Best Cheap Alternatives to Expensive Tech: 5 Smart Swaps
Donât overpay for your next TV, soundbar, headphones, or other tech essential. These substitutes are just as good and a fraction of the cost.
âWait, you want me to pay how much? In this economy?â That statement could apply to just about anything these days, including â ack â gas and groceries. But Iâm specifically talking about tech products, which, along with everything else, have seen steeply rising costs in the past year.
Good news: There are affordable alternatives to just about every pricey tech item. And spending less doesnât mean settling for less; a lot of these budget options are nearly as good as their expensive counterparts.
Below Iâve rounded up five popular products and the âswapsâ you should consider.
DONâT BUY: $400 Headphones
WHAT TO BUY INSTEAD: Soundcore Space One ($100)
Unless youâre a dyed-in-the-wool audiophile, there is no reason to spend hundreds of dollars on headphones from Apple, Bose, Sony, or the like. Yes, I italicized ânoâ because thatâs how strongly I feel about this.
Make no mistake, those âphones sound very good and do a decent job of noise-cancelling (though for my money, many ANC earbuds do better). Iâm just saying theyâre not worth $400. Not when the Soundcore Space One also sounds very good and also does a decent job of noise-cancelling. Itâs perfectly comfortable to wear, too.
Thereâs even a newer model, the Space 2, thatâs priced $30 higher, but honestly I still consider the Space One the headphone to beat. And you can find it discounted on an almost weekly basis, often marked down to $80. Sometimes $70. Occasionally $60.
DONâT BUY: $2,000 OLED TVs
WHAT TO BUY INSTEAD: Vizio VQM55C-10 Mini-LED TV (starting at $248)
An OLED TV is the brass ring, right? The ultimate in picture quality and worth every penny of a $2,000 (or higher!) splurge? Sure enough, itâll give you dazzling color and contrast and dark-as-night black levels. But you know what? So will a lot of TVs that cost significantly less.
Exhibit A: The Vizio VQM55C-10, a 55-inch Walmart exclusive (it owns the Vizio brand) that sells for just $248. That would be a good deal for any budget TV, but this one incorporates Mini-LED technology, which is normally found only in models costing 2-3 times as much. Iâve tested this TV, and let me tell you: Itâs superb. I defy you to find fault with any aspect of its screen.
And if you want something larger, the prices are still stunning: $358 for a 65-inch, $498 for a 75-inch, and $798 for the mammoth 85-inch.
Now, if you put the Vizio beside an OLED, will the latter look better? Yes, but not to the degree you might think. And ask yourself this: Are you really going to enjoy The Diplomat any more if the grass outside the Winfield House estate is ever-so-slightly greener? Of course not. Budget TVs have gotten so good, it feels like a foolâs errand to chase after something only slightly better â and far costlier.
DONâT BUY: $1,099 Sonos Soundbars
WHAT TO BUY INSTEAD: Vizio Elevate 5.1.4 ($348)
A soundbar is an essential addition to any home theater. Scratch that; to any TV, period. It provides a huge improvement over the small, usually crummy-sounding built-in speakers.
The Sonos Arc Ultra is widely regarded as one of the top options, but the thing costs $1,100. Does it sound good? Sure. Does it merely simulate surround-sound rather than producing the real thing? Also yes.
Thatâs why Iâd choose Vizioâs system every time. It includes not only a Dolby Atmos-equipped soundbar (complete with up-firing speakers), but also a wireless subwoofer and two wireless rear speakers. That combination immerses you in true surround sound, which takes movie nights to whole other level â all for around one-third the price of the soundbar-only Sonos.
DONâT BUY: $290 Amazon Kindle Colorsoft
WHAT TO BUY INSTEAD: Amazon Kindle ($150)
Color seems like a logical next step for e-readers, but ask yourself if itâs really necessary. Most books are just text, so a color screen adds little, if anything, to the reading experience. Sure, it's nice to see vibrant covers when browsing your library, and if you're someone who likes to highlight meaningful passages, a yellow or pink stripe is certainly more appealing than a gray one.
But here's the catch: The colors themselves look pretty drab, a limitation of today's E Ink technology. And yet you're paying a fairly hefty premium for the privilege: The Kindle Colorsoft starts at $290.
My advice? Skip it and buy a grayscale model instead. Your actual book-reading experience won't change one bit, and you'll save yourself $140.
DONâT BUY: $200 Alexa Photo Frame
WHAT TO BUY INSTEAD: YunQiDeer Frameo Digital Picture Frame ($80)
I hate to poop on Amazon again, but the companyâs just-announced Alexa Photo Frame isnât the smartest choice if youâre looking to bring digital slideshows into your home. (Which I highly recommend, by the way; these products are wonderful.)
Full disclosure: I havenât reviewed it yet, but Iâve tested tons of others and feel pretty confident that Amazonâs main selling points â Alexa+ integration and voice notes â are superfluous at best. Whatâs more, you need an Amazon Prime or Alexa+ subscription to even take advantage of those features on the frame. No thank you.
Meanwhile, the frame works only in landscape orientation; most other models (including the YinQiDeer) give you the option of a portrait mode. The latter also makes it easier for friends and family to contribute photos, which is half the joy of having one of these things.
By all means, you should absolutely positively put a digital picture frame in your home. But Amazonâs feels overpriced, and it saddles you with a subscription requirement.
