A mediaphile is difficult to define. Is it a person who goes to the theater at least once a week? Or who owns a vast collection of vinyl? Is it somebody who can spend hours rattling off the differences between the Marvel and DC Universes? Or who gets emotive talking about fictional video game characters? The truth is, a mediaphile can be any one of those things or a dialed-back version of each. Whether it’s movies, books, video games, pop culture or analog audio, the good thing is that their interest is simple to shop for. Just get them something to enhance their passion.
Movie Pass
Going to the movie theater can be is expensive. One ticket, plus a drink and a popcorn puts you in the $30 range — that’s insane. Movie pass is a $10/month payment, just like Netflix or Spotify, and lets you go see one movie per day in participating movie theaters as often as you want. Too good to be true? No, that’s Movie Pass.
Buy Now: $10/mo
Studio Neat’s Apple TV Remote Dock
This bespoke stand is crafted in Texas out of walnut wood. It’s simple, but serves an important purpose: hopefully preventing your giftee from misplacing their Apple TV remote beneath a cushion.
Buy Now: $15
Tidal Subscription
If they’re an audiophile, Tidal is the music streaming subscription they need. It’s more expensive, sure, but it streams lossless music files — the highest quality stream they can get. And now that Tidal has been around for a while, its music catalogue has over 40 million tracks.
Buy Now: $20/mo
Hudson Hi-Fi Premium Swiss Leather Turntable Mat
A slipmat helps grip the record to the platter, preventing the record from sliding around and therefore sounding better. Even if they’re not a DJ they’ll use and appreciate this beautiful leather good.
Buy Now: $28
Pipcorn Truffle Single Serve
Movie popcorn with all that butter is blatantly unhealthy. If they’re looking for a healthier, more portion-controlled serving, this Truffle Pipcorn fits the bill.
Buy Now: $29
Mubi Subscription
Mubi is a unique streaming service that introduces a new movie to its subscribers each day and gives them 30 days to watch it. If your math is good, this means that there are 30 movies available to stream at all times. The movies can be anything, from 1950s classics to new indy hits. For film lovers, this subscription is a great gift.
Buy Now: $48/yr
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Twelve South Fermata Headphone Charging Stand
All quality headphones deserve a throne. Or a perch. Or just something that keeps it off the desk. This headphone stand does all that and more. By having a built-in charging cable, it can hold and charge wireless headphones at the same time.
Buy Now: $80
Nintendo SNES Classic
The SNES Classic is admittedly a hot-ticket item — chances are you’re not going to be able to buy at Best Buy or Amazon for its MSRP ($80). But you can find in the $120-range on Amazon or eBay if you look hard enough.
Buy Now: $80
SteelSeries Arctis 3 Bluetooth Headset
Whether they game on a Nintendo Switch or an Xbox One, this headset will work. Hear the game via wired connection, while simultaneously streaming music or taking calls from their phone via Bluetooth.
Buy Now: $130
Apple TV 4K
For anybody who has a 4K HDR TV, loves Apple products and has a huge backlog of iTunes movie and music purchases, the Apple TV 4K is the streaming device they want. It’ll automatically upgrade movie purchases to 4K for free and put their photos and videos on the big screen, directly from their iPhone.
Buy Now: $179+
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Luno Flip Tabletop
This is the record storage solution any vinyl-phile needs. Simple and elegant, it’ll look great on the table adjacent to their turntable.
Buy Now: $185
Sonos One
True, Alexa voice commands only work with Amazon Music subscribers — but that’s going to change fast. Sonos has promised that Alexa voice commands will work with Spotify by December 21st, right in time for the holidays.
Buy Now: $199
Symbol Audio Dovetail Record Crate
Symbol Audio makes some of the most beautiful analog audio equipment, period. And this record crate is no different: it’s handcrafted from walnut and white oak, and can hold up to 100 records.
Buy Now: $225
Logitech Harmony Remote
This universal remote can control everything: Sonos speakers, an Xbox One, an Apple TV 4K, a Nest thermostat, an Amazon Echo, a Sony TV and Phillips Hue light bulbs — everything. It’s a modern marvel of sorts.
Buy Now: $283
Eero Home WiFi System
So many of the gadgets we love and use every day are dependent on wi-fi. If home wi-fi signal sucks, it has a negative ripple effect on everything else. This system of hubs and beacons is the answer to all that.
Buy Now: $306
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Q Acoustics M2 Soundbase
The M2 Soundbase has been praised by What Hifi? (five out of five stars) for its excellent sound quality. It’s integrated with a wide dispersion sound technology that ensures the audio sounds the same whether you’re sitting directly in front of the speaker or off to the side. If they stream music or watch a lot of music, this soundbase is terrific (and pretty affordable).
Buy Now: $350
Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 Headphones
Nobody is going to mistake these for a pair of Bose headphones. They’re beautifully and uniquely designed, and are some of the best high-end, over-ear headphones you can buy. (Note: They do come in iOS or Android models, so make sure to buy with the type of smartphone they have in mind.)
Buy Now: $350
Xbox One X
This is the most powerful gaming console ever. If they play a lot of Xbox One and have a 4K HDR TV, the Xbox One X is not only what they want, but what they need.
Buy Now: $500
Lego Millennium Falcon Ultimate Collectors Edition
Even adults can appreciate a good Lego project. Throw in the fact that it’s of the most iconic spaceship ever, real or fantasy, and this gift is a no brainer.
Buy Now: $800
TCL 55-Inch 4K Ultra HD Roku TV
If you’re trying to buy a TV that’ll bring you into 2017 (and beyond), you want it to be a 4K HDR TV. Compared to your current HD TV, a 4K TV has four times the number of pixels, meaning a much more detailed picture. And HDR, or high dynamic range, means those pixels have better color contrast: darker blacks and more vibrant colors. This is probably the best budget 4K HDR TV you can buy.
Buy Now: $650
Astell & Kern Kann
This is one of the best-sounding portable hi-fi music players on the market and also one of the most versatile. It has SD and MicroSD card slots, USB-C and Micro USB for fast charging and 2.5mm and 3.5mm outputs. It also has aptX HD Bluetooth support, allowing you to stream Tidal’s high-res files to high-end headphones and speakers. If they’re an audiophile, they’ll be blown away by this.
Buy Now: $999
Marantz TT-15S1 Turntable
The Marantz TT-15S1 is a new turntable that produces a sound from a different age. To top things off, it’s also a fantastic piece of machinery.
Buy Now: $1,499
Shinola Bookshelf Speakers
These bookshelf speakers are handcrafted and engineered by Shinola’s audio team. They’re high-end and minimalist-designed, and will make for a great companion for the above turntable. (Or any turntable, really.)
Buy Now: $1,500
Uniti Atom by Naim Audio
The Uniti Atom is beautifully futuristic. It has a full-color LCD front display and the wonderful tactile dial that Naim is known for. It supports Google Chromecast, Spotify Connect, Internet radio and Tidal, so it’ll work for just about anybody. And it sounds great. In its review, What Hi-Fi gave it five out of five stars. Just remember, this all-in-one music player needs to be paired with speakers to actually work.
Buy Now: $2,999
Gear Patrol Magazine Issue Five
Appropriate for the coffee table or the international flight, our latest print edition is packed with feature interviews exploring the world of products. From handmade hiking boots and chefs knives to German watches and Japanese clothing, this is a fun read for anyone.
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