13 Great Gifts for Listening to Music
This feature-rich, user-friendly player integrates a wide variety of streaming services and connection options, and it can stream high-res audio. But it lacks a USB audio port.
With all of the familiar ways we can listen to music at home, you might wonder, What does someone need a music streamer for? If your giftee values high audio quality and likes to stream through a hi-fi system or dedicated speakers, a music streamer noticeably improves the sound of their tunes. (It requires less compression than Bluetooth, for instance.) The WiiM Pro Plus, our top-pick music streamer, supports unaltered high-res audio up to 24 bit/192 kHz. It’s easy to set up (five minutes max), and it integrates with most major streaming services and wireless streaming protocols: Spotify, Tidal, Amazon Alexa, AirPlay 2, Bluetooth, Google Cast, and more. The streamer’s WiiM Home App (available on IOS and Android) connects to Pro Plus, so you can control music from your device, or opt to manage it with its designated remote, but you can’t get as specific with certain settings. Voice assistants such as Alexa, Google Assistant, and Siri also work with it. Apple Music isn’t available on the WiiM Home app, but that’s where the AirPlay 2 support or NAS (network-attached storage) can come in handy. Additionally, the WiiM Pro Plus allows several ways to create a multi-room audio system, so your recipient will have plenty of options to sync their devices.
