Audio engineers are hard to surprise with gear: they usually own the big things already. The gifts they appreciate are tools that fix a daily annoyance or help them hear better. Every pick below comes from our rankings, with tonight's Thomann price.
Gifts for audio engineers under $150
Mackie Big Knob Passive, $77
A passive monitor controller with one large volume knob, switching between two pairs of speakers and two sources, plus mute, dim and mono buttons. It doesn't color the sound and needs no power supply. #6 of 56 studio monitor controllers.
Shure SM57 LC, $124
Every studio needs more of them: the microphone on guitar amps and snare drums for decades. A spare is always welcome. #2 of 23 amp microphones.
t.akustik Spektrum A20 Absorber CR, $111
An acoustic panel for the mid frequencies, to tame reflections in a control room or vocal corner. #1 of 162 broadband acoustic absorbers.
HOFA Diffusor brown, $129
HOFA's acoustic panel for treating reflections in a studio or home recording room. #1 of 23 diffusors.
Gifts for audio engineers under $500
Presonus HP4, $150
A four-channel headphone amp with separate volume controls, so every musician in the room gets their own level. #2 of 79 headphone amps.
beyerdynamic DT-990 Pro 250 Ohm, $166
Open-back reference headphones for checking mixes, comfortable over long sessions. #2 of 106 studio headphones.
Auratone 5C Super Sound Black, $424
A pair of small passive "grot box" reference speakers with a single 4.5-inch driver, the classic way to check how a mix sounds on cheap speakers. One of the highest-ranked monitors we track: #1 of 6 passive nearfield monitors.
Warm Audio WA-87jr SE, $222
An affordable large-diaphragm condenser in the spirit of a studio classic, a nice extra color for the mic locker. #2 of 217 large diaphragm microphones.
Questions
What do you get an audio engineer who has everything?
A reference tool they wouldn't buy for themselves, like a pair of Auratone 5C speakers, or a monitor controller like the Mackie Big Knob Passive ($77).
What is a cheap gift for a sound engineer?
A Shure SM57 ($124) or an acoustic panel for their room.
How we picked. Every product comes from an AudioFu ranking, scored on demand, price, specs and brand. Prices are Thomann's, converted from euros at the European Central Bank rate and updated every night, as are the ranks.
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Denis Kataev runs AudioFu. Every night the site records the prices of more than 38,000 instruments and studio tools at Thomann, and he writes about what those numbers show: what got cheaper, what just arrived, and which discounts are real.
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