A mini survey of ear-bogglingly good headphones and headphone amplifiers

I'd like to let you in on a little secret: You can buy terrific headphones for next to nothing. That's not to say they all sound great, but a bigger budget definitely buys better build and sound quality.

For this roundup I've selected three contenders for the world's best headphone: the Denon AH-D5000, Grado Labs GS-1000, and the Ultrasone Edition 9, plus a pair of headphone amplifiers, Benchmark's DAC1 USB and Woo Audio's WA5-LE.

If you really want to hear every last bit of music on your favorite recordings, headphones have it all over loudspeakers. The reasons for headphones’ sonic superiority are easy to fathom. First and foremost, the vagaries of room acoustics that play havoc with speakers’ sound matter not a nit to headphones. With a headphone squirting sound directly into your ears, there is nothing between you and your music. That sort of intimacy is impossible to achieve with speakers.

The New Order

I'm almost embarrassed to admit it, but I'm a hold out. I never listen to music over my computer, even as I've become increasingly aware that the traditional CD and/or turntable-amplifier-speaker based hi-fi system is on its way out, and that some of the most revered audiophile manufacturers like McIntosh, Linn, and Kaleidescape are designing component-grade music servers.

So sure, my interest is piqued, but I have a fantastic high-end audio system, why would I ever want to listen to tunes over my computer?

Our 10 Best Gear Awards

The best gear of the year.

So You Think It Can Dance?

In a country where Hello Kitty is a goodwill ambassador and a brown toothy monster mascots public television, the Sony Rolly fits right in. But how will the self described “sound entertainment player” fare in the decidedly less kawaii-obsessed US? We decided to give one a spin to find out.

A 10 Best 2008 Design winner

Serve it Up – Audio and Video Servers Galore

Maybe you've got a huge collection of digital music, and you'd really love to listen to it throughout your home, instead of simply on your iPod.

Perhaps you want to rip your DVD collection to disc and secret the cases away in storage.

No matter the particulars, chances are you have digital media you want to enjoy in the more comfortable parts of your home—away from the desktop. Enter media servers.

Computer Audio 101: Revving Up a New Spin for CD Playback

For years now, hobbyists have been transforming their computers into audio source components, a natural endpoint for all kinds of digital music.

Conceptually, it's quite simple—store, instantaneously access, and manage an entire library of music on your computer. No more sorting through piles of CDs. Yet, serious audiophiles (especially those not computer savvy) have traditionally been hesitant to embrace this "techno" alternative to their tried and true CD players.

They should take a new look, as the computer can be the powerful audiophile device.