Once again, it is that time of year when we look back and highlight those products that most impressed us over the year and award them with Headphone.Guru Product Of The Year Awards. It has been quite a year, both bad and good, both personally and as a community. With the passing of our publisher, Frank Iacone, it falls to me to make these selections, yet despite crippling tariffs devastating our industry, several manufacturers have managed to advance the technology and launch products that far outshine those of the past, so it is with great pleasure that I announce the awards.

-Gary Alan Barker

2025 Publisher’s Choice Awards

It is a bit of irony that the two most impressive products that I had the pleasure of reviewing this year had both already received Headphone.Guru Product Of The Year Awards, it is for that reason I have decided to award them both Publisher’s Choice Awards:

dCS Bartók APEX DAC with Headphone Amplifier

Hands down, the Bartók APEX is the finest sounding DAC I have ever listened to; in fact, it’s the finest sounding DAC/Headphone Amplifier I have heard. Are there better stand-alone amplifiers? Yes, the dCS Lina comes to mind for solid-state, and of course, if you want the tube sound, you would have to shop elsewhere anyway. Is it worth $24,100? Absolutely, if you want the state-of-the-art and have the pocketbook to afford it. You will get many more hours of pleasure out of it than you would spending the same amount on an upgrade to a higher-end luxury car.

Price: $24,100

Manufacturer Websites:

https://www.moon-audio.com/products/bartok-apex-dac-headphone-amplifier

https://dcsaudio.com/product/bartokapex

Dan Clark Audio CORINA

When you approach the extreme high end of headphones, IE: above $5,000, the differences become subtle, but differences they remain. And for my money, the Dan Clark Audio CORINA Electrostatic Headphone sits at the top of the heap. Offering up the unparalleled resolution of an electrostatic with unmatched dynamic range (in an electrostat) and a linear tonal balance that not only reaches deep into the subsonic with weight usually reserved for other lower resolution designs but is able to present smooth, unemphasized high frequencies, and a musicality that is to die for, the CORINA is the ultimate headphone for the audio purest.

Price: $4,499.99

Manufacturer’s Website: https://danclarkaudio.com/headphones/corina1.html

2025 Electrostatic Headphone of the Year

AUDEZE CRBN2

I really enjoyed my time with Audeze CRBN² Electrostatic Headphones. With the CRBN², Audeze have transformed their electrostatic flagship offering from a headphone I appreciated to a headphone I loved. It has the linearity of the better Planar Magnetic headphones with the speed and detail of an electrostatic, and frankly, a dynamic range and deep bass response often only associated with dynamic headphones…

If you are new to electrostatics but want to get that much closer to the real sound of music, the CRBN² is a must-audition. Of course, as with most electrostatics, you are going to want a top-grade front end, as the CRBN² won’t lie to you and cover up the flaws of your source, on the other hand, if you have heard electrostatics in the past and found them to be thin, lifeless, maybe a bit shrill, and lacking bottom end, the CRBN² is not that and will take you by complete surprise.

The Audeze CRBN² Electrostatic Headphones fall in line with a small handful of headphones that I consider to be the state-of-the-art in musical reproduction and a glimmering star at that. Easily worthy of the hefty price tag, two thumbs up, and a hearty recommendation.

Price: $5,995.00

Manufacturer’s Website: https://www.audeze.com/products/crbn2

2025 Hybrid Headphone of the Year

HIFIMAN ISVARNA

Most surprising was the fact that they are pretty much genre agnostic, I really expected them to muddy up classical and complex musical pieces, and nothing could be farther from the truth, on the other hand, given the right source material, they can give you that real club feel, and live but musical appears to be the name of the game.

I mean, the ISVARNA is not going to replace the Mini Shangri-La or the SUSVARA UNVEILED as my favorite HIFIMAN headphone, but I can see them becoming a go-to choice for select situations, and definitely warrant a listen if you are looking for a headphone in the around three grand price range. High five for a job well done, and the ability to keep surprising us with new, interesting finds in the headphone arena.

