These 25 great gifts cost less than $200.
HEADPHONES AND EARPHONES
Panasonic RP-HTX80B Bluetooth Retro Headphones, $99: Great-sounding, great-looking, light and comfortable, these headphones offer balanced and accurate high fidelity sound. Battery life is 24 hours and a 15-minute quick charge yields 2.5 hours of playback. shop.panasonic.com
Sbode Sport Bluetooth Earphones, $24: These earphones sound far better than you would expect for under $25, are comfortable, and come with a case in nice packaging. Through Dec. 20 an online coupon reduces the price to $18.49, making them a perfect stocking stuffer or corporate gift. amazon.com.
Grado SR60E headphones $79: These wired, open-back audiophile headphones are where high-end sound quality begins. An additional $20 will get you the $99 SR80E, which has more bass and slightly better sound overall. gradolabs.com
Audio-Technica QuietPoint ATH-ANC700BT Wireless Noise-Cancelling Headphones, $199: In a nutshell, these sound better than the competing noise cancelling Bose headphones for a lot less money. audio-technica.com
Cambridge Audio SE1 wired earphones: The best $50 earphones you can buy, with the SE1 you get high-end sound from a high-end manufacturer, and 50 percent of the proceeds from the sale go to charity. cambridgeaudio.com
TURNTABLES AND VINYL RECORD ACCESSORIES
LP Gear The Vessel A3SE $99: This $99 phono cartridge was my product of the year for 2017 and offers shockingly good sound that is competitive with cartridges selling for $400 or more. It is perfect for bringing an old turntable back to life, and the $138 pre-mounted Ultimate Set is a simple and spectacular upgrade for the ubiquitous Audio-Technica AT-LP120-USB turntable. lpgear.com
AT-LP60-USB, $129: This is far and away the best entry-level turntable and unlike many cheap competitors, it won't damage your records. It features automatic operation, a built-in phono preamp and a USB connection to transfer records to your computer. audio-technica.com
Allsop Orbitrac 3 Record Cleaning System, $49: This excellent record cleaner is also very easy to use. allsop.com
Spin-Clean Record Washer, $79.99: Spin-Clean gives your records a deep cleaning as good as or better than an expensive record cleaning machine. It is a bit more work than the Orbitrac 3, but it does a better job. spinclean.com
Pangea Audio TTx2 Vulcan Turntable Stand with Mega Record Storage, $199: This stylish, solidly-built turntable stand has storage for 200 records. audioadvisor.com
TELEVISION SOUNDBARS
ZVOX AccuVoice AV201 TV Speaker $199.99: Not a home theater soundbar but a small speaker that optimizes dialogue reproduction, no other product does a better job bringing vocal clarity to television listeners. If you have trouble hearing and understanding voices on television, this is what you need. zvox.com
Soundcore Infini Integrated 2.1-Channel Soundbar $99.99: This soundbar has clean, well-defined sound and a built-in subwoofer for solid bass. soundcore.com
BLUETOOTH SPEAKERS
Cambridge Audio Yoyo(S) $179.99: This is the highest quality Bluetooth speaker available for under $200. It features exotic BMR driver technology for superior sound and is wrapped in colorful, high quality worsted wool. The Yoyo(S) appeals to the eyes, ears and fingers and is a bargain for under $200. Through Nov. 30 it is on sale for only $139 with the code 22YOYOSMALL. cambridgeaudio.com
Soundcast VG1: $149.99: This compact, premium quality waterproof speaker is rugged and has clear, dynamic sound. gosoundcast.com
COOKING GADGETS
Meater Wireless Meat Thermometer: This is a great accessory to use with your grill, oven or the Masterbuilt smoker. The $69 Meater has 33 feet of range and the $99 Meater+ has 165 feet of range. meater.com
TELEVISION AND VIDEO
Air TV, $119.99: Connect an antenna to AirTV and it will stream free local television broadcasts to televisions and portable devices throughout your home, and even outside the home. Add an external hard drive and it works as a DVR, recording up to two channels at once. airtv.net
Amazon Fire Stick 4K, $49.99: This is one of the best ways to turn your TV into a smart TV, and if you have Amazon Prime it's a must-have. As the name suggests it supports 4K streaming. amazon.com
TABLETS AND CELLPHONE ACCESSORIES
VicTsing Bluetooth FM Adapter with 1.44-inch display, $16.99: Add two USB ports, MicroSD card music playback, hands-free Bluetooth phone calling and music streaming to your older car for under $20. amazon.com
Anker PowerCore Fusion, $25.99: This ingenious wall rapid charger has a built-in battery so it can charge your devices even without an outlet. When plugged in it charges itself as well as your devices. anker.com
Amazon Fire Tablets: If you are on a budget, Amazon's Fire Tablets are where a high quality tablet experience begins. The Fire 7 is $49.99, the Fire HD 8 is $79.99 and the HD10 is $149.99. amazon.com
Coal Catalyst Portable Charger, $55: This technologically advanced, high capacity power bank comes with a "triple threat" charging cable with MicroUSB, Lightning and USB 3.0 heads so it can charge devices from any manufacturer. It has a digital readout and charges quickly via USB-C. It is a major bargain given its quality, capacity and capabilities. coalpower.com
GAMING
Nintendo Classic Edition Consoles, $59.99 and $79.99: A gift sure to be loved by gamers both young and old, the NES ($59.99) and SNES ($79.99) mini game consoles come with lots of preloaded classic games. Gameplay and graphics are flawless and the included HDMI cable makes connecting it to your modern TV a snap. nintendo.com
SMART HOME
Echo Dot, $49.99: The Dot is an easy and inexpensive way to get started on your smart home. amazon.com
Philips Hue Smart Bulb Starter Kit, $69.99: Once you have smart lighting you will never go back to ordinary lights. The kit includes a hub and two 60W equivalent white bulbs from the leading lighting system. meethue.com
Ecobee 3 Lite Smart Thermostat, $169: Stay comfortable and save money with this smart thermostat. Despite the "Lite" moniker it is very full-featured, and all most people will ever need. ecobee.com
