Products of the Year

Amplification Component of 1993

Convergent Audio Technology SL-1 Signature preamplifier ($4950; reviewed by Jack English, Vol.15 No.12, December 1992 Review)

The mighty C.A.T. preamplifier typifies all that is good about the High End: inspired design, attention to detail, tube circuitry, and magnificent sound. It also, perhaps, typifies some of the problems of the High End: limited production, limited availability, tube circuitry, and a high price. But it's the sound that matters; in Jack English's words, "stunning timbral realism...superb rendition of dynamic shadings...[low] noise floor...[and] the magical ability to create breathtakingly lifelike three-dimensional images." Summing up his 1992 review, he categorized the SL-1 Signature as being "the finest preamplifier available today"; enough of Stereophile's writers agreed with him when they heard the C.A.T. that it became the runaway winner in the amplification category.

Runners-Up (in alphabetical order)

AMC CVT-3030 integrated amplifier ($900; reviewed by Jack English, Vol.16 No.6, June 1993 Review)
Bryston 7B NRB-THX monoblock power amplifier ($4390/pair; reviewed by Thomas J. Norton, Vol.16 No.10, October 1993 Review)
Jadis Defy-7 power amplifier ($6490; reviewed by Martin Colloms, Vol.16 No.4, April 1993 Review)
Krell KSA-250 power amplifier (No longer available, last priced at $6200; reviewed by Lewis Lipnick, Robert Harley, & John Atkinson, Vol.14 Nos.1 & 9, January & September 1991; and Thomas J. Norton, Vol.16 No.10, October 1993 Review)
Sonic Frontiers SFL-1 line preamplifier ($1395; reviewed by Dick Olsher, Vol.15 No.8, August 1992, & Vol.16 No.2, February 1993)
Sonic Frontiers SFP-1 phono preamplifier ($1095; reviewed by Robert Harley, Vol.16 Nos.9 & 10, September & October 1993)