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As with all amplifiers that use a switching output stage, examining the Halcro Logic MC20's performance on the test bench was complicated by the presence of RF energy in its output. Unless this energy is filtered, you can never be sure that you're not actually measuring the interaction between the RF content and the test gear instead of the absolute performance of the amplifier under test. (For a discussion of this subject, see my "Measurements" sidebar accompanying Robert Deutsch's review of the PS Audio GCC-100 amplifier in January.)

Fig.1, for example,…

The $4995 Halcro Logic MC20 is a lesson in stereotypes defied. It demonstrated that pretty much everything I ever assumed I knew about digital amplification is wrong.

My tastes as an audiophile lean toward the simple. The more direct and simple the connection between the original musical source and my eardrums, the happier I tend to be. I love the simplicity and elegance of analog transducers and step-up transformers converting mechanical vibrations into moving electrons in a way that I find direct and easy…

Analog Source: Rega P7 turntable & RB-700 tonearm, Zu Audio DL-103 phono cartridge.
Digital Sources: Marantz SA-7S1 SACD/CD player, Benchmark DAC1 D/A converter.
Preamplification: EAR 834P phono preamplifier, Balanced Audio Technology VK-52SE line-level preamplifier.
Power Amplifier: Balanced Audio Technology VK-55SE.
Cables: Digital: Stereovox HDXV. Interconnect: Q-Audio Tao (unbalanced), Mogami (balanced). Speaker: Chord Odyssey. AC: Belden, PS Audio Statement.
Accessories: Generic steel equipment rack with wooden shelves,…

So said turntable designer Simon Yorke when I visited him recently in Washington, DC. Yorke's motivation 15 years ago wasn't competitiveness, he recollected; it was that, at the time, he couldn't afford a Linn Sondek.

What was this 40-year-old Brit doing in the nation's capital?…

With its low-torque motor, flexible belt, and heavy platter, the Yorke 'table relies on a degree of initial "slip" for…

Description: Belt-drive, suspensionless turntable and tonearm with outboard AC synchronous motor and "transfer bearing." Speeds: 331/3, 45, and 78rpm. Tonearm: undamped, medium-mass unipivot design with adjustable VTA. Effective length: 233.2mm. Overhang: 17.8mm. Offset angle: 23.64°.
Dimensions: Weight: 40 lbs.
Serial number of unit reviewed: 035.
Prices: Turntable plus arm, recommended list price, $10,000; importer direct price, $8500. Packaged with active Vibraplane ($5000), $11,500. Approximate number of dealers: currently direct sales nly. Warranty…

B>Phono Cartridges: Transfiguration Temper, Lyra Clavis DC, Parnassus DC, AudioQuest Fe-5, Grado Reference, Goldring Excel XV, van den Hul MC 10 Special.
Tonearms: Graham 2.0, Immedia RPM.
Preamplification: Ayre Acoustics K-3 preamplifier with phono stage, Audio Research PH3SE and Pass Ono phono sections.
Power Amplifiers: Conrad-Johnson Premier Twelve, VTL MB 450.
Loudspeakers: Sonus Faber Concerto Grand Piano, Audio Physic Virgo, Audio Physic Rhea subwoofer.
Cables: Yamamura Millennium 6000, Cardas Golden Cross interconnects and…

There are five individual categories: Loudspeakers (including subwoofers), Amplification Components (preamplifiers, power amplifiers, etc.), Digital Sources (CD players, transports, processors), Analog Sources (phono cartridges, turntables, tonearms, FM tuners, etc.), and Accessories (everything else).

The two most important categories, however, are the "Product of the Year" itself—the best of…