If you compiled a listing of the very best audio products
and recordings you've heard, the crème de la crème, what would you include? "The
List" is our version of this -- an inventory of the audio equipment we at The
Audio Beat admire most, along with recordings whose sound is as near to live as
reproduction gets and whose musical merit is high enough to warrant repeat listening.
We don't claim that "The List" is all-inclusive
-- how could it be? -- and we won't limit ourselves only to equipment we review. We do
audition each piece of equipment sufficiently to include it here, and in some cases we own
the products we tout. Price will not be a factor in any way.
The CDs, SACDs and LPs are simply the best-sounding
recordings of real music we've come across. There are no musically empty sonic
spectaculars here, just recordings with artistic value captured in sound that most ably
suspends disbelief.
"The List" is by its nature a work-in-progress.
We will add new audio components as they become familiar to us, and we will subtract older
ones that we are either not sure of any longer or have been discontinued. Music is
forever, so there will be only additions of recordings to "The List" and no
subtractions.
Short descriptions of each recording and product will be
added at a future date.
Music
All
recordings are in stereo unless otherwise noted.
CDs
Greg
Brown • The Poet Game [Red House Records RHR CD 68]
Jakob Dylan • Seeing Things [Columbia 88697 02328 2]
David Grisman & Tony Rice • Tone Poems [Acoustic Disc ACD 10]
Keith Richards • Main Offender [Virgin V2-86499]
Hans Theessink • Hard Road Blues [Minor Music 801047]
Jessica Williams • Live at Yoshi's Vol. 2 [Max Jazz 214]
SACDs
R.L.
Burnside • First Recordings [Mobile Fidelity UDSACD 2026]
LPs
Beck • Sea
Change [Geffen/Mobile Fidelity MFSL 2-308]
Diana Krall • Live in Paris [Verve/Original Recordings Group 440065]
Diana Krall • The Look of Love [Verve/Original Recordings Group 549846]
Lee Morgan • Candy (mono) [Blue Note/Music Matters MMBLP-1590]
Nirvana • Unplugged in New York [DGC/Original Recordings
Group ORG 034]
Sonny
Rollins • Vol.1 (mono) [Blue Note/Music Matters MMBLP-1542]
Neil Young • Live at Massey Hall
[Classic Records 43328-1-200G]
Equipment
Speakers
Tidal
• Contriva Diacera SE
Vivid
Audio • G1 Giya
Wilson Audio • Alexandria X-2 Series 2
Wilson Audio • MAXX Series 3
Amplifiers
Lamm
Industries • M1.2 Reference monoblocks
Lamm Industries • ML3 Signature monoblocks
Luxman • B-1000f monoblocks
Preamplifiers
Audio
Research • Reference Anniversary
Convergent Audio Technology • SL-1 Legend
Zanden
Audio • Model 3000
Digital components
Audio Research • Reference CD8 CD player
Esoteric • P-03 CD/SACD transport and D-03 digital-to-analog converter
Esoteric
• X-01 D2 CD/SACD player
Zanden Audio • Model 2000P CD transport and Model 5000S digital-to-analog converter
Analog components
Tri-Planar
• Mk VII UII tonearm
TW-Acustic • Raven AC turntable
Interconnects
& speaker cables
AudioQuest
• William E. Low Signature interconnects and speaker cables
Shunyata Research • Aeros Aurora-IC interconnects and Aurora-SP speaker cables
Power
products
Shunyata Research • Hydra V-Ray Version II power conditioner
Shunyata Research • CX-series power cords
Isolation
platforms, equipment racks
Silent
Running Audio • Craz Reference isoRack plus
