News

12 Years of “Recommended Components”

Stereophile Staff | Jan 23, 2015

Our special issue, Stereophile Recommended Components Collector’s Issue, lands on the shelves at newsstands and book stores this week. While the regular “Recommended Components” listings in our April and October issues concentrate on products that have been reviewed in the previous three years, this special 180-page issue features capsule reviews of every audio component that has been reviewed and recommended by Stereophile’s team of writers and editors in the 12 years of listings since 2003: more than 400 loudspeakers and subwoofers; more than 400 amplifiers and preamplifiers; almost 300 digital disc and file players and digital processors; 200 turntables, tonearms, and phono cartridges; and all manner of headphones, cables, room acoustic treatments, and accessories.

While the key to putting together a satisfying system is to listen for yourself, our special issue is the essential companion for those selecting new and used high-end audio components. Stereophile Recommended Components Collector’s Edition costs $7.99. If your local store doesn't stock this special issue, it can be ordered from the "Shop" page on this website.

COMMENTS

Good Idea

Submitted by Anon2 on January 23, 2015 - 4:28pm

I look forward to this issue. It will certainly stand on the shelf as a reference for used equipment. Since many of us remain in the hobby in no short measure due to the availability of used and demo equipment, this volume shall only gain additional relevance.

I am sure that dealers' online used offerings and the various online audio selling sites will get a bump in traffic following the publication of this anthology.

My only humble request is that Stereophile endeavor to find products that they have not tested, but have found serial positive evaluation in other publications, and prioritize their testing of newer versions of these products.

I know I'm a "broken record" (though not an LP person), but I'd love to see Stereophile's take on the B&W 685 s2. Surely the series one, had it been tested, would have taken a spot in this nonetheless valuable upcoming issue.

FWIW, I have a pair of 683s2

Submitted by Kal Rubinson on January 23, 2015 - 4:38pm

FWIW, I have a pair of 683s2 in for review.

Very sweet!

Submitted by Allen Fant on January 23, 2015 - 4:55pm

Very sweet!

Jamo review

Submitted by w1000i on January 24, 2015 - 2:42pm

Is there any plan to review the latest Jamo speaker C109 ?
Jamo was on of the biggest brand in euro long time ago.

Re: Jamo review

Submitted by John Atkinson on January 25, 2015 - 5:44am

w1000i wrote:
Is there any plan to review the latest Jamo speaker C109?

No plans at present.

w1000i wrote:
Jamo was on of the biggest brand in euro long time ago.

Jamo speakers are currently distributed in the US by Klipsch.

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

I looked up the Jamo website.

Submitted by Kal Rubinson on January 25, 2015 - 10:18am

I looked up the Jamo website. Their "Find your Jamo" guide returned a listing of over 70 speakers, many of which should not have qualified by my criteria. Restricting the search to only floor-standers returned a listing of 17, identified only by model number, but including the C109.

Perhaps this is getting OT but I have trouble with some (mostly European) speaker brands that offer such a bewildering array of lines and models. It is very difficult to distinguish the salient features of similar models from the voluminous catalog(s), especially without clear guidance. At CES 2015, at the room of another well-established European speaker company, I asked for information about a particular model on demo and evoked a flurry of activity to locate the brochure for it. I was finally given a substantial multipage catalog which was supposed to include this model but, when I read it on my return flight, it did not.

Technology and design aside, the marketing people need to focus on guiding the potential customer (and reviewer) among the myriad offerings. Why make it so hard?

The Jamo Plot Thickens

Submitted by Anon2 on January 25, 2015 - 12:11pm

w1000i raises an interesting point about Jamo. If only because the brand was fairly well covered about 20-30 years ago in the US audio press.

Jamo products, at least in my view, have always had good industrial design for the most part, though sound is the critical criterion. I understand that Stereophile has reasonable standards for ensuring some sort of US-based dealer vetting for products that they test.

Jamo's site is abundant as Kal points out. I think I counted 22 stand-mount/satellite speakers on their site. However, some of their products look intriguing. It would be interesting to know how they sound.

