What is my #1 pick for BEST HiFi AUDIO of the YEAR 2023? My Top 10 and WHY!

hey everyone welcome back today I want to do an end of the year video you know one of those where I tell you what my favorite audio pieces were that I've reviewed this year now I had around 51 pieces sent to me this year for review I did not review all of them some got sent back but out of the ones I did review I have some really clear favorites and this year brought to these years some of the nicest sounding audio products I've heard in my lifetime so I want to sh with you we're going to count down from 10 to one uh of my 10 favorite items that I reviewed this year and we're going to end up at number one and it's not going to be what you think it is so let's get started the 10 best Hi-Fi products that I reviewed in 2023 let's start with number 10 so the number 10 favorite item I reviewed this year actually came out at the end of 2022 but I've been using these all year long I use them at least five days a week and I'm talking about the focal ba wireless bluetooth headphones these are noise cancelling as well now the reason I love these is because I use them a few days a week and I use them when I edit video on my computer keeps the surroundings completely silent I use them outside when I'm doing yard work maybe I'm using uh a trimmer or a chainsaw or a blower uh I wear these and it keeps that noise level down while providing beautiful music now these also sound fantastic if you listen to music with them and there are some nights I sit on the couch just with my focals and I listen to music from my phone these are a fantastic set of bluetooth headphones I actually prefer them to the mark levenson branded I think it's the 599 that I also reviewed last year uh the the B is has stuck with me they're in use every day I've used them on my riding mower I just wipe them down and they still keep going I love the battery life the sound quality the design and style as well as the noise cancelling sure you can get a ton there are a ton of noise cancelling headphones out there but if you want a set that is a step above in sound quality and everything else from build to design to battery take a look at the focal bais headphones I love mine and I will link to the review in the description below of everything I'm talking about today so let's move right along to number nine so number nine was unexpected really now these are something I reviewed a few months ago they are from triangle and they are called the AO twin which is all-in-one twin there's two little speakers they're all in one because the amp the Dack everything is inside the speaker you basically plug it in hook up the left speaker to the right with the included cable and uh you can listen to Bluetooth you can stream uh music you can hook it up to your television uh which is what I did and I just used an optical out from my TV I'm not using HDMI because these do not have the HDMI uh connection for your television but they do work fantastic with the Optical Connection whenever we watch a movie a show anything that has a soundtrack we turn these on in the bedroom and they sound way better than I would have ever expected the base punch from these is really really nice to have uh so for us it was a huge upgrade in our bedroom and we have them on the dresser with our TV these speakers are something that I did not expect to fall in love with but they have a purpose they come in at under a grand and they sound fantastic with music especially if you put them on little stands and set them up prop properly they will reward you with beautiful full range sound from top to bottom uh beautiful little speakers I have the blue ones but they come in multiple colors these are the AO all-in-one twins from Triangle really fantastic set of speakers whether you're using them for music or even movies so what is number eight on the list as we climb our way to number one number eight is a product that came in that really surprised me it's $219 it's a fully functional streamer it has a Dack you can stream Spotify title cobz what have you directly to it it comes with a remote control and I'm talking about the whim Pro Plus streamer now this is a streamer if you're getting into audio or if you're just using a computer believe me even the little whim Pro Plus will be an improvement over your computer going into your audio system I believe that if you're serious about digital music you really do need a streamer in your system and the Wim Pro Plus is one that you can buy and use it's going to be reliable it's going to work great and it's not going to bust your wallet wide open $219 is unheard of in the Hi-Fi realm especially for something like this that performs so well now it's not going to win any awards in the style or design it's built kind of cheap it feels kind of hollow but it's equivalent to a blue sound node for example which is also a streamer in deck but it comes in for a few hundred more dollars everything is cool with the Wim Pro Plus I think whim is going to be doing some fantastic things in the future for those of us who don't want to spend thousands of dollars on their audio system if you're looking for a streamer and you want to get started with streaming check out the wiim Pro Plus very very excellent device for very little money and I put this on the list not because it has this allout per performance or it's the best I've ever heard it's on this list because it's so affordable for the quality that it does give you anyone starting out with streaming this is what I would recommend and today I even recommend it over something like the blue sound node and now the