12 Days of Christmas Gifts, Day 6: B&O Play BeoPlay H6 Headphones

Back in May, I went to a press event for the debut of Bang & Olufsen's new BeoPlay headphones from its lower-priced B&O Play line. I have no idea how I got invited to this event--everyone else there was a tech reporter and, like, serious--but I fell in love with the headphones and have been looking for an occasion to write about them ever since. And since Christmas is the season of giving (and receiving) things you'd never actually buy for yourself, enter the BeoPlay H6 headphones. I'm going to get this right out of the way: These headphones cost $400. They are not for people like me who have to dig their earbuds out of the bottom of their purse while holding on to the bus pole for dear life, eventually finding them coated with mystery fuzz and Altoids dust. But the H6 are incredibly luxurious, made of an ultra-lightweight aluminum frame coated with sheep leather. The ear pads feature memory foam inside, so they cradle your ears perfectly, lest any sound escape. I can attest that while wearing them, you can't hear people shouting two feet away from you, making them ideal for people who travel frequently, or at least ride the bus through the Tenderloin every morning like, um, I do. There are even more practical features: You can switch the cord to either side, so if you're a lefty, no awkward wrong-hand remote controlling required; if your friend also has a pair of H6s (ha!), you can plug them together and listen to the same iPod at the same time. Now, that's love.

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