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Quad ESL-989 (review) ($8500-$9350/pair; reviewed by Larry Greenhill, Art Dudley, & John Atkinson, Vol.25 No.11 & Vol.26 No.5, November 2002 & May 2003)

Runners-Up (in alphabetical order):
Audio Physic Virgo III (review) ($6995/pair; reviewed by Brian Damkroger, Vol.26 No.9, September 2003)
Dynaudio Confidence C4 (review) ($16,000/pair; reviewed by John Atkinson, Vol.26 No.3, March 2003)
Focal-JMlab Grande Utopia Be (review) ($80,000/pair; reviewed by Paul Messenger, Vol.26 No.9, September 2003)
InnerSound Eros Mk.III (review) ($7995/pair;…

Linn Klimax Twin power amplifier (review) ($8995; reviewed by Art Dudley, Vol.26 No.6, June 2003)
Parasound Halo JC 1 monoblock power amplifier (review) ($6000/pair; reviewed by Michael Fremer & Sam Tellig, Vol.26 Nos.2, 6, & 12, February, June, & December 2003)
VTL TL-7.5 Reference preamplifier (review) ($12,500; reviewed by Paul Bolin, Vol.26 No.10, October 2003)

Runners-Up (in alphabetical order):
Bel Canto eVo6 multichannel power amplifier (review) ($4900; reviewed by Kalman Rubinson, Vol.26 No.9, September 2003)
Cary…

dCS Verdi-Purcell-Elgar Plus SACD/CD playback system (review) ($33,985, reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.26 No.4, April 2003)

Runners-Up (in alphabetical order):
Apple iPod (review) ($499 as reviewed; reviewed by Wes Phillips, Vol.26 No.10, October 2003)
Ayre Acoustics CX-7 CD player (review) ($2950; reviewed by John Atkinson, Vol.26 No.5, May 2003)
Classé Omega SACD player (review) ($12,000; reviewed by Jonathan Scull & Paul Bolin, Vol.24 No.11 & Vol.26 No.8, November 2001 & August 2003)
Esoteric DV-50 universal player (review) ($…

SME 30/2 turntable (review) ($25,000; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.26 No.3, March 2003)

Runners-Up (in alphabetical order):
Lyra Titan phono cartridge ($4500; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.26 No.6, June 2003)
Music Hall MMF-9 turntable ($1695; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.26 No.8, August 2003)
Rega P9 turntable ($3500; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.25 No.11, November 2002)
Rega P3 turntable ($650; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.26 No.2, February 2003)
Rega RB1000 tonearm ($1595; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.25 No.11, November…

Echo Busters Decorative Room Treatments (review) ($165-$235 each; reviewed by Brian Damkroger, Vol.26 No.9, September 2003)
Rives PARC parametric equalizer (review) ($2800; reviewed by Kalman Rubinson, Vol.26 No.7, July 2003)

Runners-Up (in alphabetical order):
Acoustic Zen Silver Reference II interconnects, Gargantua II AC cord, & Satori Shotgun speaker cables (review) ($$948-$998/m, $1488, & $1188/8' pair, respectively, reviewed by Paul Bolin, Vol.26 No.1, January 2003)
AudioQuest Anaconda interconnect & Gibraltar speaker cable (review…

Apple iPod

Not much needs to be said about my choice for 2003. The admission may not earn me any points in politically correct audiophile circles, but Apple's cute little iPod was the product I most enjoyed using this past year. Its large-capacity hard drive and ability to play back uncompressed AIF and WAV files pushes it ahead of run-of-the-mill portable players, while its intuitive, playlist-based interface is a harbinger of how all of us will be surfing our recorded music libraries in the near future.

Barry Willis said it best in a private e-mail: "…

Apple iPod (See "Digital")

Runners-Up (in alphabetical order):
Atoll Electronique IN 100 integrated amplifier ($1075; reviewed by Sam Tellig, Vol.26 No.4, April 2003)
Benchmark Media Systems DAC1 D/A processor (review) ($850; reviewed by John Marks, Vol.26 No.7, July 2003)
Meadowlark Swift loudspeaker (review) ($995/pair; reviewed by John Marks, Vol.25 No.11, November 2002)
Monitor Audio Silver S2 loudspeaker (review) ($749/pair; reviewed by John Atkinson, Vol.26 No.8, August 2003)
Music Hall MMF-9 turntable (see "Analog")
Naim Nait 5…

Quad ESL-989 loudspeaker (see "Loudspeakers")

Runners-Up (in alphabetical order):
Classé Omega monoblock power amplifier
dCS Verdi-Purcell-Elgar Plus SACD/CD playback system
Focal-JMlab Grande Utopia Be loudspeaker
Manley Steelhead phono preamplifier
Naim NAC-552 preamplifier
Parasound Halo JC 1 monoblock power amplifier
SME 30/2 turntable
VTL TL-7.5 Reference preamplifier
Wilson Audio WATT/Puppy 7 loudspeaker
Slow and steady wins the race again.

The Quad ESL-989 barely edged out two of our Amplification winners—the earth…

Stereophile's Products of 2002
Product of the Year: Halcro dm58 monoblock power amplifier (review)
Joint Budget Components:
Grado SR125 headphones
Music Hall MMF-7 turntable
Revel Performa M20 loudspeaker (review)
Joint Loudspeakers:
Rockport Technologies Antares (review)
Joseph Audio RM7si Signature Mk.2 (review)
Amplification Component: Halcro dm58 monoblock power amplifier (review)
Digital Source: Sony SCD-XA777ES multichannel SACD player (review)
Joint Analog Sources:
Graham 2.2 tonearm (review)
VPI TNT V-HR…

One recent example was at a Sony preview of a prototype multichannel Super Audio CD player. Not only was I convinced of the rightness of the SACD's reproduction of sound…