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December 2023
Enjoy the Music.com's
Great Audiophile Gift Guide 2023
We're here to help you discover great
gifts for your premium audio music lover.
Article By Enjoy the Music.com Staff
Welcome one and all to Enjoy the Music.com's exceptional 18th annual Great Audiophile Gift recommendations! We all love gifts, yet we also know that getting something special for your passionate music lover can be quite a challenge! Our annual Great Audiophile Gift wish list brings you some truly spectacular ideas for music lovers. There are many wonderful products we can recommend to our longstanding loyal readership, and below you will see many excellent recommendations. We know this year has been a challenge for many, and so all recommended gifts this year are reasonably priced to be kind to your wallet. We have gifts that will make your vinyl junkie smile, plus a few surprises along the way!
Everyone here at Enjoy the Music.com wishes you and yours a prosperous, joyous, and healthy holiday season. And now, on with our Great Audiophile Gift 2023 suggestions we know you'll love!
Soundsmith EZ Mount Cartridge Screws
Price: $39.95
Cartridge mounting screw set that makes it very easy to install your record player's phono cartridge. It helps to lower the risk of dropped cartridges and the dreaded snapped cantilever. You get a set of two (each) nylon screws, aluminum screws, stainless screws, and brass screws. All eight thumb screws are 10mm length with two non-magnetic stainless steel nuts, and four captive thread-on nylon washers. The 10mm thumb screws are easily shortened: install provided nut, cut to length, file flat and remove nut
repairs.
Available From Amazon
Synergistic Research Master Fuse
Price: $595 each
Ted Denney has been incrementally improving Synergistic Research fuses over the years, but seems to have pulled out all the stops with the new Master Fuse. It is so resolving that it is recommended to use them only in your source component(s). Moreover, it does not make your previous fuses (Purple, Orange) in other components obsolete. The benefits of the Master Fuse in your sources simply trickle down through the rest of the chain with great synergy. The Master Fuse is expensive, but you only need one of them at the source and there is a 30-day money-back guarantee if you are not convinced. Just be sure Santa brings the correct size and amperage value. Great things come in small
packages.
---> Synergistic Research Master Fuse
Review.
WiiM Pro Plus Streamer
Price: $219
Our Senior Editor Greg Weaver says, "When I started piloting the concept for 'Second Space,' I landed on the $219 WiiM Pro Plus for my streaming solution.
With its dual-band Wi-Fi support and Bluetooth connectivity, network access is a snap using either the free Android or iOS WiiM App. At just five and a half inches square and an inch and a half tall, its back panel offers a set of stereo RCA inputs, to be used as a
Wi-Fi transmitter to stream the analog audio output from some other device like a CD player or a computer. Next there is a set of stereo RCA analog outputs, a remote trigger input, a USB C power port (power is provided by its included USB C cable and 5-volt, 1.5 amp, AC adapter), a tiny mic aperture to allow it to auto-measure the audio path latency for AirPlay 2, Amazon, Alexa multi-room, and LinkPlay multi-room syncing, an SP/DIF optical input port, and SP/DIF optical output port, a Coaxial output, and an RJ-45 Ethernet cable
jack!"
It is natively compatible with a host of streaming services including Qobuz, Spotify, Amazon Music, Deezer, Tunein, Tidal, SoundCloud, Pandora, iHeartRadio, vTuner, Napster, Sound Machine, and so on. You can even make a direct connection to a local DLNA music server. It is voice controllable, using Alexa and Siri, supporting multi-room audio. The WiiM Pro Plus is recognized by Roon as an
"Other network device" using AirPlay 2 and may be selected and used like any other Roon Audio Zone. It even has a native variable EQ function, and many other useful features using the WiiM Apps. The WiiM Pro Plus boasts the new generation AKM AK4493SEQ premium DAC, offering very low distortion and wide dynamic range by implementing what AKM calls their Velvet Sound Technology. This is their specific global layout technology intended to maintain the integrity of the original audio signal content by reducing noise from the operation of the switching digital circuits and eliminating as many other noise-contributing paths as
possible.
