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Stereophile's Products of 2022 Accessory of the Year

Accessory of the Year

Fozgometer V2 ($400; reviewed by Michael Fremer in May 2022, Vol.45 No.5 review)

Finalists (in alphabetical order)
AudioPraise VanityPro HDMI audio extractor ($1595; reviewed by Kal Rubinson in May 2022, Vol.45 No.5 review)
AudioQuest Dragon interconnect (XLR $11,900/1m pair, RCA $9500/1m pair; reviewed by Michael Fremer in September 2022, Vol.45 No.9 review)
AudioQuest Dragon Zero speaker cable ($27,500/8' pair; reviewed by Michael Fremer in September 2022, Vol.45 No.9 review)
Nordost QNet network switch ($3199.99; reviewed by…

Stereophile's Products of 2022 Loudspeaker of the Year

Loudspeaker of the Year

KEF Blade Two Meta ($28,000/pair; reviewed by Kal Rubinson in Vol.45 No.9 review)

Finalists (in alphabetical order)
Estelon Forza ($149,000–$163,000/pair depending upon finish; reviewed by Michael Fremer in November 2021, Vol.44 No.11 review)
Genelec G Three ($1590/pair; reviewed by Herb Reichert in August 2022, Vol.45 No.8 review)
MBL Radialstrahler 120 ($24,900/pair; reviewed by Julie Mullins in November 2021, Vol.44 No.11 review)
Perlisten S7t ($17,990/pair; reviewed by Kal Rubinson in December 2021, Vol.44 No.12 review)
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Stereophile's Products of 2022 Budget Component of the Year

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…

Stereophile's Products of 2022 Component of the Year

Component of the Year

Wilson Audio Specialties Alexx V loudspeaker ($135,000–$151,000/pair depending on finish; reviewed by Jim Austin in December 2021, Vol.44 No.12 review)

Finalists (in alphabetical order)
dCS Rossini Apex D/A processor ($32,800; reviewed by Jason Victor Serinus in October 2022, Vol.45 No.10 review)
Genelec G Three loudspeaker ($1590/pair; reviewed by Herb Reichert in August 2022, Vol.45 No.8 review)
KEF Blade Two Meta loudspeaker ($28,000/pair; reviewed by Kal Rubinson in September 2022, Vol.45 No.9 review)
Mola Mola Tambaqui D/A…

Stereophile's Products of 2022 Editors' Choice

Editors' Choice

dCS Rossini Apex
With so many great products passing through my test lab and listening room this year, it was difficult to choose just one. I must give shoutouts to the KEF Blade Two Meta loudspeaker and the Channel D Lino C3.3 phono preamplifier for their audio engineering excellence. But in the end, the honors go to the dCS Rossini Apex. Yes, it also features superb engineering, but the two weeks it spent in my system after the test bench work was done were the most musically involving I have experienced from digital audio.—John Atkinson

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Gramophone Dreams #67: Grado Platinum3 and Goldring Eroica H phono cartridges; Herbie's Way Excellent II turntable mat

In last month's Gramophone Dreams, I explained why doing any sort of empirical study of high-quality digital sources was extremely difficult. That any success I might achieve as a reporter would boil down to my ability to employ metaphors to describe a DAC's clarity and dynamic personality. Concocting metaphors for DAC reviews is risky because it assumes readers will be familiar with the sound of my amplifier and speakers and, ideally, with one of the DACs I'm using in the comparison. That's a lot to assume.

When a reader is unfamiliar with the other components I mention, my exposition…

Gramophone Dreams #67: Grado Platinum3 and Goldring Eroica H phono cartridges; Herbie's Way Excellent II turntable mat Page 2

What the Platinum3 does best is rich and articulate. It played Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ) & Guests' Third Stream Music (LP, Atlantic SD 1345) with uncanny true tone, high-tactility instrumental textures, and move-my-mind momentum. Its presentation was the kind that sucks you in. It made MJQ flow and glow like a Koetsu, generating a full, resonant field of sound that made my solid state electronics sound like tubes.

What the Platinum3 does well that the Denon DL-103 and Ortofon's 2M Blue do not do is reproduce opera and early classical music with ease, elegance, and dramatic subtlety…

Paradigm Founder 120H loudspeaker

As a native European, I don't particularly love bubbly people: Too much sugar makes my teeth hurt. I'm sympathetic to my friend Nick, a Brit who reliably bristles when he hears Americans use the word "awesome" for the most mundane things. A slight drop in gas prices? Awesome! How was the meatloaf? Awesome!

It irks him that the words awe and awesome are now nearly divorced. But I like to remind Nick that this hyperpleasant, optimistic American attitude is surely preferable to the alternative.

In fact, over time, I've warmed to Yankee sunniness. "Great meeting you!" "Have a…

Paradigm Founder 120H loudspeaker Page 2

As for the woofers, the H in 120H stands for hybrid. Sure enough, the six CarbonX bass drivers—three per tower—are driven by built-in ICEpower class-D amps that put out 1000W continuous and up to 2000W on dynamic peaks. (Of course, that means you must plug the speakers into a nearby electrical receptacle. And you'll still need a standard stereo amplifier to power the midrange drivers and tweeters.) The midrange and bass drivers are decoupled from the cabinet by the aforementioned "Advanced Shock-Mount Isolation Mounting System." Similar technology is employed in the speaker's spikes.

Fi(r…

Paradigm Founder 120H loudspeaker Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Three-way hybrid floorstanding speakers with active bass, port-loaded bass enclosure. 1" (25mm) aluminum-magnesium-ceramic-dome tweeter; one 6" (152mm) midrange driver with aluminum-magnesium cone; three 8" (215mm) high-excursion carbon-cone woofers. Internal, 1000W amplifier (2000W peak) for powering bass drivers. Crossovers: 2nd order at 2.4kHz and 300Hz (the latter analog/digital). Frequency response: 22Hz–23kHz, ±2dB. Low-frequency extension to 18Hz. Sensitivity: 92dB/2.83V/m. Nominal impedance: 8 ohms.
Dimensions: 45.4" (1153mm) × 13.9" (…