Share Your Love of HiFi Audio: 2024 Audio Gift Guide

It’s that time of year again, and you’ve got gifts to buy for your nearest and dearest. You want to get them something that will help them experience music and audio the way you do, but you don’t know if they’re ready for a HIFIMAN HE1000 Unveiled paired with a Chord Qutest, and Feliks Euforia EVO amp. We’ve compiled a list, with ideas from our team and feedback from our own loved ones to help you share the joy of HiFi audio this Holiday Season.

Wireless Headphones that Don’t Suck

If we’re being honest, if most of the people on our lists want audio gear, it’s probably just a new set of wireless headphones. We’ve got a few ideas to give a gift that they’ll love that might also spark a deeper love of great audio.

For traditional over-ear headphones, there are a lot of great options. The Final UX3000 has been out for a few years, but remains one of the best budget options if you want a high-end build and great sound at a low price. If a familiar name, and a slightly better feature set is more important than sound, Sennheiser Accentum Plus is available for a few dollars more.

If you’re looking for wireless headphones that are just as good for gaming as music, the Audeze Maxwell remains the best option out there. Maxwell doesn’t just give you great features, it has some of the best technical performance of any wireless headphone out there.

For the absolute best wireless headphones on the market though, you have to go with Noble FoKus Apollo. Apollo is jam-packed with features, and its innovative hybrid driver design provides a massive “wow” factor. From the build to the comfort to the sound, Apollo is clearly a cut above just about everything else out there.

For TWS earphones, there are a lot of options, but the Sennheiser Momentum Series captures a lot of the best parts of the market. Momentum 4 TWS has some of the best tech and connectivity on the market and sounds amazing too. If you’re shopping for an exercise enthusiast, Momentum Sport takes the core of Momentum 4 TWS and adds advanced fitness tracking features, like a heart monitor, to make them the perfect earbud for working out.

If you just want the best sound available, Noble’s new Rex5 TWS offers sound and audio performance that rival high-end wired IEMs along with advanced DSP and personalization features that allow listeners to craft the perfect tuning for their ears.

Build a Simple Portable Setup

Not everyone is against wires – and I know plenty of folks who aren’t “audiophiles” who wish Apple would bring back the headphone jack. If you have someone like that on your “Nice List,” you might consider a simple portable setup that’ll work around the house or on the go.

A good portable setup needs to start with a portable DAC, and you’ve got options there ranging from the simple and effective iFi GO Link Max to a larger more premium option like the tube powered xDuoo XD05T. In between, the sleek, feature-packed iBasso DC07Pro might land in the sweet spot. Or if you know someone who wants to upgrade their IEMs without wires, the Celest T1 lets you turn any wired IEM into a wireless IEM.

Once you have the DAC figured out, you’ll need to actually pick the IEMs. For excellent, low-priced options, the entire Kinera Celest Series offers IEMs that look great and sound great without costing a lot. If you want a step up, you can grab one of our office favorites and one of the most celebrated recent IEMs under $500, the DITA Project M (now available in Candy Coated finishes too!)

Have a Friend that's Chained to Their Desk? Build Them a Better Chain!

Probably the person most in need of a great headphone setup is someone who’s job keeps them at a desk all day. Being at a desk provides more options for the DAC and Amp, but we’ll assume there isn’t enough desk space for a Cayin Soul 170HA and that a more modest option is best.

For a simple solution that sounds great and has great features without taking up a ton of space, the FiiO K7 Bluetooth is the perfect discreet desktop solution. If you’re looking for something for the burgeoning audiophile with a little extra desk space, the xDuoo TA-22 is an excellent all-arounder with a cool vintage aesthetic, but modern features.

If you want headphones to go with it, closed-back is probably best. For a closed-back set, the Sennheiser HD620S is becoming the go-to audiophile closed-back under $500, but the new FiiO FT1 is providing good competition there, and its wood cups add a touch of class, even though FT1 is half the price. There are, of course, a range of other options from the old faithful Meze 99 Classics to the Dan Clark Audio Noire X that capture a wide range of performance and price options.

Create a Haven With Music

With vinyl making a huge comeback these past few years and many bands releasing their music on vinyl again, having a turntable is becoming more important than ever. The problem is that turntable setups tend to either be cheap options that probably end up sounding worse than just listening on YouTube, or prohibitively complicated. Pro-Ject’s line of audiophile turntables, starting with the T2, offer a solid option to get started with vinyl, and the Triangle Audio BR03 simplifies your setup by integrating the Phono Preamp into the speakers to provide true HiFi sound just by connecting one wire.