node's going to be uh have a nicer look and design and a little better feel but performance-wise they're about equal uh from my experience and I still have the Wim Pro Plus here I have a blue sound node here I have four or five streamers here right now so the winpro plus because it's such a huge bang for the buck product made it to the list so let's keep going right along and see what number seven so number seven is a product I reviewed many many months ago earlier in the year and it is an integrated amplifier that I really fell in love with um and it would still be here today if I didn't have so much gear coming in all the time I need to make space I'm talking about the Billy Mark 2 integrated amp now this is a really really nice design it's kind of compact but it's not tiny it's Hefty but it's not going to break your back it's a hybrid so it's class D mixed with class A tubes for the preamp class D amplification class A2 preamp comes with a remote control and it has Drive Punch Kick um you know I really fell in love with the amp when it was powering the focal Diablos those are 20 some th000 retail speakers yet here was this $2,000 or so integrated amp powering them with ease and with a sound I preferred to the much more pricey options I had here it has a warm mid-range so it has some punch in the mids which can really make you Groove and move move when you're listening to music it was great with all kinds of music but also really good with Rock and metal and EDM just because of that rhythmic drive that it has now I fell in love with the looks of the Billy looks very stunning very classy very modern very midcentury modern in a way you can choose different color knobs for it you can customize it to your liking um and yeah it's just an allaround really really great integrated amp that's not going to cost you $10,000 this is a really cool piece I still have vivid and wonderful memories of the Billy Mark 2 from heaven1 audio check it out if you can and if it's in your price range um there's something special about the way this melds that class D amplification with the class A tubes so be sure to not miss the Billy Mark 2 integrated amp I'll link to the review if you missed it in the description below so let's get right along here to number six now when I reviewed this piece earlier in the year I was crazy excited about it and there's a reason I was crazy excited about it it's because it competes with another product that costs triple the money I'm talking about the Weiss Dak 204 when I received the 204 DEC for review I was like oh this looks like a plain little silver box I'm sure it's going to sound good but I didn't expect it to have the allout sound character of the $99,000 we stack 501 and it's like 98 99% a similar character similar sound but you're paying uh 20 some hundred for it instead of $9,000 so that was the reason for my excitement here we are getting a way more affordable deck that gives you the high-end Studio sound to me it sounded like real toore tape very correct very neutral you hear all the details but it also had body to it it was not you know bare or lean which I can't stand so it sounded really really really nice the Weiss Dak 20 for in my opinion is a high-end kind of bargain because you're getting a high-end sound but you're paying that midfi price so the Weiss Dak 204 I can still highly recommend it if you're looking for a detailed sound that sounds something like you're right in the studio with the performers it's not an ethereal kind of deck but it's a more neutral correct uh gives you everything kind of deck without being lean harsh or grainy and that's what's really cool about the we Stacks they give you all of that information but they're non fatiguing that's really cool so the Weiss Dak 204 a Bonafide high-fi buy if you're looking for a high-end sound for your higher end system this DAC can be right at home in a 50 $70,000 system and it will not be the bottleneck of that [Applause] system all right number five brings me to a piece that warms my heart I'm talking about the choco sound Emi integrated amp you know sometimes less is more and this little amp only has a couple of inputs uh and that's it it comes with a remote it's got a hefty solid build but it's compact so it's very dense has a nice design with a window where you can see inside through the top and the sound is just luscious it's warm the base is Big um there's still plenty detail and transparency here but to me it reminds me and I said this in the review of a single-ended triode amp but with like big Power Big Balls behind it right it has some drive and slam um so it's a really unique sound and I think they I don't know why they called it choco sound some people think ooh it's going to sound like chocolate syrup and be overly warm or bloated but it doesn't sound like that it's a warm leaning amp but it still retains transparency it still retains that holographic Imaging it has a nice Bas oomph to it so it provides a little bit of that warmth really really fantastic and unique beautiful little amp again will not break the bank it's under 1,800 bucks and uh I've been listening to it on and off I put it in from time to time and I listen to it for a few nights and then I go back to something else that's the beauty about having all this gear here I can constantly re-evaluate weight and I still love the choco sound Emi I'm actually when I run it I'm running it with the kinky Studios who makes choco sound Earth cables and it's a match made in heaven so if you can if you haven't yet check out the choco sound Emi as with the rest I'll link to the review in the description below let's