PLEASE READ *before commenting*! 1) All comments here are moderated by a third party 2) Polite comments that advance the conversation are most welcome 3) No URLs, racist/sexist remarks or conspiracy theories, please
I think EISA’s collective responsibility is to have as many meaningless and convoluted awards as possible to licence as many EISA logos as possible to manufacturers - its an age old marketing ploy that exists in virtually every creative industry. Love all your work JD, but not buying it.
One key point I had to keep reminding myself is that these products were all released within the last 12 months or so. Does EISA keep a ranking of “reference” products still on the market that May reign supreme over the newcomers? The difficulty with these sorts of awards is that when informing a buying decision it is helpful to look at the entire spectrum of what is still on the market. For instance with the DAC, is the new offering for this year better than some of the tried and true such as Denafrips Ares II?
John, you stated that the Paradigm Founder 120H is a "passive loudspeaker." That's not entirely correct. The Found 120H is quite interesting, it is a 3-way design with the xover between bass and mid at 300 Hz, and the bass is powered by its own amplifier (internal to the loudspeaker). So this is a hybrid active-passive design. With a 300 Hz crossover, the bass is not a subwoofer, so this is not a 2-way with a built in sub. To my knowledge, the Paradigm 120H is is one of very few such commercially available hifi hybrid active speakers and should be of interest for that reason alone.
Great video... Great concept... My only input would be a small suggestion - Maybe the EISA HI-FI AWARDS could, in the future, go a step further and break down their awards into three general price/cost categories, all of which would still possess excellent hi-fi performance - (1) High-end/expensive equip $$$. (2) Mid-range equip./ somewhat affordable for the average person $$ (3) Low-end equip./very affordable to most, but still in the realm of Hi-Fidelity $... I understand this would represent a bigger headache for those concerned, yet might help grow the EISA Association's presence...? I, personally, would really enjoy this type of categorization, as I reside in the $ to $$ social economic strata (SES)... Thanks for the video Mr. Darko - much appreciated...!!!
This sharing on the org, structure & process breakdown with EISA was so interesting and at least now, that badge / symbol I see often makes an actual connection. Also, just listened to your podcast #40 with Michael Lavorgna and hope you 2 will continue them; as the good synergy and just shooting from the hip on stuff is revealing and is just fun to be a part of.
Hey John, big fan on your work here. I actually waited to get home first to watch your video on the tv. Watching your videos are like television series to me, you have the best video production I’ve ever seen. Besides being my hifi go-to channel. Cheers!
And also read the reviews of those eligible to vote as I could only find one published review of the Musical Fidelity DAC online (and All Home Cinema who was the reviewer don't seem to be a member of EISA)
Hey Darko, love your content. As someone who’s not an audiophile but more from the mainstream crowd, I would love to hear your take on the Sonus Faber Omnia. Stereophony aside, it seems to have turned some heads. It also very much smells like Future-Fi … : )
Hi John, really interested to understand the way EISA selects the winners of the awards. Small point, the Paradigm Founder 120H is hardly a passive loudspeaker as the bass drivers are driven by internal amplifiers and I they have in built room correction technology. Clearly, the category is broad enough for this not to matter, although as a consumer, I might be more interested to know if I was going to need a mains socket to nearby. With the wireless category, I can understand the need. So my question is, why aren’t there separate awards for passive and active speakers? I’m pretty sure the market would divide neatly along these lines, with those investing heavily in their amplification choosing from the former category, whilst those looking for an integrated technology style solution going the latter. For me the Paradigms and the Kefs are in the same category.
Hi John. Love your video's as always. There were references to streaming amps (or smart amps), but no reference to a standard amp. Any awards for standard amps?
I vote for more transparency on the votes. With the car of year award, every magazine can reveal its own voting behaviour. Is EISA afraid of controverse with the electronics industry?
With so many categories don’t you run the risk that you have only reviewed one or two contenders. So then choice seems very limited. From a single reviewer you can sort of consider the pattern and comparisons that have led to these choices adding them together for a big group of reviewers makes you lose that? So for a enthousiast/consumer a single experienced well balanced and explained opinion may be more of use.
