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Best Audio Gear of 2021

Despite shortages and shipping issues, the audio industry managed to deliver some stellar new products. Here are our faves.

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With demand for new gear at an all-time high, colossal container ships waiting weeks to get unloaded, and supplies of integrated circuit chips and workers to install them famously low, 2021 turned out to be one of the most challenging years the audio industry has ever faced. Yet engineers, designers, and factories still managed to launch impressive new products, offering advances in sound quality, style, and convenience. Here are a few of our favorite gear debuts from the past year.

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Originally Published

Brent Butterworth

Brent Butterworth has been a professional audio journalist since 1989, and has evaluated and measured thousands of audio products. He is currently a writer at Wirecutter and editor of the SoundStage Solo headphone site; served as an editor at such magazines as Sound & Vision and Home Theater; and worked as marketing director for Dolby Laboratories. He also plays double bass with several jazz groups in Los Angeles.