keep this train rolling right [Applause] along so we're getting down to the top four and in my number four spot you know I thought I took some time thinking about the top four and where I would put this set of of audio gear I'm talking about the Daniel Herz Ava and Amber systems and in general I'll just say Daniel Herz in general they sell the Maria amp and they have a variety of speakers that are mated to each amp so if you buy the Ava system with the small Ava speakers your Maria is tuned to those Ava speakers if you buy the Amber system your Maria's tuned to the Amber system there are so many unique things about the Daniel Herz system uh it has technology created by Mark levenson and it's different the amps are different from anything else that I've experienced the the way they're made the way they look the way they work internally the way the DAC chip Works which is not even really a DAC chip so the Maria Amps do the digital to analog conversion inside but Mark Levens says it's not really a DAC chip in there he has one ship called Mighty cat and it pretty much does all the magic within the Daniel Herz line there's only one dealer for Daniel Herz in the United States as far as I know and it's John over at Lone Crow audio he's the one who hooked me up with Daniel Herz I reviewed the avas I loved it so much Mark levenson contacted me and said hey do you want to check out the ambers which are bigger speaker Source Point I did that and uh there was kind of no going back I couldn't take it out of the room so they still reside as my reference system right here now the Daniel Herz systems are not uh inexpensive they are going to cost you some money but they give you what you pay for back in performance in uniqueness in looks they're like a bespoke piece crafted by Artisans and Mark levenson tells me that's exactly what it is uh the sound quality is big uh since my review of the ambers um Mark levenson sent me the final tuning for the Maria and ambers and it really beefed up the sound made them even bigger they're still clear as a window but they have much bigger base more mid base and they just have a fuller presentation I'm really really loving the Daniel Herz Amber system um since I reviewed them the prices have went up I think the little Ava system which was 14 Grand for the amp the Dack the speakers the cables and now that's raised to 19 Grand the ambers are now 24 grand um but they're still a killer killer system and probably the finest sound I've ever heard in my personal space no matter where it has been that I lived over the last 35 years so why isn't it my number one it's because the money not everyone will buy or can afford a piece of audio that cost that much money but hey welcome to 2023 let's hope 2024 uh cools down the prices in the world on a few things but the Daniel Herz systems are unique they're bespoke their quality and they just sound absolutely beautiful so if that is something that is within your budget uh it would kind of be a crime to not audition Daniel Herz or at least try to hear it if you can so Daniel Herz in my number four spot now we're going to get to the nitty-gritty the top three so number three is something that none of you probably would have ever guessed because I didn't do a video review for it uh I only did a written review and it's a long extensive detailed written review and this is one of the finest integrated amps that I've had the pleasure of hearing and evaluating in 2023 it's actually a receiver and it's not the Yamaha RN 1000 I reviewed it's the Yamaha RN 2000 which is in another League from the 1,000 as good as what is that 1,000 is the 2000 is more of a higher-end sounding piece it just has a refinement it has a beefy sound a liquid sound and it has everything inside that you could ask for it comes with a mic for room correction it has a built-in deck that's actually very very good um it has uh all kinds of features a streamer is built into this you have Vu meters legit Vu meters not electronic ones um it's just an overall gorgeous beautiful piece and I'll be honest if I didn't have the Daniel Herz Maria I'd probably have the Yamaha RN 2000 in the system right now where it's sat for a few weeks where I listen to it every day now this is not the same sound of Yamaha past Yamaha in the past at least with the older series from a few years ago they always had a unique sound you could tell it sounded like a Yamaha and for me they were a little a little lean in the mids uh a little forward in the mids but a little the base was lacking or something was off um I love Yamaha and I loved their Flagship pieces but it wasn't my favorite for sound quality but now their amps seems to have changed uh the way they sound and they sound full big holographic they image like a champ and the piece is just solid as all get out Noise free one of the most beautiful integrated I've seen this year and heard the Yamaha RN 2000 comes in at $339.99 so it's $4,000 but it is well worth that cost how does it sound compared to say my Daniel Herz Maria which is a $113,000 ramp it's different it's not the same the Maria is a little more refined a little smoother um and the Yamaha is a little little more Punchy U maybe not quite as refined where the Maria sounds like analog on steroids the Yamaha gets really close to making digital sound analog especially if you use an external deck but as a one piece allinone it is mighty mighty fine and it's all almost anyone would need just add your speakers and you are set the Yamaha RN 2000 I'll put a link in the description below to my full written review top two so number two is more of a recent review I've had this here