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A bonanza of ultimate headphones and headphone gear (pictures)

The Audiophiliac went on the prowl for state-of-the-art headphones and headphone-related gear.

Steve Guttenberg
Ex-movie theater projectionist Steve Guttenberg has also worked as a high-end audio salesman, and as a record producer. Steve currently reviews audio products for CNET and works as a freelance writer for Stereophile.
Steve Guttenberg
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1 of 11 Steve Guttenberg/CNET

Grado PS1000 headphones

The latest version of the Grado PS1000 headphones have mirror-finished earcups. These beauties are made in my hometown, Brooklyn, N.Y.!
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2 of 11 Steve Guttenberg/CNET

Logitech Ultimate Ears Personal Reference Monitor in-ear headphones

Logitech Ultimate Ears Personal Reference Monitor in-ear headphones are a new twist on custom-molded to your ears 'phones. Before you buy, you get to fine-tune their sound to taste.
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3 of 11 Steve Guttenberg/CNET

Dan Clark and his Mad Dog headphones

Dan Clark tweaks and modifies Fostex headphones and sells his Mad Dog headphones direct. I'll review his handiwork soon.
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4 of 11 Steve Guttenberg/CNET

Sennheiser HD 800 headphones

The HD 800s are expensive, but hugely popular with the headphone cognoscenti.
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5 of 11 AudioQuest

AudioQuest DragonFly USB DAC & headphone amplifier

The tiny AudioQuest Dragonfly USB digital-to-analog converter/headphone amplifier (review to come).
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6 of 11 Steve Guttenberg/CNET

Vinnie Rossi and his Red Wine headphone amplifier

Red Wine Audio's Vinnie Rossi holding the latest version of his battery-powered, vacuum-tube Corvina home headphone amp. I reviewed the still-available basic Corvina, which is one of my reference amps.
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7 of 11 Steve Guttenberg/CNET

Hifiman HM-901 high-resolution music player

Hifiman's Fang Bian showed a prototype of his upcoming high-resolution, up-to-96-kHz/24-bit, portable HM-901 music player (review to come).
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8 of 11 Steve Guttenberg/CNET

Blue Hawaii Headphone Amp and Stax Headphones

Justin Wilson sells headphone amps, and his big Blue Hawaii amp running a set of transparent Stax SR 009 electrostatic headphones made the best sound I've heard in a long while.
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9 of 11 Steve Guttenberg/CNET

Mr. Head-Fi, Jude Mansilla

Head-Fi is a headphone forum, and its founder, Jude Mansilla is a great guy, a total gearhead, and he's always up on the latest headphone news.
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10 of 11 Steve Guttenberg/CNET

Stax SR-009 headphones

The Stax SR-009 electrostatic headphones are made in Japan, and they're big, but supercomfy. The detailing of the design and metalwork are simply the best money can buy.
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11 of 11 Steve Guttenberg

Beyerdynamic T 90 headphones

I recently heard the Beyerdynamic T 90 open-back headphones for the first time. It's a very precise, very accurate-sounding headphone, and I hope to review it soon.

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