Father’s Day 2021: Gifts For The Music-Loving Dad

I’m a father (to teenage twins and a 21-year-old), I love music, and I’m fortunate enough to spend a good chunk of my week testing the latest and greatest audio gear. Headphones, earbuds, speakers, streamers, turntables, and more. I think that qualifies me to make some suggestions for gift ideas if you’re shopping for a dad who loves listening to music.

With Fathers Day 2021 fast approaching, here’s a list of 10 picks from the products I’ve evaluated over the past year or two. If you’re looking for a way to make a music-loving dad feel special, one of these is sure to make his day.

Fluance Turntables

I’m starting off the list with possibly the ultimate symbol of “dad” music — and the key to the hottest music media revival going. A revolt against digital music began to build steam starting a decade and a half ago. Analog music via records and turntables became hip, and then steadily grew in popularity until in 2020, the RIAA reported that vinyl records outsold CDs for the first time in 35 years.

If dad is looking longingly at a new turntable, there are plenty of options to choose from these days. However, I’m a big fan of Canada’s Fluance. The Canadian audio brand perfectly timed its entry into the turntable market and now offers a half-dozen models. Ranging from the entry-level, RT80 (review here) to the awesome RT85 Reference High Fidelity Vinyl Turntable (reviewed here), there are options priced from $200 to $500. 

One of the reasons I recommend Fluance turntables is that every model offers a great deal of value compared to the competition. This includes heavy MDF wood plinths, aluminum tone-arms, aluminum or acrylic platters, and high-quality cartridges from Audio Technica or Ortofon.

Spinbase Turntable Speaker System from Andover Audio

Looking for a compact, minimalist audio system to plug a turntable into? They don’t get much sleeker than the Spinbase from Boston’s Andover Audio.

This turntable speaker system is 3.25-inches tall and sits beneath the turntable, minimizing the footprint of the audio system. Inside that space, Andover Audio has integrated a 270-degree sound system with dual woofers, dual tweeters, and 18W per channel of amplification. The company’s proprietary Isogroove acoustic feedback elimination feature ensures the speakers don’t impact the turntable, even if dad cranks it up. Which he probably will. The Spinbase also includes Bluetooth streaming support. 

Available in black or white, the Spinbase (reviewed here) is priced at $299.

PSB Alpha AM5 Powered Bookshelf Speakers

PSB’s Alpha P5s are my favorite bookshelf speakers, but everything that makes them great can also be found in the PSB Alpha AM5 powered bookshelf speakers. With these, dad can enjoy high quality, high-powered (50W per channel) stereo audio in a compact form factor and with no need for an amplifier or receiver.

These powered bookshelf speaker even have a PHONO input for plugging in a turntable, along with a wide range of wired and wireless connectivity options. The $599 PSB Alpha AM5 powered bookshelf speakers (reviewed here) are available in matte white or matte black cabinets, with acoustically transparent, magnetically-attached black metal speaker grills.

Fluance Ai41 Powered Bookshelf Speakers

Fluance offers a more compact and affordable powered bookshelf speaker option in the new Ai41 speakers (review). They have plenty of power thanks to the built-in 45W per channel amplifier, and deliver true two-channel stereo sound. With 5-inch woofers and 1-inch tweeters they deliver surprisingly nuanced sound for the price ($249) while packing plenty of low end punch. There are multiple input options, and they also offer Bluetooth 5.0 wireless streaming because sometimes dad just wants to listen to a Spotify playlist.

Pair the Ai41 powered bookshelf speakers with a Fluance turntable for a great-sounding record listening setup that saves space and cash compared to a traditional component stereo system.

1More ComfoBuds Pro

I haven’t published my review of 1More’s ComfoBuds Pro true wireless earbuds yet, but it’s coming soon. And spoiler alert, these are a great option if dad is looking for wireless earbuds with active noise cancellation.

1More earbuds have a well-deserved reputation for delivering premium audio, and the ComfoBuds Pro are equipped with 13.4 mm titanium composite dynamic drivers to ensure that is the case. They are extremely comfortable to wear, offer adjustable ANC, AAC support, customizable touch controls, six microphones, they are IPX4 water and sweat resistant, and they offer up to eight hours of music playback on a single charge.