Price:$2,899

Manufacturer Website: https://hifiman.com/products/detail/353

2025 Dynamic Headphone of the Year

GRADO Signature S750

Representing the entry level for Grado’s Signature series of headphones, with the audiophile timbre, extreme efficiency, and dynamic range that denotes the Grado sound, the Grado Signature S750 has a unique subsonic heavy tonal balance that resonates with old Delta-Blues recordings, giving them a more modern feel. Jazz fans will love the liquid mid-range vocal reproduction, and Progressive Rock and Pipe Organ fans will adore the pulsating subsonics. And let’s not forget speed that is a rarity in dynamic headphones. Simply another gem from Grado, congrats.

Unfortunately, the Grado Signature S750 arrived too late in the year for the review to be written this year, but look forward to it as my first review of the new year in January.

Price: $1,695.00

https://gradolabs.com/products/s750

2025 Planar Magnetic Headphone of the Year

Dan Clark Audio NOIRE

For openers, the Dan Clark Audio NOIRE XO Open Back Planar Magnetic Headphone is an apt and epic replacement for the ETHER². It provides that same fun, popish warm sound, while adding a whole layer of detail and clarity, and reaching down into sub-bass territory usually allocated to closed-back headphones. Dan Clark Audio has done it again, the NOIRE XO definitely qualifies as a must-hear mid-priced reference headphone. It always astonishes me that every time they set a new bar in headphone performance, they are later able to shatter that bar with something new that makes you wonder how you were satisfied with the old sound for so long, though admittedly, for Dan Clark Audio, it’s not all that long between revelations.

Back when I first reviewed the original AEON Open, when the ETHER C Flow and ETHER Flow were the pinnacle of headphone performance, I said that if I was just entering the market and didn’t already have the ETHER C Flow, I would buy the AEON Open and AEON Closed rather than the ETHER C Flow, because they gave 90% of the performance and offered both sonic profiles. And today I am happy to say that the same applies to the NOIRE XO and NOIRE X, if you only have a budget for one $4,000 headphone, you would be better served to buy the pair of Dan Clark Audio headphones. Of course, if you have the $8,000 budget, go for the EXPANSE and the STEALTH, they remain my top reference headphones…

Congratulations to Dan Clark Audio for another miracle performed.

Price: $1,299

Manufacturer’s Website: https://danclarkaudio.com/

2025 BUDGET DYNAMIC HEADPHONE of the Year

Meze 99 Classics 2^nd Gen

Like its predecessor, the Meze  99 Classics 2nd Gen was a best-of-class effort combining quality sound with comfort and beauty. The extreme efficiency makes it a great pairing with portable players, even phones or tablets that have headphone outputs. Yet, they do seem to scale up beautifully with higher resolution sources.

Bass heads will love the 99 Classics 2nd Gen, especially if they are looking for those lower two octaves, though I admit I enjoyed them most with classical and live music. The dynamics and bass extension make the 99 Classics 2nd Gen perfect for reproducing the sound of arena sound systems.

All in all, the Meze  99 Classics 2nd Gen is a winner and receives a whole-hearted recommendation.

Price: $349

Manufacturer’s Website: https://mezeaudio.com/

2025 In-Ear Monitor of the Year

NOBLE FOKUS REX5

Once again, in the Noble FoKus Rex5 TWS IEM, Noble has made a TWS IEMs to put all others to shame, making what is probably the best sounding TWS IEM to date…

While there are TWS modules to convert any IEM to TWS, the combination of Noble’s amplifier, ANC module, size and weight, as well as the Noble FoKus App with its Audiodo Sound Personalization Software, make the Rex5 a much more attractive proposition offering extreme dynamic range, high-resolution playback, multi-platform compatibility, excellent timbre and tonal balance, fantastic soundstage and imaging, impactful bottom end, not to mention rather remarkable value for the money…

Noble FoKus Rex5 is my preferred solution for use with a smartphone and therefore has earned two thumbs up and a hearty recommendation, congratulations to Noble Audio on another job well done, hitting it out of the park.

Price: $449

Manufacturer’s Website: https://nobleaudio.com/collections/wireless-monitors/products/noble-fokus-rex5

2025 Digital to Analog Converter of the Year

SCHIIT AUDIO GUNGNIR 2

Simply put, it is my experience that the Schiit Audio Multi-Bit DACs are the best-performing PCM DACs out there, and the Schiit Audio Gungnir 2 Balanced Multiform™ DAC is the best-sounding of those I have auditioned. Accuracy aside (which I admit is the whole point of Multi-bit DACs), the musicality, extreme detail, and massive soundstage of the Gungnir2 are sincerely to die for. While I did experiment a bit with the NOS DAC, Mike Moffat’s signature digital filter, which has been close to forty years in development, is what the Schiit Audio Multi-Bit DAC is all about, and it makes no sense to not use it.

