thatgeekdad Holiday Gift Guide 2017 part 2: Headphones and Earbuds

For as long as gift-giving has been a tradition, there’s also been the inability to come up with good gift ideas. Whether it’s for your mom, dad, sister, brother, partner, friend, colleague, they, them, him, her, cat, dog, secret Santa, or for a White Elephant party, it can often be tricky to select the perfect present for your recipient. Price can also be a huge factor in holiday shopping — whether you have a tight budget and / or a long list of friends and family members to buy gifts for. This season can make things pretty rough on your wallet.

So as the 2017 holidays approach, I have put together a tech gift guide of the many wonderful things that would make great presents for all ages, sizes, genders, and budgets. At the very least, we hope these recommendations spark an idea for what you might gift your loved ones.


Apple AirPods

If you have an iPhone and love to listen to streaming music almost any where at any time, this is a must. With 5 hour battery life and a case that holds 24 hours worth of charge, all in the size of a dental floss case, these are as convenient as it gets. Pairing is as easy as popping open the lid and putting each AirPod in your ear. The only downside is fit. Most people can have these fit in their ears while a small minority will have them fall out with the slightest tilt of their head. While the AirPods work with Android devices as well, they are made better for iPhones. At $159, you are getting good sound in the smallest and most convenient package possible.


Bragi The Headphone

If the AirPods are for iPhone users, The Headphone by Bragi is almost the default option for Android devices when it comes to wireless earbuds. Good sound, different size ear tips to make fit easier for everyone, and a small form factor, these are a great option for $149. One great aspect of these is audio transparency. You can have them in your ears and enable a mode to allow sound from the outside world to be heard through the speakers in the earbuds. The one true downside of these are the charging case. It has no battery to top off the earbuds so to charge them, they have to be in the case and then the case plugged in. 

Bragi website


Jabra Elite Sport

While the AirPods and Headphone are not ideal for working out in due to either fit or water resistances (think sweat!), the Jabra Elite Sport are for the workout and runners of the world. For Android or iPhones, they come with ear pieces for different ear fits and a charging case that will charge your earbuds without having to plug it in. The earbuds get you 4 to 4.5 hours of use while the charging case will top off your earbuds for 13 hours more usage. With the case the size of an Altoids tin box, the biggest downside is the price at $249 dollars. 

Jabra Elite Sport website


Bose Quiet Comfort 35 (Series 1 or 2)

These are the high standard of wireless bluetooth headphones with a high price as well, $350. These are for the people who want to drown out the world, whether it be on an airplane, in an office, or walking down the street. The active noise cancelation are amazing yet tuned so that if someone speaks directly at you at a normal noice with you facing them, you can hear them enough to be able to answer them. With almost 20 hours of battery life per charge, you can drown out the world for a long time. The only difference between the series 1 and 2 is the 2 has a Google assistant button to interact with your phone. So if you can get the 1 for less money, go for it. These come with a great case, are insanely comfortable to wear for hours on end, great sound, and have a auxiliary cable to listen to music if your battery runs out.

Amazon


Beats Studio Wireless 3 by Dre

Let's get this out of the way, these are for the people in your life that love listening to music but want to be cool, heavy emphasis on cool for $350. That said, Beats have gotten better in the sound department over the years and their style is still nice, no denying that. Comfortable over the ears, 22 hours of battery life with adaptive noise canceling (40 with it turned off), variety of colors, and pairs almost instantly and fast to iPhones like the AirPods because of the Apple W1 chip. They also come with a auxiliary cable but unfortunately they cannot be used with zero battery

Amazon


Beats X by Dre

Neckbuds. They look strange but are practical in that when you are not using them, they can just hang from your neck until you decide to put them away or use them again. The Beats X paid fast and easily with iPhones because of the Apple W1 chip, have about an 8 hour battery life, variety of colors, but important most of all (in my opinion) is they charge via a lightning cable, just like an iPhone. When you travel with your iPhone, you only need to bring one type of cable. Most other headphones or earbuds still charge via microUSB. Sound is good and they have a magnets on the ear pieces to clamp together when hanging from your neck while not in use. As of this guide, they are less than $100!

Amazon


Jaybird X2

This might be a surprise but the older model X2 are better than the X3 and that is why I am not recommending the X3. The X2 is still an amazing set of bluetooth earbuds and should be picked up for anyone who loves listening to music without wires while doing any activity or just being comfortable. They are sweat resistant for the runners and workout types out there and provide 8 hours of solid battery life before being charged up. So why the X2 and not the X3? The charging dock. The X3 get 8 hours of battery if you hook up this small battery clip while using them. The problem is this clip latches on with magnets so the first time to spin or whip around too fast, it goes flying off. Your battery life is now 4 hours and you can't charge them without the clip and it will cost you $10 to replace. It's proprietary so they only company that makes them are Jaybird and as of this guide, they are sold out. Looks like a lot of people lost their clips.

Amazon

Audio Technica ATH-M50x

Can't have a guide about headphones without having these on here. While not the most expensive set of headphones, these are amazing for the price in every way. From design, build, sound, and being comfortable, if someone likes to really listen to music or audio, these are the headphones to have without breaking the bank. When someone who knows sound and music sees another with these on, that unspeakable nod of approval is given.

I can go on and on about these but I don't need too. I will let the 4.5 stars out of 5 after over 4500+ reviews on Amazon do the talking.

Amazon

V-MODA Crossfade LP2 Vocal LE

You have the ATH-M50x people then you have the V-MODA people. Whether you belong to one camp or the other, you are in great company. I think the only true difference in the camps are one likes one look and the other likes a different look. They are both comfortable, great design, great sound, great look, and all while not breaking the bank. These are for people who love music and sound without feeling the need to get producer executive priced $500 headphones. Again I can go on and on but the ratings and reviews on Amazon speak for themselves.

Amazon

Koss Porta Pro

These headphones have been around for more than 30 years — and for good reason: they're cheap, super portable, and they sound amazing. Again, let the Amazon ratings and reviews speak for themselves, 4.5 stars with 3300+ reviews.

Amazon