Best in Show at NAMM 2025

Introduction

NAMM is the annual show for musicians and the pro audio industry. If you want to hear “what the artist intended,” then you’ve come to right place. Instruments of all varieties were on display, along with electronic gear and tools to capture, mix, master and playback music.

Audiophiles shouldn’t overlook this event, because one can find many crossover pro and hi-fi companies that offer incredible audio performance in their professional lines. Some of those brands include ATC, Audio-Technica, Chord, Dynaudio, Focal, PMC, Technics, and even Sony.

In total, attendees had a chance to demo gear from over 1,850 exhibitors during the event held from January 21-25, 2025. Needless to say, impossible to see it all, but that didn’t stop us from trying. Although everything couldn’t make it into our “Best in Show” list, here’s what impressed us most.

Best Compact Studio Monitors: Kii Seven

At last year’s NAMM, Kii Audio’s Three BXT captured our attention along with over 1.6 million viewers on Instagram. But at $31,355/pair, the flagship active loudspeakers won’t fall within many budgets. This year, the smaller Kii Seven were on display, bringing just as much magic with slightly less bass impact. However, at 1/4 the price ($8,585/pair), they may very well be the best sounding, most versatile, all-in-one wireless speaker on the market. With cardioid dispersion, and 600-watts per speaker, the Kii Seven’s work in any room. Their imaging, dynamic capabilities, and detail retrieval were astoundingly good — and that’s on a busy show floor, so one can only imagine just how much better they might be at home.

Best Car Audio: Cadillac Optiq w/ Dolby Atmos

We weren’t expecting to see any car audio at NAMM, but the AKG engineered 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos sound system in the 2025 Cadillac Optiq All-Electric SUV had us blown away at Harman’s booth (parent company of JBL and AKG among others). It would be unusual for a stock car audio system to really impress us, but Cadillac and AKG have delivered something special. The 19-speaker Dolby Atmos sound system comes standard on all configurations of the Optiq, which start at $52,895. There are speakers all around you in the cabin; 4 overhead, 3 subwoofers, and a dedicated center speaker. You simply must hear what immersive car audio is capable of and this is the vehicle to do it in. It’s a full-blown mixing studio that happens to drive itself.

Watch exclusive video with Caddilac’s Chief Engineer at NAMM.

Best Dolby Atmos System: PMC 9.1.4 Speaker System

It was encouraging to hear a number of Dolby Atmos demonstrations at NAMM, but it was the 9.1.4 system from PMC that wowed us from a playback perspective. Its sonic characteristics brought music to life, in ways other systems didn’t during our brief demos. However, it’s important to keep in mind that comparing speakers with spatial audio can be heavily influenced by the mix. Nevertheless, the PMC system offered effortless sound, impressive dynamics, and high energy — easily making it a dream system for studio professionals or home theater enthusiasts.

Best Studio Monitors (Double Winner): Augspurger Duo12v / Sub18 & Augspurger MX65 / Sub12

Dave Malekpour, President of Professional Audio Design and Augspurger knows something about speaker design and acoustics that others don’t. His range of companies covers studio design, room design, acoustics, speaker design and more. If you want the best-of-the-best, talk to Dave, plain and simple. He’s outfitted studios for Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys and many more.

At NAMM 2025, two pairs of Augspurger studio monitors were on display. The larger DUO 12 – Sub218 (18-inch subwoofers) SXE3/3500 Main Monitor System in Yukon Denali White ($40,000) generates ungodly amounts of clean SPL with hard hitting deep bass that few if any systems in the world can match. Meanwhile I wasn’t expecting co-winners, but the Augspurger MX65 with Sub12 (12-inch subwoofers) in Ferrari Red ($24,000) sell for much less and are almost nearly as good while being more versatile for use in smaller environments.