The new Qualio Audio IQ Speakers should be on this list they are Revelatory ! The all new Atma-Sphere Class D Mono Block Amps are being Raved by many as the Best on the World market right now !
John, sounds like maybe 3-4 members would be eligible to vote on any particular item. Correct me, please, if I’m getting it wrong. Thanks for your work, buddy.
Be careful JD "THE COLLECTIVE" will assimilate your individuality. Jesting of course. I've auditioned Paradigm's Founder 120H (has powered subwoofer build in, but passive crossover), and Perlisten S7T Dominus THX rated Tower speakers ($18K per pair). Both are very good, but not truly World Class in my opinion. Paradigm Persona line are true World class high end speakers. Thanks for the video, I'm sure it will help guide many of my fellow subscribers to these award winning products.
I'm astounded that you're part of E.I.S.A, so congratulations. I have been an avid reader of What Hifi for a long long time and the EISA awards are always as surprising as the ones from the previous years.
I vote for those Dynaudio Evoke 30's behind you John! The KEF LS60 Wireless speakers are a nice looking design but seem pricey so I'd like to see a head to head comparison with the Totem Kin Play powered tower speaker which sells for $2250/pair here in the U.S.
All I would of added, although I know you can look it up would have been a rough price guide, or at least an explanation of how EISA decide how much money the award winners can and can’t cost ? If that makes sense. Thx
Dear John, (Ha!) Thank you yet again for another great and informative video. I would like to know, since you have recently added a television to your music listening(mainly as a cover art screen) and are very fond of products that offer hdmi connectivity, is there a chance that we could see more hometheater based products featured on your channel. I thoroughly enjoy your attitude towards hifi, and based on how you approach your reviews, would love to get your take on products like the Primare Amp, as well as your thoughts on hometheater amps, receivers and super-intergrateds used in a HiFi setup. Thank you and stay safe.
I think there should be a separate category for dongle dacs. Portable dacs are also nice, but they hardly are pocketable thus their portability is limited. Unlike with dongle dacs that can be pocketed and are super portable. Frankly I can't be bothered to wear Mojo on me in my pocket. But things like Dragonfly, BOLT etc. are just fine.
Thank you for bringing us the awards JD, and every time you emphasize that you can't tell us if you voted for the product, we know that's your wink wink, nudge nudge that you did 🤣
In theory a product could win with only two votes and by a company that send a lot of gear out for review, giving them a higher mathematical chance of being voted for. I always take anonymous votes with a pinch of salt because of this reason. Having said that the Sony headphones and the LS60 wireless do warrant winning in my opinion, a lot of the other gear I wouldn’t know where to start. I find it interesting that I never see mentions of Rose or Lumin in any awards, is that because they don’t send stuff from Asia a lot to Europe?
Hey John great vid as normal. Just a little surprised to see that the more budget turntable was an Argon Audio one as correct me if I'm wrong they don't export out of Europe. At least UK and America? At least that was what I got from them last we spoke
getting an award for a product is always nice for the manufacturer. every product sells better if something award winning is inside the box. But - there are lots of awards. Sometimes it feels a litle bit like winning a "Siegerurkunde" at the "Bundesjugendspiele". On customer side it leads to the usual discussions like: A: my device has this. B: my device has this and that. A: my device has this and that one more of it. B: shure, but mine wins an award.....
All I will say is, the products seem very ‘safe’ or obvious in a sense, a bit ‘old school’ and generally not particularly cutting edge in their fields. But things that probably won’t disappoint or offend regular consumers on the other hand, so I can definitely see why they were chosen. Wether that’s a result of the nature of the type of list or the people behind it, I don’t know, but its often the case with larger scale lists like this, from big outlets. Not meant as a dig against it at all, just an observation I find interesting. Seems to be a certain type of products.
IMO, KEF is the most consistently overrated speaker, ever. Their larger floorstanders are quite good, but the smaller models sound like how they look: Constrained, confined and limited. Oh well.
Agreed! For active floorstanding speakers I would have liked to see Mads and Buchardt Audio take that title. They sure as hell deserve it. Wonderful system to get into.
