Soon after raving over Fred Hersch’s new piano-trio album, <A HREF= http://blog.stereophile.com/fredkaplan/fred_herschs_iwhirli/ ><I>Whirl</I></A>, I learned that it was also available on 180-gram vinyl. I’ve since obtained a pressing and can report that, good as the CD sounded, the LP sounds considerably better.

While headphone listening remains secondary to that of loudspeakers for most serious listeners, it's still an important alternative for many. And while good conventional headphones exist, electrostatics are usually considered first when the highest playback quality is required. As always, there are exceptions (Grado's headphones come immediately to mind), but most high-end headphones are electrostatic&#151;such designs offer the benefits of electrostatic loudspeakers without their dynamic limitations. <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/headphones/koss_esp950_electrostatic_stereop… year I reviewed</A> the Koss ESP/950 electrostatics (Vol.15 No.12), a remarkable set of headphones from the company that practically invented headphones for serious home listening. Here I listen to examples from two other companies, each known for its headphones since Pluto was a pup.

While headphone listening remains secondary to that of loudspeakers for most serious listeners, it's still an important alternative for many. And while good conventional headphones exist, electrostatics are usually considered first when the highest playback quality is required. As always, there are exceptions (Grado's headphones come immediately to mind), but most high-end headphones are electrostatic&#151;such designs offer the benefits of electrostatic loudspeakers without their dynamic limitations. <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/headphones/koss_esp950_electrostatic_stereop… year I reviewed</A> the Koss ESP/950 electrostatics (Vol.15 No.12), a remarkable set of headphones from the company that practically invented headphones for serious home listening. Here I listen to examples from two other companies, each known for its headphones since Pluto was a pup.

While headphone listening remains secondary to that of loudspeakers for most serious listeners, it's still an important alternative for many. And while good conventional headphones exist, electrostatics are usually considered first when the highest playback quality is required. As always, there are exceptions (Grado's headphones come immediately to mind), but most high-end headphones are electrostatic&#151;such designs offer the benefits of electrostatic loudspeakers without their dynamic limitations. <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/headphones/koss_esp950_electrostatic_stereop… year I reviewed</A> the Koss ESP/950 electrostatics (Vol.15 No.12), a remarkable set of headphones from the company that practically invented headphones for serious home listening. Here I listen to examples from two other companies, each known for its headphones since Pluto was a pup.