HP's Year's Bestby Harry Pearsonthe abso!ute sound, December 1994, Issue 100. Reprinted with permission I feel constrained by the requirement (self-imposed) that each of our reviewers limit him or herself to three components in assessing the best of '94. Two of mine will come as no surprise, and I am hard pressed not to include, as a third, the category of accessories where we have at least four major products that really do bring us closer to creating the simulacrum of live unamplified music in the home-Transparent Audio MusicWave Reference speaker cables, the fulfillment of the company's name; VersaLab RFI filters, which must be used in moderation, no more than one or two per system in a suburban environment, and which consist of several different devices; Townshend Audio Seismic Sinks ($349-$469 for standard sizes, special sizes from $600), which I consider the single most useful tool, aside from VPl's record cleaning machine, for radically improving the sound of the home music system and absolutely essential for musical reproduction from the dreaded compact disks (and for turntables, too!); and the Shakti Electromagnetic Stabilizers ($195), whose effect I find subtle, but addictive. So, no, I won't mention these. Instead, my top three choices: * * * * * The Clearaudio Insider cartridge ($7,320) (the first ever to win a five-star rating from me). The entire line is remarkable, particularly the Accurate ($3,920) and the Signature ($2,100) (H H H). See Review, this issue. * * * * The VAC (Valve Amplification Company) 140 Triode amplifier ($22,000). Can't wait to see if their 200 watt amplifier signifies. Five stars, that is. Shortcomings have to do with response at the frequency extremes and their sonic characteristics at the overload point. See Review, Issue 98. * * * * The Airtangent 10B straight line tracking arm ($7,900). Certainly a wonder. The least-colored pickup arm, in terms of resonant colorations, this reviewer has ever heard said. And you can tell 'em HP said so. Lest we forget: Last year's Sound Dynamics 300-U ($600/pr., stands $109.95) is again in production and available through Audio Products International, Scarborough, Ontario. It is the best bookshelf-sized speaker since the legendary KLH Models 4 and 6 and the Acoustic Research Models 2a and 3 went out of production more than a quarter-century ago. It has few peers, anywhere, in terms of the purest musicality, and if I had to take what I could carry to a desert island, this would be the speaker. If you want to know what else, wait till you read our desert island systems in an upcoming issue. |
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