Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

5 sonic stocking stuffers to improve your loved ones’ listening life

It can be tough to find simple, affordable gifts for the music nerd in your life. Whether they are interested in music or media production, or simply trying to get the best possible fidelity out of their favorite tunes, it’s tough to get them a small holiday gift that they’ll actually appreciate.

Never fear gift-givers! We’ve compiled a list of five cheap and simple gifts that should appeal to any audio nerd out there. From decent sounding in-ears for worry-free travel and workouts, to simple dongles that make life with a smartphone easier, these are the best stocking stuffers you can get for the music lover in your life.

Advanced S2000 Stage earphones

— $25

Image used with permission by copyright holder

These affordable and good looking in-ear headphones from Advanced were among our favorites when we tested the best headphones under $50, and remain among the best at their price point we have heard to this day. With nice braided cables, a comfortable fit, and good bass response, these are great headphones to take with you on road trip, runs, and vacations — or anywhere that you might be heartbroken to lose more expensive headphones.

Advanced S2000 Stage earphones

Chromecast Audio — $15

Chromecast Audio hero
Greg Mombert/Digital Trends

If you want to make any speaker in your house into a wireless audio hub, look no further than the Chromecast Audio. With a 3.5 mm cable that connects to the AUX jack of just about any hi-fi or powered speaker, this record-shaped dongle lets you cast your favorite music from any phone on your network. So save some money on getting your friend or loved one a full-on smart speaker, and just upgrade what they already have.

But at Google Store

Oontz Angle Bluetooth Speaker

— $24

Oontz

This affordable, triangle-shaped Bluetooth speaker remains among the most popular out there for good reason. With powerful sound, good battery life, and a water-resistant design, this is the kind of thing you’ll take with you everywhere without worrying about getting it a bit scuffed up.

Oontz Angle Bluetooth Speaker

Apple Lightning

/

USB C headphone cable adapters

 — $8-9

Apple

Ever since Apple decided to drop the headphone jack — and countless other smartphone manufacturers decided to follow suit — we’ve been living in a world of lightning and USB type C headphone dongles. Like the socks of the audio world, anyone with a jack-less phone is certain to appreciate a couple replacement dongles for the ones they’re likely to lose or damage in the coming year.

Apple Lightning

USB C headphone cable adapters

Stereo adapter

— $10

Image used with permission by copyright holder

If your friend or family member goes on frequent trips with a partner in tow, there is no better gift than this cheap little headphone adapter. Anyone who wants to watch a movie together with headphones on, or to share their favorite tunes while out and about, will thank you.

Stereo adapter

Looking for more great deals? Find Amazon deals, last-minute giftsstocking stuffers, and much more on our curated deals page.

Topics
Parker Hall
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Parker Hall is a writer and musician from Portland, OR. He is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin…
These JBL noise-canceling headphones are on sale for only $80
A mean wearing the JBL Live 670NC wireless headphones.

 

For an affordable pair of noise-canceling headphones, you should consider going for the JBL Live 670NC. They're part of Best Buy's headphone deals with a $50 discount that pulls their price down even lower, from $130 to just $80. It would be a shame to miss out on the savings, but since we're not sure how much longer the offer will last, we highly recommend proceeding with the transaction as soon as you can to make sure that you get these headphones for less than $100.

Read more
The powerful Xgimi Horizon smart projector is 30% off from Amazon
The Xgimi Horizon projector on a white background.

Families who are looking for projector deals that will transform their living room into their personal movie theater should look no further than Amazon's offer for the Xgimi Horizon. From its original price of $999, it's on sale for a more reasonable price of $700 following a 30% discount. There's no telling how much time is remaining on this bargain. So, if you don't want to miss out on the $299 in savings, the only way to make sure of that is to go ahead with your purchase for this projector right now.

Why you should buy the Xgimi Horizon projector
Xgimi is one of our most trusted brands for projectors with its multiple entries in our roundup of the best projectors, which include the Xgimi Horizon Ultra and the Xgimi Horizon Pro. The Xgimi Horizon is slightly less powerful than these two models, but it's still an incredible addition to any living room with its native Full HD resolution and support for up to 4K Ultra HD resolution at 60Hz. You won't even need to connect it to speakers for the full cinematic experience, as it comes with built-in dual 8W Harman Kardon speakers.

Read more
Panasonic TVs are back in the U.S., and the W95A is still on sale for Cyber Week
Panasonic W95A

I honestly wasn't sure that it would ever happen, but Panasonic finally returned to the U.S. television market this fall and I was -- perhaps excessively -- excited. Even though Panasonic TVs have been available in Europe for a while (and selling very well), it's been more than 10 years since they've graced this side of the pond after the company ended production of its plasma TV line. For us videophiles who loved those Panasonic plasmas of old, it's been long time coming, but the company is back with both the Z95A OLED and the W95A mini-LED. And they're already on sale during Cyber Week for up to 33% off.

Panasonic has a long pedigree in the world of TVs. Not only did it produce the best plasmas the planet Earth has seen -- even better than the Pioneer Kuro, according to many of us -- but a string of excellent CRT displays before that. It stood alongside the likes of Sony Trinitron, Toshiba, and ProScan (a premium sub-brand of RCA). It's a lot to live up to, but so far it's delivered.

Read more