Available From Amazon
FiiO R7 Desktop Digital Music Streamer, Preamplifier, And Headphone
Amplifier
Price: $699
When FiiO
sent me an e-mail showcasing their new R7 desktop stereo music streamer,
preamplifier, and headphone amplifier it was perfectly timed. As a longtime
classically-trained musician, I've been using a slightly 'outdated' source unit to
stream music to play along to tunes. This could be via headphones/IEM or through
a stereo pair of QSC KS10.2 mains and KS112 subwoofers thanks to the R7's true
balanced XLR outputs. After hundreds of listening hours with FiiO's R7 musical
masterpiece on a variety of sound systems / headphones / IEMs, it was always
easy to use and sounded great. There are reasons why you see FiiO reviewed very positively within many
publications all around the world. Overall, FiiO produces audio gear whose sound
quality seems to far exceed the asking price time and time again.
Available From Amazon
Bosch GLM165-25G Green-Beam 165 Ft. Laser Measure
Price: $110
The Bosch BLAZE GLM165-25G is ergonomically designed for ease of use for those who desire precision in loudspeaker placement within their listening room. It makes a big difference to ensure your loudspeaker placement and angling is perfect for both the right and left channel (and for multi-channel imersivephiles). This unit comes packed with 11 measuring features including green beams, overmold housing, and an easily read colored backlit display. This durable laser provides precise measurements with up to +/-1/16". An easy-to-read backlit color display illuminates numbers with distinct resolution for work in low-light or no-light
conditions.
Available From Amazon
Nordost Purple Flare Loudspeaker Cables (Pair)
Price: 582.99 for one meter, $681.99 for two meter length
Nordost's original Flatline loudspeaker cable features a very unique production technique. Their special proprietary, extruded FEP cables, are very thin / flat, plus they answer the question about low resistance, capacitance, and inductance. According to Nordost, "by re-examining the geometry of each cable, we have reduced dielectric effects still further as well as optimized the physical spacing of the conductors. This results in significant musical gains, increasing musical flow, dynamics and expressive range. Compared to White Lightning, the Purple Flare's increased number and gauge of conductors allow it to deliver greater weight and dynamic range for even greater musical involvement, drama and
impact."
Learn
More From Nordost
Silversmith Audio Fidelium Loudspeaker Cables
Price: 4-foot pair is $795, 6-foot pair is $995
I first met
the engaging Jeffrey Smith, founder and design engineer of Silversmith Audio and
now-retired Navy Commander, over two decades ago during his third CES. He was showing his then flagship silver ribbon interconnects
and speaker cables at the Alexis Park paired with gear from Pass Labs including
their X0.2 linestage and X600 amplifiers driving the EgglestonWorks Andra II
speakers. This new Silversmith Audio Fidelium loudspeaker cable will receive my "Product of the Decade" award. What it accomplishes, regardless of price, is a staggering step forward in musical authenticity, allowing your aural illusion engine to transport you that much closer to the original performance. And the fact that it does so for less than about five percent of the next best sounding products I've heard, borders on the miraculous!
---> Silversmith Audio Fidelium
Loudspeaker Cable Review.
Westone Audio Mach
20In-Ear Monitor (IEM) Review
Price: $359
I first heard of Westone Audio when I was 30 years old. I was sitting in the
Alley, a courtyard between buildings, at Hollywood California's famous music
school Musician's Institute. My ears were filled with silicon my teeth gnawing
on folded cotton, looking at a pamphlet filled with various custom In-ear
monitors and ear plugs from brands like Ultimate Ears, Shure, and Westone Audio.
It was 2005 and little did I know this company whom I was first seeing mentioned
had helped invent the idea of in-ear monitors (IEMs) in 1985, 20 years prior to
my first ear impressions. I never did buy the IEMs I had the impressions made for as the
auditions I had never panned out into a touring gig and I slowly turned toward
electronic music and started DJ'ing leaving my dreams of playing guitar for a
living to gather dust.
Available On Amazon
Nordost QRT AC Enhancer / AC Line Harmonizer Plug-Ins
QKOIL, QSINE, QVIBE, And QWAVE
Price: $285 on up.
Nordost's very special QRT AC Enhancers and AC Line Harmonizers are a range of modular, complimentary AC products that may improve upon the poor-quality AC that negatively affects high-performance audio/video gear. Each Nordost QRT plug-in can be used as a stand-alone product, providing its own, unique solution to your power delivery problem. Nordost's AC Enhancers, the QKOIL and the QSINE, are both passive field generators. While the QKOIL generates a field created by its Micro Mono-Filament-made Load Resonating Coil (LRC), the QSINE reshapes the sine wave by introducing specific frequency fields onto the circuit path which, in turn, lowers the effects of EMI noise embedded into the AC power. On the other hand, Nordost's AC Line Harmonizers, the QVIBE and QWAVE are active devices. They each introduce their own carefully calculated ranges of pulsed frequencies, clocked from the original 50 or 60Hz waveform, directly onto the AC line. This manipulation of the AC signal allows these products to better control the harmonics and overtones attributed to many improvements, not least of which is the enhanced realism of both the musical and visual aspects of
performance.
