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Hi-Fi+ Products of the Year: Headphones, Earphones, and CIEMS

Hi-Fi+ Products of the Year: Headphones, Earphones, and CIEMS

Value-priced Headphone of the Year

HiFiMAN HE 400S planar magnetic headphone

, Hi-Fi+ Products of the Year: Headphones, Earphones, and CIEMS

HiFiMAN has been on quite a roll for the past several years, creating an ever-expanding family of high-performance planar magnetic headphones. First came the excellent HE560 (which superseded the well-loved HE500), and then the also excellent but more affordably priced HE400i, which in turn lead to the spectacular flagship HE1000. Now, however, HiFiMAN has brought us its least expensive planar magnetic model ever: the entry-level priced yet nevertheless extremely high performance HE400S. Quite simply, the HE400S has redefined what’s possible in a mid-priced headphone. Here’s how the performance maths works: the £659 HE560 arguably offers best in class sound, while the £369 HE400i comes very close to the HE560 for substantially less money.  Then along comes the easy-to-drive £219 HE400s offering sound that in many respects invites comparison to the HE400i, but for a fraction of the price. Can we say ‘legitimate audiophile bargain’? Sure we can. (Review forthcoming.)

Closed-back Headphone of the Year

MrSpeakers ETHER C closed-back planar magnetic headphone

, Hi-Fi+ Products of the Year: Headphones, Earphones, and CIEMS

Most planar magnet headphones are open-back models, though some manufacturers have begun to experiment with closed-back variations—with varying degrees of success. Thus far, closed-back adaptations of open-back designs have almost invariably lost a few sonic steps when compared to their open-back brethren, typically sounding thicker, less transparent, and somewhat compressed. However, the superb ETHER-C closed back planar magnetic headphone from MrSpeakers is about to change  that perception forever. The ETHER-C appears almost identical to the firm’s excellent ETHER open-back model, yet with a carbon fibre rear enclosure and a driver tuned entirely differently to the ETHER’s – one specifically specifically optimised for use in a closed-back environment. As a result, the ETHER-C offers much the same precise, uncommonly transparent, and very evenly balanced sound that the open-back ETHER does, which is a remarkable achievement. Finally, there’s a closed-back headphone that can do everything its open-back sibling can. Bravo! (Review forthcoming)

 

Open-back Headphone of the Year

ENIGMAcoustics Dharma D1000 hybrid electrostatic/dynamic headphone

, Hi-Fi+ Products of the Year: Headphones, Earphones, and CIEMS

Up to this point, ENIGMAcoustics has perhaps been best known for its excellent Sopranino add-on electrostatic super-tweeter and for its clever Mythology M1 hybrid electrostatic/dynamic standmount loudspeakers, but we expect the firm’s new Dharma D1000 headphone will change all that. In essence, the Dharma D1000—much like the Mythology M1 speaker—represents an attempt to marry the virtues of the firm’s signature SBESL self-biasing electrostatic tweeter (in this case a miniature version of  thetweeter) with the sonic strengths of a 52mm Washi paper diaphragm-based dynamic driver. The result, we think, is an almost magical combination of high sensitivity (103dB!), exceptional responsiveness and delicacy, and hearty, robust output. In sharp contrast to many aspirational, upper-end headphones, the Dharma D1000 does not seem to be inordinately fussy about amplification and will happily give satisfying results when powered by everything from small digital audio players (e.g., the Questyle QP1R) up to state-of-the-art desktop amps. (Review forthcoming)

Cost-no-object Headphone of the Year

HiFiMAN HE1000 planar magnetic headphone 

, Hi-Fi+ Products of the Year: Headphones, Earphones, and CIEMS

HiFiMAN’s top-tier planar magnetic headphones have long pushed the envelope of top-tier performance, but with this year’s release of the flagship HE1000 model the firm has pulled out all the stops, creating a true benchmark headphone in the process. Sporting an ultra-thin and very low-mass ‘nanomaterial’ diaphragm, a powerful ‘asymmetric’ magnet assembly, a distinctive ‘Window Shade’ protective grille system, and an all new ergonomic design, the HE1000 is a technical tour de force that looks great and sounds better than it looks. In simple terms, the HE1000 offers the subtlety, detail, transient speed, and all-around nuance of a great electrostatic headphone, but with killer dynamics, the ability to play loudly and cleanly as the music warrants, plus the ability to be driven by conventional headphone amplifiers. In short, this brilliant do-all headphone sets the standard against which all other top-tier designs will be judged. (Reviewed in Issue 126).

 

Value-Priced Universal-Fit Earphone of the Year

RHA T20 universal-fit earphone

, Hi-Fi+ Products of the Year: Headphones, Earphones, and CIEMS

RHA Audio is known for its affordable yet excellent earphones, perhaps the finest example of which would be the firm’s £179.95 T20. Like RHA’s somewhat less costly T10 earphones, the T20s provide injection moulded stainless steel earpieces, three sets of user selectable voicing tuning filters, and well-made signal cables. However, the T20’s distinctive ‘DualCoil’ dynamic driver is what sets this earphone apart. The driver features a single, dual-zone diaphragm powered by two separate voice coils—one handling bass and lower midrange frequencies with the other handling mids and highs, with both coils sharing a ring-shaped motor magnet. Functionally, the ‘DualCoil’ driver provides the benefits of a two-driver array, but with the coherency only a single-diaphragm driver can provide. The sonic result is an earphone that offers greater resolution and sophistication, more expressive dynamics, and better tonal balance than it has any right to for its price. (Reviewed in Issue 126.)

High-Performance Universal-Fit Earphone of the Year

Westone W60 universal-fit earphone

, Hi-Fi+ Products of the Year: Headphones, Earphones, and CIEMS

Westone helped launch the whole high-performance earphone/custom-fit in-ear monitor movement and is second to none in terms of depth of experience in the category—experience that shows itself in the flagship W60 universal-fit earphones. Much like the firm’s flagship ES60 CIEMs, the W60s use a sophisticated three-way array of six balanced armature drivers per earpiece. Moreover, the W60 is a marvel of ergonomic design, providing excellent long-term comfort and a truly ‘universal’ fit. Attending to details, Westone ships the W60 with two sets of proprietary low-resistance EPIC signal cables, a broad array of ear tips, and a watertight carrying case. The real story here, however, centres on the sound, which offers uncannily natural tonal balance, finely resolved details, and disarming subtlety—all offered up in an almost self-effacing way. Thus, the W60’s compelling charms grow on listeners slowly but surely, gradually leaving them spoiled for anything else. (Review pending.)

Custom-Fit In-Ear Monitor of the Year

Noble Audio Kaiser 10 custom-fit in-ear monitor

, Hi-Fi+ Products of the Year: Headphones, Earphones, and CIEMS

Custom-fit in-ear monitors represent the pinnacle of the in-ear listening experience, but which CIEMs represent the best of the best? For many, the answer would be the Noble Audio Kaiser 10s. The Kaiser 10 is a ten-driver, four-way, triple-bore CIEM that offers an uncannily smooth, powerful, and cohesive sound. In fact, Noble blends the outputs of the K10’s drivers so expertly that the illusion created is one of listening through sets of ultra-capable, wide-bandwidth, full-range drivers. Again, cohesiveness is one of the K10’s greatest strengths. At first, we found the K10 was generally well balanced, but that it offered a judicious touch of bass lift, plus some degree of treble roll-off. Over time, however, our K10 review samples have continued to open up, gradually achieving a more transparent and balanced sound than they exhibited at first—changes that reveal the true greatness of this classic CIEM. (Reviewed in Issue 119).

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