Diwali Gift Guide 2022: 12 gifts for the Music Lover

Gifts are music to the soul

Unwrapping one of these on Diwali morning is sure to result in squeals of delight… followed shortly by other, more melodious sounds. Here’s a list of 12 products to get your audiophiles and music buffs this festive season!

1) Bower’s and Wilkins Flex (₹82,000)

Usually spoken about in the highest regard in the world’s finest studios, Bowers & Wilkins has distilled some of its knowledge even in the smallest speaker it makes. Dressed up to attend an audiophile version of the Met Gala if there ever was one, the slinky fabric and tasteful matte gold accent at the bottom whisper refinement into your ears, even before you AirPlay your tunes to it. As part of the Formation series of wireless speakers specifically conceived for the modern lifestyle, Flex can be configured in multiple set-ups, including as a stereo pair and even with a wireless subwoofer. Dig out the Bone Thugs-n-harmony playlist.

2) Klipsch Heritage Groove (₹18,600)

Yes, 18k is a lot to spend on a Bluetooth speaker, but this isn’t just any Bluetooth speaker. Firstly, it’s a Klipsch and under its quirky mid-century exterior, you get a 3in full-range driver along with twin side-firing passive radiators to augment the low end. Powered by a 20W amp and an 8-hour battery life, you can show off your fandom anywhere you go.

3) IFI Go Blu (₹16,999)

It might look like some sort of vintage MP3 player, but iFi’s Go Blu is a pocket Bluetooth DAC and headphone amp designed to spruce up the sound from your phone or laptop. All you need to add is your favourite pair of wired headphones. 

4) Roon Arc ($10/month)

Roon is like Google for music, only less nosey. And now they’ve made an app that lets you take your HDD-based home music library anywhere with you! Roon ARC is like having your own streaming service and it’s free for Roon subscribers.

5) Lego Fender Stratocaster (₹10,769)

It might have six strings and a buildable Princeton amplifier to plug it into, but you won’t get much of a tune-out of this mini Strat. Still, with 1074 pieces, a moving whammy bar, rotating tuners and a top panel that can be removed to expose the amp’s innards, it’s the perfect gift for any Lego fan who dreams of being EVH but plays more like the BFG.

6) B&W Zeppelin (2021) (₹1,18,000)

You’ll need to be involved in a very affluent Secret Santa group to stretch to B&W’s latest Zeppelin. The five drivers really make it sing, while the classic ‘indoor airship’ design means it catches the eye as much as the ear.  

7) Sennheiser CX True Wireless (₹4,990)

You could make an entire Advent calendar out of good true wireless earphones… but if ever a pair was worthy of being behind door 24, it’s these Sennies. They’re a bit on the big side, but with great sound for the price.

8) Belkin Soundform Connect (₹11,852)

Being old(er) shouldn’t mean being left out. Belkin’s adapter lets you add AirPlay 2 connectivity to anything with either an optical or 3.5mm input, so you can stream from your phone.

9) Rega Planar-1 (₹50,00)

There’s no point forking out for that ultra-rare copy of All I Want for Christmas Is You on reindeer-coloured vinyl if you’ve got nothing to play it on. This is pretty affordable as turntables go and is an all-inclusive package.

10) Fender Mustang Micro (₹25,898)

Guitar amps don’t come much smaller than the Mustang Micro, but it packs in more tricks than something 50 times its size. It plugs straight into your axe and replicates the sounds of 12 different amp types, with 12 effect combinations to add on top – from dreamy reverb to fruity flanging. Just add headphones via the stereo 3.5mm output… or a laptop via USB for direct recording.

11) Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Sudio (₹16,864)

Yes, here’s your chance to be the next Cliff at last! Focusrite’s home recording bundle is all you need: connect the USB interface to your laptop, hook up the CM25 MkIII microphone and plug in the HP60 MkIII headphones.

12) RSQ Acoustics M20 (₹38,900)

Remember when speakers used to come in pairs? Q Acoustics does because it still sells them like that… although the M20s are more like an entire music system. A built-in 65W amp brings the power, with Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity