Products of the Year

PSB Alpha P5 loudspeaker
I have reviewed many cost-no-object loudspeakers over the years. But as I wrote in my review of this little gem: "While any competent engineer can design a superb loudspeaker if allowed an unlimited bill of materials, the true test is being able to produce a great- sounding, budget-priced speaker out of parts that cost a mere handful of dollars." Yes, there are many speakers that offer greater bass extension, dynamic range, and imaging precision, but at prices that range from five to 500 times as expensive as the Alpha P5. PSB's Paul Barton shows that you can get enough in these performance areas to satisfy at a real-world price.—John Atkinson

Pass Laboratories XP-22 preamplifier
This two-box preamplifier may have just four tiny buttons on its front panel—and one large, smooth volume knob—but it pushes all of mine. (All of my buttons, that is, in case that wasn't clear.) Its rugged, no-nonsense look appeals to me, and it does that uncanny thing that good preamplifiers do: It somehow makes the music sound better, even if it doesn't make sense that an extra active stage in the signal chain makes the music sound better. Finally, it is—at least by hi-fi standards—sanely priced. And I do love that big, ultra-smooth volume knob.—Jim Austin

Ortofon SPU Century pickup head
The limited-edition SPU Century pickup head departs from tradition in a number of ways, most notably its use of a Shibata (rather than spherical) stylus tip—a distinction that, if truth be told, led hidebound me to prejudge the Century as something I might wind up liking but would surely never love.

I was wrong. In my review, I described the Century as "the most vintage-sounding—the most SPU-sounding—of the modern SPUs that I've heard." Today, after living with the review sample for a few more months, I would call it, simply, the best of the modern SPUs.—Art Dudley

Swedish Analog Technologies CFL-09 tonearm
I realize the SAT CF1-09 is hideously expensive at $53,000, but as good as was the original I reviewed a few years ago, the CF1-09 is simply that much better, and that is mighty, impossibly good. Playing hi-rez files recorded using the CF1-09 at shows or stores is too much fun. People familiar with whatever track is playing can hear it pretty quickly. The cost probably hindered its getting votes, but the SAT is easily my product of the year.—Michael Fremer

Sutherland Little Loco phono preamplifier
History will look back on the Sutherland Little Loco as having defined an inflection point in the evolution of high- end audio. Just as the iPhone wasn't the first smartphone but the first one that mattered, the Little Loco isn't the first current-mode phono preamp, but it is the first one that matters.—Brian Damkroger

SVS SB-3000 powered subwoofer
The sub-$1000 SB-3000 wins because it incorporates the technology of SVS's flagship SB16-Ultra, is user-friendly, produces highly musical, pitch-perfect, floor-shaking bass, and offers wireless connectivity and total smartphone control from my listening room seat.—Larry Greenhill

MartinLogan Dynamo 800X powered subwoofer
When you're a fan of a prodigious, but clean and accurate, bottom end, choosing a value-packed powered sub with built-in room correction is a no-brainer. At $800 each, you can start with one, and when your budget allows, add another. Your music will thank you!—Jon Iverson

McIntosh MC462 power amplifier
McIntosh Laboratories is on a roll. Building on their lengthy experience, and incorporating recent technical improvements, the mighty MC462 puts out 450Wpc into 2, 4, or 8 ohm speaker loads with authority—and stellar technical measurements. The list price is fair for the outstanding quality involved. A great music-maker.—Sasha Matson

Kuzma Stabi R turntable
The R transformed the vinyl ritual in my system. Images became larger than life. The soundstage widened, deepened, and grew more spacious. Backgrounds became blacker. Dynamics increased as well. Every record, even ones I don't like all that much, became events. Older records have become dearer to me as new ones take over my apartment.—Ken Micallef

SVS SB-3000 powered subwoofer
Subwoofers get a bum rap from audiophiles. Yes, they're tricky to set up, though audiophiles suffer gladly for their passion. But a good subwoofer that's small, relatively inconspicuous, and punches well above its weight, like the SVS SB-3000, can turn a modest bookshelf or small tower speaker into something special.—Thomas J. Norton

Magnepan LRS loudspeaker
Magnepan's new LRS quasi-ribbon panel speaker is a bushel short on deep bass and peck short on dynamic power—but it is absolutely the clearest, lowest-distortion window into a recording I have encountered . . . maybe ever. Before I finished my review, I knew I'd be nominating it as Product of the Year.—Herb Reichert

Dutch & Dutch 8C active loudspeaker system
With their controlled cardioid dispersion, they are relatively uninfluenced by room acoustics, and their built-in DSP provides for any tweaking desired. I just hooked them up to my network and enjoyed a sense of unlimited freedom playing 24/96 from Qobuz via Roon. These remarkable self-powered speakers don't just sound spectacular; due to some very smart acoustical and electronic engineering, they also usher in an era when one can have the convenience of "lifestyle" smart speakers with true audiophile performance.—Kal Rubinson

dCS Rossini Transport & Dragonfire Acoustics Mini Dragon DFA 2.1 desktop playback system
Two products I've reviewed this year have become indispensable references. Just last night, I was comparing the sound of "Red Book" FLAC files of Patricia Barber's Higher to her CD played on the Rossini upsampling transport and marveling at how great the Rossini sounds. With the Mini Dragon system, I finally have a highly resolving and involving full-range desktop system that I can trust when I review recordings. Both products set a new benchmark in their price range and class.—Jason Victor Serinus