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Gift Guide:Tuning into Holiday Sounds
By Staff, posted 12/3/2003 4:12:46 PM

If your holiday music tastes lean towards the Pogues' "Fairytale of New York" or anything from the Boney M Christmas album, you may have been barred from using the home stereo system. Happily, with a portable music player you can play anything you like without offending those around you. Here are a few tools to help get your solo party started.

Portable MP3 players Apple iPod 20 and 40 GB http://www.hubcanada.com/Apple
Estimated price: $579 and 729
Still the coolest MP3 player going, Apple has introduced new iPods, in 20 and 40 GB capacities. Both come with a FireWire dock (USB 2.0 dock/cable sold separately) and wired remote control. The new iPods are compatible with both Mac and Windows right out of the box. Yeah, an iPod costs a bit more, but it's still hard to beat its elegance and ease of use. (See HUB September 2003 for more on the iPod.) --Sean Carruthers

Creative Nomad MuVo NX 128 MB http://www.hubcanada.com/Nomad
Estimated price: $230
The Nomad MuVo NX is a tiny flash-based player that doubles as a 128 MB USB memory key. Although the NX version of the player is the same size as the standard MuVo, it adds an LCD window and a full menu system, which means that not only can you see what's playing, you can delete files, adjust EQ settings, and more. The MuVo NX can also be used as a voice recorder, thanks to a tiny built-in microphone. The whole thing runs on just one AAA battery. A 256 MB version of the MuVo NX is also available. --SC

Lyra RD2760 http://www.hubcanada.com/rca
Estimated price: $379
This model is similar to other Lyras except that it's thicker -- thicker because this player is loaded. It has a miniature 1.5 GB internal hard disk that can store about 25 hours of music in MP3 format or 50 hours in MP3Pro format. It's still quite small, measuring 5.8x5.8x2.8 cm, and weighs just 91 g. It comes with an armband but is small enough to tuck into a shirt or jacket pocket. Transferring files is easy: most computers will recognize it as an external storage device and all you have to do is drag and drop the files on its desktop icon. It sounds great, the user interface is simple and battery life is good -- a single charge lasts up to eight hours. The Lyra RD2760 is a great portable music device and proof that MP3 players will be continue to get smaller, more powerful, and more affordable. --Nestor Gula

Accessories

Belkin iPod add-ons http://www.hubcanada.com/Belkin
Price: $149 (Media Reader)
$75 (Voice Recorder)
$40* (TuneDok)
Belkin checks in this Christmas season with a trio of accessories for your iPod. If your digital camera is getting full but you have no way to offload the images, Belkin's new Media Reader for iPod allows you to stick your camera's memory card into the appropriate slot, then copy the files to your iPod's hard drive. It uses the dock connector found on new iPod models and is powered by four AAA batteries. It's compatible with CompactFlash, SecureDigital/MMC, Memory Stick, and SmartMedia cards, and has a sliding door to cover the slots when they're not in use. The hitch: you have to upgrade your iPod's firmware to version 2.1. The Voice Recorder attachment hooks to the top of your iPod, and if you have v2.1 of the firmware already installed, there's nothing else to do -- just attach it and select "voice memos" in the Extras folder. You can't use it at the same time as your headphones, but it's easy to attach and remove, and has a protective cover for its connectors when not in use. If you like to take your iPod on the road, the TuneDok is a great companion for the car. It includes a base with a pivoting stand that fits into a cup holder in your car. Once you've put your iPod in the TuneDok, you can adjust its height with the ratcheting neck design, and use the suction cup to hold it in position. --SC

Etymotic ER-6 Isolator headphones http://www.hubcanada.com/Head
Estimated price: $198
If you want a really compact set of headphones for your MP3 player that also cancel out noise and sound great, take a listen to Etymotic's ER-6 Isolator earphones. They're designed to fit right into your ear canal, like earplugs, and you have your choice of silicon or foam tips. The great news is that because they block out ambient noise (15 to 20 dB reduction), you can listen to music at a much lower volume, protecting your hearing. They're certainly pricey, but once you've tried them out, the sound quality speaks for itself. --SC

MMGear M500FL 5.1 headphones http://www.hubcanada.com/MMGear
Estimated price: $90
The great thing about 5.1 surround sound audio is that you feel like you're right in the middle of the action, but when you have to switch to headphones you end up going right back to stereo. Not so with MMGear's new 5.1 headphone set, which comes with three separate 1/8-inch plugs for front, rear, and centre channels. Inside the headphones, are three mini speakers in each earpiece, placed one in front of the other to simulate front center, and rear. The downside is that you have to plug your headphones to the rear of your PC, or use adapters to connect directly to the rear of your DVD player (if its audio is even configured that way), but with a 3 m cable you have a long leash. They're not audiophile quality by any means -- there's some distortion at top volume and you won't feel the bass like you would with a subwoofer -- but they're certainly an interesting way to get surround sound while keeping it to yourself. (If you can't find this locally, check out www.neo-eshop.com.) --SC

Sennhesier PXC 250 headphones http://www.hubcanada.com/Sennheiser
Suggested retail price: $179
If you're a frequent traveller -- even if it's only a daily walk/train/bus to work -- you probably plug yourself in to a Walkman or MP3 player for some personalized zone-out music, and crank the volume up to get past the ambient noise of engines and other people. Save your ears: Sennheiser's padded PXC 250 headphones not only look good and feel good, they sound good -- especially when much of the outside world is filtered out via the NoiseGard compensation system. I tried the headphones sitting in the noisiest part of a bus and on Montreal's metro system; in both cases, activating NoiseGard eliminated most of the din so I could hear my music clearly without having to turn it up. Only one problem: they're so good at shutting out traffic noise, you'll have to be extra careful on the street. --Emru Townsend

*Converted from US$30.