Interestingly, a quick browse through amazon.com (US) shows that some Jamo products are making themselves available to the US buying public.

I did find one Jamo product on amazon, the c605, a floor-stander, which did get a reasonably good appraisal on the other side of the Atlantic. This product is also available on amazon's US site through a 3rd party seller. Other Jamo products on amazon seem to be fulfilled through amazon directly.

Stereophile is my first stop for information. Still, I have become a bit more linguistically enlightened as I trawl the European websites for products that seem to miss US distribution and testing. Sometimes I read of products in European sites that have been tested in the US to get more insights.

I have become familiar with terms like "Bast i Test," "Zespoły głośnikowe,""Klang," "Gesamturteil," "Sehr Gut," and the always enlightening "Spitzenklasse."

The Jamos I refer to above were "Gut" and "Spitzenklasse." Thank goodness for on-line translation services.

I agree with Kal, though. There is a lot of product with some of these brands. One wonders if it is all needed for a trade-up structure, or if it is all even available.

Another European speaker brand, whose products have been tested favorably in Stereophile, have some very, very low-end models whose (European-based) test results demonstrate that the brand might benefit through some product rationalization. I suppose only the manufacturer would know if these products are profitable for them to keep making.

Still it's fun to see what's out there. I miss Jamo, too.

FWIW, I did review a Jamo

Submitted by Kal Rubinson on January 25, 2015 - 12:51pm

FWIW, I did review a Jamo product once but it was a very distinctive design which called out to me.
http://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/jamo_reference_r_907_loudspeaker/

Jamo r907 - Excellent Review

Submitted by Anon2 on January 25, 2015 - 1:14pm

Great review. I remember getting this issue in the mail. The only dipoles I've heard were from Apogee Audio back in the late 1980s.

Your colleagues on the other side of the Atlantic concur with your assessment. They gave the Jamo R907 an unqualified "uberragend" which is about as good as it gets for speakers.

Thanks for going into the archives. Great review of a unique product.

About the guide's headers

Submitted by corrective_unco... on January 27, 2015 - 12:04pm

Why did you Jamo all those bars up there like that? I can see the intent, but I'm not sure it's the last word in legibility or functionality, imo.

In general, if you have two design elements next to one another which are to communicate a difference, that difference should be great enough to make it look like it was done on purpose. Just a 15% difference, say, in size or shade or type weight or whatever just won't do it. This is a pretty standard notion.

Package?

Submitted by otaku on January 28, 2015 - 8:21am

Were you planning to offer a package of the Recommended Components with the Editor's Choice CD's again?

Yes

Submitted by Jon Iverson on January 30, 2015 - 2:30pm

It's now in the store.

This one?

Submitted by otaku on January 31, 2015 - 6:33am

Is it this one?

http://store-badz031c.mybigcommerce.com/audiophile-essentials-package/

The image shows the 2015 edition, but all of the copy says it is the Collectors Edition.

otaku wrote: Is it this one?

Submitted by John Atkinson on January 31, 2015 - 3:06pm

otaku wrote:
Is it this one?
http://store-badz031c.mybigcommerce.com/audiophile-essentials-package/

Yes.

otaku wrote:
The image shows the 2015 edition, but all of the copy says it is the Collectors Edition.

Yes, the package is now supplied with the 2015 special issue.

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

Omits listings

Submitted by ushnia on February 7, 2015 - 5:39am

Please inform why the ,
Stereophile Recommended Components Collector’s Issue 2015 I bought in Portugal
Omits listings of
- power line accessories
- stands,spikes,feet,racks
- computer software.
Where and when will they be published ?

Re: Omits Listings

Submitted by John Atkinson on February 7, 2015 - 9:41am

As I told you via private email earlier today, these categories were omitted due to lack of space. However, they will eventually be published on our website.

John Atkinson
Editor, Stereophile

n00b Question

Submitted by jhanken on February 11, 2015 - 10:22pm

So, pretty much new subscriber here, forgive my ignorance, blah blah blah. Can someone let me know if the recommended components is included in the subscription, or should I buy it in the store? Not sure if I should have received it in the mail.