Holiday gifts for the budget audiophile

SPONSORED: This post is brought to you by Best Buy.



The sounds and music of the holidays are as much a part of the experience as great food and time with your loved ones. These gifts show the ones you love that you're listening:

Beats by Dr. Dre – Beats Studio Over-the-Ear Headphones – Blue: Beats by Dre have taken the market by storm. They are well-balanced for much contemporary music, but it is their visual design that makes Beats so popular.


Roku – 1 Streaming Player: We've recommended the higher-end Roku 3 a number of times, but the Roku 1 gets the job done for folks on a budget. It offers an incredible library of content and an easy to use interface. We love Roku!


Apple® – iPod® touch MP3 Player with 32GB* Hard Drive: The iPod Touch is so much more than a music player but this model has 32GB of storage that should provide you with plenty of music and video while on the go.

Schiit Lyr: This is the Schiit. It's also is an amazingly affordable 6W headphone amp. If you need to drive some headphones, the Schiit Lyr will not disappoint (note: not necessary or recommended for Beats, above!)


B+W Zeppelin Air: To dock or not to dock? Who cares. The Zeppelin Air lets you stream your music, or leave your iPod/iPhone docked and charging. The device looks and sounds great.


Audio Engine D3 24-BIT DAC: The Audio Engine D3 24-BIT DAC plugs right into your laptop's USB port and replaces the weak-sounding on-board DAC provided by your manufacturer. It's tiny, and if your laptop has bad sound hardware, it's a serious upgrade!


Happy holidays!