Audio gear popular gifts for gadget- crazy

Headphones, speakers and other audio gear topped the holiday gift lists of many Americans this season.

Audio equipment is among the top- selling electronics gifts, accounting for 13 per cent of the US$ 8 billion ( NZ$) in consumer electronics sales between November 24 and December 7, according to research firm NPD Group.

Headphone sales rose 14 per cent. Sound bar sales grew 80 per cent. And streaming speaker sales nearly quadrupled.

The trend is being driven in part by the economy. Audio gear, which can range from $ 50 to more than $ 500, is being considered by some an affordable luxury during a still shaky economy.

Americans also have spent the last several years buying tablets, smartphones and TVs. Now, many are looking for ways to squeeze better sound from those gadgets.

‘‘ It stands to reason that people at some point want a better audio experience than the ear buds you get in the box,’’ said Ben Arnold, NPD’s director of industry analysis.

Indeed, Drew Smith, 21, began coveting better headphones when he got an iPhone 5 in August. Now, headphones are the only big present he’s asking his parents for.

‘‘ Because of my smartphone, I listen to more music and . . . I want a good set,’’ said Smith, a cinema manager who lives in Paragoule, Arkansas.

Likewise, Adam Daniels, 23, a commercial banker from Sharonville, Ohio, decided to buy a Phillips sound bar for his parents for Christmas after they purchased a 50- inch TV.

Target, which says sales of headphones, wireless speakers and sound bars have ‘‘ increased significantly’’ this year, offered deals on the day after Thanksgiving known as Black Friday in November.