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John Atkinson and Stephen Mejias tally the writer and editor votes to present "The">http://www.stereophile.com//features/724/">The 2002 Products of the Year." As JA comments, "For more than a decade now, Stereophile has recognized components that have proved capable of giving musical pleasure beyond the formal review period."
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Sam Tellig and Kalman Rubinson each take a run at the unique PS">http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/729/">PS Audio HCA-2 power amplifier to see what it's made of. Will Tellig and Rubinson agree on the HCA-2's worth? Furthermore, what do the odd results of John Atkinson's measurements mean?
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Larry Greenhill wonders, "In crossing over into transistor products, would Conrad-Johnson be able to retain the simplicity, low distortion, and musicality of their tube designs?" LG fires up the Conrad-Johnson">http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/734/">Conrad-Johnson Premier 18LS line preamplifier to satisfy his curiosity.
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Sam Tellig triggered a hailstorm of comment with his original review of the RadioShack">http://www.stereophile.com//digitalsourcereviews/480/">RadioShack Optimus CD-3400 portable CD player. After Tellig suggested that the modest player just might be a cheapskate audiophile delight, writers Corey Greenberg, Jack English, John Atkinson, Barry Willis, and Robert Harley each added his two cents. Some revealing but hitherto unpublished measurements are also included.
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From 1989 and 1992, John Atkinson reviews the Celestion">http://www.stereophile.com//loudspeakerreviews/744/">Celestion SL600si loudspeaker and the DLP600 digital equalizer. "Given that conventional equalizers are quite correctly regarded in Audioland as being poor-sounding pieces of cheap, amusical junk," JA asks, "what I am doing reviewing what, for want of a better word, is an equalizer?"
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Robert Deutsch tackles the Balanced">http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/749/">Balanced Audio Technology VK-40 preamplifier, noting "Few topics will get audiophiles into an argument more readily than a discussion of the relative merits of tubed and solid-state equipment."
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With the February issue hitting newstands, it's time once again to honor those twirling discs that also made our heads spin, with "2002">http://www.stereophile.com//records2die4/754/">2002 Records To Die For." Stereophile's staff and writers all check in with their eclectic batches of musical heaven.
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Three reviews from January: First, Art Dudley gives us his take on the Final">http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/759/">Final Laboratory Music-4 phono preamplifier, Music-5 line preamplifier, and Music-6 power amplifier. Art writes, "Modern hi-fi is little more than a way of getting electricity to pretend that it's music."
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"How much power do you really need? How much power can you actually use? What's necessary, and what's icing on the cake? And does anyone really need 1000Wpc?" Jonathan Scull takes the Boulder">http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/764/">Boulder 2050 monoblock amplifier into the listening chamber to confront these and other pressing audio dilemmas.
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Kalman Rubinson fires up the Sonic">http://www.stereophile.com//amplificationreviews/769/">Sonic Frontiers Line 2 line preamplifier, commenting, "I began this review grudgingly because I'd made a decision a while back to no longer pursue vacuum-tube electronics." But it's where KR ends up after months of listening that counts.