At $99, these earbuds are also $60 less than Apple’s cheapest AirPods, making them a great option for gift givers as well...

Songbird Music Streamer from Andover Audio

Many dads have a man cave or a garage equipped with a vintage sound system saved from their youth or picked up at a garage sale. Those old monster receivers with their dials, knobs, and VU meters are like catnip to a certain demographic. They may look cool and sound great, but there’s one thing they can’t do: wirelessly stream music.

That’s where the Songbird music streamer from Andover Audio comes in. The little $149 box (reviewed here) plugs into a spare input bringing high quality Bluetooth music streaming to virtually any audio system. Even better, it can connect to a home Wi-Fi network for CD-quality streaming and the ability to control the tunes from anywhere in the house.

Ultrasone Performance 880 Headphones

Wireless headphones are great for convenience, but for music fanatics, nothing beats a good set of wired cans.

German audio brand Ultrasone is known for doing things differently. And that’s what makes the company’s Performance 880 headphones so interesting. They employ the company’s S-Logic technology working with carefully-positioned titanium-coated PET dynamic drivers. The combination provides a variation on the simulated spatial audio that some higher end wireless headphones have been dishing out. The effect is pretty convincing and makes for enjoyable listening. The comfort of the memory foam padded ear cups is enhanced by the off-center driver positioning which reduces sound pressure on the ear canals — a feature that also helps to protect against hearing damage.

The Ultrasone Performance 880 headphones retail for $499, and a full review is coming soon.

Tribit Stormbox Pro Portable Bluetooth Speaker

The Tribit Stormbox Pro portable Bluetooth speaker was a surprise when I reviewed it earlier this year. A very good surprise. And it would make a great surprise for a dad who likes to take his tunes outdoors.

For a $120 speaker — and not from one of the big audio brand names that tend to dominate this space — the Stormbox Pro puts out some pretty impressive sound. It may look unassuming, but inside the Stormbox Pro’s lantern-like, water resistant case is a very capable array of drivers. It’s equipped with a pair of 1.6-inch mid-high frequency drivers, two passive radiators, and a 3-inch downward-firing subwoofer. All driven by a total of 40W of amplification. One push of the Xbass button, and that subwoofer really goes to work pumping out the bass.

Battery life is much better than average as well, at up to 24 hours on a charge. 

Ultimate Ears HYPERBOOM Bluetooth Speaker

If dad wants to rock the block, or the garage, or the deck, or his home office, there is one portable Bluetooth speaker that stands above the rest. In fact, at 14-inches tall, it towers above the rest. The HYPERBOOM is the largest, most powerful, and best-sounding Ultimate Ears portable speaker to date. And that’s saying something.

Inside the HYPERBOOM’s 13-pound case, dual 4.5-inch woofers, two x 1-inch tweeters, and a pair of 3.5 x 7.5-inch passive radiators work together to offer energetic music with convincing depth. The audio wizardry is assisted by an adaptive microphone that analyzes the speaker’s location in real time and optimizes the audio to fit. Battery life is rated at up to 24 hours and it can be used to top up the charge on a smartphone.

The $400 HYPERBOOM isn’t cheap for a portable speaker — and frankly, it pushes the definition of portability — but they don’t get much better than this.

UE FITS Customized Wireless Earbuds

Finally, perhaps the most personal gift you could pick for a music-loving dad — custom molded wireless earbuds. 

Late last year, I had the opportunity to try out Ultimate Ears’ UE 18+ custom molded earbuds. They were incredible, to put it mildly. And at $1,499 they were also incredibly expensive. However, you can give dad a similar custom-molded experience with the much more reasonably priced UE FITS (regularly $249, but at time of publication going for $174 for Father’s Day).

In just 60 seconds, UE’s Lightform technology creates a set of buds that are molded precisely to dad’s ears. This makes for the most comfortable fit ever, with a perfect seal that ensures optimal audio performance. Once again, the review is coming shortly on these.