The audio kit that should be on your Christmas list.

At this time of the year, there is a lot of potentially irritating noise to endure, what with all the carol singers and over-excited sugar-high children milling about. And those endless rounds of booze-fuelled end-of-year soirées and mulled wine sessions that leave you in a perpetually hungover state are not going to help matters. Ambient din isn’t just annoying – it’s detrimental to your health, too. According to studies cited by Scientific American, unwanted noise exacerbates stress-related conditions, including high blood pressure, heart disease, peptic ulcers and, unsurprisingly, migraines. Short of going teetotal (wholly unrealistic in December) and exiling yourself to a desert island, there is a more practical solution. Put some decent audio gear on your Christmas Wish List to drown everything out. Here at MR PORTER, we’re rather partial to a tune or two, so our round-up of acoustic kit is bound to please even the most discerning audiophile.

There is a divide when it comes to an individual audio experience between those who prefer the full muted isolation of headphones and those who favour the discretion, convenience and comfort of an in-ear style. Of the latter, these Master & Dynamic ME05s are among the best around. Made from brass, which, as well as offering a high-end edge helps to minimise distortion, and featuring 8mm titanium-coated dynamic drivers, they provide a warm, crystal-clear sound. Being crafted from such durable materials, it’s likely you’ll be getting a great deal of airtime from them for years to come.

Equally as worthy are these lightweight B&O Play H3 earphones, which, with typical Scandi attention to detail, have 26 individually drilled holes to improve acoustic quality and reduce weight. The earbuds have been fitted with a slight off-kilter axis so they ergonomically fit the natural shape of the ear canal, ensuring superb noise isolation and zero sound leakage. A worthy stocking-filler for the melomaniac, we say.

In 1966, an elderly lady by the name of Ms Knight bequeathed £10,000 in her will to a Mr John Bowers, after being delighted with a pair of speakers he had made for her. The proviso attached to the legacy was that he use the capital to found an audio firm, which he did with his friend Mr Peter Hayward and Bowers & Wilkins was born. Since the halcyon days of the Swinging Sixties, the brand has come to represent excellence in the world of audio engineering. These P5 headphones are a trademark design of the brand, and incorporate the same transducer technology used in its loudspeakers, which make you feel as though you’re sitting in your own private recording studio.

Master & Dynamic dubs its intelligently designed headphones “modern thinking caps”. Its cult MH40 model is crafted using heavy-grain leather and features lambskin earpads, which makes the listening experience one of butter-soft luxury. And it’s not just the way they look and feel. What truly matters is how they sound, and you’re not left wanting in this regard either. Uniquely, the brand only uses oxygen-free copper in its headphones, which guarantees perfect sound transmission and reduced static noise.

If there’s risk of a family mutiny at your slinking off to slip on your headphones in the midst of Christmas revelries, then perhaps a wiser move to keep the peace would be to share your audio elation with everyone else, via some decent speakers. Although we would caution against leaving them unattended for too long as you may run the risk of sherry-tipsy relatives leaving Ms Mariah Carey and Mr George Michael on repeat for half the week.

Despite looking like a work of art, this Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin speaker has a surprising amount of practical features, which will crank your merry-making up to 11. It’s completely wireless for a start, which is always handy, and is fitted with Fixed Suspension Tranducer midrange cones for clean, precision sound transmission. Equally important, its state-of-the-art digital signal processing means the Bluetooth signal coming from your iPhone is flawlessly translated through the speaker, with zero adulteration of your favourite tunes.

On the other hand, B&O Play’s A2 player is ideal for the gadabout audiophile. Not only is it dust and splash resistant – perfect if you get a bit clumsy with the cocktail trolley – but its lightweight design and carry handle mean you can take your tunes to wherever the action is unfolding. And as it incorporates the brand’s True360 sound technology providing an all-encompassing audio experience wherever you’re standing, it sounds pretty good, too. The best part? It’ll pump out your favourite tracks for 24 hours on a single charge, providing plenty of juice to see you through Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and beyond.

Keep up to date with The Daily by signing up to our weekly email roundup. Click here to update your email preferences.