Product of the Year – Amplification

productoftheyear08

Naim Superline phono stage with SuperCap 2 power supply

$8900 (combined)
www.naim-audio.com

A power supply that costs twice as much as the component it powers?  Naim has always stressed the importance of power supply and this is their ultimate phono achievement. You can get into the Superline phono stage with either their Flatcap 2x ($1100) or the HiCap2 ($1900) but the SuperCap2 ($5950) is what rockets the Naim phono stage into the stratosphere.

Their top power supply gives you unrestricted dynamics, massive soundstage and a huge helping of legendary Naim PRaT. With a huge install base of Naim lovers, you can start small and as your vinyl obsession grows just trade up to a bigger power supply.  Intelligent design from start to finish. Just keep your Snaics, Snaxos and Bundys in order.

poy-naim

Product of the Year – Digital

productoftheyear08

Wadia170i  iPod Dock

$379
www.wadia.com

A longtime innovator in the world of digital sound, Wadia had the foresight and the engineering chops to create the 170i.  When used with a world class DAC and uncompressed files, it transforms the humble iPod into a serious compact music server by giving us unrestricted access to the iPods digital bitstream; a feat not yet accomplished elsewhere.

But that’s not the point.  What makes this product insanely great is that it gives you a chance to turn your kids on to what high end sound can be.  Put one of these on top of your equipment rack and let your kids and their friends enjoy your system.  It’s the best way I can think of to seed the next generation of audiophiles.

poy-wadia

Product of the Year – Overall

productoftheyear08

Meridian 808.2 and DSP7200  CD Player/Active Loudspeakers

$51,990
www.meridian-audio.com

This pair offers everything that we find near and dear to our hearts at TONE.  This stunning pair from Meridian looks fantastic, sounds fantastic and can be set up in about ten minutes.  Once done, you sit back and dig the music, without fiddling with anything else.  If you want to free yourself from audiophile nervosa permanently, this will set you free.

poy-meridian