Products of the Year
2000
When you're a reviewer, you can sympathize with a shark --
if you don't keep moving forward you die. As much fun (and trust me, there's an equal
measure of frustration involved) as a diet of new gear is, I start each new review after
having been exposed to a great component with a sense of dread -- after all I know
I liked last month's DUT, what if I have to spend a lot of time with something I hate?
Yeah, I know -- I lead such a rough life. Don't even
get me started on the agony of papercuts . . .
But the fact is, some products endure. For the year 2000, I
had a tie: The Linn Classik and the Musical Fidelity A3CR Preamplifier, A3CR
Power Amplifier, and A3CD CD Player.
The Linn Classik
This compact receiver/CD player/alarm clock is functionally
just about perfect. Through the use of high-tech surface mount technology, Linn has
crammed over three boxes worth of gear into an unassuming 12.5" by 14" by
3" chassis.
And it sounds great too. The tuner section is sensitive as
all get out, pulling in far more stations than anything else I own in stereo; the CD
player is a marvel; and the 75W amplifier is capable of goosing even hard-to-drive
loudspeakers like my Dynaudio Microns. And it'll even wake you up!
Is it a giant killer? Well, that depends on what you mean
-- Linn makes separates which can sound better, as do many other companies -- but the
Classik is the one component I use every day that just makes me smile. If you're looking
for reliability and performance in one box, the Linn Classik's your dream come true.
So, because it's a product that makes me happy every time I
use it, I award the Linn Classik a co-product of the year.
Musical Fidelity A3CR Preamplifier, A3CR
Power Amplifer, and A3CD CD Player
The Musical Fidelity A3 components -- the choke regulated
A3 preamp and power amplifier and the A3CD CD Player -- take up a lot more real estate
than the Classik. Here you get the flexibility of separates and a honking powerful power
amplifier that will laugh at the toughest speaker loads. It's really pretty impressive.
As is the preamplifier, which has as much power output as
some SE amplifiers. It has an unflappability I've only run into in the most
expensive separates. It also has a nifty phono section that'll accommodate both MC and MM
cartridges.
The A3CD CD player completes the ensemble. It's a honey. It
utilizes Burr-Brown's PCM1716 24-bit Delta-Sigma D/A converter, complemented by MF’s
exclusive five-pole hybrid analog filtering and a separate proprietary oscillator circuit
-- ensuring that the A3CD manifests astonishingly low jitter.
What elevates these units above similarly performing
components is their value. At $1500 each for preamp and power amplifier and $1000 for the
CD player, they aren't exactly cheap. But they seem reasonably priced when you evaluate
their brick-outhouse solidity, their spectacular measured sound and their audible
superiority. You're getting champagne sound at imported micro-brewery beer prices.
MF's Antony Michaelson is unequivocal: He says they are
designed to be among the best products in the world -- regardless of price. Are they? Not
quite, I've heard better -- but primarily at mortgage-the-house prices. Besides, you've
got to admire a man who believes so solidly in what he makes -- or should I say that I'd
rather buy from a man who stands that solidly behind his products than from someone who
figures "it's good enough for the money."
So, for aiming high and hitting the mark -- at a price most
of us can afford -- I rate Musical Fidelity's A3 components co-products of the year.
Technology of the Year
There's no question about it, this year's winner is High
Resolution Digital. I don't know whether Direct Stream Digital, as employed in SACD, or
high-speed linear PCM, as implemented in DVD-Audio, will ultimately triumph. That's up to
the market and not even a question of which is better. What I do know is that both formats
put Redbook CD to shame.
I'll be getting both DVD-Audio and SACD players for review
in 2001 and will listen carefully and at length -- one way or another, I expect we'll have
a winning format by this time next year. At least, I hope so. A protracted format war will
probably kill off hi-rez digital, ruining our chances of master tape quality software --
possibly forever.
...Wes Phillips
wes@onhifi.com
|