Learn
More From Nordost
Stack Audio Auva EQ Component
Isolators
Priced from $159 to $838
The generic term would be 'footer' but these are special in that they compare with others that are far above their price point. They are a hybrid system that combines particle impact damping technology with compliant damping technology. Available in sets of 3, 6, 4, 8, 12, or 16, and three different weight ranges so you can optimize a set to match the weight of your component or smaller speakers. Very highly recommended!
Reviewed
within our (coming soon) December 2023 Review Magazine.
50mm Soundeck Mk II Mini Damping Feet
(Round or Square)
Priced From £16 to £54.
These are a smaller version of their original footers, and guess what—they sound even better! Available singly, or in sets of 3 or 4, they can be used under the spikes of heavy speakers without raising them significantly, or in direct contact with the chassis of components in combination with a spacer of your choice to raise the OEM feet off the shelf. At their price point, they are a significant value, particularly under speaker spikes where they also work as floor or carpet protectors.
Reviewed
within our (coming soon) December 2023 Review Magazine.
Very Popular Past Great Audiophile Gift Ideas
The Complete Guide to High-End Audio
Sixth Edition
Price: $39 (and worth EVERY penny!!!)
In this newly updated version of Robert Harley's epic The Complete Guide to High-End Audio, it now features the latest in cutting-edge audio equipment including how to choose the best audio equipment on a budget, how to get the best sound for the money, and how to set up a system for maximum performance. Revised and expanded to include all the latest audio technologies, this book is packed with expert advice how to make speakers sound up to 50 percent better at no cost, avoid the most common system set-up mistakes, and how to choose the one speaker in 50 worth owning. Among the new topics covered are streaming audio, computer-based music servers, music-management apps, wireless streaming, high-resolution digital audio. A short course on listening-room acoustics is presented and additional information on audio for home theater, multichannel audio, system set-up secrets, and what each component's specifications and measurements mean is also provided.
Available From Amazon
Free Cartridge Protractor And Speed Discs!
There's no place like home. Home is where my turntable is and everyone should have a two point protractor and speed
strobe discs. For the cartridge alignment tool, the trick is to have the cartridge mounted so that the needle aligns perfectly on BOTH dots without moving the protractor. What you may need to do is mount the cartridge a bit loose and slightly move it forward or back and see how it aligns on both points. You know you have it perfect when both points are perfect without moving the protractor. It takes time and patience to get it just right, but the results are worth
it! As an added bonus for you, Enjoy the Music.com also offers a free Excel file two page
spreadsheet with one page for Löfgren "A" alignment and one page for Löfgren "B"
alignment, plus you can calculate your own custom alignment points too!
---> Free Enjoy the Music.com
Cartridge Protractor & Speed Discs.
Roon
Nucleus+ Core Unit And XLCR Power Supply Review
Roon: A Short Story
Martin Colloms has become a Roon convert – Here he charts his path to
'Roonification'; using the company's Nucleus+ Core unit.
Review By Martin Colloms
I'd encountered Roon music playing and cataloguing software on a few occasions, as well as its predecessor, the Sooloos music storage and handling system, with its attractive graphical presentations of tracks, artwork and music cataloguing. Acquired by Meridian some years ago as the heart of its streaming solution, Sooloos was later spun off as a separate company, eventually becoming Roon in 2015. But the heart of the system has remained: an informative, easy to use music management system, based on extended metadata and intelligent cataloguing of content. It has seen several iterations bringing it to the present level of refinement – in fact to a level where I felt that I just had to try it
out.
--->
Roon Nucleus+ Core Unit & XLCR PS Review.
FiiO BTR7 Portable Bluetooth
Headphone Amplifier
Review
Price: $199
My setup for listening to the FiiO BTR7, utilized my laptop
streaming Qobuz and the previously reviewed FiiO FD5 IEMs. I was excited to
review the BTR7 with IEMs from FiiO, since there always seems to be synergy
between products of the same company. I
enjoyed my time listening to music with the BTR7. Its overall tonal balance and
dynamics reminded me greatly of the K3 and E10K-TC desktop DAC/amplifiers I
reviewed previously. The highs are astonishingly clean, the midrange smooth, and
the bass is powerful. The musical dynamics are effortless. No matter what the
recording, it makes the listening experience enjoyable. What's amazing is that
BTR7 also does it with a Bluetooth connection too!
