6. Performance Evaluation My home has a multiroom audio system consisting of three pairs of ceiling speakers and some outdoor speakers. This creates a nice baseline for judging the quality of new audio-distribution systems - and cuts down on the number of wires crisscrossing my house.

Beyond listening to a variety of familiar music, I try to put the system through its paces. Is it intuitive and comfortable to operate? Can my wife understand how to use it? Does it offer network accessibility? Would I be happy writing a check for it and living with it day in and out?

7. Copy Edit Once I've finished my write-up, I have my wife take a look. As a non-techie, she checks for things that aren't easily understood. She also has a good eye for typos and misplaced punctuation. I then send the review off to S&V's editorial staff. The edited review is then returned to me for a final check.

This process - from getting the gear to writing the review to signing off on the edits - usually takes about a month. After that, the gear is packed up and returned to the manufacturer, ready to be replaced by something else.

8. Picking the Winners When December rolls around, every reviewer on the staff nominates the products he's reviewed over the past year that he feels are most worthy of Editors' Choice recognition. But there are always more great products than awards available, so the reviewers have to fight for their nominations, justifying their selections based on a combination of performance, innovation, and value. When the dust has finally settled and everyone has weighed in, the winners are chosen and then published in this, the February/March issue.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a martini and a bunch of new gear to get back to ...

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