Gift guide – Headphones

Sony MDR-570LP
£18, Sony.co.uk
If you're after a pair of great-sounding on-ears at a bargain price, look no further than Sony's pocket-friendly efforts. With decent bass, bags of detail and a musical balance that embarrasses more expensive designs, they're better than they have any right to be. And they look good, too. We may have heard far better audio from other headphones, but few cans under £50 sound as good as the Sony MDR-570LPs. Comfortable and very well built, there's very little to complain about. We can overlook their minor flaws and recommend them to anyone seeking reasonable sound quality without having to forgo food for an entire month.