The Monster Beat headphones is one of those products that’s named after what it truly delivers: a powerful bass. Deeply powerful. Heart-stoppingly, jaw-shakingly powerful. Knock-the-paint-off-your-walls powerful. You get the idea.

There is no set of noise canceling set headphones, and quite possibly no set of headphones of any sort, that delivers music with as much thump. If you are a music purist, delight in your trebles, or a big fan of audiobooks then you’d be better off reading our review of the overall best noise canceling headphones. If you are a connoisseur of rock, techno, hip-hop or some other beat-heavy genre, and relish in your bass, then these are the headphones for you.

Our other impressions of these headphones:

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The holiday season is upon us. And so is the need to find cool gifts. Here’s a roundup of some of the presents that the friends and family of Spot Cool Stuff will be finding under their trees shortly. If are one of those friends and family then please don’t read any further. Otherwise, check out our gift recommendations for the photographers and music lovers in your life, as well as for those who (seemingly) already have everything.

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It is impossible for a lightweight, battery-powered portable speaker system to produce the same sound quality that a larger, high end plug-into-the-wall unit does. The laws of physics are too stacked against small, power-efficient speakers for that. But the On Tour portable speaker system from JBL comes remarkably close to breaking these laws. Newton himself would be amazed at the big sound that comes out of these little speakers. We are guessing that he’d also appreciate the On Tour’s design that includes a sliding cover and optional top clamp that can hold a portable game system (Newton being the sort of guy who surely would have had a Sony PSP).

What’s most remarkable about the On Tour system, though, is its low cost. At the current Amazon sale price of $50~60 there is absolutely no other speaker system that provides as much quality for as little money.

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While running its proprietary software the Shuttle D10 doesn't look like a Windows-based PC but like one of the world's coolest stereo systems.

Like an increasing number of other people, Spot Cool Stuff has a PC dedicated to playing media. We use ours mostly for music. (We can’t remember the last time we touched a CD—our computer is our stereo system). Others also use a PC as a digital video recorder, taping their favorite shows and then watching them, via PC, on their television.

The main problems with having a media-centric PC is that it doesn’t look very attractive and it takes up a lot of space, what with the computer itself, the monitor, keyboard and mouse. The computer fan can also be a bit noisy.

Enter the Shuttle D10.

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Fans of The Family Guy would be forgiven for an initial impression that the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Loudspeaker’s profile is similar to that of Stewie’s head. The Zeppelin’s elongated football shape gives this speaker system a striking silhouette. But the design doesn’t only look dramatic, it is a main reason why it SOUNDS dramatic. The shape of the Zeppelin causes its sound waves to evenly disperse over an area wide enough to fill a large room. The design is so innovative that the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin was awarded a prestigious gold medal at the 2008 IDEA awards for it. (The Flip Mino camcorder was also among the three gold winners).

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On a recent trip to Asia, Spot Cool Stuff met a fellow traveler who took “audio photographs” instead of your typical visuals ones. She took snippets of sound — bicycles bells chiming in Dhaka, birds chirping in a Thai rain forest, street vendors hawking their wares in Calcutta — as reminders of where she’d been. The sound quality of her recordings was stunning. And being the gadget-heads we are we had to know how she achieved such a professional sound while also traveling light. Her answer:

The H2 portable stereo recorder from Zoom.

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In the marketing for the P’9120 Elton has been playing up how this clock radio speaker system was designed by Porshe. Indeed, the P’9120 definitely catches the eye. It is not necessarily an intuitive design — some one seeing a P’9120 for the first time probably wouldn’t even know what this boxy, knobby thing with rubberized paint is used for — but it certainly draw people’s attention.

The design is so overwhelming that most reviews forget to mention this fact: The P’9120 sounds fantastic! Especially the bass notes, which boom through the 15 watt 3″ active subwoofer thanks to a superior air flow system. The P’9102 is also feature rich with a pleasing alphanumeric clock display, radio equipped for XM and short wave (as well as the obvious AM and FM) and a stylish iPod dock. We wish the P’9120 were easier to use without the remote control. We also think the current price of $800/£480 is a bit steep, but look for that to drop soon (in fact, click here to check the current cost).

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If you are like us your computer doubles as your stereo. And perhaps also as your television, your video game system, your telephone and your escape from reality. Good computer speakers are essential. Logitech’s Z Cinéma Advanced Surround Sound System provide EXCELLENT computer speakers. A sub woofer supplies a massive base. Two tiny satellite speakers pull off a ventriloquist act by creating a 360 degree surround sound superior to the vast majority of 4- and 8-speaker systems we’ve heard. A full-featured remote controls it all. Unlike most computer speakers, the Z Cinema connects through your computer’s USB port, which transports both data and true 24-bit digital audio. No sound card is required though, very sadly, the Logitech Z Cinéma’s USB-based interface is not compatible with Macs.

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