2013 Gift Guide

It is that time of year again, and we thought we'd throw together a gift guide of our own that would help bring more music into the family. We focused on things we have direct experience with, that we feel really did bring more music into our family, rather than tweaks to the audio system that may only interest one family member.


Whole House Music: Sonos ($199 on up)

The current Sonos Family - we're betting your whole
whole family will love it!

As a family we've enjoyed building our Sonos system over the last couple of years. We heartily recommend it to anyone else who is thinking of a whole house sound system who doesn't want to compromise the sound, and who also wants to feel like a technological wizard since they are so darn easy to set up.  While we don't use it for our main listening, for casual "whole house of music" listening, and as seamless integration into a number of streaming services, we've found this system to be deeply satisfying.  You can buy them one piece at a time, and since they never really go on sale ), you don't really have to wait. The best we have seen is they sometimes throw in a "bridge" with purchase or a local store gift card with purchase. Mancave Update: The D.H. realized that the Sonos Connect has a line in connector, and has since sent the output of our pre-amp into the Connect. Now, we can send our high res stuff, as well as our CDs, LPs, and other stuff to all of our Sonos Components. Can I hear an "Amen?" Laundry and cooking have never been more enjoyable!

Stream from your Phone:  Bluetooth interface to the Stereo (rBlink, $250)

the rBlink ... smartphone to stereo?
winning combination!

How about adding some interesting capability to your stereo?  A number of devices are now available that once paired to your computer, tablet or smartphone will allow you to play your computer's sound right to your stereo!  We are currently using the rBlink by Arcam which we feel offers top notch build and sound quality. We're currently using this to feed into a Sonos component to allow this to broadcast throughout the house.  It is a lot of fun, and we think it could be a great little addition to allow more family members in on the fun!




Bring Your Albums To Life:  The Denon DL-103R ($379)

Giant Killer since 1964!  It is like remastering
all of your old albums.

This little guy retails for nearly $400, but with some looking, you can find it from an authorized dealer for less than $300.  Our readers know that we think the world of this pickup, and feel it delivers multiples of its value in sound and music quality.  What we have also found, is that not only is it very easy to set up, it also brings old, used albums "to life" in a way even carts in the low four figures won't.  The term musical comes to mind.  But usually the term "musical" is faint praise ... like saying  someone has a great personality. But in this case, you get a big presentation with more detail than anything near its price. On some recordings that sounded thin or etched with our more expensive pickup, it was full, real and rich the way real music sounds.  On modern audiophile pressed recordings (the kind that press to 2 180-200g records, that are played back at 45RPM) it didn't do quite as well as a pickup 4-6 times more expensive (Ortofon Rondo Bronze for those keeping score).  Our trusty Grado Reference Sonata1 (MSRP $600) had a better, richer, almost euphonic midrange. It didn't deliver the bass authority or the treble extension of this one, so it was more of a lateral move (that cart is our choice for vocal recordings).  The difference, though, is slight, and wouldn't be noticeable unless you did a direct comparison.  But even at the full MSRP of $379, you won't find better anywhere near its price.  If you have a removable headshell, having one of these to swap in to play your growing collection of older vinyl Christmas albums (see below) would be a great use of them.  We also suspect you may just leave it in well beyond the point where you put away the Christmas lights, since it does so well on pressings from the 60's to the 80's - especially on rock and pop music.

Add Some Analog:  A (Decent) Turntable ($150+ vintage, $399+ new)

This is the same model that got us
into vinyl.  A great way to get started!

A good vintage turntable will set you back about $150 or more.  A decent new one will cost about $400-500.  Without too much trouble you can easily find examples that command the price of a Mercedes Benz S550 - we'll just say that there is something out there that will fit your budget.  (For a point of reference, the "average" turntable people owned in the late 1970's translated to today's dollars would be about $2000) We suggest this year, might be the right one to take the plunge.  While our current reference is a SOTA Sapphire turntable, the one we got started with was a Denon 35F that we found languishing in our basement from the 1980's. We repaired it, added on a new cartridge and took the plunge.  If you don't already have one, we'd recommending finding a local shop that sells and repairs a vintage table rather than picking one up on eBay.  If you don't have a local shop, we'd say a decent new one in the $400-500 range would be a great way to get started - and we're a big fan of patronizing local dealers. There are a number of attractive packages put together by Rega, Music Hall, Pro-Ject and others in the $400-500 range.  Of course if your budget is larger, you can get higher performance for more money, too, obviously.

Revive Your LP's:  A record cleaner ($80+)

Spin Clean ... a great investment

If you have already have a turntable, and have been using the old brush-and-alcohol method by RCA, getting a better record cleaning method will yield unbelievable (as in "it's hard to believe the sound improved so much!") improvements in sound quality.  We did a survey of them some time ago.  But for those not wanting to click through, we love our Spin Clean, and for the $80 it costs, it will make a trip to the used record store a very easy proposition.  If you have more, then we'd recommend a vacuum based cleaning method - a little more noise and fuss, but they really do work.  We have a Nitty Gritty, but VPI and Okki Nokki offer compelling offerings, too.  We are dead serious when we say the single best upgrade we've ever done has been the record cleaning machine.

Boost Your Digital Sound:  A DAC ($500+ for a good one)

The Schiit Bifrost ... under $500 and stellar !