Best Accessory: IsoAcoustics IsoPucks

IsoAcoustics Iso-Pucks fall under the radar for many because they seem too good to be true. You simply just place desktop speakers atop four Iso-Pucks ($119 at Amazon) and they instantly sound better. Yes, it’s true. What’s actually happening is the Iso-Pucks prevent sound vibrations from interacting with a desk surface that can muddy up sound. Even on a loud show floor, IsoAcoustics A/B demo convinced us that any speaker can benefit from acoustic absorbers — whether Iso-Pucks, Iso-Stands, or other solutions.

Watch video from last year’s NAMM about Iso-Pucks and Iso-Stands.

Best Desktop Components: Chord Alto & Vocé

If your desktop audio system includes active/passive speakers and/or headphones, Chord seamlessly handles it all. Not only can the Chord Alto power both speakers and headphones, it can seamlessly switch between them when desired. That makes Alto an ideal solution for desktop setups that require multiple use cases. Meanwhile the new Vocé DAC enables audiophile-grade sonics derived from Chord’s bespoke Qutest line of consumer D/A converters into a matching sized component.

Watch exclusive video with Tom Vaughan from Chord Electronics at NAMM.

Best Open-back Headphones Under $500: Sony MDR-MV1

Although Sony’s MDR-MV1 open-back headphones came out in 2023, this was the first time we got extended listens — especially with spatial audio content (see below). At only $399, these headphones are lightweight (223g / 7.87 oz), comfortable, and easy to drive (24 ohms). We heard them paired with Sony’s latest Walkmans (DAPs) and in Sony’s 360 Virtual Mixing Environment (360VME), where they were part of a mend bending spatial audio presentation. More on that further down this article. Nevertheless, a great headphone that adds dimensionality to stereo mixes and an overall good value.

Best Closed-back Studio Headphones Under $1,000: Focal Lensys

High-end French audio brand Focal has continued to impress us with their professional line of products. At $699, the Focal Lensys offers a closed-back headphone solution for audio engineers, but could just as easily become anyone’s daily headphone of choice. We were told it delivers a more balanced tuning than Focal’s consumer focused Azurys ($549) closed-back headphones, which are designed nearly the same. However, Lensys comes with an extra cable and 6.35mm adapter.

Best Portable Audio: Sony NW-WM1AM2 Walkman

DAPs are not dead. Although it doesn’t play cassettes anymore, Sony’s Walkman portable audio products live on. At $1,399, the Sony NW-WM1AM2 is one of the latest DAPs, and just a step-down from Sony’s flagship NW-WM1ZM2 ($3,699). Don’t you just love Sony’s model naming. Although we like the gold finish on the ZM2, in our brief listening we couldn’t hear enough differences to justify paying nearly triple the cost. Meanwhile the AM2 handles nearly every audio format including DSD, MQA, Sony 360 Reality Audio and lossless audio up to 32-bit/384kHz. So for anyone looking for portable listening on-the-go, the AM2 is tough to beat.

Best Headphones Cost-no-Object: Audeze CRBN2

When it comes to making world-class cost-no-object headphones, Audeze has been a leader in innovation. The second generation CRBN2 electrostatic open-back headphones ($6,000), which debuted late last year, make a strong case for being the best headphones in the world. Their use of proprietary new SLAM technology adds bass depth to their unbelievably detailed performance. You will be hard pressed to find a better sounding headphone. However, keep in mind an energizer (amp) and DAC that can properly drive CRBN2 will bring up system costs to at least 10 grand. We heard them with Lynx Hilo2 Reference A/D D/A Converter ($3,999 to $4,699), which proved to be a killer combo!

Best Headphones for Mixing Dolby Atmos: Audeze Maxwell

Audeze’s Maxwell are the swiss army knife of headphones. They do way more than you think. Although initially marketed to gamers, Maxwell function as wireless Bluetooth headphones, wired headphones, and a podcast or gaming headset with included boom mic. However, what most people don’t know is that they not only support Dolby Atmos playback with head-tracking, but can also be used for mixing spatial audio music. On top of that, Maxwell feature planar-magnetic technology for highly detailed performance at only $299 or $329.

