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On November 23, 6–9pm: Excel Audio in Newport Beach, California, invites everyone to join us to experience Wilson Audio’s latest, the Chronosonic XVX, driven by D’Agostino electronics with digital by dCS and vinyl played on the Clearaudio Statement turntable. In attendance will be Bill Peugh from Wilson Audio, Dan D’Agostino from D’Agostino Master Audio Systems, Garth Leerer from Musical Surroundings, and Jesse Luna from dCS. Everyone is welcome and food will be served.
The first vote I ever cast was in 1964, when I was 10 years old. Our fifth-grade teacher, a psychotic harpy who fined students 25 cents if they dropped a pencil, directed us to elect a Class President and a Class Treasurer: positions of indeterminate powers, although it was generally understood that they did not include the ability to wage war or annex adjoining classrooms. In retrospect—I didn't realize it at the time—the very loud nominating process was straight out of Lord of the Flies, and even before the day's final votes were cast, it was clear that the winners would not be chosen on…
Loudspeaker of 2019
Revel Performa F228Be ($10,000/pair; reviewed by Kal Rubinson, February 2019, Vol.42 No.2 Review)
There's nothing strange about a Loudspeaker of the Year win by a three-way reflex-loaded floorstander. What distinguishes the Indonesian-made Revel are both the degree of refinement apparent in its design and a level of value that led Kal Rubinson to declare that this speaker exists as a challenge "to justify charging any significantly higher price for a domestic loudspeaker." KR found the F228Be to be "very transparent" to whatever he fed it and praised…
Amplification Component of 2019
Pass Laboratories XP-22 preamplifier ($9500; reviewed by Jim Austin, June 2019, Vol.42 No.6 Review)
Things have changed since the era when audio perfectionists regarded the preamplifier as the true heart of their system: a time when the Audio Research SP-10, Conrad-Johnson Premier Three, Spectral DMC-10, and Klyne SK-5 ruled the Earth. These days, we tend to publish more reviews of power amps than preamps, and our POTY lists have reflected that (im)balance. So some of us were especially pleased to see 2019's top amplification honors go to…
Analog Source of 2019
Sutherland Engineering Little Loco phono preamplifier ($3800; reviewed by Brian Damkroger, October 2019, Vol.42 No.10 Review)
Although phono preamps that work on the current-amplification (as opposed to voltage-amplification) principle still account for a small minority of the market, that technology took a big step forward in 2019 with the Sutherland Engineering Little Loco, itself a less expensive version of the company's recent Phono Loco. The Little Loco is designed for moving-coil cartridges only, and even then not every make or model of…
Digital Source of 2019
Mytek Brooklyn Bridge streaming D/A processor ($2995; reviewed by Jim Austin, September 2019, Vol.42 No.9 Review)
Brooklyn-based Mytek is no stranger to the POTY winner's circle. Indeed, this year's Digital Component of the Year, the Brooklyn Bridge streaming D/A processor, is based upon Mytek's Brooklyn DAC, which was our Joint Digital Component of the Year for 2017. As JCA pointed out, "The Brooklyn Bridge retains all the main features" of the Mytek Brooklyn, from full MQA decoding to analog line-level and phono inputs, and adds streaming and…
Headphone Product of 2019
HiFiMan Shangri-La Jr electrostatic headphones ($8000 With Amplifier/Energizer; reviewed by Herb Reichert, June 2019, Vol.42 No.6 Review)
"Call me when you make a cheaper, trickled-down [version]."
That's what Herb Reichert said to Dr. Fang Bian, HiFiMan's CEO and super- brain, upon being offered the chance to review the company's Shangri-La electrostatic headphones and 300B-powered amplifier/energizer, a combination that marked the first time Herb heard electrostats that were completely free of the breed's characteristic colorations—…
Accessory of 2019
Isoacoustics Gaia and Orea Isolation Feet ($59 and up); reviewed by Robert Deutsch & Art Dudley, October 2017, February 2018, & June 2019, Vol.40 No.10, Vol.41 No.2. & Vol.42 No.6 Review and Review)
IsoAcoustics' Orea isolation feet combine rigid metal elements with pliable internal couplers and can be placed in sets of three or four, under a variety of products. Their Gaia footers work the same way, yet, instead of being designed to simply slide into place beneath the product to be isolated from vibrations, they're built to accept…
Joint Budget Components of 2019
Magnepan LRS loudspeaker ($650/pair; reviewed by Herb Reichert, August 2019, Vol.42 No.8 Review)
PSB Alpha P5 loudspeaker ($349/pair; reviewed by John Atkinson, October 2019, Vol.42 No.10 Review)
When it comes to Budget Component of the Year, 2019 appears to have been a very good year for loudspeakers. It also appears to have been a very good year for following the advice of Herb Reichert, who reviewed five of the six products mentioned here, and whose judgment was endorsed by so many of his colleagues.
Topping the list this…
Joint 2019 Components of the Year
Mytek Brooklyn Bridge streaming D/A processor ($2995; reviewed by Jim Austin, September 2019, Vol.42 No.9 Review)
Revel Performa F228Be loudspeaker ($10,000/pair; reviewed by Kal Rubinson, February 2019, Vol.42 No.2 Review)
Let's take a moment to savor something nice: One of our two Components of the Year, the Mytek Brooklyn Bridge streaming DAC, costs under $3000—less than the price of a bespoke suit from a Savile Row tailor. And while our other Component of the Year, the Revel Performa F228Be, has a five-figure price, it is so by…