Headphone Product of the Year
Audeze LCDi4 in-ear headphones ($2495; reviewed by John Atkinson, December 2017, Vol.40 No.12 review)
Finalists (in alphabetical order)
Benchmark DAC3 HGC DAC/headphone amplifier ($2195; reviewed by Jim Austin & Herb Reichert, November 2017, September & October 2018, Vol.40 No.11, Vol.41 Nos. 9 & 10 review)
Focal Clear headphones ($1500; reviewed by Herb Reichert, June 2018, Vol.41 No.6 review)
Focal Utopia headphones ($3999; reviewed by Herb Reichert, October 2016 & June 2018, Vol.39 No.10 & Vol.41 No.6 review)
HiFiMan EF1000 headphone amplifier ($12,000; reviewed by Herb Reichert, December 2017, Vol.40 No.12 review)
HiFiMan Susvara headphones ($6000; reviewed by Herb Reichert, December 2017, Vol.40 No.12 review)
MrSpeakers Æon headphones ($799.99; reviewed by John Atkinson, March 2018, Vol.41 No.3 review) In this, Stereophile's second year of naming a Headphone Product of the Year rather than including it in Accessory of the Year, the category's top honor goes to a truly distinctive product: the Audeze LCDi4 in-ear headphones, in which an outside-the-ear planar-magnetic driver is coupled to the ear canal by means of a tapered tube and a size-selectable rubber tip. JA praised both the technology and the performance, the latter winning praise for allowing him to "rediscover forgotten gems in my music library." Notes on the Votes
Once again, the big winner ran away with the prize: The Audeze LCDi4s were just a few votes short of earning twice as many points as their nearest competitor, the Focal Clear headphones—a product I lust after, even though I'm not too much of a can fan. A couple points down from there we find the stunning, and stunningly expensive, HiFiMan Susvara headphones. Interestingly, in a departure from last year's headphone race, in which the Pass Laboratories HPA-1 headphone amplifier took top honors, there were no headphone amplifiers among our top three winners.
Finalists (in alphabetical order)
Benchmark DAC3 HGC DAC/headphone amplifier ($2195; reviewed by Jim Austin & Herb Reichert, November 2017, September & October 2018, Vol.40 No.11, Vol.41 Nos. 9 & 10 review)Focal Clear headphones ($1500; reviewed by Herb Reichert, June 2018, Vol.41 No.6 review)
Focal Utopia headphones ($3999; reviewed by Herb Reichert, October 2016 & June 2018, Vol.39 No.10 & Vol.41 No.6 review)
HiFiMan EF1000 headphone amplifier ($12,000; reviewed by Herb Reichert, December 2017, Vol.40 No.12 review)
HiFiMan Susvara headphones ($6000; reviewed by Herb Reichert, December 2017, Vol.40 No.12 review)
MrSpeakers Æon headphones ($799.99; reviewed by John Atkinson, March 2018, Vol.41 No.3 review) In this, Stereophile's second year of naming a Headphone Product of the Year rather than including it in Accessory of the Year, the category's top honor goes to a truly distinctive product: the Audeze LCDi4 in-ear headphones, in which an outside-the-ear planar-magnetic driver is coupled to the ear canal by means of a tapered tube and a size-selectable rubber tip. JA praised both the technology and the performance, the latter winning praise for allowing him to "rediscover forgotten gems in my music library." Notes on the Votes
Once again, the big winner ran away with the prize: The Audeze LCDi4s were just a few votes short of earning twice as many points as their nearest competitor, the Focal Clear headphones—a product I lust after, even though I'm not too much of a can fan. A couple points down from there we find the stunning, and stunningly expensive, HiFiMan Susvara headphones. Interestingly, in a departure from last year's headphone race, in which the Pass Laboratories HPA-1 headphone amplifier took top honors, there were no headphone amplifiers among our top three winners.
