This
month’s article falls during the “mad” Christmas buying season and for those of
you struggling with what to buy your own techno head this article may help with
the buying decision. Before your splurge you might want to check out pricing on
these components in the various shops.
Audio Gifts
Probably
the best bet if you are at a complete loss for a gift.. The “in vogue” words
here are Bluetooth and wireless which obviously means less wires. The other
term you will hear is “sound bar” which translated into layman speech means
instead of a bunch of speakers you’ll find it has all magically morphed into a
single unit.
Portable Audio Gifts
I’ve purchased
quite a few of these for both myself and the family and I’ve yet to get a complaint.
Don’t buy cheap and go with a decent brand. A ten euro Bluetooth handsfree kit
for your loved one’s phone will likely be tinny, troublesome and a waste of
money. Other offerings in this area
include rechargeable portable headsets (ear phones are out of “vogue”) and
portable rechargeable soundbars. I use a soundbar to play my music in the car
and I love it. You will pay from €30 upwards. Always ask to “try before your
buy” and bring along your smart phone. Some of these portable speakers also
sport a microphone which doubles the function making it usable both as a
speaker and a handsfree kit for your phone. The quality may not be great on the
handsfree feature but if your car is not too noisy it may be adequate to the
task.
Non Portable Audio Gifts
Again the
sound bar is the best choice in audio but you need to make sure the device will
work smoothly with your television if you intend to use it with the tv.
You will
find that in general much of the offerings are designed to let you play music
anywhere in your home by streaming via your smartphone. The multi-room systems
are not cheap by any stretch of the imagination but you can get single units
quite reasonably.
Another
option here is the combo charging and speaker systems often referred to as “docking”
stations. These allow you to both listen to your music and charge the device at
the same time. I would always say to listen and find the unit that best suits
your ear.
Wishing you
all a very happy peaceful and joyous Christmas and New Year