Available From Amazon
Audience Hidden Treasure In-Wall AC PowerCable
And High Definition Wall Receptacle Review
Like a buried treasure that pays huge dividends in musical enjoyment!
Review By Rick Becker
If you're
reading this review, you're either considering the installation of a dedicated
line in what is likely your dedicated listening room or perhaps your home
theater... or maybe the video rig in your family room if you're seriously into
watching TV. Or possibly, you've already installed a line and are wondering if
this new Audience cable might be a worthwhile upgrade. In any case, I suspect
you're already convinced that "everything matters" in high-end audio, especially
cables. Keep reading. Audience is one of the most respected cable manufacturers and
my ears perked up when I saw the ad for their new In-Wall AC cable. It's been 20
years since I reviewed Joe Skubinski's JPS Labs Power AC In-Wall cable.
He's sold miles of it and "Big Red" has remained my reference dedicated line
ever since. What's taken so long for the competition to arise?
--->
Audience Hidden Treasure AC PowerCable And Wall Receptacle Review.
Premium Luxury Audio Fall Foliage Tweakfest
Featuring the Bybee Clarifiers and Massif Record Weight / Cable Risers, plus
Synergistic Purple Duplex Outlet, MiG 3.0 Footers, and Carbon Tuning Discs.
Review By Rick Becker
Well, audio tweaks are not exactly history-altering inventions
like the printing press.... Thus, my annual Tweakfest of small, but significant products,
has drifted into fall, just in time for the November issue and foreshadowing the
Holiday Gift Guide. The cognoscenti of audio forums have probably christened
me a fanboy of Synergistic Research, but I've been continually impressed with
the creations from the mind of Ted Denney. His major products are cables and
power conditioners, but once he makes a discovery it is frequently spread
throughout a multitude of smaller products and occasionally gives birth to a new
tweak. I'll cover three such items, plus a few more, in this Fall Foliage
Tweakfest.
--->
Premium Luxury Audio Fall Foliage Tweakfest.
Schiit Lyr+ Headphone Amplifier / Preamplifier
Want a super-high-end, super-powerful, tube hybrid headphone amp and preamp
combo — but also want the comfort of a pure solid state design? Then Lyr+ is for you! It's the only headamp in the world that goes seamlessly from tube to solid state, using our exclusive Fusion Architecture. Don't want to use a tube? Then don't plug one in. Lyr+ switches seamlessly to its internal solid state gain stage, based on exotic depletion-mode MOSFETs. Want tube gain? Then plug in any 6SN7-type tube, and Lyr+ switches over to 100% tube voltage gain with the MOSFETs completely out of the picture. That's the magic of Fusion Architecture.
---> Schiit Lyr+ Headphone
Amplifier / Preamplifier.
Rick Becker's
Special Holiday Gift Guide 2021
Eight special holiday gifts for audiophiles.
Article By Rick Becker
One of my biggest pleasures of the year is
to look back at the products I've reviewed or seen at shows and make
suggestions for Holiday Gifts for your beloved audiophile.
Unfortunately, some of these require special knowledge or data such as
the size and value of fuses, so they won't qualify as surprise gifts but
I strongly believe they will be treasured nonetheless.
--->
Rick Becker's Holiday Gift Guide 2021.
Kimber Kable TONIK Interconnect
Cable Review
A truly exceptional budget interconnect cable.
Review By Karl Lozier
Here is Kimber Kable's response to the growing demand for true economy-priced products by fine premium audio companies.
It's also déjà vu all over again, as this is the third time in the past few years
I've reviewed Kimber products. A year or so ago I had received their power cords from both a couple of weeks apart and long before that the same timing with their top-line interconnects. In this instance, the company has developed a budget-priced loudspeaker cable to match / pair with their new TONIK interconnect. In fact, they preferred the two identical-appearing products to be reviewed together, which I
did. The Tonik interconnect cables, like many recent audio developments, is at least partly in response to the popular budget-priced camp and home-theater development.
---> Kimber Kable TONIK Interconnect Cable Review.
