SuperBAF’s 2016 Products of the Year

2015 Golden Schlong Awards Here: http://www.superbestaudiofriends.or...erbaf-best-of-2015-golden-schlong-awards.760/



For those who may not be aware, the SuperBAF Golden Schlong Awards may in fact be the most prestigious award in the industry. There are several reasons for this:



The number of Golden Schlongs award each year is extremely limited. For 2016, we decided to limit the number of awards to three, as we did in 2015. However for 2016, we added one more award known as the SuperBAF Googleli Audio Jewelry Award. This award is for a product which demonstrates sonic excellence, but at a very high, perhaps unrealistic cost.



Audio gear is a nominated and voted upon by a panel of approximately 60 dudes and dudettes. These people have been vetted. They have had exposure to good amount of good audio gear, have varying levels of disposable income, and have slightly different tastes. This group is not beholden to manufacturers’ advertising dollars, gifts in the form of permanent loaners, etc. Random fuckers who lack sufficient experience or ear-training are not permitted to vote.



Lastly, factors such as product longevity and value are taken into consideration. There's always something to be said for products which have withstood the test of time or provide exceptional value. Face it: while there have been some incremental improvements in audio, it really hasn’t gotten any better in the 70 or 80 years from the mono record days; the industry has seemingly gone mad and catered more and more to the ORFAS or AKWRP crowd. That’s Old Rich Fart Audio Society and Asian Kid With Rich Parents.



To manufacturers who may unwittingly find one of their products as a winner of the Golden Schlong Award (we don’t notify manufacturers that they won): please do not be alarmed. The Golden Schlong is nothing to be worried or ashamed about. It’s a real complement and not a joke. We call it the Golden Schlong Award because we do not take ourselves too seriously and to mock audiophiles who use the hobby as a means of measuring penis length. You will never find one of us strutting about the audio shows like the Sun King or Holy Roman Emperor, expecting you bow down to kiss the ring, in hopes of getting a good review or receiving a lot of press exposure. In fact, you will never know who we are. As I like to say, we take audio seriously, but we do not take ourselves seriously.



Now on to the winners. Please note that we have not heard everything and anything, and that some products with good buzz may likely end up as future nominees or winners.









2016 GOLDEN SCHLONG WINNERS

Campfire Audio Andromeda IEM



Fantastic frequency response which may be a bit tipped up at the higher end (nothing that rolling tips can’t address.) Great treble extension up top not commonly heard on BA type IEMs. Timbre is also a bit different from run of the mill BA type IEMs. Super clear. Great separation, layering and depth. Super sensitive and lively. The impedance curve is highly reactive, but this can be seen as a feature. The Andromeda sounds brighter from devices with higher output impedance and bassier / darker from near zero output Z devices. The only downside is possible hiss because it’s so sensitive. Sounds good from an iPhone too. The Campfire Audio Andromeda has become a reference IEM for many of us.

Schiit Modi Multibit DAC



Last year Schiit’s Gungnir Multibit won over their flagship Yggdrasil DAC. While there were lots of votes for the Yggdrasil for its sonic excellence and relative longevity (there have been many challengers since the Yggdrasil was introduced, but they end up as pretenders or something “different”, usually at much higher cost). Those who bitch about the Gungnir Multibit and Yggdrasil sounding too neutral or too dry should consider the Modi Multibit. Leave it on and never turn it off. The tonal balance is all so slightly dark and overall presentation reminiscent of the PCM1702 based Sonic Frontiers TransDAC. Except better in almost every way. There might be a hint of veil compared to many other higher priced DACs. Feed the Modi Multibit SPDIF from a good quality transport and you will be surprised how close it is to the Gungnir Multibit. At $250 this is a stunning achievement, even moreso than the Gungnir Multibit which won the Golden Schlong last year.

Eddie Current Zana Deux Super Headamp



The Schiit Jotunheim amp received more votes than the ZDS, but a manufacturer is not allowed to have more than one product per year winning the Golden Schlong Award.



I am recusing myself from comment for obvious reasons. (I'll let someone else add commentary).





2016 GOOGLI AUDIO JEWELRY AWARD

Focal Utopia Headphone



Some will find the Utopia an extremely poor value. Most people should hear incremental gains from the Be dynamic driver and fancy motor, particularly in the areas of speed, clarity, sensitivity, dynamics, and midrange microdynamics and microdetail. This is a headphone that does not bring much attention to itself. It does not have an instant wow factor like the HFM HE1000. While not exceptional in any one area one, it does a lot of things very well, and with few downsides or downsides that are minor. The Utopia seems to do best with high quality tube amps with at least a few ohms output impedance. Under such circumstances, it can be considered as the best dynamic or perhaps even the best headphone around. Don’t bother or go elsewhere if you use solid-state (or inferior tube) amplification.





OTHER NOTABLE PRODUCTS WORTH MENTIONING

Schiit Jotunheim Headamp



What a solid state amp should be. It does the things that tube amps don’t always do well. Control, precision, clarity. And low price. I know a few people who have remarked that the Jotunheim isn’t all that great. I don’t disagree; but ultimately my reply is this: Fuck you and your exotic low production impossible to obtain artisan crafted $1500 to $3600 amp. The Jotunheim is $400. Name a better or comparable amp at $400. That you can buy now and have it shipped to you the next day. Best to leave the amp on at all times and never turn it off. Balanced sounds better. There is more ease and refinement to the presentation. Slightly better headstage too.

Lynx AES16 / E22 PCI to SPDIF / AES PCI Card



After dicking around with USB solutions for years, the folks here have come to realize that USB sucks for digital. Coaxial SPDIF from computer motherboard works, but it still doesn’t sound as good as this solution. The RedNet Ethernet to SPDIF / AES solution is worth a mention, but it’s a bit more expensive and difficult to set up. The card can be mounted in an external PCI card enclosure using a Thunderbolt interface. The sound is a huge step above USB and is close to the best mechanical CD Transports ever made.

ECP Audio Torpedo III DIY Amp



This amp deserves special mention. As a DIY product (the fact that you can pay other people to build it for you does not make it a non-DIY product) it is not eligible for the Golden Schlong Award. We can build ourselves a fantastic sounding amp right at the cusp of the serious TOTL tube amps without too much money and some elbow grease (and willingness to sniff lead fumes).

List of Nominees. The panel of 60 was asked to nominate a handful of products that they thought remarkable in terms of sonic excellence, value, and longevity. The list is short because panel members know how to censor themselves.



Campfire Andromeda

Schiit Modi Multibit

Schiit Jotunheim

Laconic Night Blues Mini

Etymotic ER-4SR

VPI Classic 1

Schiit Fulla 2

RedNet (Ethernet to SPDIF)

Lynx (PCI to SPDIF)

Focal Elear

Fiio x5 gen 3

Sony ZX2

HiFiMan HEX v2

Eddie Current BW

Campfire Audio Dorado

Noble X

Yggdrasil

Focal Utopia

DNA Stellaris

EC Zana Deux Super

EC Studio

Geek Out V2 A