1. Phiaton PS 300NC Noise-Canceling Headphones

17 top picks for Dads ready to take a digital leap. Each of these products will help him upgrade to gear that suits his lifestyle.

Phiaton PS 300NC Noise-Canceling Headphones

$299

If dad travels a lot for work, he deserves a nice set of noise canceling headphones. Yes, these headphones are expensive, but they ease the pain of jet-setting like nothing else. The PS 300 NC’s are Phiaton’s first stab at noise cancelation technology, but the company got it right: The sound quality and ability to mute unwanted sounds compare favorably with Phiaton’s number one competitor—the Bose QuietComfort 3 headphones, which cost $349. We’ve used both during air travel. Here’s what you won’t hear with these on: engine noise from any vehicle, snoring, wind, and quiet conversation. Here’s what you will hear muted variations on: laughter, the *ding* of pilot speeches to the cabin, and babies shrieking (nope, nothing anybody can do about that one).

Phiaton’s brand is lesser-known than Bose, but take one look at these headphones and you won’t soon forget it. Real leather is used in the housing, the ear cushions are ultra soft, they weight a mere five ounces, and the trim is an alluring “champagne” color. These headphones are luxe. Phiaton didn’t forget the details. Packaged with the PS 300NCs are: a hard-shell nylon carrying case, two rechargeable batteries (so one can charge while the other is in use—each is supposed to last for 18 hours), a USB cable for charging via PC, an audio wire with in-line mute button and 6.3mm or 3.5mm jacks, and a smattering of charging adapters, including international converters and an airline power adapter. This much convenience may help take the sting off the price.

The headphones have a bass booster button, which we found improves the audio quality when the active noise cancellation feature is turned on. To help you feel warm and fuzzy about this very generous gift for dad, Phiaton calls its valve-and-airflow controlling version of noise canceling “Valves of Heart Sound Technology” (VHST).