I'm intrigued about Primare's streamer - I have an external DAC (Topping D90) and Primare CD32 with Exposure 3-box amplifier and KEF Reference ThreeFours. It seems like a great way to add the streaming capability without swapping out components that already work well together. I would use the optical connection to the D90 DAC when the CD uses the coax digital input.
I would assume that either the smart or that other similar category probably cover this ... but it's probably not a question for here and more for EISA ... if it's not in their site, then probably not.
Good video! 🏆 I've kind of gone off paying attention to awards, generally, in most stuff that I follow in tech or the arts, and usually they don't mean a whole lot to me. However, after hearing how it's all done, I'd say that these do, I think. Equally, when I actually do choose my next piece of equipment, I'll definitely take these as a guideline as to what to look for. But that will be in with reviewers that I feel aligned to for whatever reason, and to the other normal stuff. What would be cool to know is all of the other products that were nominated in each category. Perhaps, again, because those would be useful come equipment purchase time, as (especially if they got multiple noms) it'd indicate what came close, or even just other good stuff from the community. But it'd also just be good because it's nice to have a fuller picture, too. *EDIT* - Obviously I appreciate that is on EISA to actually publish, and by the looks of things, they don't ... but it feels like maybe they should ... it wouldn't betray anyone/thing. - *END EDIT* That said, I can see how that would spur whatabouters on even more. 😉
Thanks i liked this program :) Awards are always really interesting to follow. Currently i have found no mention of "The absolute sound, Editors' Choise awards" on your channel. For some odd reason Larsen HIfi has won best speaker award 8 (eight) years in a row. That is kind of spectacular in my book, still no reviews or mentions on the major youtube-hifi/audiophile channels i follow.
Thanks for the video, great fun with some mouth watering bits of kit. My only thought is that, owing to the disbursement of the judges, aren't the awards likely to be a bit euro-centric? Would EISA gain more credibility with a good few more North American judges?
There are at least 3 US judges - more then several of the other countries - Uk has three I think but most of the 31 or what ever countries have two. Europe is many distinct countries not just one... So why would weighting it more heavily towards the US give it more credibility ?
In fact in that vein .. Looking at it where the Judges/Panel is actually under represented is Asia / Africa where the entire Asia region is represented by one in Japan and one in India - no one else in Asia and no one at all in Africa. Australia does at least add to to the PacRim by two - but could do with more in the region ... I think there are plenty of places that could do with representation before buffing it up with more from North America - though would be nice to get some South American representation too i think.
The Paradigm Founders line is very impressive. The 100h is a good value. Heard them last November at Music Lovers in SF. Owner tells me they are their best selling line. My dog tends to "Mark Around" and that model's drivers are set too low to the floor for my needs.
As always, thank you for an entertaining and informative video. I understand you can't reveal your individual EISA votes due to the collective confidentiality agreement. Speaking hypothetically, if you (or any EISA member) were to produce your own "best of the year" list, as many hi-fi sites/channels/publications do, wouldn't that more or less reveal how you (or another EISA member, as the case may be) voted?
Thank you for your so timely information, I can't considered many surprises, from what we were seeing and reading in the specialized review, but Roksam and Moon were. Good job
John, what level are the LS60 at compared to good streaming amp (I have Naim Nova) and a £3000 - £4000 set of floor standers. Not asking for direct comparison so please don’t shout at me. I’m asking would they replace such a setup without any compromise?
Thanks for the video. I follow eisa awards after decades and bought several winning products across the years. I would have liked more comments from your experience on the products you know and also a quick alignment with a possible alternative of the same quality level.
It is high time EISA expands beyond pure hardware and covers 'services" (streaming platforms) and 'software' (streaming or audio/video products that people increasingly use on their laptops, mobile devices, and home audio or HT systems, etc). Not sure if they cover music software, but that would be a good addition as well.
John are these awards only for new products released within the last year? I am a bit confused about how these awards are for both 2022 and 2023 given that many products for 2023 have yet to be released.
Very interesting and reaffirms my interest in all-in-one speakers with connection to applications despite inelegant wiring like the SVS. I was also struck by the Pro Ject X2 B turntable and the Phono Box S3B. The exhibition of the EISA Hi-FI Awards 22 23 products is enjoyable and interesting. Very Darko.