for it feels like a couple of months now I don't even know how long it's been here um but I've been listening to it every single day I've not had any real issues with it it's actually super gorgeous the most beautiful high-f five piece I think I've ever reviewed I'm talking about the HiFi Rose rs130 Flagship streamer if people tell you streamers do not make a difference they don't know what they're talking about streamers make a difference in sound and I'll say it again as long as your system is up to the task of revealing those differences if you have a $500 system a $5,000 streamer is not going to do you any favors but if you have a system that you can hear the differences when you swap components even down to cables then you are going to hear a massive difference with the rs130 now I've heard tons and tons of streamers you have the streamers that are under the, or $22,000 price point the ever solo A6 and A8 the blue sound node the node X the wiim Pro Plus um I've heard the Lumen U1 mini U2 mini Lumen U2 which I raved about the rs130 for me bests the Lumin U2 for many many reasons and in many ways now the features of the 13 30 are that it has fiber ethernet and fiber USB to cut down almost any noise that's in your system um you don't have to use it that way to gain the benefits though I'm actually using it with my regular old ethernet and I'm using the coax out into my Maria and it is a night and day difference between the say noex I had in here the ever solo I had in here it just provides a sound that is I've said it before like analog on steroids and it mates so well with the Maria and one other thing I have yet to talk about I'm going to talk about it next this streamer is probably I've figured this out over the past eight weeks the most important piece in my system if I switch to say the Wim proo plus my sound flattens it gets a little harder sounding and I'm talking about just as a streamer if I plug in the ever solo A8 that comes in at around 2 Grand brand the one I just reviewed it gets a little better than the whim and the node and it adds a little more heft to the sound but when I go to that rs130 everything changes the Imaging is much more focused the voices come out in the center right to you in a more pronounced way there's zero hint of grain hash noise hardness leanness the base is remarkable it allows us to hear those Reverb cues that are in some songs and it just adds to the immersiveness of the sound this is just such a beautiful Music Streamer and that's all it does it streams music you can put a hard drive underneath if you like if you want to put your own files there you can throw a USB stick in the back and stream off of that you can stream with Spotify title cobas um using the rose app now I'll admit the rose app is not my favorite control app from streamers but it is usable and it works um what else can I tell you these have um there's so much Tech inside of the 130 from the way that it has an SSD drive not for serving music but for caching your music right so that way when you're scrolling through songs and streaming I use Spotify connect a lot uh but with other streamers I get lags sometimes if I skip three songs forward or four there'll be a lag and I'll have to reopen the app there's no lag with the 130 and the only other streamer I've used where there was no lag was the Lumen U2 which is around $5,000 as well um but whether I'm listening to title cobz Spotify the sound is just glorious um I had a silver one here I bought the demo from John at Lone Crow and everything else in here is black so I ended up swapping it out for a black one uh and I got to say they're both beautiful but my heart's really settled on the black it just looks classy and stunning and it's more about looks because it's sound so the Hi-Fi Rose rs130 looks beautiful the build is top quality and the sound is glorious and that is why it is my number two pick of all of the items I've reviewed in 2023 it's quite remarkable though there are a couple bugs with it because uh when they released it highy Rose said it was Rune ready right Rune Endo right but as of yet as of end of November 2023 it still has not been certified by Rune so those who bought it to use with Rune they're stuck they can't connect it to Rune until this certification goes through that's kind of a bummer I have Rune as well I'll wait till it gets certified uh and then I'll use it with Rune and I have no doubts that it will be certified actually I think it's going to be done fairly soon that's my prediction all right let's move on to the number one product my allout favorite piece of gear that came through my hands this year in [Applause] 2023 all right number one Numero Uno the finest piece I've had in all year that impressed me in regards to Sound Performance and cost remember I do put cost in here I'm not just talking about the allout best in sound though these get close I'm talking about the bukar hard audio anniversary 10 speakers they're still here I've had them here since the launch before the launch and I've been listening to them for the past week nonstop and they've just been blowing my mind I found a way to improve the sound and it's quite dramatic I'll talk about that in a minute and man they just blow me away the base the base from these is remarkable I still haven't heard a speaker big or small with the base performance of The Anniversary 10s and I don't know how it's done um it's it's remarkable so there's not only the lower base these go down to about 20 Hertz it's also there's some mid-base there that's missing in a lot of speakers there's so many speakers I hear where there's a big bottom