Gingko Audio Acoustic Resonance Clarifier
(ARCH)
The unique shape of the patented Gingko Audio ARCH Acoustic Resonance Clarifier
and its material construction make it an effective vibration control base for speakers and audio components. The ARCH is constructed from a lossy material that dissipates vibration across the audio frequency spectrum. The many layers of soft and hard maple in the
Equipment / Speaker ARCHs, and wood veneer and resin in the Mini-ARCHs are designed to provide the proper optimal loading weight under speakers and audio components.
They offer four versions of Equipment / Speaker ARCHs to support from 15 lbs. to 100 lbs. each. The Mini-ARCHs support
up to 5 lbs. each.
--->
Gingko Audio Acoustic Resonance Clarifier (ARCH).
CHISTO High-End Analog, Digital, And Gear
Cleaners
There's so much to love about CHISTO cleaners, and they have a great product for every format to bring more joy of music, plus a gear cleaner too! Their Easy Groove Concentrate (€49.90) concentrate makes a liter of effective vinyl records cleaning solution. It cleans all types of vinyl records from LPs to ancient, but lovely 78rpm shellacs. It's a quick and convenient way to keep your records at its best and prolong the lifespan of your cartridge too!
--->
CHISTO High-End Analog, Digital, And Gear Cleaners.
Bottlehead Single Ended eXperimenter's Kit
3.0
Bottlehead's affectionately-named S.E.X. 3.0 Kit ($785 on up) is extremely easy to build and will run any dynamic headphones – even AKG K1000s and Audeze LCD-2s – to great effect. Power output is a generous two watts per channel, so it could also drive highly efficient loudspeakers too! The big update for Version 3.0 is that Bottlehead has changed the tubes used from the now difficult to find 6DN7 to the 6FJ7. The 6FJ7 is the same tube in a different glass envelope designed to fit in a Compactron socket. Same great sound as the 6FJ7, but in a tube that isn't being gobbled up by our competitors who have (finally) caught on to the great sound of the 6DN7.
--->
Bottlehead Single Ended eXperimenter's Kit 3.0.
CRC QD
Spray Contact
Cleaner
Price: $15.59
CRC QD contact cleaner is a unique blend of petroleum-distillates and alcohol which provides a suitable precision cleaner for sensitive electronics. It is a cost effective alternative to all contact cleaners. It Evaporates quickly and leaves no residue and is safe to use on all plastics. Recommended for the cleaning of connectors, tape heads, buss bars and circuits. Effectively removes dirt, dust, light oils and fingerprints from contacts, printed circuit boards, switches and breakers. Plastic safe - allows one product to be used in all applications without risk of costly damage to sensitive modern plastics. Leaves no residue - prevents harmful build-up on equipment and eliminates wiping and rinsing. Fast evaporation
and it minimizes downtime too.
Available
From Amazon
Inexpensive
Stocking Stuffer Gifts Available From Amazon
Since many of us shop at Amazon, and delivery is very easy,
below are a few Great Audiophile Gift suggestions that make easy
stocking-stuffers. Yes we get a teeny
tiny small commission from this, yet the below are very carefully chosen gifts /
gear we feel you may enjoy.
VU Meter Hi-Fi Vintage Stereo Audiophile
T-Shirt
Available in many different colors too.
DrDrhob Vinyl Record Cup / Drink Coasters
They'll look great within your listening room!
48 Pack Acoustic Panels
Studio foam for walls / sound absorption.
Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Generation)
Wireless earbuds with MagSafe charging case.
Sennheiser HD 660 S Headphones
Hi-resolution audiophile open-back headphones
Retro Style
Audiophile T-Shirt
Analog tube amplifier lover's t-shirt available in various colors.
Happy Holidays To All Our Friends
This year celebrates one of our most extensive Great
Audiophile Gift wish lists! We have many truly spectacular ideas for music
lovers worldwide. As you can see above, all recommended gifts this year are very reasonably priced
too! We have gifts that will make your vinyl junkie smile, tweakers smile in delight, digital goodies for you mobile
mavens... plus a few surprises along the way!
Everyone here at Enjoy the Music.com wishes you and yours a prosperous, joyous, and healthy 2023 holiday season. Please support audiophile companies as they support our musical pleasures. As always, in the end what really matters is that you...
Enjoy the Music,
Past Great Audiophile Gift Suggestions
Great
Audiophile Gift 2022, 2021,
2020,
2019,
2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012,
2011, 2010, 2008,
2007, 2006,
and 2005.
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