As one would expect from a state-of-the-art DAC, the Gungnir2 is genre agnostic, working well with any form of music; the timbre and tonal balance are correct, imaging is laser perfect, the soundstage is palpable and realistic, and streaming music seems to perform as well as local storage…

I can easily recommend the Gungnir2 to anyone who is looking for an end-game DAC and isn’t burdened with a ton of DSD tracks. Two thumbs up.

Price: $1,599

Manufacturer’s Website: https://www.schiit.com/products/gungnir-2

2025 Solid State Dac/Headphone Amplifier of the Year

HIFIMAN GOLDENWAVE SERENADE

There is a reason I had chosen the HIFIMAN GOLDENWAVE SERENADE DAC/Headphone Amplifier as my solid-state reference DAC/Amplifier; it simply outperforms everything in its class and price range… Dynamic, musical, focused, and completely tonally balanced with the best chip-based DAC I have heard, the GOLDENWAVE SERENADE is probably the best value in a front end on the market…

Congrats HIFIMAN on another true winner, full thumbs up recommendation.

Price: $999

Manufacturer’s Website: https://hifiman.com/products/detail/339

2025 Tube Headphone Amplifier of the Year

Schiit Audio Lyr+

As a solid-state amplifier, the Schiit Lyr+ Fusion Architecture Headphone Amp & Preamp is easily competitive with anything in its price range, truth is, there just aren’t that many discrete amplifiers under a thousand dollars; they almost all implement some chip-based op-amp or other. On the other hand, once you stick a tube in it, the Lyr+ knocks it out of the park. While it is not the most powerful amplifier in my arsenal (my reference amplifier puts out 35Watts per channel), it appears to have enough go juice to drive most any headphone to levels that will satisfy most listeners.

For a tube amplifier, the Lyr+ has an epically low noise floor, which means it can deliver reference-level detail and soundstage, the only limit being the headphone you choose to listen with. For those who are hung up on push-pull amplifiers (“balanced”), again, the Lyr+ has plenty of power to do the job, and retains the sonic advantages of single-ended amplification (a bridge amp requires two perfectly matched amplifiers, and no such devices truly exist, which means low-level details are lost).

So in conclusion, though I miss the versatility of the modular design of the Lyr3, the improvements in sound quality more than make up for that, and I believe the Lyr+ could easily stand as the end-point choice for most headphone enthusiasts.

Price: $599 (with tube as reviewed $649)

Manufacturer’s Website: https://www.schiit.com/products/lyr

2025 Budget Headphone Amplifier of the Year

FX AUDIO R07PLUS

Simply put, a $200 amplifier should not sound this good, headphone agnostic, with enough go juice to run just about any headphone, a mind bogglingly low noise floor, extreme dynamic range, fantastic resolution, excellent timbre and imaging, while the FX-AUDIO- R07PLUS Headphone Amplifier is not exactly warm or boomy in the bottom end like so many inexpensive amps and headphones it does feel like it has a bit of a bump under 100Hz, which is not a bad thing, especially if you are an open-back headphone fan and given most music that has information in this range is usually meant to give you thump or resonance I don’t see anyone having a problem with that.

Not only did the R07PLUS work well with every headphone I threw at it, it also excelled with every genre of music played through it. If there is any negative side to the R07PLUS it is that you will have to spend about three times as much for a DAC that will bring out its full capabilities as it is designed to run balanced, and there is certainly an advantage to doing so… Even when driving super sensitive IEMs, balanced operation gave you a little more resolution and dynamics…

Congrats, FX-AUDIO- and Vera-Fi Audio (for making it available), I am more than willing to offer a solid recommendation, two thumbs up.

Price: $199

Manufacturer’s Website: https://verafiaudiollc.com/products/fx-audio-r07-plus-headphone-amplifier

2025 Phono Preamp of the Year

Schiit Audio Skoll F

Wow, just wow. I mean analog is analog, and with a high quality phono stage like the Schiit Audio Skoll F Balanced Discrete Class A Zero Feedback Remote Control Phono Preamp, it is going to give you performance equivalent to a DAC of at least 10 times the price, after all, this is the type of circuitry you expect in the analog section of a $4,000 DAC. Of course, you have to deal with the basic foibles of vinyl like pops and clicks and surface noise, which I was actually able to hear with the Direct-to-Disc record, which doesn’t have the tape noise that is the usual noise floor of most albums, but for those looking to recreate the original sound of the musicians, this is a small sacrifice.

