Products of the Year

Parasound JCA100 Tribute monoblock power amplifier
I reviewed some impressive-sounding products in this year's qualifying issues—the Weiss Helios D/A processor, the Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4 Signature, and GoldenEar T66 loudspeakers come to mind—but when it came down to the deadline, I had no hesitation in naming Parasound's JCA100 Tribute monoblock amplifier as my Editor's Choice. Intended to honor legendary engineer John Curl, who has been Parasound's amplifier designer for decades, each JCA100 starts life as a Parasound Halo JC 1+, which is then heavily modified so that it runs in class-A up to its maximum power of 100Wpc into 8 ohms. As I wrote in my review, while the JCA100 offered smooth, clean highs, superb retrieval of recorded detail, and low-frequency authority, more importantly, this amplifier consistently allowed me to forget the system and focus on the music I was playing.—John Atkinson

Audiovector R3 Arreté loudspeaker
Of everything reviewed between November 2023 and October 2024—the official year for Stereophile Product of the Year purposes—I spent more time with the Audiovector R3 Arret&233; than any other product. Most of that time was spent in the living room system in our home in Maine. Over several months of listening, I found the R3 to be one of the most accomplished small speakers I've listened to for an extended period of time. Its most notable features are highs that are fully present but never intrusive and the way it seems to fill the whole room with music, as few other speakers (small speakers especially) can. What's more, they deliver a convincing stereo/3D image just about anywhere in the room.—Jim Austin

Naim Classic 200 Series NAP 250 power amplifier
Naim designs employ a systematic approach to their ground hierarchy, which has demonstrable performance and sound-quality benefits. The NAP 250 stereo power amplifier has been the bedrock of their range for more than 30 years and now comes with universal signal inputs via XLR sockets for balanced and single-ended connection. And this latest version can trade punches with some of the finest big-brand power amps with a singular finesse. Stereo imaging is satisfying, with excellent depth, crisp focus, and convincing perspectives, while that vital Naim boogie factor remains well ahead of the competition. A solid 100Wpc into 8 ohms and almost 200Wpc into 4 ohms will be enough for many systems, while the high-tech, regulated power supplies ensure that it will play louder than might be expected by avoiding contamination from the wall socket supply frequency. The current NAP 250 is one hell of a bang for the buck.—Martin Colloms

T+A Solitaire S530 loudspeaker
It was easy to pick the T+A Solitaire S530 as my Editor's Choice for 2024. For starters, they were superb (and I got to use them for quite a while). Next, they're a line-source design, so when I wasn't listening, I was engrossed in relearning about speakers' radiation patterns, which I loved. The biggie, though, is that they reset the trajectory of my system's evolution. The stunning, 3D way they represented space hit me like a ton of bricks and made me realize why I'd used line-source and planar speakers for so long. As of a few months ago, I am doing so again.—Brian Damkroger

Cambridge Audio MXN10 streaming D/A processor
The music world of 2024 is streaming-centric, yet many audiophiles live in the world of analog media. The Cambridge MXN10 streamer/DAC is an inexpensive bridge between the two worlds. Using either hard-wired Ethernet or Wi-Fi, it connects to all the streaming services, and/or networked music file servers, plus, it's Roon Ready. A hard drive full of files can be plugged into the USB socket on the back. Outputs are digital (optical or coaxial) or analog. As much as I enjoyed my time with the B&W 801 D4 Signature loudspeakers and T+A R 2500 R integrated amplifier, the Cambridge represents great value and a flexible way for a wide range of audiophile systems to get streaming. It's a high-value, superbly designed, great-sounding piece of kit.—Tom Fine

Well Tempered Amadeus 254GT record player
I really didn't know what to expect from the Well Tempered Amadeus 254GT record player, having never heard one of Bill Firebaugh's designs, but it turned out to be one of those components that made me reevaluate what's possible. Thanks to some wildly unconventional ideas, the Amadeus heightens the experience of musical appreciation in a way few components at any price manage to. It sounds superb and costs considerably less than it could. But the Amadeus's superpower is focusing the attention on music rather than sound, like a friend with a good record collection and a couple of tightly wrapped joints.—Alex Halberstadt

SVS Ultra Evolution Pinnacle loudspeaker
The SVS Ultra Evolution Pinnacle floorstanding loudspeaker has one of the most outstanding quality-to-price ratios I have encountered in high-end audio. This front- and rear-firing, seven-driver-per-cabinet, symmetrical array combines full-range power with detailed and sophisticated soundstaging. Yes, it is a demanding load for amplifiers, but so are a lot of the best speakers. A steal.—Sasha Matson

Voxativ Ampeggio 2024 loudspeaker
I've reviewed and loved various horn-loaded speakers with compression drivers, speakers with dome tweeters and paper-coned woofers, and ribbon tweeter–endowed transducers, but nothing has made more musical sounds in my bachelor pad crib than the German-made Voxativ Ampeggio 2024. Featuring an evolutionary full-range driver coupled to a back-loaded horn designed cabinet, the Ampeggio imaged beautifully and disappeared, played fast with liquid engagement, and was perhaps more linear and resolving than anything I've heard. While its bass couldn't match the tightness of an acoustic suspension design, overall it sounded bass-natural and comely, making me feel relaxed and rejuvenated all at once.—Ken Micallef

