With Christmas fast approaching, finding the ideal gift for the audiophile in your life can feel daunting—especially if the terminology is unfamiliar. To make things easier, we at Audio T Southampton have curated a selection of excellent, stocking-friendly upgrades that deliver genuine performance benefits:

English Electric EE1 Network Isolator

First on Santa’s list is the superb English Electric EE1 Network Isolator. Supplied with a clear setup guide and a complimentary 0.75m Chord Company C-Stream Ethernet cable, the EE1 offers an elegant way to enhance the quality of an ethernet connection—provided the streamer is running via a hard-wired network input.

Using galvanic isolation, the EE1 filters out unwanted high-frequency interference, dissipating the noise as heat (though it barely warms up in use). The result is a lower system noise floor, allowing vocals, harmonics and rhythmic detail to emerge with greater clarity.

Chord Company PowerARAY UK Plug

Next is the Chord Company PowerARAY—an unusual but highly effective product. Rather than plugging into your system, the PowerARAY is placed in an unused mains socket, ideally as close to the system as possible.

Employing Chord’s proprietary ARAY technology, it absorbs high-frequency noise carried through the mains before it reaches your components. Cleaner incoming power equals cleaner, more articulate sound.

Rega Carbon Pro Stylus

Our third recommendation is the new Rega Carbon Pro Stylus. Despite its modest price, it is a direct and worthwhile upgrade for the Rega Carbon and the now-discontinued Audio Technica AT91 cartridges. Its bonded elliptical profile allows deeper groove contact, retrieving noticeably more musical information. For anyone with a Rega Planar 1, this is an excellent upgrade path—and if you want proof, take a look at the blog Adrian from our Cardiff store recently wrote.

IsoAcoustics zaZen 1 Isolation Platform

Rounding off the list is the IsoAcoustics zaZen 1 Isolation Platform—a straightforward, highly effective way to reduce unwanted vibration. It enables key components to perform at their best by preventing external or structure-borne energy from interfering with playback.

Turntables and CD players benefit most from this type of isolation, making the zaZen 1 a smart upgrade for systems where vibration is a performance bottleneck.

Summary

And that concludes our festive recommendations. Whether you’re looking to enhance a turntable, streamer or CD player—or simply want a meaningful system-wide improvement—we have a wide range of options available. All products featured here can be demonstrated in any Audio T store, and the Southampton team has each one ready to audition.

If you’re unsure which upgrade will make the biggest difference to your setup, feel free to get in touch or pop into the shop. We’re always happy to talk through system matching, setup fine-tuning, or ways to get more from the equipment you already own. Sometimes the smallest changes can unlock a level of musical engagement that surprises even long-term Hi-Fi enthusiasts.

This time of year is always busy, so if you’re planning an audition or need advice before Christmas, it’s worth giving us a call so we can make sure everything is set up and ready for you. We’re here to help you choose something that feels thoughtful, useful, and genuinely rewarding—whether it’s a simple stocking filler or the start of a bigger journey into better sound.

Thank you for reading, and from all of us at Audio T Southampton, we wish you a Merry Christmas, a restful break, and a Happy New Year. Enjoy the music, enjoy the moments, and we look forward to seeing you soon.

Tiago, Wayne & Nick - Audio T Southampton

If you have any questions about any of the equipment featured in this article, or any other hi-fi or home cinema enquiries, be sure to Contact Us

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