With a linear tonal balance, excellent dynamic range, and extreme noise floor which gives you a massive soundstage the Skoll F is a fantastic stage phono stage, and with the ability to control both input impedance and input capacitance along with both single-ended and balanced inputs (for those who have a second turntable for 78s or mono, the switchable inputs is a boon), an LF filter and four position gain control the Skoll F is incredibly versatile and the remote and Forkbeard control which add to the convenience making the Skoll F a stellar choice pitching way above its pay grade.

This is one of the most easy recommendations I have come across, two thumbs up.

Price: $399

Manufacturer’s Website: https://www.schiit.com/products/skoll-f

2025 Price No Object Accessory of the Year

Danacable Lazuli Voila II Headphone Cable

I truly enjoyed my time with the Danacable Lazuli™ Voilà II Headphone Cable, like all Danacables, they give you more without changing the character of your headphone. While quite pricy, it is money well spent on a headphone of this caliber. The extra separation provided by the use of two distinct separate cables is well appreciated, and the use of bridges to both keep the cables apart and together greatly facilitated this upgrade. There was a clear difference in dynamic range, detail, resolution, timbre quality, and soundstage with the Lazuli™ Rhapsody Headphone Cable versus the stock cable, there was an equal improvement with the Voilà II versus the Rhapsody. The phase linearity and current capacity of the Voilà II bring the SUSVARA to a whole new level of performance, especially when it comes to the low frequencies where control is so difficult.

While it requires serious listening, you will discover that the Voilà II will reveal things in music of any audio complexity that you have not heard before, without noticeably altering the music itself.

I fully endorse the Danacable Lazuli™ Voilà II Headphone Cable and would recommend it to any SUSVARA owner, more so to those with the SUSVARA UNVEILED, as they are more capable of showing the shortcomings of the audio supply chain…

Price: $5,495

Manufacturer’s Website: https://danacables.com/product-category/headphone-cables/voiced-lazulis/

2025 Mid Priced Accessory of the Year

MOON AUDIO BRONZE DRAGON PREMIUM HEADPHONE CABLE/

Simply put, the Moon Audio Bronze Dragon Premium Headphone Cable delivers on all of its promises: dynamic, resolute, balanced, and musical, while presented in a high quality, sturdy, and attractive package. The cable is light and flexible enough to meet almost anyone’s ergonomic requirements…

Also impressive is the ability of a 10’ cable to offer up better conductivity than a 6’ cable of equal heft. As always, I am left awed by the performance of Moon Audio’s Dragon cables regardless of the flavor, and as always, they receive a whole-hearted recommendation for sound quality and value being priced at a fraction of many of their competitors.

Price as tested (10’/4-pin Furutech Male XLR/[Rhodium]/HIFIMAN (Mini 3.5mm plug): $690

Manufacturer’s Website: https://www.moon-audio.com/products/bronze-dragon-premium-headphone-cable

2025 Budget Accessory of the Year

DEKONI AUDIO ENSEMBLE CABLES

The Dekoni Audio Ensemble Cables combine flexibility of application along with physical flexibility with an excellent soundstage, increased dynamics, neutral timbre and tonality, strong bass and bass control, wonderful resolution, and musicality rarely found in products in this price range.

I especially recommend the Dekoni Audio Ensemble Cables to those who have multiple headphones using the different available connections and multiple amplifier options wishing to simplify their cable needs. Two thumbs up.

Price:

 Blue Nylon Woven Jacket Headphone Connection: $59.99

Silver Braided Cable Headphone Connection: $79.99

Blue Nylon Woven Jacket 52” Amplifier Connection: $59.99

Blue Nylon Woven Jacket 64” Amplifier Connection: $64.99

Silver Braided Cable 52” Amplifier Connection: $69.99

Silver Braided Cable 64” Amplifier Connection: $84.99

Manufacturer’s Website: https://dekoniaudio.com/dekoni-ensemble-cables/