SONNY ROLLINS: The Freelance Years
Sonny Rollins, tenor sax; Clark Terry, Kenny Dorham, trumpet; Jimmy Cleveland, trombone; Ernie Henry, alto sax; Thelonious Monk, Hank Jones, Sonny Clark, Wynton Kelly, Gil Coggins, Hampton Hawes, piano; Victor Feldman, vibes; Barney Kessel, Oscar Pettiford, Ray Brown, Paul Chambers, Wendell Marshall, Leroy Vinegar, bass; Max Roach, Shelly Manne, Roy Haynes, Kenny Dennis, drums; Abbey Lincoln, vocals
Riverside 5RCD-4427-2 (5 CDs). 2000. Orrin Keepnews, Lester Koenig, Leonard Feather, original prods.; Eric Miller, compilation prod.; Dave Luke, tape…
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For more than a decade now, Stereophile has recognized components that have proved capable of giving musical pleasure beyond the formal review period by naming its "Products of the Year."
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…
2002 Joint Loudspeakers
Rockport Technologies Antares (review) ($41,500/pair; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.25 No.8, August 2002)
Joseph Audio RM7si Signature Mk.2 (review) ($1799-$1999/pair; reviewed by John Atkinson & Chip Stern, Vol.23 No.8 & Vol.25 No.10, August 2000 & October 2002)
Runners-Up (in alphabetical order):
B&W Signature 800 (review) ($20,000/pair; reviewed by Kalman Rubinson, Vol.25 No.6, June 2002)
Burmester Audiosystems B99 (review) ($47,880/pair; reviewed by Larry Greenhill, Vol.25 No.6, June 2002)
Dynaudio Evidence Temptation (…
2002 Amplification Component
Halcro dm58 monoblock power amplifier (review) ($25,000/pair; reviewed by Paul Bolin, Vol.25 No.10, October 2002)
Runners-Up (in alphabetical order):
Boulder 2008 phono preamplifier (review) ($29,000; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.25 No.7, July 2002)
Boulder 2010 line preamplifier (review) ($36,000; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.25 No.7, July 2002)
Connoisseur Definition 4.0 line preamplifier ($16,000; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.25 No.10, October 2002)
Manley 250 Neo-Classic monoblock power amplifier (review) ($9000/pair;…
2002 Digital Source Component
Sony SCD-XA777ES multichannel SACD player (review) ($3000, reviewed by Kalman Rubinson, Vol.25 No.1, January 2002)
Runners-Up (in alphabetical order):
Accuphase DP-85 SACD player (review) ($16,500; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.25 No.9, September 2002)
Alesis Masterlink ML-9600 hard-disk/CD-R recorder (review) ($1699; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.25 No.6, June 2002)
Boulder 1012 D/A processor (review) ($16,000; reviewed by Jonathan Scull, Vol.24 No.12, December 2001)
Chord DAC64 D/A processor (review) ($3040; reviewed by John…
2002 Joint Analog Source Components
Graham 2.2 tonearm (review) ($3200; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.25 No.7, July 2002)
VPI TNT V-HR turntable (review) ($6000; reviewed by Brian Damkroger, Vol.24 No.12, December 2001)
Runners-Up (in alphabetical order):
Dynavector XX-2 phono cartridge ($1650; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.25 No.7, July 2002)
Lyra Helikon SL phono cartridge ($2195; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.24 No.12, December 2001)
Music Hall MMF-7 turntable ($999 with tonearm and cartridge; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.24 No.11, November 2001)
…
2002 Joint Accessories
Grado SR125 headphones ($150; reviewed by Robert J. Reina, Vol.25 No.6, June 2002)
PS Audio Ultimate Outlet (review) ($299; reviewed by Robert Deutsch, Vol.24 No.12, December 2001)
Wally Phono Tools (Various prices; reviewed by Michael Fremer, Vol.20 No.11, November 1997; Vol.21 No.5, May 1998; & Vol.25 No.5, May 2002)
Runners-Up (in alphabetical order):
Nordost Valhalla Interconnects & Speaker Cables ($3300/m pair and $4200/m pair, respectively; reviewed by Brian Damkroger, Vol.24 No.11, November 2001)
Synergistic Research Designer's…
2002 Joint Editor's Choices
Linn Kivor Tunboks hard-disk music server (review) ($20,000/system; reviewed by John Atkinson, Vol.24 No.12, December 2001)
Wilson Audio Specialties Sophia loudspeaker (review)
As seems to be the case with computers, the Linn Kivor system I reviewed was still "in beta," both the controlling software and the hardware lacking some of the specified functionality. But I decided to make this Linux-based server—its massive hard disks can store hundreds of hours of uncompressed audio data—one of my "Editor's Choices" for 2002 because of what the Linn…
2002 Joint Budget Components of the Year
Grado SR125 headphones
Music Hall MMF-7 turntable
Revel Performa M20 loudspeaker (review)
Runners-Up (in alphabetical order):
JMlab Chorus 706 loudspeaker (review) ($450/pair; reviewed by Robert J. Reina, Vol.25 No.1, January 2002)
Mission m71 loudspeaker (review) ($250/pair; reviewed by Robert J. Reina, Vol.25 No.2, February 2002)
Paradigm Reference Studio/20 loudspeaker (review) ($650-$900/pair; reviewed by Robert J. Reina & Robert Deutsch, Vol.21 No.2, February 1998; Vol.24 No.2, February 2001; & Vol.25 No.5…
2002 Product of the Year
Halcro dm58 monoblock power amplifier (review)
Runners-Up (in alphabetical order):
Accuphase DP-85 SACD player (review)
B&W Signature 800 loudspeaker (review)
Boulder 2008 phono preamplifier (review)
Classé Omega SACD player (review)
Manley Steelhead phono preamplifier
mbl 111B loudspeaker (review)
Rockport Technologies Antares loudspeaker (review)
Wilson Audio Specialties Sophia loudspeaker(review)
The cover of our October 2002 issue calls it "the best amplifier ever!" What more can we say? The dm58 ran away…