Products of the Year

Stereophile's Products of 1997 Loudspeaker of 1997

Loudspeaker of 1997

EgglestonWorks Andra ($14,700/pair; reviewed by Wes Phillips, Vol.20 No.10, October 1997 Review)

Finalists (in alphabetical order):
Aerial Acoustics 5 ($1800/pair–$2000/pair; reviewed by Robert Harley, Vol.20 No.4, April 1997 Review)
Audio Physic Caldera ($18,995/pair; reviewed by Martin Colloms, Vol.20 No.8, August 1997)
Epos ES12 ($1095/pair; reviewed by John Atkinson, Vol.20 No.4, April 1997 Review)
Gradient Revolution ($3995/pair; reviewed by Dick Olsher & John Atkinson, Vol.18 No.5, May 1995; & Vol.20 No.3, March 1997 Review)
MartinLogan Aerius i ($1995/pair; reviewed by Sam Tellig, Vol.20 No.7, July 1997)
MartinLogan SL3 ($3195/pair; reviewed by Wes Phillips, Vol.20 No.5, May 1997 Review)
mbl 111 ($13,900–$18,250/pair; reviewed by John Atkinson, Vol.20 No.4, April 1997 Review)
PSB Stratus Gold i ($2399–$2699/pair; reviewed by John Atkinson, Vol.20 No.10, October 1997)
Waveform Mach 17 ($6995/pair; reviewed by Larry Greenhill, Vol.20 No.6, June 1997 Review)

Competition was fierce in this category—bang-for-the-buck contenders such as the Epos ES12 and the PSB Stratus Gold i hung tough to the end of the balloting—but in the end, the Andra was the decisive winner, having amassed a third again as many ballots as the next two runners-up.

The Andras are compact floorstanding loudspeakers built around a pair of 6" midrange drivers running full-range in a quasi–transmission-line enclosure. Designer Bill Eggleston claims that this is the key to the seamless, open sound that several of our respondents mentioned as having influenced their votes. Others cited the Andra's superbly controlled bass response, but all were impressed with the Andra's sensitivity to tonal shading and color, finely nuanced sense of swing, and lack of dynamic limitation. (Apparently the Andras caught the ears of HI-FI '97 attendees as well; the speakers were voted among the three best-sounding systems at the Show.)

Good looks, musicality, and open, dynamic sound: These qualities went a long way toward making the Andra the Best Loudspeaker of 1997—and a winner in any year.

COMMENTS
Bogolu Haranath's picture
Submitted by Bogolu Haranath on August 7, 2020 - 10:59am

Editors' choice 1997, B&W DM302 speakers, $250/pair :-) .......

Bogolu Haranath's picture
Submitted by Bogolu Haranath on August 7, 2020 - 7:37pm

Now in 2020, we can get Elac Debut DB52 for $260/pair :-) ......

tonykaz's picture
Submitted by tonykaz on August 7, 2020 - 9:50pm

He was kinda "Tyll the Great" to me.

Someone said they saw him at a Nomad Event in Arizona.

He gets to follow his dream.

I know another fella that ended his career to sail a Contessa 26 around the world.

I get to live in Paradise and support Political progressives.

I miss Tyll but I'm happy for him.

I didn't realize his little Amp made such a nice impression on Stereophile.

I'm hoping that we get to read more Tyll, one day.

Tony in Venice

Presence's picture
Submitted by Presence on August 8, 2020 - 9:34pm

There are a few select reviews for me that over the decades have stood out as thrilling to read... The Genesis II.5 by RH, the Dunlavy SC VI by SS and the MC review of the Krell FPB600. I must have read them each ten X. I traded in my ML 333 for the FPB 600. Great products/great writing!

Bogolu Haranath's picture
Submitted by Bogolu Haranath on August 9, 2020 - 10:36am

What loudspeakers were/are you using with FPB 600? ....... Just curious :-) ........

Presence's picture
Submitted by Presence on August 9, 2020 - 10:54am

At the time, the Dunlavy SC V.

Bogolu Haranath's picture
Submitted by Bogolu Haranath on August 9, 2020 - 12:10pm

Do you still have FPB 600 now? ...... If so, what speakers are you using them with? :-) ......

Presence's picture
Submitted by Presence on August 9, 2020 - 1:05pm

Krell Evolution One Monoblocks / Dunlavy SC VI with TC Sounds 15" replacing the stock 15" Eminence woofers due to flooding.

Since I know you are well versed in the equipment, I thought I'd add a few pearls from experience with the Krells...

MC in his FPB 600 review mentions the AC voltage being modulated by the amplifier from the demands of the music...
Adding regulation in the amp I suspect modulates the AC line voltage even further which likely adds even more harmonics going to the rest of the equipment - perhaps most detrimentally to the source components. After reading the AC Wiring whitepaper by Vince Galbo, I found it easy to convert my Krell Theater Amp fed by 60' of 10AWG to 240V. The sense of ease of the music delivery was readily apparent. The Evolution Ones were already fed by 240V so I took on replacing the two dedicated 60' feeds of 10AWG with 6AWG. Once again, the gains in ease of delivery were readily apparent. From the hip, I'd say a 25% improvement in soundstage expansion, space and ease. Was this an effect of lower wire impedance minimizing the music-modulated line harmonics and to what degree does the amp re-ingest those harmonics [as Galbo suggests] or to what degree are these harmonics passed on the the rest of the components [or is it a combination of both]? But there is at least positive correlation between lower wire gauge to the current-hungry Krell amps and sound quality in the context of my system. For what it's worth...

Bogolu Haranath's picture
Submitted by Bogolu Haranath on August 9, 2020 - 6:56pm

Krell Evolution One mono blocks cost some big bucks ...... Are you a Rap musician? ...... Just kidding :-) .......

Of course, there are more expensive amplifiers available now :-) .......

Bogolu Haranath's picture
Submitted by Bogolu Haranath on August 10, 2020 - 10:20am

The new improved power supply in your listening room, should be able to supply enough power to the D'Agostino Relentless mono-blocks ....... See, Hi-Fi News review :-) ........

Bogolu Haranath's picture
Submitted by Bogolu Haranath on August 10, 2020 - 11:10am

One more thing ...... Steve Jobs re-joined Apple in 1997 ....... How many of us bought Apple stock in 1997? :-) ........

Bogolu Haranath's picture
Submitted by Bogolu Haranath on August 10, 2020 - 6:46pm

Amazon went public in 1997 ...... If someone invested $10,000 in Amazon in 1997, that money would be worth $12 million as of May 2020 :-) ......

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