Products of the Year

Isoacoustics Gaia and Orea Isolation Feet ($59 and up); reviewed by Robert Deutsch & Art Dudley, October 2017, February 2018, & June 2019, Vol.40 No.10, Vol.41 No.2. & Vol.42 No.6 Review and Review)

IsoAcoustics' Orea isolation feet combine rigid metal elements with pliable internal couplers and can be placed in sets of three or four, under a variety of products. Their Gaia footers work the same way, yet, instead of being designed to simply slide into place beneath the product to be isolated from vibrations, they're built to accept threaded rods (included, along with adaptors for threaded openings of various size), making them ideal for use in place of the spikes normally fitted to floorstanding loudspeakers. (Indeed, the Gaias are the first product in recent memory that dares suggest that, in some installations, loudspeakers need to be isolated from rather than coupled to the floor on which they stand.) The Gaias and Oreas have already enhanced the systems of more than one Stereophile writer and have reminded us of the pleasures of recommending well-designed, well-made, fairly priced products.

Notes on the Vote
A mere two points distinguished our first-place winner from the second-place Acoustical Systems SmarTractor—a remarkably comprehensive phono alignment tool for the ultraperfectionist. A somewhat more distant third was the PS Audio DirectStream P20 Power Plant—and from there the votes were scattered and diffuse, like midges on a fast-moving stream in the fall.

Finalists (in alphabetical order)
Acoustical Systems Smartractor phono-alignment protractor ($599; reviewed by Art Dudley, November 2018, Vol.41 No.11 Review)
Kirmuss Audio KA-RC-1 record cleaning machine ($849; reviewed by Michael Fremer, July 2019, Vol.42 No.7)
Nordost Super Flatline loudspeaker cable ($849; reviewed by Michael Fremer, July 2019, Vol.42 No.7)
PS Audio DirectStream P20 Power Plant AC conditioner ($9999; reviewed by Jim Austin & Jason Victor Serinus, November 2018 & May 2019, Vol.41 No.11, Vol.42 No.5 Review)
Stillpoints Aperture II room-treatment panel ($800; reviewed by Michael Fremer, June 2019, Vol.42 No.6)