Hi John, why is the EISA vote confidencial? What is the point? I follow you for your opinion and do not quite understand why your opinion on the winner is cofidentiel. Love your videos and your approach to reviews.
Does EISA publish lists of contenders from which winners are voted for? With them, the awards do not have much value as it is not known what they were compered to?
Hi John. Loved the video and explanation of EISA. I would love to see an EISA hi-fi and home theatre joint award for best home theatre receiver for hi-fi. What do you think the chances are in future years? Thanks
I'm very curious about the speakers of the year now.. never heard of them.. When it comes to John's votes.. it's fun to try and figure out which ones you agree with.. I take it that the KEFs are a no brainer.. it's love there is tangible, and c'mon, can't blame you!
Really liked the list of products, but also really liked the explanation of EISA Awards. One question: how is voting counted or weighted? Are more reviewed products at an advantage because they get more possible votes, or do the awards count received votes out of possible votes? I love that only those who review products get to vote for them, just curious what that looks like in practice.
I find it interesting to learn how nominees are narrowed down and the limits on voting. EISA is a great international barometer of favored gear- with perhaps greater European product exposure in this group than American reviewers get
It would be great hearing your opinion on the paradigm founder 120h. They have been on my radar for some time now. Maybe A side by side the more budget friendly 120f.
I really enjoyed this review and insight ,and I have an award winner the roksan attessa streaming amp and cdt, but sadly not many reviewers on UA-cam can get their hands on one to review .
when will they release the SVS Prime Wireless Pro? There are videos about it since the beginning of this year but yet it hasn't been available to purchase.
PLEASE READ *before commenting*!
1) All comments here are moderated by a third party
2) Polite comments that advance the conversation are most welcome
3) No URLs, racist/sexist remarks or conspiracy theories, please
I think EISA’s collective responsibility is to have as many meaningless and convoluted awards as possible to licence as many EISA logos as possible to manufacturers - its an age old marketing ploy that exists in virtually every creative industry. Love all your work JD, but not buying it.
Great video. Please upload the results every year because we get to look in to products that we may have not considered or known about
One key point I had to keep reminding myself is that these products were all released within the last 12 months or so. Does EISA keep a ranking of “reference” products still on the market that May reign supreme over the newcomers?
The difficulty with these sorts of awards is that when informing a buying decision it is helpful to look at the entire spectrum of what is still on the market. For instance with the DAC, is the new offering for this year better than some of the tried and true such as Denafrips Ares II?
John, you stated that the Paradigm Founder 120H is a "passive loudspeaker." That's not entirely correct. The Found 120H is quite interesting, it is a 3-way design with the xover between bass and mid at 300 Hz, and the bass is powered by its own amplifier (internal to the loudspeaker). So this is a hybrid active-passive design. With a 300 Hz crossover, the bass is not a subwoofer, so this is not a 2-way with a built in sub. To my knowledge, the Paradigm 120H is is one of very few such commercially available hifi hybrid active speakers and should be of interest for that reason alone.
Great video... Great concept... My only input would be a small suggestion - Maybe the EISA HI-FI AWARDS could, in the future, go a step further and break down their awards into three general price/cost categories, all of which would still possess excellent hi-fi performance - (1) High-end/expensive equip $$$. (2) Mid-range equip./ somewhat affordable for the average person $$ (3) Low-end equip./very affordable to most, but still in the realm of Hi-Fidelity $... I understand this would represent a bigger headache for those concerned, yet might help grow the EISA Association's presence...? I, personally, would really enjoy this type of categorization, as I reside in the $ to $$ social economic strata (SES)... Thanks for the video Mr. Darko - much appreciated...!!!
Great! You being a member increases my “faith” in EISA.
This sharing on the org, structure & process breakdown with EISA was so interesting and at least now, that badge / symbol I see often makes an actual connection. Also, just listened to your podcast #40 with Michael Lavorgna and hope you 2 will continue them; as the good synergy and just shooting from the hip on stuff is revealing and is just fun to be a part of.
