Products of the Year

Joint Loudspeakers of 1996

Aerial Acoustics 10T ($5500/pair; reviewed by Wes Phillips, Vol.19 No.4, April 1996 Review)
Dunlavy Audio Labs Signature SC-VI ($24,995/pair; reviewed by Steven Stone & John Atkinson, Vol.19 No.8, August 1996 Review)

Finalists (in alphabetical order):
Acarian Systems Alón V ($4950/pair; reviewed by Russell Novak & Robert J. Reina, Vol.19 Nos.7, 8, & 9, July, August, & September 1996)
Audio Artistry Dvorak ($5990/system; reviewed by Shannon Dickson, Vol.19 No.4, April 1996)
Avalon Acoustics Radian HC ($13,995/pair; reviewed by Robert Harley, Vol.19 No.1, January 1996)
Hales Concept Two ($1995/pair; reviewed by Lonnie Brownell, Vol.19 No.5, May 1996)
JMlab Grand Utopia ($65,000/pair; reviewed by Jack English, Vol.19 No.5, May 1996 Review)
Platinum Audio Solo ($1695/pair; reviewed by John Atkinson, Vol.18 No.11, November 1995 Review)
ProAc Response 2.5 ($4500/pair; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.19 No.1, January 1996 Review)
Snell Type A Reference ($18,999/system; reviewed by Larry Greenhill, Vol.19 No.3, March 1996 Review)
Wilson Audio Specialties WATT/Puppy 5.1 ($16,290/system; reviewed by Wes Phillips, Vol.18 No.11 and Vol.19 No.10, November 1995 & October 1996 Review)
Wilson Audio Specialties WITT ($8888/pair; reviewed by Thomas J. Norton, Martin Colloms, & John Atkinson, Vol.19 Nos.1 & 7, January & July 1996 Review)

This year's list of nominees ranged the gamut in price, and nowhere was this more evident than in the Loudspeakers category, where designs that cost from $1695 to $65,000 per pair competed—and where the joint winners are separated by a spread of nearly $20,000. Yet the Dunlavy SC-VI and Aerial 10T were clear winners, each having amassed nearly twice the votes of the next runner-up.

Designed by John Dunlavy, the Dunlavy Audio Labs Signature SC-VI is a big speaker—78" tall and containing seven drivers—designed to perform like a point source. JGH, JA, and SS all attest that it achieves this goal, citing its precisely focused, stable image. Yet, unlike small monitor loudspeakers, the bass response of the Signature VI is dynamic, uncolored, and possessed of slam. Furthermore, to quote SS, the SC-VI is "remarkably free from phase shift, dynamically effortless, and surprisingly transparent." JGH, another admirer, points out that it requires "lots of breathing room"—which is true. Don't even try to put the speakers in a room smaller than 20!0 by 24!0. And you'd better have a beefy amplifier to drive them, as well.

However, properly fed and housed, the SC-VI is capable of redefining neutrality—in the opinions of SS and a goodly number of the Stereophile reviewing staff.

The Aerial 10T also offers neutrality, dynamics, and a rare fine ability to reproduce the musical event—but at one-fifth the price of the Dunlavy. "Bang for the buck" figured prominently among the writers' comments—most of them adding that designer Michael Kelly's canny compromises had produced a speaker with many strengths and darn few weaknesses. The 10T may indeed lack some of the refinement of no-holds-barred megabuck speakers, but it must also be said that it doesn't miss by much.

The Stereophile writers are a tough bunch to impress, and no speaker could share Speaker Of The Year honors by dint of price alone. The 10T gets the all-important midrange right, without neglecting bass extension or a liquid top end. Add to that an ability to "kick the tar out of any dynamic challenge thrown at them," as per WP, and you have a speaker that has earned its way to the top of this—or any year's—heap.