The Audio Excellence Awards 2001

Outline of screening:
* Date: October 20, Friday
* Time: 13:00 to 17:00
* Place: Conference room at Tokyo Metropolitan Food Technology Research Center in Akihabara as usual.

* A panel of judges: Screening will be entrusted to the following panel of judges:
Judges from distributors:
Teruichi Hirohata (Disk Union/chairman), Shoji Morita (Osakaya), Masamichi Ujiie (shinko Audio), Noboru Itagaki (Laox), Yutaka Suzuki (Teleon), Takao Asakura (Kawaguchi Musen), Koji Ohara (Deo Deo) and Seizo Ohara (Max Audio)

Critics:
Hirotsugu Saito (chairman), Yoshiyuki Ishida, Chitake Inoue, Saburo Egawa, Tomohiro Kaiyama, Kazuo Kanzaki, Masamitsu Fukuda, Makoto Fujioka and Mitsugu Kobayashi (newly appointed)

Purpose and meaning of the Audio Excellence Awards:
These awards were established nineteen years ago with the aim of contributing to the evolution of audio culture and market vitalization. The purpose of these awards is to select prospective best-selling or long-selling genuine preeminent devices featuring superior performance, innovation and audio spirit, from a host of pure audio components brought into the world each year. The distinguished characteristic of these prizes is impartial evaluation by a panel of judges consisting of audio critics having a profound technological knowledge and judges from distributors well versed in the competitiveness of products in the market.

Requirements of nomination:
1. Products that comply with the above-cited "purpose and meaning of the Preeminent Device Prizes."

2. Models never awarded the Audio Excellence Awards in the past. However, models that have undergone minor changes or version-up are ineligible.

3. Models due to be unveiled or put on the market by the end of 2000.

4. Genuine audio products. System products, general products and audio & visual products are ineligible.

5. Products already on the market including those available in a limited period of time until the coming year-end to New Year's Days period.

Target genres:
Next-generation audio players (SACD, DVD-A, etc.)
CD players
Separate CD players (transport/DAC)
Integrated amplifiers
Pre-amplifiers
Power amplifiers
Vacuum Tube amplifiers
Tuners (including CS-PCM tuners)
Sound recorders (CD-R, MD, etc.)
Analog disk related devices (players, cartridges, EQ phono amplifiers, step-up transformers, etc.)
Speakers systems (small sized)
Speakers systems (medium or large sized)
Related devices (headphones, electric power units, GEQ, crossover networks, subwoofers, etc.)
Cables
Audio accessories

Screening method:
From a list of nominees from manufacturers and importers, the winners of genre-specific Audio Excellence Awards 2001, three major prizes, special prizes and other prizes will be selected on the basis of evaluation by the consensus or poll of judges.

Announcement of prize winners:
Quarterly "Audio Accessory No. 99" (reported immediately), the December issue of "Senka 21" (reported in detail), the special edition of this magazine "Best Compo 2001" (reported in detail) and "Phile-web"(reported immediately at http://www.ongen.co.jp)