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Audio Research Reference 150 power amplifier ($12,995; reviewed by Erick Lichte, Vol.35 No.7 Review)

Demonstrating the depth and variety of our "Amplification" category, eight different contenders received first-place votes, and four of those received at least two first-place votes. The winner, however, was clear: With three first-place votes and 16 total votes, Audio Research's Reference 150 power amplifier received a total of twice as many votes as our closest runners-up, the versatile Classé CP-800 D/A preamplifier and the drop-dead-…

Grace Design m903 D/A headphone amplifier ($1995; reviewed by John Marks, Vol.34 No.12 Review)

The American-made Grace Design m903 D/A headphone amplifier received nothing but first-place votes (7), thus collecting the third highest total number of votes (19) of any of our winners. Our writers absolutely hate agreeing with one another, so what makes Grace's latest headphone amp such an uncommonly common choice among our contentious crew?

The m903 is an almost total revision of its predecessor, the already excellent m902. Its DAC,…

AudioQuest DragonFly USB D/A processor ($249; reviewed by Art Dudley, Vol.35 No.10 Review)

Incredibly cute and undeniably cool, the AudioQuest DragonFly received votes from more writers (10) than any other component in our entire competition: six first-place votes, two second-place votes, and two third-place votes, for a whopping total of 24—the highest total in our entire competition, and nearly twice as many as our two "Computer Audio" runners-up, the superperforming Halide DAC HD and Weiss DAC202 D/A processors. In most any other year, the…

Audio Desk Systeme record-cleaning machine ($3895; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.35 No.6)

Like the Grace m903 in our "Headphone Components" category, the Audio Desk Systeme record-cleaning machine mopped up the competition, receiving nothing but first-place votes (6) to secure a decisive victory.

Though I first saw the Audio Desk Systeme at the 2011 Munich High End Show, it was shortly after the 2012 New York Audio & AV Show that this clever accessory really gained popularity in the US. Ultra Systems, Audio Desk's US importer, had a…

AudioQuest DragonFly

Last night at Other Music, Daniel asked me about the AudioQuest DragonFly. He explained that he and the other record-store clerks had noticed it on the cover of Stereophile, and though they weren't quite sure what it did, they were all intrigued by its looks. This was interesting: It's not every day that a product on the cover of Stereophile captures the imaginations of a bunch of young musicians and DJs.

"Basically," I told him, "the DragonFly is a digital-to-analog converter. You plug it into your PC and it delivers…

Audio Research Reference 150 power amplifier
"Product of the Year" had more contenders (15) than any other category, appropriately reflecting the wide-ranging tastes of our reviewers. The voting was scattered and peculiar: Of those 15 contenders, nine, from the revolutionary Kuzma 4Point tonearm to the versatile Bryston SP3 preamplifier-processor, were awarded first-place votes. Though four of our writers voted for the Vivid Oval K1, our Loudspeaker of the Year failed to place among the top three Product of the Year finalists. Both the AudioQuest DragonFly (…

At least 2,500 audiophiles attended the November HiFi Show at the luxurious Dusit Thani hotel in Manila, Philippines on November 10 and 11, 2012. The show featured thirty-nine exhibition rooms with a total of thirty plus dealers exhibiting products from across the globe.

The November HiFi Show began in 2003 as an informal vinyl swap between members of the Philippino web community Wired State, a website dedicated to friends in audio. Six months of preparation took…

We received the following press release last night. No more information was available and there was no word when this story was first posted on whether or not Thiel cofounder Kathy Gornik will remain with the company. Since then, however, CEPro.com has reported that Kathy and her daughter Dawn Cloyd, who was director of international sales, will both leave Thiel. Why the sale? Our suspicion is that while Thiel remains a great brand, it is too small a company, with no access to a significant source of…

It all began with operatic tenor Enrico Caruso (1873–1921). When I was 11, my father brought home a fancy three-LP set of Caruso reissues on RCA, complete with lavishly printed liner notes adorned with sepia-tone illustrations. When he put…