You've been back at work for almost a week now and the holiday dust has settled. But what's that? You look around and you realize you got shit for the holidays. A fleece-lined cup holder? A cheap book cash-in for a blog that was popular eight months ago? A Starbucks gift card for $3.00 that won't even get you a day-old biscotti? Well, it's time to take back the holidays and wrap up what you really want with a big fat card that reads: "To Me, From Me."
Sony BDV-E500W Home Theater System
The allure of the Blu-Ray upgrade is getting harder and harder to resist with prices of Blu-Ray players and HDTVs dropping faster than your pants at a house party. However, even though this Sony unit is still a tad on the pricey side (it is listed at $799, but can be found for anywhere from $570-$600), it makes the price tag worthwhile by pretty much giving you a complete home theater right out of the box. The built-in Blu-Ray player can handle nearly all CD and DVD formats (standard-definition DVDs up-res noticeably, and this will save you the hassle of feeling as though you need to re-buy anything on Blu-Ray. You don't) but the real selling point is the 5.1-channel speaker system with wireless rear speakers (with surprisingly good sound quality). It looks like a daunting set-up at first, but it delivers pretty much everything you need to milk the most of our your Blu-Rays.
Harman/Kardon BDP-1 Blu-Ray Player
If you don't need the whole shebang in one go and just want to have something on which to play that Blu-Ray copy of Keeping Up with the Kardashians Season One you requested, er, got by mistake this Christmas, then the Harman/Kardon entry may be the perfect fit. Like the Sony, the BDP-1 also upscales your standard DVDs beautifully, but the BDP-1 adds a bit more functionality to the picture. It has internet connectivity for downloading various content, and features a front-panel USB jack. You can even adjust the HD resolution directly from the front-panel, with the BDP-1 fully 1080p capable. All you need is an HDMI cable and a suitable TV and you are golden.
AKG K-450 Mini Headphones
Since the only thing you like better than hearing your music in pristine digital quality is drowning out your life, the K-450s from AKG will fit your earlobes like a glove until someone actually makes a glove for earlobes (by the way, if you're currently working on that technology, please stop). Not only are these smaller than a lot of the other over-the-ear headphones on the market (they fold up into a carrying case no bigger than a CD), but the AKG's are iPhone compatible and can wirelessly receive calls via Bluetooth. They'll set you back about $150, but they deliver the sonic goods—right out of the box, the bass levels sounded great, not too Neil Sedaka, not too tricked-out Honda Civic behind you at a red light unseating your fillings.
Vizio 42" VT420M
There are a lot of strong contenders in the Plasma/LCD HDTV market, but when it comes to bang versus bucks they are all hard-pressed to compete with Vizio. For under a grand, this 42" LCD TV features full 1080p resolution, "Smooth Motion" technology (meaning it smooths out some of the visual jitters you can experience watching fast-moving action in HD), and three HDMI inputs (so feel free to hook up those game systems). As an added bonus, you can impress your girl by mentioning that this slim beauty is ECO HD—it actually exceeds Energy Star standards for efficiency, so you won't be destroy the planet every time you watch things destroy the planet.
Harman/Kardon GLA-55 Two-Piece Speaker System
Computer speakers—so functional, but so often missing a sense of style. If you need to add a little Ice Hotel hotness to your desktop, then take a gander (and whatever the aural equivalent of gander is) at these beauties. The GLA-55s are a ridiculously easy-to-hook-up 2.0 channel speaker system that look like two enormous diamonds excavated from the Fortress of Solitude or something. They are as eye-catching as they are ear-catching and, although a serious indulgence at around $999, they say "Here is a man who appreciates aesthetics as well as technology. He's also a guy who is sick of spending all of his money on other people." What's more post-Christmas than that?
The Balvenie Madeira Cask 17-Year Old
Finally, you have the ultimate multi-media entertainment babe lair—now what? You kick back and let a 17 year-old pour all over you, that's what. We refer, of course, to a Scotch so smooth it can sleep with your sister and get you to lend it $50. This is not a "let's do shots!" kind of booze, this is the kind you keep for yourself, for "relaxing times." Forget what you think you know about Scotch, because the Balvenie Madeira is enough to give even non-Scotch drinkers pause. We could throw around words like "rich" and "full-bodied" but it doesn't cover the fact that you're reading about a taste. Trust us that this is a single malt that can win over even the non-Scotch drinker. It is exactly the sip-and-savor experience you need while relaxing in your HD palace.