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The Wavac PR-T1 preamp, Kharma Exquisite Reference Signature speakers, Conrad-Johnson Art 3, FM Acoustics FM 266 Mk-II, and Spectral DMC-30SS.
Reader Mike Agee asks: "I'd like to hear about great audio products that have managed to go under-reviewed in the audio press. I realize there are many reasons why this might happen, from manufacturer reluctance [to submit review samples] to bad timing in the marketplace, but we all know there are a real winners out there that never made a recommended list."
The biggest improvement in sound I have ever heard in my decidedly low budget system was switching the Sumiko Oyster cartridge that came with the Pro-Ject 1.2 for an Ortofon Super OM-20. This had an even more pronounced improvement than the Belarri VP29 preamp vs the phono preamp built into the Yamaha receiver. On another front, the Tivoli iPAL radio makes a fantastic headphone amp. I run my E-Mac to the iPAL using a stereo mini-plug. It blows away the computer headphone output in every way. It also sounds amazing to just listen to radio through phones. The iPAL gets excellent reception, and hearing songs through this little box and my Grado SR125 phones is startlingly revealing.
Agreed it is a classic moving magnet cart. An excellent value too.
It may be a little early on in the life of the product for a review, but I would really like to see the Wadia 170iTransport given the once over. It looks like the sort of product that would make any 21st century audiophile (like myself) jump with joy. I have yet to see any reviews of this item even though it was announced back in January.
This is more of a concept, but I'd like to see more coverage of speakers that don't require large amounts of power. They don't necessarily need to be SET friendly, but my next speakers need to do what I want them to do on a solid, legit 50W or less. I have no desire to buy a mediocre sounding muscle amp when for the same money I can buy a nice integrated like a Naim Nait or one of the many push/pull tube units using a single pair of power tubes per channel.
MiniDisc. It gave us an early example of how much fun to put together a bunch of songs we love that was super easy to record, had much more flexibility than a CD-RW (you can buy a 5 pack for under $10) and the later models sounded very good. It was (and for me still is) just a lot of fun to use. A lot of people missed out on this one.
The JBL Cinema Sound speaker series is truly outstanding, for both music and movies. In fact, the slim towers all the way around with the matching 10 inch sub and surrounds blow away many highly regarded surround sound systems, many of which cost ten times more.This system really sings with Dolby True Surround and the new DTS Master Audio. Wow! I'm using the new Sony STR-5300ES reciever and the matching Sony BDP-2000ES Bluray player. Outstanding system performance.
McIntosh! This great company is on an incredible product roll and they rarely are acknowledged in your pages. Such products as the new XRT1K and XRT2K speakers and the new MC1.2KW solid state and MC2301 tube amplifiers would be particularly interesting review subjects.
The Valve Audio line from South Africa is fantastic! The only review I've seen was one in Hi-Fi World about eight years ago that was a total rave. The line is very highly regarded in South Africa (where BAT and several others had their origins, remember!) and most serious audiophiles have traded their Krells and MLs for VA Black Widows and Genesises.