Hey John, big fan on your work here. I actually waited to get home first to watch your video on the tv. Watching your videos are like television series to me, you have the best video production I’ve ever seen. Besides being my hifi go-to channel. Cheers!
I am interested in your personal awards for the Hi-Fi products released this year. It would be interesting if you can make one.
About the awards, is it possible to see which products the winner was up against?
And also read the reviews of those eligible to vote as I could only find one published review of the Musical Fidelity DAC online (and All Home Cinema who was the reviewer don't seem to be a member of EISA)
Hey Darko, love your content. As someone who’s not an audiophile but more from the mainstream crowd, I would love to hear your take on the Sonus Faber Omnia. Stereophony aside, it seems to have turned some heads. It also very much smells like Future-Fi … : )
I would like to second this!
Can someone explain to me the difference between the Streaming Amplifier and the SMART amplifier?
I assume 'smart' also supports Bluetooth and Airplay and such
Now that Moon has won an award, I am hoping they will get more coverage. They make amazing products, and I don't see them reviewed very often.
Hi John, really interested to understand the way EISA selects the winners of the awards. Small point, the Paradigm Founder 120H is hardly a passive loudspeaker as the bass drivers are driven by internal amplifiers and I they have in built room correction technology.
Clearly, the category is broad enough for this not to matter, although as a consumer, I might be more interested to know if I was going to need a mains socket to nearby. With the wireless category, I can understand the need.
So my question is, why aren’t there separate awards for passive and active speakers? I’m pretty sure the market would divide neatly along these lines, with those investing heavily in their amplification choosing from the former category, whilst those looking for an integrated technology style solution going the latter. For me the Paradigms and the Kefs are in the same category.
But John, what about the Unicorns why didn’t the unicorns get an award! 😉 Keep up the great videos even if they take longer than 5min.
No passive bookshelf/standmount loudspeaker category?
Well, they did award the Moon 22s
You mean the little league?
Yeah I was waiting untill the end for the most wanted product too but no cigar. Moons come as a system.
Please, next time, add the prices to your presentation.
Hi John. Love your video's as always. There were references to streaming amps (or smart amps), but no reference to a standard amp. Any awards for standard amps?
I always assumed the E stood for European.
Live and learn.
No stand mount speaker award?
Hmmm...
It was, until 2018 when EISA decided to go global. Then E was changed to Expert.
I vote for more transparency on the votes. With the car of year award, every magazine can reveal its own voting behaviour. Is EISA afraid of controverse with the electronics industry?
Thanks for the look on how EISA works. 👍
Great video, thanks John. Very precise!
On the internet it's so easy not to be polite, så I really like your emphasis on being polite.
And on that note, thanks for this video
Thanks, good to learn about the mechanics of EISA.
With so many categories don’t you run the risk that you have only reviewed one or two contenders. So then choice seems very limited.
From a single reviewer you can sort of consider the pattern and comparisons that have led to these choices adding them together for a big group of reviewers makes you lose that?
So for a enthousiast/consumer a single experienced well balanced and explained opinion may be more of use.
some wonderful gear in that lot....those little svs monitors are amazing...cheers john..Ty from s.oz
Nice job. Thanks for making this video. I always look to at least see what EISA likes to inform my perspective on equipment.
The new Qualio Audio IQ Speakers should be on this list they are Revelatory !
The all new Atma-Sphere Class D Mono Block Amps are being Raved by many as the Best on the World market right now !
John, sounds like maybe 3-4 members would be eligible to vote on any particular item. Correct me, please, if I’m getting it wrong. Thanks for your work, buddy.
Be careful JD "THE COLLECTIVE" will assimilate your individuality. Jesting of course. I've auditioned Paradigm's Founder 120H (has powered subwoofer build in, but passive crossover), and Perlisten S7T Dominus THX rated Tower speakers ($18K per pair). Both are very good, but not truly World Class in my opinion. Paradigm Persona line are true World class high end speakers.
Thanks for the video, I'm sure it will help guide many of my fellow subscribers to these award winning products.
I'm astounded that you're part of E.I.S.A, so congratulations.
I have been an avid reader of What Hifi for a long long time and the EISA awards are always as surprising as the ones from the previous years.
