Kii Audio Three loudspeaker

As Kal Rubinson wrote when he reviewed our 2017 Product of the Year in the September 2017 Stereophile, "almost everything about Kii Audio's Three loudspeaker is a refreshing splash of cool water." That's especially true if one defines refreshingand splash and coolas meaning "different." And my oh my, is this year's winner ever different. The three-way, six-driver Kii Three is distinct from most other loudspeakersand all previous Products of the Year, as far as I knowinasmuch as it is self-amplified and -preamplified, DSP-controlled, and German. And, at $13,900/pair (stands additional), the Kii Audio Three is far less expensive than other products that have sat atop our annual vote. Take that, conformity!

Notes on the Vote: The voting in this category was closer than in all others except for Amplification Product of the Yearand only a single vote separated the second- and third-place products. This is an unexpectedsome might say peculiaroutcome. What's interesting is that the Kii Audio Three won by racking up lots of second-place votes. By contrast, the runners-up in this fieldthe DeVore Orangutan O/96 and Wilson Audio Specialties Alexx speakersboth had more first-place votes than the Kii Three. One can parse this in any number of ways, but to me, all those second-place votes speak of voters who may have lacked full confidence in the Kii's ability to take top honors, but who nevertheless said to themselves, while pulling the lever, "Maybe this one isn't as crazy as we think?" Can't think what that reminds me of . . .

Finalists (in alphabetical order)

Audiodesksysteme Gläss Pro Vinyl Cleaner

Audio Research Reference 6 preamplifier

Audio Union Döhmann Helix 1 turntable with Schröder CB tonearm

Ayre Acoustics QX-5 Twenty Digital Hub D/A processor

Bang & Olufsen BeoLab 90 loudspeaker

Bel Canto Design e.One REF600M monoblock power amplifier

Boulder Amplifiers 2150 monoblock power amplifier

dCS Rossini CD player

DeVore Fidelity Orangutan O/96 loudspeaker

Magico S5 Mk.II loudspeaker

Mytek HiFi Brooklyn D/A headphone amplifier

Mytek HiFi Manhattan II D/A processor

Sutherland Engineering Duo phono preamplifier

VPI Prime Scout turntable with JMW 9 tonearm

Wilson Audio Specialties Alexx loudspeaker