In hi-fi, as in life, compatibility is key. There's no point investing in a stunning Moon amplification system if you plan on hooking it up to a set of budget bijou bookshelf speakers. Springing for a set of premium Wilson Audio Alexia V towers if your pre- and power amp can't drive them to their fullest would be ill-advised. And signing up for a hi-res subscription to one of the best music streaming services if a $12 shower-friendly speaker is your only option for enjoying those detailed tracks would be a crying shame.
But that's all easy, rudimentary stuff – horses for courses, right? Right. So what happens when you're considering some of the best wired headphones we've tested, but crucially to complement a particular model found in our best hi-res audio players guide? Here, price is still a marker of quality, yes, but there are myriad options at similar price points, all boasting wildly different designs and driver configurations (headphones) and various onboard DACs and quoted power outputs (players).