When you are listening to music, we find the higher sound quality is, the easier it is to relax and enjoy the music.  One simple way to boost the sound, is an external DAC.  You can send your Sonos digital out into it, or some have a USB that allows a solid computer hookup.  Prices for good ones start around $500, and of course can go well off into the stratosphere.  We think the current "sweet spots" for DAC's are currently clustering around $500, $1k, and also $6k.  We think some brands to look for are:  Arcam, Ayre, Berkeley Audio, Bricasti, Halide Designs, Luxman, Peachtree, Primaire, Plinius, Rega, Schiit, Teac, Wavelength Audio, Wadia, Weiss ...

Get Festive!  Christmas music, especially vinyl (variable, but $1 on up)

Yes, we have this in multiple formats!

Christmas music is cheap.  Used Christmas CD's and LP's are even cheaper.  And it is always good to pick up a few albums every year and grow a collection.  We have "A Very Special Christmas" going back into the 1980's and we picked up a few albums that were simply dynamite compilations by various tire companies in the 1960's and 1970's.  Having your own music playing all day on Christmas or the runup to it, really is more fun than streaming it from a number of services.  We like that Elusive Disc has a "Christmas Music" section and so does HD Tracks, if you want to download some high resolution tracks. But unless you are looking for an audiophile pressing of Vince Guaraldi's A Charlie Brown Christmas, a good used record store, a local shop of some kind will likely serve you better, for a lot less money.  A word of warning, though, the "Big Box" stores tend to charge a relative King's Ransom for CD's they practically give away after Christmas.  So our tactic usually is to buy after the 25th for the following year unless we can get to our local used record shop that has piles of used vinyl records.

More Music!  Gift Certificates for Music! (variable)

Wed be remiss if we didn't mention that some months our ends barely meet because of all the music we buy.  A gift certificate to a favorite local store, or one for one of the major online shops are all usually very much welcome for an audiophile on your list, or a family that is really into music. Suggestions as to where?  Music Direct, Acoustic Sounds, Sound Stage Direct and Elusive Disc all have them listed.  We would NOT recommend Amazon for audiophile grade recordings, they do not carry the breadth and quality of the specialty online stores (but are fine for newly released vinyl).  Local record shops are a mixed bag, usually, but if you have a good one - we'd recommend one of those unless the recipient is 2 cities over naturally.

A Collection of Music:  Kick A** box sets of music! (variable)

Beautiful Presentation ... the pictures do not do it justice

We've noticed that there are a lot of reissues around the Holiday (what a coincidence!) of a number of favorite bands.  But for some specifics?  Here and here are good places to start.  But also, for the fan of Blues and historical recordings, The Rise and Fall of Paramount Records, vol 1 in a beautiful wooden box, with 800 songs on a thumb drive and 6 LP's as well as a bunch of ephemera surrounding this music company is this years standout!  It won't give you modern sound quality, but what it lacks in sound quality it more than makes up for in some excellent music.  They are doing "only" 5000 of them, and when we ordered the one we have about a month ago, it was around 2000 sold.  This was after 1 week of release, so it may be gone by Christmas - if you want it or want to give it as a gift (lucky gift recipient!), move fast.  And for a non Paramount suggestion, this is my favorite band ... here.

Live Music:  Tickets to a local musical performance (Free to Expensive)

The Nutcracker ... Live performance and music!

Rather than drag everyone to a movie, there are a lot of local performances (especially a local Philharmonic) that really put on spectacular shows from Thanksgiving to Christmas.  We'll also go out on a limb, and say that a play or other musical if on offer would be a memorable and fun event, too.  This is a link to our local Philharmonic for the show that's probably their most popular one, the Nutcracker.  If you live in a medium sized city or larger there will be something comparable.  For instance, when I lived in a small town in the middle of Illinois, there was no local orchestra under a 3 hour drive, but a local church put on a wonderful Choral performance that really helped make that year special.

But also ... under the tree a few tickets to a performance during the year might be a nice change up as well in an otherwise steady diet of mass market media.  There is something about a live show that is irreplaceable.

Better Streaming:  Subscribing to a "Premium" version of streaming services ($4-10/mo)

Most folks stream music "for free" and think nothing of it.  Of course, you know that does not pay the bills for the services, so they offer paid premium service, too.  For the extra money, you usually get some extra abilities such as ability to search and pick music more directly, freedom from commercials or time outs, like integration with your networked devices (Sonos, Your Car, etc.), higher bitrates and sound quality.

Old Skool Music Discovery:  Join a music delivery subscription service (varies)

This may be the last-but-one entry, but in a lot of ways, would be on the top of our list.  We first started with a series of Blue Note Record reissued by Acoustic Sounds.  They have gone on to do several series, and we've subscribed to every one we can.  It is a periodic expense, and, of course, you don't control what's sent - you get it all.  But very quickly we got a pretty thorough and comprehensive Jazz collection.  They have a RCA Living Stereo Classical remaster project that they are currently doing as well as a steady diet of Jazz and Blues.  It is worth contacting them if this is something you'd want to do.  Their Subscription Service has been a boon to us over the years.

Also worth noting along these lines, is a new service to us called Feedbands where for a monthly fee, you get Indie bands pressed into vinyl and mailed to you every month.  You won't heard of the bands, because really nobody has.  But most of the proceeds actually go to the band, and there is a streaming service attached, where you can vote on what you like, and if enough people vote ... then that becomes the next month's pressing.

For New Parents:  Blessed Silence

For new parents, you know the ones that look shell shocked, we wish a gift more precious than anything - blessed silence!  Not the scary moment when the normally noisy house falls silent before you have to RUN to stop the crying, the crash and broken things, but the silence when all the kids are sleeping peacefully, and you can sit back with a glass of port (or other favorite beverage) and enjoy the beautiful, soft edged silence.

Marry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and have a Happy New Year, everyone!