Products of the Year

AudioQuest DragonFly Red & Black D/A headphone amplifiers ($199 & $99; reviewed by Art Dudley, September 2016, Vol.39 No.9 Review) Like our Analog Product of the Year, AudioQuest's two new DragonFly DACs are evolutionary—which is forgivable, given the originality, even audacity, of the first DragonFly, our Computer Audio Product of the Year for 2012. This year's models are no bigger but are considerably more sophisticated—both have new microcontrollers and new DAC chips, and both use less power—while the Red has higher output voltage and the additional distinction of being shinier. In my review, I found both to offer sound superior to their pioneering predecessor—greater musical nuance and openness, in particular. Both also offered very good value, the Black more than the Red, especially in settings where loudspeakers are favored over headphones. And I haven't even mentioned their upgradable firmware!

Notes on the vote: Second place was earned by the Chord Hugo TT D/A processor—and here's where the details of voting are especially telling: Although the AudioQuests received a considerably higher number of points, the Chord received a greater number of first-place votes. One could conclude that the Chord succeeded by generating, among its supporters, a greater measure of passion, while the DragonFlys triumphed on the basis of greater familiarity. The third-place product, which also received more first-place votes than the DragonFlys—and which, by the time you read this, I will have heard for myself at Michael Lavorgna's house—was the handmade TotalDAC d1-tube-mk2 D/A processor.

Finalists (in alphabetical order)

Ayre Acoustics Codex D/A headphone amplifier ($1795; reviewed by Jon Iverson & John Atkinson, June, July, September & October 2016, Vol.39 Nos. 6, 7, 9 & 10 Review)
Chord Hugo TT D/A processor ($4795; reviewed by Jon Iverson, November 2015, Vol.38 No.11 Review)
Chord Mojo D/A headphone amplifier ($599; reviewed by John Atkinson, February 2016, Vol.39 No.2 Review)
Luxman DA-06 D/A processor ($4990; reviewed by Jon Iverson, November 2015, Vol.38 No.11 Review)
Meridian Explorer² USB D/A headphone amplifier ($299; reviewed by Jim Austin, June 2016, Vol.39 No.6 Review)
PS Audio NuWave DSD D/A processor ($1299; reviewed by Jim Austin, May 2016, Vol.39 No.5 Review)
Simaudio Moon Evolution 780D DSD D/A processor ($15,000; reviewed by Michael Fremer, August 2016, Vol.39 No.8 Review)
TotalDAC d1-tube-mk2 D/A processor (€9100; reviewed by Michael Lavorgna, January 2016, Vol.39 No.1 Review)