Best gifts for audiophiles
Music lovers are increasingly spoilt for choice when it comes to high performance hi-fi equipment. Stereo, once in the doldrums, is back in fashion. Portable audio players and DACs, plus headphones of every design, have transformed the clarity of music on the move, while desktop sound systems and Bluetooth are rewriting how we connect in the home. Premium hardware is increasingly looking like a sound investment.
Fuelling this new-found audiophile desire is a significant upturn in the quality of available music. There's really no reason to slum it with MP3 anymore. Both Quobuz and Tidal offer CD quality 16 bit/44kHz files for streaming, and 24-bit High Resolution Audio downloads are gaining traction, thanks to online stores such as OnkyoMusic, Technics Tracks and Linn Records. Subscribe to Qobuz Sublime and you can even stream 24-bit. And if you want to go evangelise analogue, vinyl pressings are flying the flag for retro cool.
Now just shut up and take our money…
Pioneer XDP-100R Digital Audio Player
The XDP-100R is an ultra high-end music system you can pop in your pocket. This chunky DAP (Digital Audio Player) is not only compatible with audio codec du jour MQA, which delivers studio master quality music in a stupidly small file format, but it also plays all the other Hi-Res Audio formats you can actually buy.
Features include a breathtakingly good SABRE DAC, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support, and has the kind of build quality usually reserved for battleship amplifiers. The XDP-100R also sounds jaw-droppingly beautiful. It comes with 32GB storage, but can be extended to a whopping 432GB via two micro SD cards.
Price: £500
Where to buy: Peter Tyson
Chord Mojo smartphone DAC
Turn your current mobile into a premium music player with the Chord Mojo DAC. This combi headphone amplifier and DAC will make the most of any music file, delivering it with a level of audio grade precision and musicality that your phone just can't muster it on its own.
Just connect via Micro USB, optical or 3.5mm coaxial input, and liberate your music library. The Mojo owes much to the brand's high-end Hugo DAC, but is a third of the price. A four hour charge offers around around ten hours' of cochlear enchantment. The unrelentingly funky design is a bit Marmite, but adds to the fun.
Price: £399
Where to buy: Amazon
Rega RP1 Limited Edition Queen turntable
Vinyl is back in vogue – and if you're looking for a player that's more than a little royal, kneel before Rega's RP1 Queen edition. Produced to accompany the remastered 18-disc Queen record album collection, this limited edition disc spinner features a reproduction of the Freddie Mercury designed Queen crest silkscreen printed across the platter, and distinctive Queen logo on the plinth. Everything else is pure Rega. The turntable features a hand-built RB101 tone arm, with a new low noise, low vibration, 24v synchronous motor and a Rega Carbon moving magnet cartridge. An optional upgrade to the handmade Rega Bias 2 cartridge is also available. Only 2000 turntables have been produced worldwide, so if you want to gift this classic rock collectable you'll need to move faster the 33rpm.
Price: £315
Where to buy: Analogue Seduction
Astell&Kern AK Jr portable music player
Looking for a digital music player that's as stylish as it is sonically superior? Then grab an earful of the Astell&Kern AK Jr. Design-wise this DAP is light years ahead of the competition, just 6.9mm thin and 93g light, and it sounds mighty fine too, thanks to the a 24bit/192hKz friendly Wolfson DAC secreted within the slim aluminium case.
The player also boasts Bluetooth and a highly capable headphone amp. The AK Jr comes with 64GB of internal memory, expandable to 128GB via microSD. To see one is to want one.
Price: £399
Where to buy: Amazon
Audio-Technica ATH-ANC40BT Bluetooth in-ear headphones
Audio-Technica's in-ear aptX Bluetooth headphones combine effective noise cancelling along with a genuinely musical performance, making them perfect for the daily commute as the Feed-Forward Active technology also claims to cancel up to 90 percent of exterior sound.
The buds utilize a neckband design but come with optional cable when battery power flags. Sound quality is fulsome, not least because the ATH-ANC40BT employs generous 13.5mm drivers for appreciable bass. An integrated mic and controls allow you to take calls, as well as adjust volume and control playback.
Price: £149
Where to buy: Amazon
Plantronics Backbeat Pro Bluetooth over-ear headphones
While Plantronics may be better known for office chit-chat gear, its Backbeat Pros are very much designed for downtime. Surprisingly comfortable, with generously padded headband and ear cushions, they boast a broody badass design and use low latency aptX CSR Bluetooth for premium audio streaming.
NFC setup and 24 hours of immersive wireless listening make for a reliable listen, while an OpenMic feature lets you hear the real world when you really need to. Midrange clarity is high and there's deep, but not overplayed, bass.
Price: £106
Where to buy: Amazon
HeadsUp headphone stand
Are your beloved cans an eyesore when off duty? Treat them to a HeadsUp stand. This smart base gives your headphones somewhere to hang out when not in use, and features some canny design touches. There's integrated cable management, to minimize spaghetti tangles, and a clip on cradle for your phone or mobile music player. The HeadsUp is sturdy enough to cope with high-end hi-fi headphones as well as lightweight on-ears, and comes in glossy, red, black and white finishes. Every headphone fanatic should have one.
Price: £30
Where to buy: HeadsUp
Arcam miniBlink
Add high-quality Bluetooth streaming to your beloved old two channel amp with Arcam's miniBlink – hands down the best standalone Bluetooth solution available. This glossy black pebble is built around a superb aptX CSR chip that manages to elevate wireless streaming way above the norm when it comes to fidelity, effectively turning any smartphone into an extremely creditable musical source.
It's a doddle to pair and hooks up via a 3.5mm jack. File under essential.
Price: £100
Where to buy: Amazon
Oppo HA-2
This handsome leather-clad headphone amp and DAC from Oppo, a brand more familiar for premium Blu-ray players, brings a touch of finely stitched refinement to the portable audio high-end. The HA-2 sports two USB DAC inputs (with support for DSD256 and all file formats up to), one for iOS devices, and the other for laptops and Android kit, and employs a high-grade ESS Sabre 32 Reference chip beneath the hood for spacious dynamic sound. There's even adjustable gain for headphone matching.
Price: £260
Where to buy: Amazon
Teac AI-101DA
Sometime less is very much more. The TEAC AI-101DA is a highly compact USB DAC amplifier designed to play back 192kHz/24-bit content; it can be used with headphones or a pair of bookshelf speakers. It's nicely made (aluminium machined knobs!), has a 2x26w Class D digital power plant bolstered by proprietary HR Loudness DSP processing and uses a decent PCM1796 BurrBrown DAC.
The result is an engaging musical soundstage. In addition to aptX Bluetooth support, connectivity includes USB-B, twin digital optical audio inputs and 3.5mm stereo jack. You really don't need anything more.
Price: £249
Where to buy: Amazon
Moon Neo 230HAD
Purveyor of posh hi-fi kit Moon reckons it can eclipse the competition with the Neo 230HAD headphone amplifier. Aimed at enthusiasts craving an esoteric desktop hi-fi system compatible with 24/192kHz files, it features a DSD256/32-bit PCM capable DAC, oversized toroidal transformer and vibration free chassis.
At home with a PC, laptop or disc player, it sports three digital audio inputs and one USB. Anyone that finds one of these in their sock will be over the proverbial.
Price: £1,150
Where to buy: Renaissance Audio
