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The 2002 Products of the Year Digital Source

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…

The 2002 Products of the Year Joint Analog Source

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)
…

The 2002 Products of the Year Joint Accessories

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…

The 2002 Products of the Year Joint Editor's Choices

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…

The 2002 Products of the Year Joint Budget

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…

The 2002 Products of the Year Product of the Year

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…

The 2002 Products of the Year Previous Awards

Previous Awards:

Stereophile's Products of 2001
Joint Products of the Year:
MartinLogan Prodigy loudspeaker (review)
Revel Ultima Studio loudspeaker (review)
Joint Budget Components:
Creek 5350SE integrated amplifier (review)
Perpetual Technologies P-3A D/A processor (review)
Polk RT25i loudspeaker (review)
Joint Loudspeakers:
MartinLogan Prodigy (review)
Revel Ultima Studio (review)
Amplification Component: TacT RCS 2.0 digital equalizer/preamplifier (review)
Joint Digital Sources:
Accuphase DP-100/DC-101 SACD transport/processor (…

Pioneer Elite Reference Loudspeaker System (SGHT Review)

When Pioneer commissioned Allen Boothroyd, a British industrial designer best known for his work with Meridian Audio, to come up with a unique appearance for its new surround-sound speaker system, they apparently knew what they didn't want: another boring set of square boxes. Nor did they want a speaker system that would blend into Ethan Allen surroundings.

The Pioneer Elite Reference speaker system is definitely not traditional-looking. The main left and right speakers would be right at home on a Star Trek set, with their sculpted appearance topped off by the oddest-looking mid-tweeter…

Pioneer Elite Reference Loudspeaker System (SGHT Review) Page 2

The spherical enclosure is no gimmick; the shape produces the lowest possible diffraction (unwanted reflections from the edges of the enclosure). The IRIS is mounted so that it can be rotated to fine-tune the imaging—and, in theory, eliminate the need to toe-in the speakers.

Users should exercise caution when rotating the IRIS to avoid touching the midrange diaphragm. I did so a few times without causing any apparent damage, but the diaphragm is quite vulnerable. If your environment exposes the IRIS drivers to the risk of damage (or you prefer a less esoteric look), you might want to…

Pioneer Elite Reference Loudspeaker System (SGHT Review) Page 3

Setup
Setting up the Pioneer Elite Reference speaker system involves nothing unusual. The TZ-F700s were placed to either side of my 78"-wide projection screen. The cabinets were aimed straight ahead, but the IRIS modules were toed-in considerably. Pioneer recommends that the cabinets be at least 18" from the rear and side walls. Unfortunately, the best I could manage in my room was 12" from the rear wall, but this didn't seem to compromise the system's performance. The distance from the side walls in my room was more than 5' on each side.

The TZ-F700's enclosure has anchors for…