Creek 4330R integrated amplifier ($595, $495 without remote control; reviewed by Sam Tellig, Vol.20 No.11, November 1997; Wes Phillips, Vol.21 No.8, August 1998)
Finalists (in alphabetical order):
California Audio Labs Gamma D/A processor ($195; reviewed by Muse Kastanovich, Vol.19 No.11, November 1996; Robert J. Reina, Vol.20 No.5, May 1997, and Vol.21 No.1, January 1998)
LFD Mistral integrated amplifier ($1095; reviewed by Sam Tellig, Vol.21 No.9, September 1998)
Mission 731i loudspeaker ($299/pair; reviewed by Robert J. Reina, Vol.21 No.4, April 1998)
Music Hall MMF turntable ($299 with cartridge and arm; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.21 No.10, October 1998)
Paradigm Reference Studio/20 loudspeaker ($650/pair; reviewed by Robert J. Reina, Vol.21 No.2, February 1998 Review)
Polk RT5 loudspeaker ($330/pair; reviewed by Wes Phillips, Vol.21 No.4, April 1998 Review)
Rega Brio integrated amplifier ($595; reviewed by Wes Phillips, Vol.21 No.9, September 1998 Review)
Rega Planet CD player ($795; reviewed by John Atkinson, Vol.21 No.2, 1998 Review)
Ultimate Technology Ultech UCD-100 CD player ($895; reviewed by Brian Damkroger, Vol.21 No.7, July 1998)
In our heart of hearts, we Stereophile writers love this category most. Designing great-sounding gear is no simple matter no matter how much you spend, but it's doubly impressive when the product is available at a bargain price. 1998 had ten solid contenders in this category, making it one of the most tightly contested—but the Creek 4330R eked out its victory on the merits of its impressive sonic and bench performance. The 40Wpc integrated proved to be a real powerhouse, putting out an impressive 320W into a brutal 1 ohm load! But its sonic performance won it its biggest accolades—the amp has resolution comparable to that of amplifiers costing far more; smooth, sweet sound; and real extension at the frequency extremes. "Sound quality so good," ST asserts, "that you may feel no need to mess around with more expensive stuff." Which is exactly why the 4330R is a winner in this or any year.
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COMMENTS
He was the audio-review pioneer of commentary via paragraph title.
Some classics....
"Wire we talking about this?"
"Beating against the bars of the cage of form"
"Mr. Polk, are you trying to seduce me?"
A killer title for a conclusion paragraph..."A panegyric untainted by poppy"
Dang, I miss Wes.
Z-System's RDP-1 is my 1998 Editor's Choice. With its transparent control of tone, it points to a future in which audiophiles can eat their cake and have it too.
I bought the review sample of the RDP-1 and subsequently had it updated to handle data sampled at 88.2kHz and 96kHz. It's still in the rack but with my playback of digital audio now happening over the network with Roon and my PS Audio DirectStream DAC, it only very occasionally sees action.
John Atkinson
Technical Editor, Stereophile
The RDP-1 is the product that convinced me of the value and efficacy of DSP.
"Designing great-sounding gear is no simple matter no matter how much you spend, but it's doubly impressive when the product is available at a bargain price."
Guess that one went out the window.
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