Products of the Year

Accessory of 1994: Grado SR60 headphones ($69; reviewed by Corey Greenberg, Vol.17 No.6, 1994; Sam Tellig, Vol.17 No.10, January 1994 Review)

The most varied group to be voted on, there was very little spread in the balloting—with one exception: Grado's remarkable $69 headphones. Both Corey Greenberg and Sam Tellig raved about the SR60s in print. Pretty much every other writer who tried them voted for them. Detailed without sounding fatiguingly bright, with excellent bass and silky-smooth highs that let you listen to music for hours without fatigue, these inexpensive cans not only sound superb when driven by a dedicated headphone amplifier, like the HeadRoom or Melos, but get the best from the power-challenged output stages of your typical portable player. They set the standard to beat in every area but one—comfort! They grip your head like the T. Rex gripped the lawyer's head in Jurassic Park.

Finalists (in alphabetical order):
Acoustic Sciences Corporation Tower Traps ($235–355; reviewed by Robert Harley, Vol.16 No.12, December 1993)
Bryston 10B electronic crossover ($1195; reviewed by Steven Stone, Vol.17 No.5, May 1994 Review)
George Kaye Audio Labs Small Signal Tube Checker ($499; reviewed by Jonathan Scull, Vol.17 No.6, June 1994)
Purist Audio Design System Enhancer CD-R ($150; reviewed by Sam Tellig, Vol.17 No.3, March 1994; Jonathan Scull, Vol.17 No.6, June 1994; Jack English, Vol.17 No.6, June 1994; Robert Deutsch, Vol.17 No.9, September 1994)
VPI HW-16.5 record-cleaning machine ($450–$470; reviewed by Corey Greenberg, Vol.17 No.5, May 1994)
The Original Cable Jacket ($70; reviewed by Jack English, Vol.16 No.11, November 1993)
XLO/Sheffield Lab Test & Burn-in CD ($29.95; reviewed by Jonathan Scull, Vol.17 No.6, June 1994)