Your Winter Recharge: Essential Gifts and Tools for the New Year
The joy of home entertainment goes beyond 4K and Blu-ray discs, covering the world of retail, music and more ways to enjoy. Here, we move away from the TV screen to treat all five senses, in celebration of our favorite stories, franchises, actors, bands, and more.
Whether it’s the analog splendor of a new LP, the immersive sonic bubble of high-end headphones, the cinematic freedom of a portable projector or mouth-watering nosh, we’ve put together some hot suggestions for the colder months.
The Beatles Anthology Collection 12LP Boxset (Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe) & The Beatles Anthology 25 Year Plan (Chronicles)
Everyone everywhere knows the classic Beatles in their “last” form… but how did they get there? Part history lesson, part alternate reality and 100% magic, The Beatles Anthology it is still a historic event, today it is deeper in the underground than before. While the first three albums moved the songs chronologically, from the Quarrymen’s early demos to the glory days to the boys’ creative peak and subsequent disbandment, they are more recent. Anthology 4 it’s a distilled overview of their entire career, 13 of its 36 previously unreleased cuts and 26 of which have never before appeared on vinyl.
Many of the 191 tracks—outtakes, broadcasts, concerts and more—have now been remastered by Giles Martin for this reissue. At the top of my list is another version of my favorite Fab Four song, “I Am The Walrus (Take 19 – Strings, brass, clarinet overdub),” a counterpoint Anthology 2LP3, Side 6’s lean “I Am the Walrus (Take 16),” and I don’t think I’ll ever tire of the classy-as-hell “Eleanor Rigby (Take 14 – Strings only)” on LP2, Side 3. Side 24 is the highlight of this mix between Jeff and tracks including “Free as a Bird” and “True Love,” which uses the latest machine learning technology to got clear vocals, and 2023’s “Now and Then” was included to keep the set up to date. The wax comes protected by multi-lined sleeves inside four beautiful triple jackets.
The LP box (also available on eight CDs if you prefer) goes well with it The Beatles Anthology 25 Year Plan. This soft cover with belly band, designed to match the music collection, collects the poignant, illuminating words of John, Paul, George and Ringo, and other comments from the participants who knew them best. A bestseller when it was first released, the book has now been expanded, its 368 pages now filled with more than 1,300 photographs, texts, works of art, and other memorabilia from various collections. Taken as a whole, it offers not only a close-up picture but a glimpse inside the eye of the storm, part of the world’s largest cluster.
ALIEN Jewelry (RockLove)
You know you’ve found The One when you gift him with an Alien X RockLove Ovomorph Locket ($125), open a heavy artisan egg pint with a vintage silver-plated finish to find a facehugger inside (with hinged legs ready to hug the mug), and squeal with joy instead of fear. A subtle, wearable nod to one of the sci-fi/horror franchises, the egg and human occupant of the Xenomorph comes in an adjustable channel series with decorative elements spaced across its 20-24 inches. And let the world know you’re “With Me” when you wear your Nostromo combination bracelet ($85) honoring the unfortunate men and women of the Weyland-Yutani USCSS Nostromo spacecraft.
Air Force Blue waxed cotton—to match the crew uniform—has a sliding clasp for an adjustable fit and looks great against the 14K gold-plated brass accents and center plate. Several elements of the design have a hidden meaning, up to an edition size of 426 units (IYKYK). All pieces in the collection arrive in RockLove’s signature collector’s box featuring a custom interior and exterior with metallic silkscreened branding throughout. www.rocklove.com
Deadpool Hawt Sauce Body Collection (Everybody’s Jack)
Now you too can enjoy the murderous yet delicate aroma of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s mysteriously lovable Merc with a mouth. Made with naturally-sourced ingredients and fragrances inspired by the outdoors (maybe this is what it smelled like when DP dug up Logan’s body in the woods?), EMJ’s “Hawt Sauce” smells sweet, a blend of musk, spices—think cinnamon and patchouli—like Wade’s sweetness. This bundle’s lineup of shampoo/conditioner, hydrating body wash and aluminum-free deodorant ensures you’ll be gorgeous from head to toe the next time you step out to relieve some stress… or take a much-needed shower afterward. www.everymanjack.com
Capsule 3 Laser Mini Projector (Nebula)
No bigger than a Foster’s oil can and just over two pounds, the Nebula go-anywhere projector can throw a 1080p image from 60 to 150 inches. Powered by “Laser Forge” technology, the Capsule 3 delivers 300 ANSI lumens, 1.8X brightness and doubles LED contrast, and includes 100% Rec.709 standard.
