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Holidays are a great time to upgrade your audio equipment, such as earbuds or headphones. This list includes the top-rated gear available right now. It includes options for true wireless, noise cancellation, immersive audio, and many other features. They are available in a variety of price points and product categories. A set of $20 earbuds would make a great stocking stuffer.
Sony WF-1000XM4
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Sony's WF-1000XM3 wireless earbuds are a great example of true wireless technology. The company responded to the call earlier in the year. The WF-1000XM4 have been completely redesigned, with a smaller, more comfortable design. The sound quality is superb and the powerful active noise cancelling (ANC) can automatically adjust to your location or activity. Sony has increased the battery life to eight hours with ANC on and added wireless charging. There is also LDAC support for high quality audio over Bluetooth and DSEE Extreme scaling to recover details lost due to compression. Although it is not perfect, the company's talk-to-chat function is useful when you just need to chat.
Sony WH-1000XM4
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During my review of the WH1000XM4, I stated that "the best just got even better". That sentiment is still true. Sony's flagship noise-cancelling headphones are unrivaled in sound quality, ANC performance, and features. Multi-device connectivity makes it easy to switch between your phone and your laptop during work hours. Talk-to-chat allows you to make short pauses to have brief conversations while quick-attention mode and speak-to-chat allow for quick pauses. Sony also added 360 Reality Audio support, 30-hour battery life, and deep punchy bass to its wish list.
Jabra Elite 3
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Jabra surprised everyone when it first appeared on the wireless scene in 2018 with its Elite 65t earbuds. The company has refined its range of premium and mid-range options since then. Jabra introduced the Elite 3 in 2021. This small, lightweight set of earbuds covers all the basics and costs only $80. If you are looking for earbuds to gift someone this year, the Elite 3 is a great choice. It has a comfortable fit, excellent sound quality, reliable onboard controls, and a long battery life.
Sony SRS-RA5000
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Sony's 360 Reality Audio might be a good choice for the audio lover in your life. Even if you don't want to spend a lot on streaming plans to access the content, the SRS-RA5000 speaker by Sony is a great centerpiece for a small setup. The RA5000 delivers crisp, clear audio and is capable of handling all types of music thanks to its upscaling technology. The speaker can be customized in many ways and automatically calibrates to the space where it is placed. There are many connectivity options available so that the person on your shopping lists can access everything from their smartphone without ever leaving their chair.
Sonos Roam
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Sonos' second attempt at a portable speakers is more appealing, making it an excellent choice for holiday shopping. The Sonos Roam has excellent audio quality, and you can use two speakers as a stereo pair. Even if you only choose one, the Move's compact design makes it much easier to transport than the larger model. It is durable and waterproof and comes with all the benefits of Sonos speakers, including multi-room audio and TruePlay tuning, AirPlay 2 and Spotify Connect.
Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT2
Audio Technica
Audio-Technica's ATH-M50xBT headphones were my favorite non-ANC headphone since their introduction. These headphones are great because of their fold-in design, comfortable fit, and excellent sound quality. In August, the company released the ATH-M50xBT2, an updated version of its original model that provides a more compelling option for everyone on your wish list. Alexa now comes with the device, and multipoint Bluetooth allows for simultaneous connection to multiple devices. Low-latency video and games modes are available, as well as LDAC support that allows you to recover lost sonic details due to compression. These devices are also said to have a 50-hour battery life so you don't need to charge them as often.
JLab Go Air Pop
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Earbuds are not something that you would buy as stocking stuffers, mainly because of their high cost. However, JLab offers a very affordable alternative if you do want to go that route. The Go Air Pop is $20 and includes eight hours of battery life, along with three additional charges. You can use the touch controls and EQ presets, as well as IPX4 water resistance. This makes it a great companion to any New Year's resolutions.
THX Onyx
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What gift can you give someone who already owns headphones they love? You can make their headphones sound even better. The THX Onyx USB-C DAC (digital to-analog convertor) is a small device that can support master-quality audio content. However, wired headphones are required. The LEDs indicate the format you are listening to. This includes standard, high-resolution, Direct Stream Digital, Master Quality Authenticated, and Master Quality Stream Digital. The Onyx is equipped with a THX AAA78 amplifier chip. This makes it the most powerful mobile THX Achromatic Stereo Amplifier configuration. THX claims that the AAA-78 makes an Onyx as powerful as a desktop DAC/amplifier setup but is much smaller. The chip reduces distortion by up to 40% and increases output power for greater dynamic range and sound pressure (SPL) levels. This is a lot of power for a small device.
