Our interoffice communications are no different. Once a year I am jarred to find in my inbox a message from John Atkinson with the curious subject line "POTY." I am scarcely old enough to be perturbed: Every 12 months, I have to be re-reminded that POTY stands for Product of…
search
No one spells it out anymore: Ours is a culture of BTW, TIA, AFAIK, and other letter-lumps, some of which have taken on meanings beyond their original intent. (Only recently did I discover that LOL stands for "I'm certain you find my attempts at humor as riotously funny as I do.") I am scarcely young enough to adapt.
Joint Loudspeakers of the Year
Vivid Audio Giya G3 ($39,990/pair; reviewed by John Atkinson, April 2014, Vol.37 No.4 Review)
Wilson Audio Specialties Alexia ($48,500/pair; reviewed by John Atkinson, December 2013, Vol.36 No.12 Review)
This year's Loudspeaker of the Year finalists span a wide range of sizes, prices, and design technologies. Yet in 2014, as in 2013, the top honor is shared by two rather large, rather expensive, and decidedly high-tech entries: Vivid Audio's distinctive Giya G3, and the no less eye-catching Alexia from Wilson Audio Specialties.
…
Amplification Component of the Year
Pass Labs XA60.5 monoblock power amplifier ($11,000/pair; reviewed by John Atkinson, January 2014, Vol.37 No.1 Review)
In a list of finalists that was more or less evenly divided between preamps and power amps, and more or less evenly divided between tubes and transistors, one product stood above all others: the XA60.5 solid-state mono amplifier from Pass Labs, which enchanted John Atkinson on all but the warmest days of summer. (The amp runs moderately but not dangerously warm.) This recent design from the legendary Nelson Pass, a man who…
Analog Component of the Year
VPI Industries Classic Direct turntable with JMW 3D 12" tonearm ($30,000; reviewed by Michael Fremer, May & June 2014, Vol.37 Nos. 5 & 6 Review and Review)
The analog source remains nearly as vital as ever: a product category that continues to attract both new design talent and the efforts of industry veterans. Our 2014 choice for Analog Source Component of the Year—the Classic Direct Turntable with JMW Memorial 3D-printed 12" tonearm—comes from the latter group: manufacturer VPI Industries has toiled in the vinyl vineyards for 36 years. (We…
Joint Digital Components of the Year
MSB Technology Analog DAC D/A processor ($6995; reviewed by Jon Iverson, April 2014, Vol.37 No.4 Review)
PS Audio PerfectWave DirectStream D/A processor ($5995; reviewed by Art Dudley, September 2014, Vol.37 No.9 Review)
Sony HAP-Z1ES media player ($1999.99; reviewed by Kalman Rubinson, May 2014, Vol.37 No.5 Review)
No hanging chads for us: The voting for this year's Digital Component of the Year was sufficiently close that we declared a three-way tie. Our winners are two D/A processors and a media player. In what may or may…
Accessory of the Year
Audeze LCD-X headphones ($1699; reviewed by John Atkinson, March 2014, Vol.37 No.3 Review)
Once we've dispensed with source components, amplification components, and loudspeakers, virtually anything else that gets put into—or under, or onto—our music systems can qualify as an accessory. Thus, one supposes that a few readers will be let down that the voting for our 2014 Accessory of the Year reflected a conservative turn of mind, with nary a quantum-field generator, plastic demagnetizer, or capacitor ointment in sight. Indeed, fully three of our seven…
Budget Component of the Year
NAD D 3020 integrated amplifier ($499; reviewed by Stephen Mejias, November & December 2013, Vol.36 Nos.11 & 12 Review)
Here's the least surprising surprise of this year's balloting: NAD's D 3020 integrated amplifier coasted to an easy win for Budget Component of 2014. Hell, even I saw that coming.
The D 3020, designed to commemorate NAD's 40th anniversary, was named in honor of the company's classic 3020 integrated amp of the 1970s and onward. Both products were designed by the estimable Bjørn Erik Edvardsen, but this time he…
Overall Component of 2014
Vivid Audio Giya G3 loudspeaker
Some years, we see a number of products that take first place in more than one category. This year, there's only one, and it's also our joint Loudspeaker of the Year: the Vivid Audio Giya G3. The G3 did more than merely earn JA's respect: it gave him immense enjoyment, and effectively doubled the field of contenders for the coveted title of John Atkinson's Retirement Loudspeaker (the other being the jointly anointed Wilson Alexia).
Notes on the vote: The results of this contest are especially interesting…
Editors' Choices of 2014
ATC Loudspeaker Technology SCM19 loudspeaker ($4299/pair)
"In addition to the musical and technical virtues of a competently executed sealed-box design, ATC's SCM19 two-way monitor (reviewed in June 2014, Vol.37 No.6) is big enough to make a major sonic impact in most listening rooms of reasonable size, and small enough not to trip over its own feet. Low distortion, zero fatigue, great looks, fair price. WNTL?"—John Marks
Audeze LCD-X headphones ($1699), VPI Industries Classic Direct turntable ($30,000), DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/93…
We kick off the New Year with the "Loudspeaker issue"— there are seven models reviewed at all price levels, from Vienna Acoustics, Sjöfn, Monitor Audio, Wharfedale, DeVore Fidelity, Revel, and KEF, a review of an affordable subwoofer from SVS, and an interview with veteran speaker designer Michael Kelly of Aerial Acoustics.
Steve Guttenberg kicks off the issue by explaining why he prefers recorded music to live concerts, while A-list mastering engineer Bob Katz explains why Steve 's analysis of the sound of modern recordings in his November 2014 "As We See It" was misguided, if not…