In the Ideal Gifts series, The Next Web team shares personal recommendations for gifts to give this holiday season.
Headphone upgrades are some of the most reliably appreciated gifts, but picking the right ones can be difficult, particularly if looking for something portable. After all people don’t often think of earphones – also known as in-ear-monitors or IEMs if you’re feeling fancy – when it come to premium audio gear.
The $129 RHA MA750i , however, are deserving of the title, while being just as fit for workouts or long subway commutes.
First off – they sound great. Portable headphones typically compromise detailed presentation for powerful bass or vice versa, but the MA750i manage to get away with both. Bass hits fast and hard (perhaps still too much so for pickier audiophiles), but it almost never introduces murkiness into the midrange or treble.
They also have a surprisingly large soundstage for IEMs, doing a splendid job of making sounds seem like they’re not stuck inside your head. Couple this with strong passive noise cancelling and you’ve got a sound picture that’s not only detailed, but engaging .
Sound quality isn’t the only thing they have going for them though – they’re built like mini stainless steel tanks for your ear canals. The cables are meant to be worn over your ears, which stopped them from falling out my ears during my workouts, while also reducing noise transmission when moving.
They come with a large selection of replacement silicon and foam tips to help you find the best fit, a convenient leather carrying case, and a three-button microphone to make calls and control your music(although only the mic and play/pause button will work on non-iOS devices).
Are they the best sounding headphones in their price range? Debatable. But you’d be hard pressed to gift someone headphones that manage to sound so good, be built so sturdily and come so well packaged. The best part though? You get a three-year warranty with them, helping ensure your gift will last.
➤ RHA MA750i
We’re giving away a Nexus 6 and Nexus 9: Come and get ’em!
Whether you’re considering your first Android device or are a hardcore Android fan, don’t miss our latest giveaway at TNW Deals . For the great low price of free, you can enter to win a brand new, top-of-the-line Google Nexus 6 smartphone or Nexus 9 tablet!
Both devices sport high-end specs for maximum performance and run Android 5.0 Lollipop, the latest version of Google’s mobile OS. Shoot beautiful photos with the 13-megapixel camera on the Nexus 6, and watch your favorite movies and TV shows on the Nexus 9’s crystal-clear 8.9-inch screen.
Ready to score your own Nexus device? Participate in our giveaway by simply visiting the offer page and entering your email address! You can even increase your chances of winning by sharing the offer with your followers on Twitter. Enter today and get yourself a first-class Android experience.
➤ The TNW Deals Double Nexus Giveaway
Sorry Pebble, this crazy cooler is now the most-funded Kickstarter project
Pebble’s spot at the top of the Kickstarter leaderboard for collecting the most campaign contributions has come to an end, and it was ousted by a humble cooler .
Well, it’s not just any cooler as it happens, it’s the Coolest Cooler , which promises not only to keep your food and drinks cool, but also integates a clip-on blender/ice crusher for creating cocktails in the park, an app-controlled integrated Bluetooth speaker for listening to music and a USB port for charging your soon to be depleted electronic devices.
There’s also a bunch of other features too, such as a bottle opener, split lid and divider, storage for plastic plates and cutlery, and more.
Clearly, it’s not just us who thought it sounds interesting; it’s currently standing at $10.3 million raised of its $50,000 goal with 59 hours left to go. Pebble’s campaign closed at $10.2 million two years ago.
If you’re interested in backing the campaign before it closes, the lowest pledge to get yourself a Coolest Cooler is $185, but if you live outside the US, you’ll need to add another $100 for international shipping. Coolers aren’t small, you know.
➤ Coolest Cooler [Kickstarter via TechCrunch ]