And when not mixing, Maxwell are currently our favorite gaming headphones for use with Xbox and PS5. Just note there are two different versions for gamers, but if you’re mixing Dolby Atmos we were told either model will work.

Best Affordable IEM: 64 Audio Aspire 1

At just $349, the 64 Audio Aspire 1 had us intrigued at NAMM. Although they are the least expensive model in the Aspire Series ($349 to $799), we think they’re a great entry point into universal fit IEMs and make a strong case against more expensive competition we heard from beyerdynamic and UE.

Best Acoustic Treatment: PSI Audio AVAA C214 Active Bass Traps

Room resonances can be a problem for studios as well as home listening rooms. Passive bass traps can provide a solution, but are often large, unsightly and take up a lot of space. However, the PSI Audio AVAA C214 is a small, active bass trap designed to eliminate room modes from 15 Hz to 150 Hz without requiring calibration or tuning. We were told placing one in a room should be sufficient, but it could take some experimenting to find a location for the best results.

Best Audio Connectivity: Audio Cu

Audio Cu is making audio over home power lines possible, which lets audio signals piggy-back existing electrical wiring. A transmitter and receiver are required that each plug into a standard AC outlet, where one end connects to a source and the other to a powered speaker or amplifier. It was demonstrated at NAMM with a DJ setup connected to 4 speakers at each corner of the booth. However, Audio Cu could also function as a solution to connect rear speakers in a home theater.

Watch exclusive video with Robert Siddell of Audio Cu at NAMM.

Best Innovation: Sony 360 Virtual Mixing Environment

Sony’s 360 Virtual Mixing demo was a total mind bender. They actually made headphones sound like speakers! The demonstration consisted of 5 Kali Audio active speakers in a surround setup (3 across the front and 2 in the rear) with a set of previously mentioned Sony MDR-MV1 headphones. Before any music played precise measurements were taken from tiny microphones placed in each ear while test tones played through each speaker sequentially.

What happened next, completely had me fooled. Music started playing through the speakers so I could get a sense hearing sounds from different speakers within the room. Then I was instructed to put the headphones on while the same music continued (but music stopped playing through the speakers). Not only could I not detect any drop-off in performance, I could easily point out which speaker in front of me was producing sounds, while maintaining a spatial presence. I just said “in front of me”. I’ve never heard headphones accurately pinpoint sound and push it out in front of me (and around) by what seemed like 6 feet from my listening positioning. If this is the future of spatial or Sony 360 Reality Audio, we want more!

Biggest Surprise: Focal Utopia Main 212 / 112

Focal isn’t about to let competitors such as ATC, Dynaudio, PMC, and others steal the spotlight in large studio applications especially since “Mixed on Focal” is an important selling point for the high-end brand. Focal is one of a few companies that produce both studio monitors and home loudspeakers, which allows them to claim that users can hear exactly what the artist intended because they can control for variances in the studio and the home.

At $50,000/pair with amplification, the massive Focal Utopia Main 212 (left) deliver exceptional performance in a 3.5-way monitor, while the Utopia Main 112 ($30,000) sacrifice a hair of bass extension in a 3-way design. On a cost/performance basis, these are the best speakers Focal offers — especially when considering they’re one tenth the price of the Focal Grand Utopia and Naim Statement system ($580K).

The Bottom Line

NAMM 2025 proved to be well attended and tremendous success for the music industry. It was encouraging to see a number of Dolby Atmos demonstrations, which makes us optimistic that spatial audio has a future. At the same time, it’s hard not to see the coming AI wave that is going to transform how music is made and reproduced. The big takeaway from the show is that musicians, engineers, and producers are still deeply committed to creating the best music that they can and that artificial intelligence will never supplant the desire to create authentic art that has a human touch.

Congratulations to all our award winners!

Related Reading:

• Best in Show at CES 2025
• eCoustics Music Awards: Editors’ Choice 2024
• eCoustics Editors’ Choice Awards