Bang & Olufsen is the Macintosh of the sound world – a bit pricier than all the rest, but that extra money is your lifeline during the final seconds of a reality show – in the end, you’ll be glad you splurged. Not only do Bang & Olufsen products provide the ultimate in sound quality, but the aesthetic is unrivaled in terms of beauty and design. This season, Bang & Olufsen didn’t need to slide down a chimney to deliver the biggest surprise under your holiday tree – with just a few tweaks, updates appear just like snow on Christmas morning.

The spectacle of the season is Bang & Olufsen BeoSound 8; the speakers are exactly what Bang & Olufsen is known for, but have been filtered a bit with a few updates to house an iPod, iPhone and iPad. The slim figure fits into any luxury landscape, and plays your favorites as clear as the sky after a midnight storm. Hardly the wallflower, Bang & Olufsen didn’t want to be left out when Apple delivered the iPad this year, and on everyone’s list the new BeoSound 8 widened its frame for a rock concert a la tablet.

Is that a headband he’s wearing? Or a piece of ear art? No, it’s just another slick creation from Bang & Olufsen in the shape of Form 2 headphones. But about that art part…the headphones actually landed a spot in New York’s Museum of Modern Art, so there’s that; and you get some serious sonar sound. Don’t get lost in the ambient waves – it might be so distracting that you forget your head.