Linear Tube Audio Z10e integrated amplifier
Beyond Herb Reichert's positive considerations of Linear Tube Audio's Z10e integrated amplifier in his Gramophone Dreams #36 column back in 2020, I became curious about this LTA—primarily to serve as a high-end headphone amplifier. The Z10e essentially combines LTA's ZOTL10 power amp with a David Berning–designed preamp stage and an electrostatic headphone circuit. Its high and low output settings elevated the sound of even basic headphones. I marveled at the ways it made everything sing with precision, control, clarity, and musicality. Then I paired it with speakers (fairly sensitive ones). That sealed the deal. I tend to prefer components that bring style while delivering great sound. There's an understated—even stately—elegance to the two black chassis machined by Fern & Roby. Stay tuned for my Follow-Up review.—Julie Mullins

TEAC VRDS 701T CD transport
With my $100 Oppo and $249 Amazon Onkyo C-7030 players, CDs sound dull and data-challenged, as if boatloads of recorded information had fallen overboard during digital processing. Curiously, no new information was recovered when I used these cheap CD players as transports feeding very expensive DACs. Which means either the data didn't make it to the CD, or the transport was losing it. Playing those same CDs through those same pricey DACs, TEAC's VRDS 701T transport proved there was massive amounts of information buried in those pits and lands that was somehow unrecovered. And that the 701T possessed the means to pull and sort it out. With TEAC's $2699.99 VRDS 701T transport, CDs sound newly bright, clear, precisely focused, hyperdynamic, and spatially expansive—like a worthy alternative to pricey analog. A milestone product.—Herb Reichert

Merging+Hapi MkII multichannel D/A processor
Compared to home audio DACs, this pro studio DAC has unique features, such as 16 D/A channels capable of 6.5V (low gain) or 13V (high gain) output and 8 channels digital (AES3) input and output. Performance is outstanding according both to my ears and to JA's measurements. However, it's my Editor's Choice because of its ability to work with multiple sources and multiple outputs using LAN-based protocols. It allows me to connect to analog power amps, digital-input speakers, and a growing number of sources via in-wall CAT6 cables. Fewer wires, great sound, and a sophisticated graphic interface. It's the future!—Kalman Rubinson

Focal Maestro Utopia EVO loudspeaker
I love my Focal Aria 936 K2 speakers, which is why I bought my review pair and still have them. However, my Editor's Choice for 2024, the three-way Maestro Utopia EVO reviewed by Rogier van Bakel, is to my beloved 936 what Shazam is to teenage alter-ego Billy Batson. The Maestros make sound the Greek gods might fight each other over—richly colorful, refined, copious, transparent, multistranded, and effortlessly extended. I've never heard a system with the Maestros in it that sounded anything less than beguilingly musical. I know, musicality is hard to define, but listen to the Maestros, and you'll hear it, a musical rightness. If ever I own a pair, I'm sure they'll be the centerpiece of my system around which everything else will be upgraded many times over before I'll ever let go of my EVOs.—Rob Schryer

Dan D'Agostino Master Audio Systems Relentless preamplifier
Every year, I ask myself, what product I reviewed in the last 12 months has made the most significant difference in my sound system? Hands down, it's the D'Agostino Relentless preamplifier. Afforded the opportunity to hang with it for several months, I am continually amazed at how it has refreshed the sound of long-treasured recordings. The soundstage is space-defyingly huge, extending well beyond, above, and behind my speakers. Thanks to its state-of-the-art transparency, fidelity to the source, dynamics, and timbral accuracy, instruments and voices seem less like disembodied sounds suspended in space than realistic reconstructions of actual musical events. The system sounds even more effortless and unrestricted than before. To quote a friend after his most recent visit, "Your system has never sounded so liquid."—Jason Victor Serinus

Korf TA-SF9R tonearm
Most tonearms follow well-established design principles set out decades ago, but Alex Korf's design goes back to basics, with fresh thinking on bearing design, rigidity, and effective mass. Most importantly, it sounds great and is surprisingly affordable for a high-precision product made in Austria. It helps fill the gap left by the closing of ubiquitous Japanese tonearm maker Jelco.—Michael Trei

Focal Maestro Utopia EVO loudspeaker
I confess I have a thing for Focal's high-end speakers; the Scala Utopia EVOs have been my references for two years now. The Maestro EVOs, one step up in the Utopia line, perform at an elevated level provided that you give them a good bit of space. (I'd recommend 4000 cubic feet and up.) Depending on the source material, one moment, these cleverly engineered French beauties take on the character of a 200lb street brawler; the next, that of a ballerina. I connected with these speakers because they did the only thing that matters: In their brawny but subtle way, they connected me to the music.—Rogier van Bakel