end and a nice crisp top end and the mid-range is a little recessed because they're trying to keep it so clean and clear these manufacturers are afraid to pump up mids too much because we can obscure some of the details now the bards pump up the mids a bit there is a nice punch if I'm listening to metal I can jam it to near concert levels in here they never strain they never get ragged or hard they just deliver that smooth huge concert like sound to the room uh if I'm listening to Jazz or close mic vocals it brings that intimacy to the performance if I'm listening to EDM uh the whole room is just bouncing with a beat and I'm hearing the details I'm hearing that base thump and I'm hearing the mid-range as a full throated grooving mid-range that doesn't obscure all the details and that's one thing that's really cool about the a10s there's different tunings you could download them from The Bard website they give you a USB drive you can try any tuning you want into it it takes about a minute update the tuning on each speaker and there are tunings for for a brighter highs more information in the highs there's tunings for more bass there's tunings for um a flat response there's there's several tunings and right now I have it on flat I did the room correction because these also come equipped with room correction and the room correction really really improved the sound I've done it multiple times I redid it again the other day and uh it's just really mates the speakers to the room perfectly now when you go to order these they come with two options now the platin Hub which is the black box like I have here that's the least expensive option and they have one from Premier I think that's how you say it primere Premiere and uh that's ,000 more dollars but mads buard told me that is a uh it will improve the quality of the sound as well now here's one thing I tried for kicks The platin Hub allows you to hook up a turn table or an analog source as well as a digital Source or two so I hooked up the ever solo DMP ah streamer as well as tried the Hi-Fi Rose rs130 streamer going into the platin Hub and streaming from that or those instead of the platin Hub I noticed when streaming direct to the hub the sound can be a little bit too warm the details aren't fully there it still sounds fabulous but when I use one of these streamers so if I use the A8 into the platin Hub and stream to the A8 the sound gets more open more clear but yet the base remains it just sounds more refined if I hook up the rs130 to it mind blown I'm starting to sound hear the sound of something I think is a $30,000 system um with the HiFi Rose rs130 into the platin Hub going wirelessly to the speakers which only require a power cable each there's no other cables you have to hook up the sound is just mindblowing um unbelievably good and I've had them here uh for months and months and especially over the last week or so I've been really really getting into them and I love them more today than when I did that glowing review for them this is a solid product you can get a set with the hub for 4 to 5,000 depending on the color depending on the options uh I would suggest picking up the premier hub for it cuz I think you're going to get better sound quality that more openness to them but these uh have a Sound Stage that's big they do imaging uh there's some three-dimensionality going on and man these just sound good with any music I play through it it's almost like they're chameleons and uh you know you don't need the Dack it's all built in you don't need an amp it's all built in these are powered speakers um it comes with a beautiful remote control um that is just stunning to look at and operates flawlessly so my highest highest recommendation for the bcard audio anniversary 10 speakers the finest I think product my favorite product I've reviewed all year and it's far from being the most expensive you can get a highend room filling just immersive grab you by the heart string sound for under five grand and you don't need anything else to go with it unless you want to improve it so you can do that by adding a dedicated nice streamer to it for example if you say under 10 grand you can have the higho streamer the speakers with the platin Hub under 10 grand and you are all set and you have a system that will blow your mind and anyone else who listens to it as you can tell I love The Bard audio anniversary 10 they speak to my soul they offer the sound I crave and there's nothing lacking from them so be sure to check out The Bard anniversary 10 I just went to their website and it looks like they're backordered by a few weeks but uh I think theyd say four weeks they're predicting to ship so it's a very popular speaker for Bard owners I've read are loving them so yeah top top end all the way highest recommendations and you're getting something that's going to sound much better than what you're paying so so two thumbs up all right so there you go I hope you enjoyed my list of the top 10 favorite products that I've reviewed in 2023 I look forward to what 2024 has to offer or what that will bring us I still have some reviews for 2023 to come that I am slowly working on right now it's been pretty busy around here with other stuff but uh all that's coming soon if you like what I do here thumbs up subscribe feel free to leave a comment and I will see you in the next one I love you all [Music] bye

Channel: HiFi Huff

Views: 94,427

Keywords: top ten audio, hifi, audiophile, best hifi products 2023, top ten 23, tech, music, stereo, stereo system, high end audio

Id: 0-RAGWTD0rU

Length: 32min 52sec (1972 seconds)

Published: Tue Nov 28 2023