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Ayre Acoustics MX-R monoblock power amplifier ($16,500/pair; reviewed by Wes Phillips, Vol.30 No.4, April 2007 review)

Runners-up (in alphabetical order)
Ars-Sonum Filarmona integrated amplifier ($4000; reviewed by John Marks, Vol.30 No.10, October 2007 review)
Audio Research Reference 3 preamplifier ($9995; reviewed by Paul Bolin & Robert J. Reina, Vol.29 No.12 & Vol.30 No.6, December 2006 & June 2007 review)
Audio Research Reference 110 power amplifier ($9995; reviewed by Robert J. Reina, Vol.30 No.8, August 2007…

Audio Research MP1 multichannel preamplifier ($7495; reviewed by Kalman Rubinson, Vol.30 No.9, September 2007 review)
Cary Audio Design Cinema 11 preamplifier-processor ($3000; reviewed by Kalman Rubinson, Vol.30 No.7, July 2007 review)

Runners-up (in alphabetical order)
Bel Canto Design e.One Ref1000 and S300 power amplifiers (Ref1000, $3990/pair; S300, $1495; reviewed by Kalman Rubinson, Vol.29 No.11, November 2006 review)
Classé Audio CA-3200 3-channel power amplifier ($6000; reviewed by Kalman Rubinson, Vol.30…

RealTraps MondoTraps (MondoTrap, $300; Corner MondoTrap, $350; reviewed by Kalman Rubinson & Jim Austin, Vol.29 No.11 & Vol.30 No.8, November 2006 & August 2007 review)

Runners-up (in alphabetical order)
Audyssey Sound Equalizer ($2500; reviewed by Kalman Rubinson, Vol.30 No.3, March 2007 review)
Ayre Acoustics L-5xe Power Filter ($1500; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.30 No.7, July 2007)
Cayin Audio HA-1A headphone amplifier ($795; reviewed by Sam Tellig & Wes Phillips, Vol.29 Nos.6 & 11, June & November 2006)
Furutech…

Linn Records & Music Giants DRM-Free, High-Resolution Downloads

A very different product category for my personal award of 2007! When I want the highest sound quality, I still reach for a physical disc: LP, CD, SACD, or DVD. But these days almost all of my more casual listening—when I'm writing, for example, or working on the Stereophile website—depends on a WiFi music player accessing my iTunes library. I began with the inexpensive Squeezebox from Slim Devices (now owned by Logitech), which was my 2006 "Editor's Choice," but following Wes Phillips'…

PSB Alpha B1 loudspeaker

Runners-up (in alphabetical order)
Aperion Audio Intimus 533-T loudspeaker ($750/pair; reviewed by Robert J. Reina, Vol.30 No.4, April 2007 review)
Benz-Micro MC20E2-L phono cartridge ($199; reviewed by Art Dudley, Vol.30 No.9, September 2007 review)
Harbeth HL-P3ES2 loudspeaker
HeadRoom Desktop D/A headphone amplifier ($1895; reviewed by Wes Phillips, Vol.29 Nos.4 & 11, April & November 2006 review)
K&K Electronics MC step-up transformer ($275; reviewed by Art Dudley, Vol.30 Nos.9 & 10,…

Ayre Acoustics MX-R monoblock power amplifier

Runners-up (in alphabetical order)
Chord Choral Blu CD transport & Choral DAC64 D/A processor
Focal Electra 1037 Be loudspeaker
JL Audio Fathom f113 subwoofer
Krell Evolution 600 monoblock amplifier
Logitech Slim Devices Transporter WiFi D/A processor
Pioneer S-1EX loudspeaker
Shindo Masseto preamplifier
Simaudio Moon Evolution P-8 preamplifier
Simaudio Moon Evolution SuperNova CD player
Sonus Faber Guarneri memento loudspeaker
Wilson Audio Specialties WATT/…

Stereophile's Products of 2006
Product of the Year: Continuum Audio Labs Caliburn turntable with Cobra tonearm and Castellon stand (review)
Joint Budget Products of the Year:
Rega Apollo CD player (review)
Revel Concerta F12 loudspeaker (review)
Slim Devices Squeezebox WiFi D/A processor (review)
Joint Loudspeakers:
Quad ESL-2805
Sonus Faber Amati anniversario (review)
Vandersteen Quatro (review)
Joint Amplification Components:
Conrad-Johnson ACT2 preamplifier (review)
Halcro dm88 monoblock power amplifier (review…

Professor Wiegand was pushed over the edge by Jack English's recent article on system tweaks (May 1995, p.69). But why the anger? That tweaks in general can have an effect is a given. It also seems to be a…

With the introduction of the written word, traditional oral cultures find themselves waking from the cycling steady-state of dreamtime into history's linearity and a new myth: progress. The songs, myths, and creation tales that before literacy had been seamlessly embedded in daily life, passed down orally and by cultural osmosis, now become art, aesthetic artifacts framed by time. A spiritual…