What the Polygon staff bought and loved in 2023
2023 has been particularly tough for those of us who make Best of the Year lists. From Barbie to Baldur’s Gate 3 to The Bear, there’s just been too much good stuff this year! And this doesn’t stop at the movies, TV, and anime we watched, the video games and board games we played, or the comics and sci-fi and fantasy books we read. It’s all the little (and big) things the Polygon staff got for ourselves in 2023 that made our lives easier, cheerier, cozier, and cooler, too. From the wireless earbuds that drown out construction noise to a cat-approved pet bed, the Polygon staff’s shopping carts were brimming with purchases that genuinely sparked joy — and we’re sharing all our best buys of 2023 with you here.
Prices taken at time of publishing.
Look, Bluetooth sucks. It’s an opaque, fiddly, and unreliable technology. But when it comes to wirelessly streaming audio, it’s more or less inescapable. The iFi Zen Air Blue is a beautifully simple Bluetooth hi-fi upgrade that plugs into a traditional stereo amp. (I’m using mine in my home office with a nearly 25-year-old Rotel amp that still sounds lovely, and that I’m in no hurry to replace.) It has its own onboard digital-to-analog converter and supports every codec and bitrate you can think of — meaning that whatever device and source you use, you know you’re always getting the best possible audio quality from it. It looks stylish, has a rich, musical sound, and, even more importantly, it can handle connections to multiple devices without losing the plot. Unlike virtually every other Bluetooth thing I own, the Zen Air Blue just works.
Prices taken at time of publishing.
Sometimes, forced brand synergy can be a good thing! Someone at Mattel, which owns both the classic card
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