Auto-focus and auto-keystone set up in less time than it takes to read this section, while Android TV 11.0, Google Assistant with Ok Google control and Chromecast built-in make for easy operation, with HDMI 2.1, USB-C, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and the right Aux Out connection options are ready. Be prepared for two and a half hours of playtime between charges, and to support all that flexibility, Nebula also sells (separately) a custom travel case with a utility compartment and an adjustable stand to make setup even easier. www.seenebula.com
WiiM Sound Smart Speaker (WiiM)
Available in black or white, the WiiM Sound smart speaker disappears into a bedroom, living room or almost any room in fact, yet it has a way of making its presence known. The bright 1.8-inch touchscreen on the front lets you swipe through playback controls, switch between sources or admire album art without fumbling for–or finding–a connected phone. It can be configured as a high-end alarm clock–analog or digital–but its rich feature set makes it versatile throughout the day and night. Direct streaming from Spotify, Amazon Music, TIDAL, Qobuz, Deezer, Pandora and more is supported, in addition to streaming via Alexa Cast, Google Cast, Roon, DLNA and others.
We can pair two of these speakers together for true stereo or combine them with a home theater set as surround. Inside, WiiM Sound packs 100W of high power, driving a four-inch paper-cone woofer and one-inch silk-dome tweeters, filling spaces with ample volume and high-definition reproduction worthy of 24‑bit/192 kHz tunes. My favorite is AI RoomFit’s automatic calibration that matches the acoustics of the room regardless of where the speaker is placed, with smooth, room-filling, high-resolution sound. In addition to the touch screen, we can control many functions with voice commands, the WiiM Home app, or the simple but comprehensive, rechargeable WiiM Voice Remote 2 Lite included. www.wiimhome.com
Space One Pro Over-Ear Headphone (Soundcore)
The clever FlexiCurve design of the Soundcore Space One Pro (did anyone else misread that as “Space Opera”?) reduces the overall size by 50% because it’s so collapsible, down to the size of a Homer Simpson donut. Sometimes my head starts to hurt before we take off from the airport in New Jersey, so between the S1P’s new size, the foam ear cushions that have come back a little and the ergonomic belt to distribute the weight better—and the aggressive four-stage noise cancellation, they are welcome new companions. The sound quality is excellent, too, thanks to the res-triple-composite diaphragm drivers.
They are good for 40 hours with ANC on, 60 off, and we can add a quick eight hours with a quick five-minute charge. Available in Obsidian Black or Cream White, the Space One Pro supports Bluetooth 5.3 and Google Fast-Pair, with stereo aux and USB-C cables and the same included carrying case, while the Soundcore app enables intuitive customization. www.soundcore.com
Movie Chocolate Gift Set (A24)
A visit to the theater might include a stop at the concession stand for popcorn, peanuts, candy and maybe root beer: What could be better? Why, cover it all in milk chocolate and have it right in our hands in the media room, naturally. “Fizzy Fountain Soda” combines the taste of root beer with a touch of savory action, “Salty Peanut Crunch” is delicious with whole peanuts and fine caramel, while “Popcorn & Candy” combines colored chocolates (the sugar equivalent of a hat in a corn hat) and a corn hat. The two are each packaged in a black gift box, with a ribbon gate, big enough to last until… well, who are we to judge? www.shop.a24films.com
Whole Meal Bundle (Code HLTH)
From exercise to nutrition, it’s all about balance, right? I spend more time than most parked in front of the TV—or in the keys after that—and as I look back over the past twelve months and into the next year, I will never be a fitness trainer but I want to make smart choices when I can (read: when it’s easy). Hence our introduction to The HLTH Code, a simple swap loaded with triple protein, healthy fats and low sugar.
At the end of the year, they are doing a discounted bundle with two bags of their nutritional recovery powder, a shaker and a bottle of berberine, which is said to have a variety of benefits. By my calculations, an afternoon shake means I can have tacos when I sit down to rewatch Despero at night, or I am free to lose myself in a bowl of pasta for three hours The Godfather. Like I said: balance. www.getHLTH.com
Rave 3S Karaoke Party Speaker (Soundcore)
How much fun can one speaker bring? Obviously that depends on the speaker, and Soundcore’s Rave 3S packs quite a punch. 200 watts from its stacked 6.5-inch woofer and three 2.5-inch full-range drivers hit a rockin’ 108 dB, while a large battery keeps the party going for 12 hours, with or without a sync, customizable LED light show. (You might want to turn them off for outdoor cinema use.) Everything is included in the box—okay, except for the wall wart for the USB-C power adapter—and it comes with enough charge to start singing right away, with a completely foolproof setup and wireless connection to the phone and two microphones, neatly tucked into their side holsters.
Perhaps best of all, the Rave 3S offers onboard, user-adjustable AI Vocal Removal, trained on 20K+ tunes to turn any song into a karaoke track, or stream from Spotify, TikTok and YouTube. Like most singalong gear I’ve tried, there’s a verb and voice enhancer (THANK YOU), and if you still need a little liquid courage before your first performance, no worries: This solidly built floor structure is splash-proof. www.soundcore.com
