Budget Component of the Year
Genelec G Three loudspeaker ($1590/pair; reviewed by Herb Reichert in August 2022, Vol.45 No.8 review)
Finalists (in alphabetical order)
Bluesound PowerNode integrated amplifier ($899; reviewed by Ken Micallef in August 2022, Vol.45 No.8 review)
LSA VT-70 integrated amplifier ($1399; reviewed by Rogier van Bakel in October 2022, Vol.45 No.10 review)
Music Hall Stealth turntable ($1649; reviewed by Herb Reichert in October 2022, Vol.45 No.10 review)
Pro-Ject Debut Pro turntable ($999 w/tonearm & cartridge; reviewed by Ken Micallef in January 2022, Vol.45 No.1 review)
Topping PRE90 preamplifier ($599 including EXT90 extension module; reviewed by Kal Rubinson in February 2022, Vol.45 No.2 review) "Budget" at Stereophile doesn't mean box-store or bubble-gum–dispenser prices—although at $599 (footnote 1) the Topping Pre90 preamp, a Budget-category finalist, comes close. In Stereophile, "Budget" means approachable in price and good enough to facilitate serious listening. I can't think of a better recent example than this year's Budget-category winner, the Genelec G Three loudspeaker. "My first impressions of Genelec's G Three remained true throughout my audition: pure and precise with a surprising amount of well-articulated bass for such a small speaker," Herb Reichert wrote in his review. Herb proceeded to compare aspects of the G Three's performance to those of several affordable reference loudspeakers, finding at least one way the G Three was superior to each of them. "I needed only a few tracks to realize that the G Threes play more clearly and more open than any speaker I had on hand to compare them to," he concluded.
"Genelec's G Three transduces more unpolluted truth than any other small speaker I've auditioned. Its unique purity is mesmerizing, a pleasure to hear. In my room, with my sources and preamp and wires, the G Three performs like an authentic studio monitor, providing copious detail without losing any of music's beauty or poetic content. My highest recommendation."
About the Vote
The Budget category is always fun and often competitive. This year, though, a product ran away with the prize. The $1590/pair Genelec G Three earned almost twice as many votes as its nearest rival, the similarly priced ($1649) Music Hall Stealth record player. The Music Hall was followed two votes back by another record player, the $999 Pro-Ject Debut PRO, and the $599 Topping Pre90 preamplifier—a tie for third place.
Footnote 1: After Kal's review was published, amazon.com started selling a bundle including the Pre90 and the Ext90 for the same $599 that the Pre90 alone originally sold for.
Genelec G Three loudspeaker ($1590/pair; reviewed by Herb Reichert in August 2022, Vol.45 No.8 review)Finalists (in alphabetical order)
Bluesound PowerNode integrated amplifier ($899; reviewed by Ken Micallef in August 2022, Vol.45 No.8 review)
LSA VT-70 integrated amplifier ($1399; reviewed by Rogier van Bakel in October 2022, Vol.45 No.10 review)
Music Hall Stealth turntable ($1649; reviewed by Herb Reichert in October 2022, Vol.45 No.10 review)
Pro-Ject Debut Pro turntable ($999 w/tonearm & cartridge; reviewed by Ken Micallef in January 2022, Vol.45 No.1 review)
Topping PRE90 preamplifier ($599 including EXT90 extension module; reviewed by Kal Rubinson in February 2022, Vol.45 No.2 review) "Budget" at Stereophile doesn't mean box-store or bubble-gum–dispenser prices—although at $599 (footnote 1) the Topping Pre90 preamp, a Budget-category finalist, comes close. In Stereophile, "Budget" means approachable in price and good enough to facilitate serious listening. I can't think of a better recent example than this year's Budget-category winner, the Genelec G Three loudspeaker. "My first impressions of Genelec's G Three remained true throughout my audition: pure and precise with a surprising amount of well-articulated bass for such a small speaker," Herb Reichert wrote in his review. Herb proceeded to compare aspects of the G Three's performance to those of several affordable reference loudspeakers, finding at least one way the G Three was superior to each of them. "I needed only a few tracks to realize that the G Threes play more clearly and more open than any speaker I had on hand to compare them to," he concluded.
The Budget category is always fun and often competitive. This year, though, a product ran away with the prize. The $1590/pair Genelec G Three earned almost twice as many votes as its nearest rival, the similarly priced ($1649) Music Hall Stealth record player. The Music Hall was followed two votes back by another record player, the $999 Pro-Ject Debut PRO, and the $599 Topping Pre90 preamplifier—a tie for third place.
Footnote 1: After Kal's review was published, amazon.com started selling a bundle including the Pre90 and the Ext90 for the same $599 that the Pre90 alone originally sold for.
