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Philips Proto remote
For the December issue, <I>Stereophile</I> will be running its "Product of the Year" results. But what would <I>you</I> nominate for best product of 1999?
The Von Schweikert VR4 Gen speaker. Even though VR has disappeared due to a tragic flood, this should not deter us from recognizing Albert Von Schweikert's achievement. Building on the legendary (but often unreviewed) VR4, AVS crafted a speaker that outclassed well-regarded units double its price. I know, I listened to plenty before buying my Gens, and have never regretted my decision. Their soundstaging, clarity, and extension are still benchmarks for a $4000 speaker system.
Really not a fair question, given the amount of "new" equipment a typical audiophile gets their hands on per year. Still, I'll nominate the MSB LinkDAC. For a pittance, it's made the most pronounced difference in my system this year. A true high-end bargain.
I don't think there was any best audio product released in 1999. All the A/V dealers had a bad year because of the lack any new audio products in the market. Panasonic/Technics were planning to ship DVD-Audio players some time in October, just in time for the holiday season, but that never happended. So I think it was a bad year in terms of "best audio product."