Headphone Product of the Year
Audeze LCD-5 headphones
($4500; reviewed by Julie Mullins in Vol.46 No.12, December 2023 review) FINALISTS (in alphabetical order)
dCS Lina headphone amplifier
($9750; reviewed by Herb Reichert in Vol.47 No.3, March 2024 review)
Feliks Envy Performance Edition headphone amplifier
($8795; reviewed by Herb Reichert in Vol.47 No.2, February 2024 review)
Focal Bathys wired/wireless headphones
($699; reviewed by Rogier van Bakel in Vol.47 No.2, February 2024 review)
Meze Audio 109 Pro headphones
($799; reviewed by Herb Reichert in Vol.47 No.4, April 2024 review) With their planar-magnetic drivers that are just 0.5 microns thick, "Fazor" waveguides, sculpted black leather earpads, carbon-fiber headband, good fit, and usefully low weight, the new flagship open-back headphones from California's Audeze impressed the heck out of Julie Mullins. Whatever source/amplifier setup she used, aspects of the LCD-5's signature sound seemed consistent: "air, spaciousness, and openness combined with copious fine detail," she wrote, noting that their sound was "detailed and insightful but never aggressive, nonfatiguing, and always enjoyable." Notes on the vote
Audeze headphones and dCS digital products have consistently done well when reviewed in Stereophile, and products from both companies have been winners in Stereophile's Awards in earlier years. It should be no surprise, therefore, that the LCD-5 came out on top in this category, closely followed by the dCS headphone amplifier.
Audeze LCD-5 headphones($4500; reviewed by Julie Mullins in Vol.46 No.12, December 2023 review) FINALISTS (in alphabetical order)
dCS Lina headphone amplifier
($9750; reviewed by Herb Reichert in Vol.47 No.3, March 2024 review)
Feliks Envy Performance Edition headphone amplifier
($8795; reviewed by Herb Reichert in Vol.47 No.2, February 2024 review)
Focal Bathys wired/wireless headphones
($699; reviewed by Rogier van Bakel in Vol.47 No.2, February 2024 review)
Meze Audio 109 Pro headphones
($799; reviewed by Herb Reichert in Vol.47 No.4, April 2024 review) With their planar-magnetic drivers that are just 0.5 microns thick, "Fazor" waveguides, sculpted black leather earpads, carbon-fiber headband, good fit, and usefully low weight, the new flagship open-back headphones from California's Audeze impressed the heck out of Julie Mullins. Whatever source/amplifier setup she used, aspects of the LCD-5's signature sound seemed consistent: "air, spaciousness, and openness combined with copious fine detail," she wrote, noting that their sound was "detailed and insightful but never aggressive, nonfatiguing, and always enjoyable." Notes on the vote
Audeze headphones and dCS digital products have consistently done well when reviewed in Stereophile, and products from both companies have been winners in Stereophile's Awards in earlier years. It should be no surprise, therefore, that the LCD-5 came out on top in this category, closely followed by the dCS headphone amplifier.