Great as always,
It's good to see companies like SVS and IFI getting positive recognition.
I love how you are teasing us with the KEF LS60 and Dynaudio Speakers side by side in the background, John
Thank you John. I did love this video. Per chance will you be doing a video on the iFi Gryphon?
Thanks, John. 'Eisa' gonna go out and buy me some these products right now!!!
I vote for those Dynaudio Evoke 30's behind you John! The KEF LS60 Wireless speakers are a nice looking design but seem pricey so I'd like to see a head to head comparison with the Totem Kin Play powered tower speaker which sells for $2250/pair here in the U.S.
I just hope they also include budget categories of DAC, AMP, Headphones both wireless and wired in the future...
All I would of added, although I know you can look it up would have been a rough price guide, or at least an explanation of how EISA decide how much money the award winners can and can’t cost ? If that makes sense. Thx
Dear John, (Ha!)
Thank you yet again for another great and informative video. I would like to know, since you have recently added a television to your music listening(mainly as a cover art screen) and are very fond of products that offer hdmi connectivity, is there a chance that we could see more hometheater based products featured on your channel. I thoroughly enjoy your attitude towards hifi, and based on how you approach your reviews, would love to get your take on products like the Primare Amp, as well as your thoughts on hometheater amps, receivers and super-intergrateds used in a HiFi setup. Thank you and stay safe.
I think there should be a separate category for dongle dacs. Portable dacs are also nice, but they hardly are pocketable thus their portability is limited. Unlike with dongle dacs that can be pocketed and are super portable. Frankly I can't be bothered to wear Mojo on me in my pocket. But things like Dragonfly, BOLT etc. are just fine.
Thank you for bringing us the awards JD, and every time you emphasize that you can't tell us if you voted for the product, we know that's your wink wink, nudge nudge that you did 🤣
Oh hello nineties
In theory a product could win with only two votes and by a company that send a lot of gear out for review, giving them a higher mathematical chance of being voted for. I always take anonymous votes with a pinch of salt because of this reason. Having said that the Sony headphones and the LS60 wireless do warrant winning in my opinion, a lot of the other gear I wouldn’t know where to start. I find it interesting that I never see mentions of Rose or Lumin in any awards, is that because they don’t send stuff from Asia a lot to Europe?
Out of curiosity could you run a comparison between the Marantz 40n and the Roksan Attessa Streaming amplifier?
I really want to try the SVS pro wireless speaker and they seem perfect for me. But they are so ugly and don’t fit my ascetic of my place at all
Why not list the award winners below?
Will there be a review of the ifi xDSD Gryphon?
Hey John great vid as normal. Just a little surprised to see that the more budget turntable was an Argon Audio one as correct me if I'm wrong they don't export out of Europe. At least UK and America? At least that was what I got from them last we spoke
getting an award for a product is always nice for the manufacturer. every product sells better if something award winning is inside the box. But - there are lots of awards. Sometimes it feels a litle bit like winning a "Siegerurkunde" at the "Bundesjugendspiele". On customer side it leads to the usual discussions like: A: my device has this. B: my device has this and that. A: my device has this and that one more of it. B: shure, but mine wins an award.....
All I will say is, the products seem very ‘safe’ or obvious in a sense, a bit ‘old school’ and generally not particularly cutting edge in their fields. But things that probably won’t disappoint or offend regular consumers on the other hand, so I can definitely see why they were chosen. Wether that’s a result of the nature of the type of list or the people behind it, I don’t know, but its often the case with larger scale lists like this, from big outlets.
Not meant as a dig against it at all, just an observation I find interesting. Seems to be a certain type of products.
There are exceptions to the cutting edge thing of course, like the kef, speaking more in general terms here.
It’s missing the chinfi products obviously but also shines a light on less hyped products, so it’s a win bottom line
Hi John, any plans to review a Perlisten speaker?
Good to hear you still only do things you want
Infotainment as usual. Thank you
Hmm, no bookshelf / standmount passive speaker award. Pretty big category to skip I would think.
No in-ear either. But might just not have been enough that they had reviewed in those categories.
