Giving sound is giving hours. A turntable, a pair of speakers or good headphones stay on someone's desk, or on their head, for years, and remind them who gave them every time they play. We've gathered the ideas we recommend most in the store, by price, from a €9.95 cleaning spray to a €1,500 complete system in a single box. Everything on this list comes with the brand's official warranty.
Under €50: for someone who already plays vinyl
Anyone with records needs to clean them, and it's the gift nobody buys for themselves. Winyl Spray costs €9.95 and handles everyday cleaning. The goat-hair Winyl Standard Brush is €18.50 and lifts the dust before each play. For the stylus, Winyl Stylus Duo Clean is €12.90. All three together come in under €42, a complete gift for little money.
Under €200: the first step
The Music Hall US-1, at €179, is the turntable we recommend to anyone who wants to start with a brand that has made turntables for decades. If they don't have an amplifier or speakers yet, the Vulkkano TD10 (€159) has a built-in phono preamp and plugs straight into a pair of active speakers such as the Vulkkano A5 ARC MKII (€189 a pair), which also serve the TV over HDMI ARC.
For someone who listens more at home than on the go, the Grado SR80 (€179) are open-back headphones handmade in Brooklyn. And to give an old stereo a new life, the WiiM Mini (€98) brings Spotify, Tidal and internet radio to any amplifier.
Under €500: a real system
The Music Hall mmf 2.3 (€499) is the next step up from the US-1: a heavier chassis, a much stiffer tonearm and a mechanism that accepts better cartridges later on. It needs an amplifier with a phono input; the mmf 2.3 Phono version, at €599, has the preamp inside. We explain the difference in our Music Hall guide. For streaming fans, the WiiM Amp Pro (€475) is an amplifier and streamer in one small box: just add speakers. The Cambridge Audio L/R S (€499) are active speakers with Bluetooth, with nothing else to buy.
In headphones, the Grado SR325 (€369) are a big step up from the SR80, and the Grado GW100x (€269) take the Grado sound wireless. For someone who already has a turntable and wants to try a moving coil cartridge, the Skyanalog P-1M costs €399.
Under €1,500: to keep for years
The Argon Audio TT-4 Special Edition (€990) is a turntable you can keep, as our dedicated guide explains. The DALI iO-8 (€599) are wireless headphones an audiophile takes seriously. A pair of DALI Sonik 3 (€698) with a WiiM Amp Pro makes a complete bookshelf system for under €1,200.
And for someone who wants no boxes and no cables, the Cambridge Audio Evo One (€1,499) is an all-in-one music system with streaming, made to sit in the living room in plain sight.
For someone who has everything
There's always a step up. With our Moving Coil starter offer, anyone who buys the Aurorasound VIDA Prima phono preamp gets a Skyanalog P-1M cartridge free, and the VIDA MKII comes with a G-1 MKII. A Skyanalog Simplexity R-25/2 rack (€699) tidies the system and controls vibration. And WireWorld cables are the quiet gift you can hear: our cable guide shows where to start.
Black Friday or Christmas: when to buy
Don't leave it to the last week of December. Part of the catalog is ordered from the official distributor, and lead times get longer close to Christmas. Shipping is free in mainland Portugal on orders from €100, and you can always pick up in store, at Av. 5 de Outubro, 29, in Lisbon.
If you're torn between two models, come and hear them first. The listening room is open Tuesday to Saturday, 11:00 to 19:00, and you can book on WhatsApp. We'll tell you plainly what makes sense for the person getting the gift.