Products of the Year

Audio Artistry Beethoven ($28,000/system; reviewed by Shannon Dickson, Vol.20 No.11, November 1997 Review)
Revel Ultima Gem ($7500–$9500/pair with stands but without subwoofer, depending on finish; reviewed by John Atkinson, Vol.21 No.10, October 1998 Review)

Finalists (in alphabetical order):
Aerial Acoustics 8 ($5000–$6000/pair, depending on finish; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.21 No.1, January 1998; Thomas J. Norton, Vol.21 Nos.4 & 11, April & November 1998 Review)
Avantgarde Acoustic Duo ($13,900/pair; reviewed by Martin Colloms, Vol.21 No.6, June 1998 Review)
Hales Design Group Revelation 3 ($2195/pair; reviewed by Robert Deutsch, Vol.21 No.2, February 1998 Review)
JMlab Utopia ($30,000/pair; reviewed by Jonathan Scull, Vol.21 No.4, April 1998 Review)
Paradigm Reference Active/20 ($1600/pair; reviewed by John Atkinson, Vol.20 No.11, November 1997 Review)
Sonus Faber Concerto Grand Piano ($3500/pair; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.21 No.5, May 1998 Review)
Thiel CS6 ($7900/pair; reviewed by John Atkinson, Vol.21 No.3, March 1998 Review)
Wilson Audio Specialties WITT Series II ($11,890/pair; reviewed by Martin Colloms, Vol.21 No.1, January 1998 Review)

1998 offered a broad field of superb loudspeakers with an equally wide range of prices, but the Audio Artistry Beethoven and Revel Ultima Gem dominated the voting.

Designed by Siegfried Linkwitz, the Beethoven is a four-way biamplified dipole system that consists of two dynamic main panels, two subwoofers, a pair of passive crossovers, and a unity-gain, noninverting, balanced, active (line-level) crossover. This means that its potential user must have, at least, a balanced-output preamplifier, as well as a pair of balanced-capable stereo amplifiers, in order to drive the speaker system. In return, the Beethoven owner gets a speaker capable of effortless portrayal of the subtlest nuances, no matter how dynamic or complex the musical signal. Several voters echoed Shannon Dickson's assertion that the Audio Artistry Beethoven is "the single most impressive audio component I've yet encountered."

Newcomer Revel's Ultima Gem, designed by Kevin Voecks, impressed our voters just as highly, however. This hi-tech system, while not as complex as the Beethoven, is a stand-mounted two-way loudspeaker that can also be mated to a passive subwoofer and dedicated monophonic subwoofer amplifier. Transparency and dynamic ease characterize the sound of the Ultima Gem—when integrated in a first-class system, the speaker produces a sound that John Atkinson described as "nothing short of magic."