Brilliant Video & Many Thanks :)
IMO, KEF is the most consistently overrated speaker, ever.
Their larger floorstanders are quite good, but the smaller models sound like how they look: Constrained, confined and limited.
Oh well.
Yes I think eg Genelec is better.
Agreed! For active floorstanding speakers I would have liked to see Mads and Buchardt Audio take that title.
They sure as hell deserve it.
Wonderful system to get into.
I'm intrigued about Primare's streamer - I have an external DAC (Topping D90) and Primare CD32 with Exposure 3-box amplifier and KEF Reference ThreeFours. It seems like a great way to add the streaming capability without swapping out components that already work well together. I would use the optical connection to the D90 DAC when the CD uses the coax digital input.
Does EISA have a category for multiroom HiFi?
I would assume that either the smart or that other similar category probably cover this ... but it's probably not a question for here and more for EISA ... if it's not in their site, then probably not.
Nice video, cheers.
What's the the difference is between streaming amps and smart amps?
Impossible for me to answer questions about (award naming) decisions that I played no part in. Sorry.
Good video! 🏆
I've kind of gone off paying attention to awards, generally, in most stuff that I follow in tech or the arts, and usually they don't mean a whole lot to me. However, after hearing how it's all done, I'd say that these do, I think.
Equally, when I actually do choose my next piece of equipment, I'll definitely take these as a guideline as to what to look for. But that will be in with reviewers that I feel aligned to for whatever reason, and to the other normal stuff.
What would be cool to know is all of the other products that were nominated in each category. Perhaps, again, because those would be useful come equipment purchase time, as (especially if they got multiple noms) it'd indicate what came close, or even just other good stuff from the community. But it'd also just be good because it's nice to have a fuller picture, too.
*EDIT* - Obviously I appreciate that is on EISA to actually publish, and by the looks of things, they don't ... but it feels like maybe they should ... it wouldn't betray anyone/thing. - *END EDIT*
That said, I can see how that would spur whatabouters on even more. 😉
Thanks i liked this program :) Awards are always really interesting to follow.
Currently i have found no mention of "The absolute sound, Editors' Choise awards" on your channel. For some odd reason Larsen HIfi has won best speaker award 8 (eight) years in a row. That is kind of spectacular in my book, still no reviews or mentions on the major youtube-hifi/audiophile channels i follow.
Thanks for the video, great fun with some mouth watering bits of kit.
My only thought is that, owing to the disbursement of the judges, aren't the awards likely to be a bit euro-centric? Would EISA gain more credibility with a good few more North American judges?
There are at least 3 US judges - more then several of the other countries - Uk has three I think but most of the 31 or what ever countries have two. Europe is many distinct countries not just one... So why would weighting it more heavily towards the US give it more credibility ?
That said - Canada only has one member - so would be good if some else in canada joins to give them a couple too.
In fact in that vein .. Looking at it where the Judges/Panel is actually under represented is Asia / Africa where the entire Asia region is represented by one in Japan and one in India - no one else in Asia and no one at all in Africa. Australia does at least add to to the PacRim by two - but could do with more in the region ... I think there are plenty of places that could do with representation before buffing it up with more from North America - though would be nice to get some South American representation too i think.
The Paradigm Founders line is very impressive. The 100h is a good value. Heard them last November at Music Lovers in SF. Owner tells me they are their best selling line. My dog tends to "Mark Around" and that model's drivers are set too low to the floor for my needs.
As always, thank you for an entertaining and informative video. I understand you can't reveal your individual EISA votes due to the collective confidentiality agreement. Speaking hypothetically, if you (or any EISA member) were to produce your own "best of the year" list, as many hi-fi sites/channels/publications do, wouldn't that more or less reveal how you (or another EISA member, as the case may be) voted?
Thank you for your so timely information, I can't considered many surprises, from what we were seeing and reading in the specialized review, but Roksam and Moon were. Good job
Are the awards from members affected by the product's advertising revenue for their magazine etc?
So how independent is it?
Cheers
Phil
Looks Like sennheiser missed the boat this year with the New Momentum 4's just launching.Presumably they'll be looked at for next years awards list.
