Stereophile's 2021 products of the year




  And wow! Schiit Audio 20w Class-A Aegir stereo poweramp made it into the A rating. 
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/stereophile-s-2012-products-of-the-year
Cheers George
128x128georgehifi
But George, what about the fact that every year there are at least a decent handful of components that don’t measure very well but are subjectively loved by the reviewer and they get put into the class A category? What are we to
take from that? 
Either Stereophile reviewers are imbeciles with cloth ears, taking bribes or:

1. Measurements don‘t necessarily correlate with subjective listening impressions.
2. You also need a pair of ears to successfully design an audio component.


@millercarbon ...Watch. Pages will follow!

and they did.  

Thanks to @mesch for additional measurments/factors creating better synergy in system

My purchases are typically a process of elimination - budget, specs, appearance, and most importantly, how it sounds in my system in my room. My "dealer" is mostly "brand agnostic" and reps mid to high-end gear at many price points.  He's an engineer by education and goes to all shows and visits factories of all brands he carries, so I lean on his judgment considerably. But I really want to better understand the numbers.

For example, my current speakers Raidho TD2.2 are 88 db sensitivity, but I had a 3 week in-home demo to really check them out.  So like you say, I learned my amplifier was capable of meeting the demands of those speakers to make them shine. Same result when I changed phono cartridge to a Lyra Kleos. I was provided with Delos for a 1 month while awaiting arrival of my Kleos. SQ improvement big time, and of course measurements/specs were significantly better than the predecessor. 

Awesome system, by the way. Noted significant devotion to vibration and cable shielding.  Also note your Herron phono pre, and I'm wondering if that would be an upgrade from over my Aesthetix Rhea Esclipse.  I've heard nothing but great things across the board....but there I go again....So anyway thanks!    

But George, what about the fact that every year there are at least a decent handful of components that don’t measure very well but are subjectively loved by the reviewer and they get put into the class A category? What are we to
take from that?

That's why I said way back  
"And measurements will tell you far more than "just the review", and "could" show you if the reviewers full of it also."

Cheers George
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