the wider soundstage; they leak sound, so they are a home gift.

A 3.5 inch touchscreen streamer with an ESS Sabre DAC, HDMI ARC, a phono input for a turntable, and Chromecast, AirPlay 2, Tidal Connect, and Spotify Connect. It replaces a phone as the source and adds room correction. The best value streamer under $400.

The headphone that has been the audiophile benchmark for two decades, and still is at this price. 300 ohm, open-back, with a warm, natural tonal balance that reviewers use as the reference. Pairs with the FiiO K7 or iFi Zen DAC 3 below.

A desktop DAC and headphone amp with a Burr-Brown DAC chip, balanced 4.4 mm and unbalanced 6.3 mm outputs, MQA and DSD512 support, and a bass boost switch. It replaces a laptop headphone jack, which is the single biggest upgrade for anyone who listens at a desk.

The alternative desktop DAC with dual AK4493S DAC chips, a THX AAA-788+ amplifier, balanced and unbalanced outputs, and optical and coaxial inputs so it also works with a TV or streamer. Drives 300 ohm headphones like the HD 650 with authority.

A hand-built open-back headphone from a Brooklyn family company, with a forward, detailed sound that makes rock and jazz recordings feel immediate. Low impedance, so it runs from a phone or the DragonFly. The gift for someone who does not own an open-back pair yet.

The streamer that adds Chromecast, AirPlay 2, Tidal Connect, and Spotify Connect to any existing amplifier with RCA or optical input. It replaces a phone on Bluetooth with a proper wired network source. The lowest-cost way to modernize a vintage system.

The closed-back studio headphone that has sold in the millions, with 45 mm drivers, a detachable cable, and isolation that makes it usable in an office or on a train. The right pick when the recipient needs a headphone that does not leak sound.

A USB stick DAC and headphone amp with an ESS Sabre DAC and 2.1 volts of output, enough for most full-size headphones. It replaces a phone or laptop headphone jack for someone who listens on the move. Fits in a coat pocket.

The manual record washer that vinyl collectors buy once and keep. A basin with brushes and a bath of alcohol-free fluid cleans both sides of a record in a minute. Clean records are the cheapest improvement to any turntable.

Fifty feet of 12 AWG oxygen-free copper, CL2 rated for in-wall runs. Gauge matters more than brand: 12 AWG keeps resistance low on runs over 25 feet. Our speaker wire guide covers gauge by length.

Twelve pairs of gold-plated closed-screw banana plugs. They make speaker connections repeatable and stop stray strands shorting the amplifier. The gift that everyone with bare-wire connections needs and never buys.

A walnut and aluminum stand that keeps an open-back headphone off the desk and the headband from creasing. Small, solid, and matched to the wood on most turntables.

Eight silicone isolation feet for speakers, subwoofers, or a turntable. They decouple the cabinet from the shelf, which tightens bass and stops a turntable picking up footfalls. Under $15.