1998 Product of the Year
Conrad-Johnson ART preamplifier
Finalists (in alphabetical order):
Audio Artistry Beethoven loudspeaker
Cary Audio Design CAD-805C monoblock power amplifier
JMlab Utopia loudspeaker
Krell FPB 250M monoblock power amplifier
Mark Levinson No.33H monoblock power amplifier
Meridian 508.24 CD player
Revel Ultima Gem loudspeaker
Sonic Frontiers Processor 3/Transport 3
Thiel CS6 loudspeaker
VTL MB-1250 monoblock power amplifier
Z-Systems RDP-1 digital preamplifier/equalizer Conrad-Johnson's ART preamplifier just may prove to be an enduring classic. In a year that saw many benchmark products, the ART stood out from the pack, impressing our crew with its ambition and its meltingly sweet, natural sound. It couples extraordinary retrieval of low-level information with an ability to capture the big musical picture. Fifty years after the introduction of the transistor, C-J has shown that there are still novel approaches to tube design, while making a most compelling argument for continuing the tube legacy into the next century. We congratulate them on delivering our Product of the Year—possibly even one for the ages.
Audio Artistry Beethoven loudspeaker
Cary Audio Design CAD-805C monoblock power amplifier
JMlab Utopia loudspeaker
Krell FPB 250M monoblock power amplifier
Mark Levinson No.33H monoblock power amplifier
Meridian 508.24 CD player
Revel Ultima Gem loudspeaker
Sonic Frontiers Processor 3/Transport 3
Thiel CS6 loudspeaker
VTL MB-1250 monoblock power amplifier
Z-Systems RDP-1 digital preamplifier/equalizer Conrad-Johnson's ART preamplifier just may prove to be an enduring classic. In a year that saw many benchmark products, the ART stood out from the pack, impressing our crew with its ambition and its meltingly sweet, natural sound. It couples extraordinary retrieval of low-level information with an ability to capture the big musical picture. Fifty years after the introduction of the transistor, C-J has shown that there are still novel approaches to tube design, while making a most compelling argument for continuing the tube legacy into the next century. We congratulate them on delivering our Product of the Year—possibly even one for the ages.