John, what level are the LS60 at compared to good streaming amp (I have Naim Nova) and a £3000 - £4000 set of floor standers. Not asking for direct comparison so please don’t shout at me. I’m asking would they replace such a setup without any compromise?
Thanks for the video. I follow eisa awards after decades and bought several winning products across the years. I would have liked more comments from your experience on the products you know and also a quick alignment with a possible alternative of the same quality level.
WHAT ABOUT THE .. extra money I now have to spend on new products , are you going to tell my wife .. 🤔 😂
Wow, that is a lot of awards! Enough to keep many audio company (and potential advertisers) happy, some cynic people would say...
It is high time EISA expands beyond pure hardware and covers 'services" (streaming platforms) and 'software' (streaming or audio/video products that people increasingly use on their laptops, mobile devices, and home audio or HT systems, etc). Not sure if they cover music software, but that would be a good addition as well.
Good job
John are these awards only for new products released within the last year? I am a bit confused about how these awards are for both 2022 and 2023 given that many products for 2023 have yet to be released.
Very interesting and reaffirms my interest in all-in-one speakers with connection to applications despite inelegant wiring like the SVS. I was also struck by the Pro Ject X2 B turntable and the Phono Box S3B. The exhibition of the EISA Hi-FI Awards 22 23 products is enjoyable and interesting. Very Darko.
Good video, John. Thanks for explaining what EISA is about; it was good to see some brands I was somewhat familiar with...............
🖤🖤 another awesome video
Hi John, why is the EISA vote confidencial? What is the point? I follow you for your opinion and do not quite understand why your opinion on the winner is cofidentiel. Love your videos and your approach to reviews.
Does EISA publish lists of contenders from which winners are voted for? With them, the awards do not have much value as it is not known what they were compered to?
I wish you reviewed those Moon Voice 22 stand mount speakers. I'm thinking you'd be impressed.
Interested in Argon Audio TT-4 turntable. Sounds right up my alley, but apparently they don’t ship to the United States?
Hi John. Loved the video and explanation of EISA. I would love to see an EISA hi-fi and home theatre joint award for best home theatre receiver for hi-fi. What do you think the chances are in future years? Thanks
Many Thanks. Regards.
I'm very curious about the speakers of the year now.. never heard of them..
When it comes to John's votes.. it's fun to try and figure out which ones you agree with.. I take it that the KEFs are a no brainer.. it's love there is tangible, and c'mon, can't blame you!
Really liked the list of products, but also really liked the explanation of EISA Awards.
One question: how is voting counted or weighted? Are more reviewed products at an advantage because they get more possible votes, or do the awards count received votes out of possible votes? I love that only those who review products get to vote for them, just curious what that looks like in practice.
Thanks for explaining how the EISA Awards are chosen. I follow the results every year.
I find it interesting to learn how nominees are narrowed down and the limits on voting. EISA is a great international barometer of favored gear- with perhaps greater European product exposure in this group than American reviewers get
Thank you for making me aware of many good products that I didn’t know existed. Appreciate it ✌️
Has anyone heard the Anode Acoustics #1 Headphone Tube Amplifier and the Tune preamp+power monoblock stereo amplifiers?
It would be great hearing your opinion on the paradigm founder 120h. They have been on my radar for some time now.
Maybe A side by side the more budget friendly 120f.
..and the award to the most bleeped video goes to the EISA HI-FI AWARDS 2022-23
As a canadian citizen and older Paradigm speakers owner, I would love to see a Founder series review on your channel!
I really enjoyed this review and insight ,and I have an award winner the roksan attessa streaming amp and cdt, but sadly not many reviewers on UA-cam can get their hands on one to review .
Unusual selection of products, but they are always well reviewed, unlike John’s Bloopers!😂
Fantastic John👍👍
Great to see Primare winning a couple of awards. I am a Primare fanboy 👍
when will they release the SVS Prime Wireless Pro? There are videos about it since the beginning of this year but yet it hasn't been available to purchase.
Quite interesting, and has highlighted some products I had never come across. Thank you.
Thanks for video, John. Wondering if you have plans to review any of the Perlisten speakers?
Svs looked interesting but blue leds... But great it's not another made in china company