Vote

The Sony SACD players.

PS Audio Power Plant P300.

Dynaudio Evidence.

Your product of the year? Probably haven't bought one. My product of the year? Minidisc! Yes, Minidisc. Why? Because I just discovered it - and it's everything digital, portable, recordable, editable, enjoyable and inexpensive, AND it let's me listen to music from my listening room, my car or my shirt pocket anytime, anywhere, whether downloaded from Napster, off-loaded from my harddrive or sideloaded from my Sony XA7ES with really damn good fidelity. If your book had paid just a smidgen of attention to this medium years ago I could have begun to experience this kind of fun alot sooner.

Magnepan 1.6 and 3.6 model speakers. These are truly outstanding products.

nagra plp vpa

The Sony SCD 777 ES: a bargain as a cd player, even in the case SACD will not succeed.

Paradigm reference studio 80

Sony SDC-1 Finally a digital system that I can listen to for hours!

Sonus Faber Amati Hommage.

Pioneer DV-333 DVD player. 24/96 on the cheap.

Bose 901, Series I

The confusion about surround sound and the cost of upgrading my system has driven me back to basics. This year I purchased a $2500.00 phono cartridge. Next year an upgrade of my 20 year old tone arm another $3000.

PS Audio P300. Amazing product for a reasonable price. Way to go Paul!

The Equi=Tech High Definition power conditioner. I have the original model (30 months old), but this high definition iteration blew it away. This black box had a profound impact on the sound of my audio system. The "noise floor" dropped to the sub-basement! The bass was tighter and more extended, the highs were extended and crisp. I could hear much more information across the music spectrum. The overall musical presentation was much closer to a "live" performance than I experienced with the older unit. The sonic presentation drew me into the music. This improvement was across the board (turntable, CD, CD-RW, and tuner). This unit took my audio system to another level of musical enjoyment.

The Sharp digital amplifier and SACD player combo. For the first time, a high resolution master bitstream can make it straight to the loudspeaker. Only one "conversion", and pure SACD from stem to stern. When I can afford it (or its progeny), I will be immensely happy. And, it holds the prospect of shrinking the performance window (by dramatically raising performance at low price points in the future.) High-end (other than loudspeakers) may become affordable to a vastly larger number of people.

The Herron Audio line stage and phono preamp are absolutely the brightest lights of the year. If I were in Florida, I would vote twice for them.

Audio:Martin Logan Prodigy loudspeaker.Reason:Just listen. Video:Mitsubishi Diamond TV. Reason:Just watch in hidef.

The DVD-Audio player from Technics. Now, will someone give us a combination multi-channel SACD/DVD-A player/recorder? Under $1k, and audio only, please.

PS Audio P300 Takes my system to a higher level.

White Ladders by David Gray. Afterall, this hobby is all about the music, which ulitmately is the most important component in any system, whether extravagant or humble. By the way, I can't believe this album hasn't been reviewed in Stereophile. Excellent song writing, followed up by emotive delivery. The story behind the album is also interested. Fed up with record companies, he recorded this album in his bedroom (don't worry as it sounds good). Sold more than 100,000 copies in Ireland. Best seller in the U.K. It's my understanding it's done well in the U.S. with virtually no radio support. And finally, it's been released in Canada. I understand most of the sales are driven by word of mouth. Clive

I would have to name the PS Audio Power Plant P300 with the Multiwave option as the Overall Product of the Year. For me, the best products are really the those that give you the most musical satisfaction for the least amount of money, so there it is.

MSB Link DAC III, the best product and best bang-for-the-buck! It has great sound, is upgradable as your budget allows, and is a great way to get in on the next wave of the digital revolution!

DEEP LISTENING BAND: Ready Made Boomerang; RY COODER: Bop 'till You Drop; AQUARIUM RESCUE UNIT: Mirrors of Embarrasment

Vibrapods.

Dodson Audio DA-217 MK IID - Unbeleivable sound from existing software!

SONY 777 ES SACD PLAYER

EAD Powermaster 2000. Outstanding performance at a reasonable cost.

LC-Audio, The End Millennium (120 w p.ch. power amp). In my humble opinion it's just sensational at the price (about $1k).

Denon AVC-A1SE. Best one-box surround amp I've ever heard. Quite wonderful.