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Gramophone's 10-Week Music Challenge

Make This Year's Father's Day Stand Out From All the Rest.

With only 10 Days until Father's Day, these are some of our top picks!

It is almost impossible to write about the "Top Three Gadgets for Father's Day"  There are far more gadgets that Dad would love to have than just three.  How to decide? Headphones top our list of great Father's Day gifts, but there are also great iPod Dock solutions.  And we didn't limit ourselves to picking just three.  We'll let you figure out which of the following would make this year's Father's Day stand out from all the rest.

Better than a tie, but not quite a set of nice cuff links.

Sennheiser's line of headphones offers a great gift for dad for when he goes to the gym.  The adidas Performance headphones with volume control are portable, washable, and simply the way to go when it comes to athletic headphones. Wired Magazine's Product Review Section says: The Sennheiser/Adidas PMX680s provide "Exceptional sound quality. Marvelous bass. Stays put securely. Water resistant and dog-proof."

Better than the really nice cuff links, but not quite his dream golf club set.

At less than $300, this gift is far better than a set of nice cuff links , but not quite at the level of a really nice set of golf clubs.  For the Dad whose music taste is stuck back in time somewhere, these headphones will take him back and let him relive those days -- without causing the whole family to cringe.

Looking for a review? Wired Magazine's Product Review Section says: Heavenly Headphones Create Symphony Hall for Your Ears

Dad has an iPod?

Actually, this gift will be something an entire family enjoys...if Dad's the sharing type.  Starting at less than $400, you can get dad the B&W Mini-Zeppelin or the "big-daddy" of the two, the B&W Zeppelin.  These two are both iPod docking stations that are easy to use and have great sound quality. He'll love the fact that they have digital signal processing, digital amplifiers, as well as s-video & composite outputs. But in addition to that, they just make his music sound amazing. 

Don't take our word for it: Wired Magazine's Geek Dad Section says: "B&W Zeppelin: Still Soaring Above The Crowd After Three Years"

Dad Deserves Quiet Time.

Noise canceling headphones might just be the gift every dad has been wanting. Sennheiser's PXC310 noise canceling, collapsible headphones might just improve Dad's mood when the dog's barking, the baby's crying, and the kids are squealing with delight.  We won't tell if you use them every once in a while too!

 

Dad Wants To Spend As Much Time Outside As Possible (But he still loves movies...)

There's only one choice for this Dad: Epson MovieMate.  "Epson's MovieMate 60 combines an HD projector, A CD/DVD player, microphone unit, and stereo speakers in one portable unit" (And it comes with parental controls, so the kids can't watch movies you don't want them to see!

For less than $700, you can create your very own drive-in movie theater, have a karaoke night, watch a slideshow of family pictures, and more on a picture that can be 120"!

Want to know more about it?  The Today Show featured it!

Dad Hates Digital Music, But It's Time He Move Into the 21st Century

He needs the Peachtree iDecco. Hands Down. The best thing to do is experience the difference it makes in taking the flat sound of digital music and allowing it to breathe and have depth again.  Certainly, you can read reviews. Or, you can just come in and see how simple it is to make your digital music sing!

Dad Needs To Relax In His Very Own...Motorized Chair.

Sometimes Dad just needs to take a seat.  Oh, and this seat will make him feel like a king!  This chair is available in more than 20 colors of high grade woven fabric, and 25 colors of top grain, aniline leathers. With cupholders for his favorite drink, possible snack table, and cushions that will force his body to relax.  Don't go with the La-Z-boy, go with the VIP line of seating that offers so much more!

Dad Loves The Kids And Wants To Spend Lots of Family Time With Them

Is it time to splurge on Dad & the family at the same time?  Spend quality time with Dad while letting him win Wii Golf, snuggling on the couch as a family watching the latest blockbuster, or cheering on your favorite sports team on a 100" screen.  If this sounds like the perfect gift for Dad, they you'll want to check out the Epson Ensemble HD Theater System.  For $5999, it's an all-inclusive investment in Family Time, and what better time to start that investment than Father's Day?  The teenagers just might stay at home to watch movies with the family every once in a while too, but we won't make any promises on that!

We could offer so many other great ideas, such as:

• the portable, wireless, outdoor speaker Dad can take with him anywhere (tailgating included!). Oh, and it links right up with his iPod!
• the outdoor tv for the Dad who loves watching baseball and early season football, but also wants to be outside with the kids!

You want more? Give us a call. Stop by.  We want Dad to be thrilled!

B&W Loudspeakers Enters the Social Music Scene with the Society of Sound

B&W’s new Society of Sound Music Club is a welcome response to the overly stylized and overly commercial air play of mainstream recording today. The Music Club is a chance to rediscover what made people  fall in love with music to begin with: original artists, immaculate recordings and moving songwriting. Hallelujah.

The Music Club is a partnership between B&W and Peter Gabriel’s state-of-the-art Real World recording studios. The goal of the project is to produce and record specially commissioned albums from exceptional artists all over the world – many well known and many as yet undiscovered.

You can become a member of the Music Club, which grants you access to monthly downloads. Each recording is presented as an Apple Lossless file, which is a larger format than typical MP3 files. Apple Lossless files are identical to the original recording created in studio so you hear the recording in super high fidelity.

B&W A-Go-Go

We've loved Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) speakers for decades in our homes, and now B&W is taking its high-end sound on the road with the debut of the new Jaguar XF outfitted with a premium B&W audio system. B&W's engineers worked closely with Jaguar's engineers to develop what they're calling "the best sound system ever experienced in a luxury car." Some of the fine-tuning is even geared at making sure every passenger in the car has an identical listening experience. The first XF models are due to go on sale in March.

B&W Liberty Wireless Surround System

At CES, Bowers & Wilkins demonstrated their forthcoming Liberty system. This wireless speaker system is the first to deliver 8-channel sound wirelessly, and I’m here to tell you that it looked and sounded great. It comprises four speakers (including the PV-1 subwoofer) along with a combined disc player/transmitter.

Cute Sound? B&W PV1 Subwoofer

I don’t often pair the words “cute” with “great sound”, but even I have to admit that Bowers & Wilkins mastered both in the PV1 subwoofer. The PV1 takes all the old principles of a subwoofer and turns them on their head, beginning with the adage that a subwoofer should be a boring box. The PV1 is round, like a small silver bowling ball. And it owes both its unique shape and its performance to advanced engineering. The “PV” stands for “pressure vessel.” B&W claims this unique spherical design creates a near perfect environment to maximize internal volume. The result is a subwoofer that’s also a conversation piece. It might just be the perfect addition to any contemporary room.

Enjoy,
Brian