Great Holiday Gift Ideas for the Audiophile in Your Family

Music is one of the few existing universal languages and remains a powerful force in this tiny world we currently occupy. When dealing with any language, music included, a clear and articulate voice is necessary to effectively convey a message to the intended audience. Volume and fidelity are crucial elements as well, as all these factors work together and allow us to hear, listen, learn, and communicate by making use of the fantastic pair of receivers all of us have hanging from the sides of our heads. Well, all except for Van Gogh... sorry Vince.

As this holiday season quickly approaches, as it always seems to do, I've managed to compile a few gift ideas for those of you looking to please that arrogant-yet-lovable audiophile in your family, and hopefully that, is music to your ears.

The first product to place on your list is called the Squeezebox from a company called Slim Devices. This relatively small device, about the size of an alarm clock, allows Internet radio stations and music files stored on your computer to be played through any home audio system.

The Squeezebox comes equipped with gold-plated RCA outputs and an Ethernet connection port that allows you to connect the device to a computer or server. The company also offers an 802.11g wireless version for only $50 bucks more that boasts a range three times farther than most conventional Wi-Fi devices.

The unit comes with a power supply, remote control, and Slim Devices's software called SlimServer that has to be installed on the host computer before the Squeezebox can be used. The software is open-sourced so programmers can create extensions and expand the power of Squeezebox. For example, one extension will allow the Squeezebox to sync-up with and control a TiVo device.

This can be yours for the low price of $249 for the wired version and $299 for the wireless and is available at www.slimdevices.com

The next product comes to us courtesy of the fine iFolks at Apple Computers and is called the iPod Hi-Fi.

The iPod Hi-Fi is a compact home stereo system that is made to dock with an iPod and play all the music it contains with outstanding clarity and conviction. It's about the size of a toaster oven and weighs about 17 pounds when filled with the six D-sized batteries it needs to power its three custom speakers. The small size gives it portability and the built in handle grips allow you to take it with you without the necessity of a spotter.

The Hi-Fi is made to work with Apple's AirPort Express system which will allow the music stored on your computer to be sent to the iPod Hi-Fi using only digital signals.

You can buy this directly from Apple at www.apple.com/ipodhifi/ for only $349.

The final item on your shopping list is manufactured by the fidelity experts at Bose. They've made improvements on their noise cancelling headphones and have just released the QuietComfort 3 Acoustic Noise Cancelling headphones.

Although the product name is nothing short of a tongue twister, the product seems to be nothing short of stellar. With features such as proprietary technology that actively identifies and reduces outside noise while preserving audio quality and the ability to use the headphones for either music or simply unwanted noise cancellation, these babies are definitely worth the price.

The headphones rotate 90 degrees to fold flat for easy storage and are powered by a lithium-ion battery that provides nearly 20 hours of run time. They also come with a free wall-socket charger and as an added environmental benefit, Bose will recycle your used batteries free of charge to help keep them out of the nation's solid waste stream.

The Bose QuietComfort 3 Acoustic Noise Cancelling headphones are available at www.bose.com for only $349.

Well, hopefully this list helps all my fellow holiday shopping warriors out there fulfill their social obligations by spending obscene amounts of money on products their families could probably live without. But if you love music as I do, spending a little extra cash on quality is an easy and highly rewarding thing to do.