We have changed up the format for our Best Of awards this year to reflect the top 100 audio-video and home theater products in the world. Any product found on this list is worthy of consideration for any good AV system. While we pay due respect to ultimate products that cost a fortune, special attention is paid to more affordable gear. You’ll see high-performance gear that doesn’t break the bank making its way towards the top of the list this year.

Introduction It was only a short while ago that specialty audio retailers were filled with high-performance two-channel stereo gear and very little (if any) space was devoted to multi-channel surround products. Today is just the opposite, with the overwhelming amount of available new gear encompassing the multi-channel music and movie arena. Even though these new multi-channel setups can play everything from movies to the newest digital music formats, and even your older CD collection, there are still consumers who are disinterested in surround media, looking for a traditionally simple stereo sound system. Anthem Electronics is a company that has long prided itself in delivering value and performance to cost conscience consumers and may have just the ticket for multi-channel holdouts. The TLP 1 Preamplifier is a full-featured, solid state, remote-controlled stereo preamplifier with a host of features, including an AM/FM tuner and tone controls, attributes that are rarely found in stereo preamps. The Anthem TLP 1 ...

Introduction Home theater is a wonderful experience that has the better part of the civilized world clambering to their local A/V retailers to get outfitted, most with a strict budget in mind. Once we get there, we soon realize that we are now dividing our available funds across five speakers and electronics, as well as a subwoofer. Can something that truly satisfies be found without spending an arm and a leg? Enter Internet-only manufacturers such as Aperion Audio to the rescue, providing a high value by dropping a couple of layers of distribution costs. Here I evaluate a complete 5.1 Channel INTIMUS Theater/Audio loudspeaker system from Aperion, formerly known as Edge Audio. The review system retails for $1,399, configured with the INTIMUS S10 powered subwoofer. The Aperion includes a 30-day full money back guarantee for a no-risk audition if you are not able to hear the system before you purchase. Also, Aperion offers free shipping. ...

Introduction Over the past couple of years, Anthem has risen from the shadows of Sonic Frontiers, its former big brother, to become a formidable brand for value conscious AV consumers. The PVA 2 is the latest in Anthem’s quest to provide high-performing, high-value electronics at a price point that the average person can afford. The PVA 2 is a 125-watts per channel, no-frills stereo amplifier that sells for $649. The PVA 2 measures 17.25 inches wide, is five-and-one-quarter inches tall, 11 inches deep and weighs 26 pounds. The PVA 2, like the rest of Anthem’s current line, features clean, unpretentious styling. The attractive yet simple front panel is manufactured from three-eighths of an inch thick, brushed aluminum, available in either silver or black. The face of the PVA 2 is decisively sparse, with nothing more than a logo, a power light and a button to power the amp. The remaining surfaces of the amplifier feature a ...

Introduction The Due is the latest creation from Gallo Acoustics, a company famous for making physically round AV speakers. The $599 Due’s name is derived from the fact that the speaker contains two spherical units, rather than the single sphere of past Gallo designs. The two spheres are joined in the middle by a cylindrical tweeter assembly that is unique to Gallo, resulting in a very stylish “un-speakerlike” speaker. Gallo paired the Due with their $750 MPS-150 woofer for low frequency reinforcement. This woofer is also very unconventional in design. The design features two short cylinders, one housing the 10-inch driver, the other containing a 240-watt amplifier and related electronics. The Dues are refreshingly small, measuring 11 inches tall, five inches wide and five inches deep. The Dues come with modernistic perforated steel grilles that can easily be removed. Removing the grilles leaves the speakers almost an inch thinner and reveals their unique dual spherical shape, ...