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Golden Ear Awards 2015: Anthony H. Cordesman

Golden Ear Awards 2015: Anthony H. Cordesman

Boulder 2150 Monoblock Power Amplifier and 2110 Preamplifier
$98,000 and $54,000
These two components are further demonstrations of just how good high-end electronics have now become—and of the fact that solid-state units can provide superb sound quality. They also illustrate the growing challenges of trying to describe sonic nuances that are far more matters of taste than of inherent merit. For example, at the end of a long period of comparing the Boulder and the Pass Labs units (see below), two things became clear: Each offered very different sonic subtleties that will matter to demanding audiophiles, and yet each did everything right that could possibly count—and did so in spite of having radically different circuit topologies.

Golden Ear Awards 2015: Anthony H. Cordesman

Pass Laboratories Xs Preamp and Pass Xs 300 Mono Power Amplifier
$38,000 and $85,000
Simply put, these products from Pass Labs offer the absolute sound without compromise. The kind of gear most audiophiles dream about—and which only the truly lucky can afford—they redefined the perceptions of this reviewer during the time they passed through his hi-fi system. Neutral, detailed, dynamic with excellent bass and extraordinary midrange definition, the Xs Preamp is now my reference, and the XA160.8 monoblocks—more affordable siblings of the Xs 300 that share many of that more powerful and expensive unit’s qualities—my reference amps. All told, these are the two best-sounding examples of a preamp and power amp I have yet heard.

Golden Ear Awards 2015: Anthony H. Cordesman

YG Acoustics Hailey 1.2 Loudspeaker
$42,800
The loudspeaker used to be the weakest link in a stereo system. Today, the challenge in selecting speakers is choosing from among various forms of excellence. In this case, the YG Acoustics Hailey 1.2 offers deep bass, exceptional dynamics, and compelling musical realism. Its presentation delivers extraordinary sonic verisimilitude that comes directly from the recording, rather than from efforts to tune the upper midrange to seem more “detailed.” The Hailey 1.2 also measures so well that it is a frightening reminder to a subjective reviewer that superior technical specifications and test results not only matter, but can also actually indicate superb sound. Call it one of a growing number of speakers that make high-end auditioning a truly rewarding experience. 

Golden Ear Awards 2015: Anthony H. Cordesman

Anthony Cordesman

By Anthony Cordesman

I've been reviewing audio components since some long talks with HP back in the early 1980s. My first experiences with the high end came in the 1950s at the University of Chicago, where I earned part of my tuition selling gear for Allied Radio and a local high-end audio dealer, and worked on sound systems for local night clubs, the Court Theater, and the university radio station. My professional life has been in national security, but I've never lost touch with the high end and have lived as a student and diplomat in Britain, Belgium, France, Germany, NATO, Asia, Iran and the Middle East and Asia. I've been lucky enough to live in places where opera, orchestras, and live chamber and jazz performances were common and cheap, and to encounter a wide range of different venues, approaches to performing, and national variations in high-end audio gear. I currently hold the Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and my open source analyses are available at that web site. What I look for in reviewing is the ability to provide a musically real experience at a given price point in a real-world listening room, and the ability to reveal the overall balance of musical sound qualities that I know are on a given recording. Where possible, I try to listen on a variety of systems as well as my own reference system.

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