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SME Model 60 Turntable W/Series VA Tonearm
($71,900–$85,900; reviewed By Michael Trei in Vol.46 No.8 review)

Finalists (in alphabetical order)
AMG Giro Mk II Turntable w/9W2 Tonearm ($12,300; reviewed by Michael Trei in Vol.45 No.12 review)
TW-Acustic Raven GT Turntable w/12" Raven Tonearm ($19,000; reviewed by Alex Halberstadt in Vol.46 No.7 review)
VPI Avenger Direct Turntable w/12" Fatboy Tonearm ($36,000; reviewed by Ken Micallef in Vol.46 No.6 review)

SME's new flagship record player is based on 1990's Model 30…

dCS Bartók Apex D/A Processor
($20,950–$22,950; reviewed by Herb Reichert in Vol.46 No.8 review)

Finalists (In alphabetical order)
Benchmark DAC3 B D/A Processor ($1890; reviewed by John Atkinson in Vol.46 No.3 review)
CH Precision C1.2 D/A Processor ($36,000–$43,500; reviewed by Jim Austin in Vol.46 No.2 review)
dCS Vivaldi Apex D/A Processor ($46,500; reviewed by Jason Victor Serinus in Vol.46 No.3 review)
HiFi Rose RS250A Streaming D/A Processor ($2695; reviewed by John Atkinson in Vol.46 No.10 review)
…

Abyss Diana TC Headphones
($4495–$5995; reviewed by Herb Reichert in Vol.46 No.5 review)

Finalists (in alphabetical order)
Apple Airpod Pro 2 In-Ear Headphones ($249/pair; reviewed by Rogier van Bakel in Vol.46 No.3 review)
Focal Utopia Headphones ($5000; reviewed by Herb Reichert in Vol.46 No.5 review)
HiFiMan HE-R10P Headphones ($5499; reviewed by Herb Reichert in Vol.46 No.8 review)
Naim Uniti Atom HE Headphone Amplifier ($3799; reviewed by Herb Reichert in Vol.46 No.5 review)

The stock, fourth-generation Abyss…

Shaknspin2
($280; reviewed by Michael Trei in Vol.46 No.6 review)

Finalists (in alphabetical order)
Benchmark Studio&Stage Loudspeaker Cable ($188/pair; reviewed By John Atkinson in Vol.46 No.3 review)
Herbie's Way Excellent II Turntable Mat ($88; reviewed by Herb Reichert in Vol.45 No.12 & Michael Trei in Vol.46 No.9 review)
Nessie VinylCleaner Pro Plus+ Record-Cleaning Machine ($2495; reviewed by Julie Mullins in Vol.46 No.4 review)
Timerette Stylus Timer ($130; reviewed by Michael Trei in Vol.46 No.9 review)

As…

Wilson Audio Specialties Alexia V
($67,500/pair; reviewed by Jason Victor Serinus in Vol.46 No.1 review)

Finalists (in alphabetical order)
Harbeth Super Hl5plus XD ($7995/pair, plus stands; reviewed by Ken Micallef in Vol.46 No.9 review)
KEF LS60 Wireless ($6999.99/pair; reviewed by Kal Rubinson in Vol.46 No.3 review)
Klipsch La Scala AL5 ($13,198/pair; reviewed by Alex Halberstadt in Vol.46 No.4 review)
MoFi Electronics Sourcepoint 10 ($3699/pair, plus stands; reviewed by John Atkinson in Vol.46 No.2 & Ken Micallef in Vol.…

Klipsch Reference Premiere RP-600M II Loudspeaker
($749/pair, plus stands; reviewed by Herb Reichert in Vol.46 No.8 review)

NAD C 3050 LE Integrated Amplifier
($1972; reviewed by john Atkinson in Vol.46 No.4 review)

Finalists (in alphabetical order)
Benchmark DAC3 B D/A Processor ($1890; reviewed by John Atkinson in Vol.46 No.3 review)
Elekit TU-8600S Power Amplifier ($1880, plus tubes; reviewed by Herb Reichert in Vol.46 No.1 review)
iFi Neo Stream Streaming D/A Processor ($1299; reviewed by Sasha…

dCS Vivaldi Apex D/A Processor
($46,500; reviewed by Jason Victor Serinus in Vol.46 No.3 review)

Wilson Audio Specialties Alexia V Loudspeaker
($67,500/pair; reviewed by Jason Victor Serinus in Vol.46 No.1 review)

Finalists (in alphabetical order)
Abyss Diana TC Headphones ($4495–$5995; reviewed by Herb Reichert in Vol.46 No.5)
AudioNote Meishu Phono 300B Tonmeister Integrated Amplifier ($15,740; reviewed by Ken Micallef in Vol.46 No.2 review)
dCS Bartók Apex D/A Processor ($20,950–$22,950; reviewed…

MoFi Electronics Sourcepoint 10 Loudspeaker
I have had so many loudspeakers pass through my listening room in the past 40 years that it is rare for one to stick in my mind for more than a couple of months after it had been returned to the manufacturer or distributor. But my memories of this relatively affordable standmount—it costs $3699/pair, plus stands—which was designed by veteran speaker engineer Andrew Jones, have outlasted those of many much more expensive speakers. As I wrote in my review: "When you consider the clean, superbly well-defined low…

Dan Wright of ModWright Instruments Inc., partnered with Cardas Audio, Acora Acoustics, and Woodsong Audio to bring his new compact, affordable 9-series products, which are "based on our Reference Designs," Wright told me in a preshow email.

The ModWright room featured a SOTA Cosmos Eclipse turntable ($10,500) with an SME V tonearm ($5500) and an Ortofon Winfeld Ti MC cartridge ($5999) as well as a prototype ModWright step-up transformer ($2000), ModWright Analog Bridge ($3900), ModWright PH 9.0XT phono stage (featuring two 6C45 and two 6922 tubes: $5250), and a Weiss DAC ($3495…

Japan’s Technical Audio Devices Laboratories, Inc. (TAD) brought several products to CAF, including the US debut of the TAD Grand Evolution One (GE1) floor-standing speakers ($65,000/pair) and new TAD C1000 preamplifier ($24,950). Also in Room 651—hosted by Professional Audio Design (PAD)—were the TAD TAD-D1000MK2 disc player ($21,000), TAD-DA1000TX DAC ($15,900), and, driving the GE-1s, a pair of TAD TAD-M700 monoblocks. Synergistic Research supplied cables, including SR30 Speaker Cables $499/pair); other Synergistic products included the aPowercell SX ($8995), Synergistic Research Black…