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Hello,
I am a big fan of Positive Feedback Online. I recently purchased the darTZeel NHB-18NS preamp and NHB-108 stereo amp after many years of tube equipment, and it has been all about listening to music ever since the purchase, and not worrying about the equipment. I will try the Kubala-Sosna Elation!, but there is a newcomer, CH Acoustics, that has a very intriguing story, and I will probably compare it to the Kubala-Sosna. Have you had or heard of them, and what is your shortlist for power cords and speaker cables to try with darTZeel? For interconnects is easy, either Dartzeel Link or Evolution acoustics BNC interconnect.

Thanks in advance,

Harel

Hello Harel... good to hear from you.

If you've purchased the darTZeel NHB-18NS preamp and NHB-108 stereo amp, then I can well imagine that you've been floating away with the music! That's been my experience with those remarkable components; Hervé Delatraz is really onto something in his design work.

I can recommend the Kubala-Sosna Elation! cables quite highly, but I do not know of the CH Acoustics cables line at all.

For power cables with the darTZeel I can recommend Kubala-Sosna, Evolution Acoustics, and Silent Source, since I've used these.

For speaker cables, I'd have to know what speaker you are using. The Evolution Acoustics cables are very fine, but so are the Kubala-Sosna Elation!. Without knowing more, I couldn't say more than this.

For the BNC connector, the Evolution Acoustics reference BNC interconnect is the top o' the heap. Best that I've heard in that connection, period.

Hope this helps you, Harel… glad to know that you enjoy PFO!

All the best,

David

Hello Dave and Carol,
Thanks again for your coverage of the RMAF. Your pictures are first class and thorough. Once again I love how you paint a very warm human picture of the high end attendees, reps, designers and manufacturers with your writing. Yes at the end of the day it is all about community and relationship. Your writing is so infectious, the camaraderie seems so natural and inclusive, say I think I am going to head down there next year and check all of you out. BTW—is Dr. Sardonicus out and about or is he still laying low? Would love to have a drink with him! I submit a few notes for your perusal about the pics.

Page 1

Michael Lavorgna, cool, he is the MonkeyHaus / DeVore audio gathering writer—right? He looks, well, just sooo vinyl.

Is Peder Beckman like seven feet tall or are Myles and Heidi height challenged? He looks right up there in the John Devore league. Makes me wonder how high are his speaker stands.

Love the picture of Marjorie!!!

Danny Kaey is right up the cool dude scale there with Ian Verdugo, the PMC rep. Does he ever look, well, just happy to be there pursuing his passion.

Page 2

Carol with Bob Neill, does he drive a Morgan Plus 4 or a Jag XK 120, nice to see a face to the name once again.

Jeff Joseph's room was happenin man.

Page 3

Is it me or is Carol putting the shine on Ron Sutherland? just a heads up Dave, remember the show does take place in a hotel!

Page 4

Hats off to Jack Roberts of Dagogo, nice touch Dave, very inclusive, and I tip my hat to you too.

Page 5

Ian Verdugo PMC - I remember you referred to him as a super cool dude last year but the question is this, is he over 18 yet? music has been good to him, and given PMC's pro heritage the kid must really know his stuff.

Page 7

Gary Lea, yeah, uh huh, how is it that people with compromised eyesight while trying to type / read their iPhones (like myself too) always look like they are well, kinda, sucking on a lemon.

Thanks again, much appreciated.

Sam H.

The wet coast, Vancouver, BC

Thanks!

Dave and Carol Clark

Dear Editor,
I believe the cause Marshall Nack's apparent surprise that his YG Anat speakers responded to the Tenor's extra power (“You wouldn't think that to be the case, given that the Main Modules are 89dB sensitive.”) can be attributed to an apparent misunderstanding of the Anat's sensitivity measurement. From what I can gather from the YG website, the Anat's 89dB sensitivity is based on the speaker's 4 ohm nominal impedance. That figure translates in an 86dB impedance into 8 ohms (the “common” base for impedance measurements). Therefore, the Anats are actually pretty insensitive and would thrive on the additional power of the Tenor amplifier.

By the way, I really enjoyed Marshall's review.

Best regards,

Darryl Lindberg

Hi Darryl,

You make a very good point.

When I saw the 89dB sensitivity on the YG website, I assumed it was for an 8 ohm load, as that is the common standard. To clarify the subject, I called YG and spoke to Dick Diamond, who confirmed the published number is for the Anat, a 4 ohm speaker. Scaling it up into 8 ohms would translate to 86dB.

Also, one must focus on the amplifier power rating into 4 ohms. The Soulution specs at 240 watts into 4 ohms. The Tenor 175S is 350 watts. And now I'm listening to the mbl 9008A with the Anats. Don't have their specs right at hand, but I can tell you dynamic headroom is off the charts.

I'll have more on the 9008A if you check back next month.

Be well,

Marshall Nack

Hi Jeff,
How is the Clayton M200 in your system? Did you do the upgrade on them?

I am really happy with the Bryston 7B-SST² mono bloc. I am surprise of the result. They were only suppose to be a temporary solution but I will probably get the 28B-SST² next year.

I am using a Purity Audio Design Reference linestage with it.

I am still looking at speakers. I am interested by the Joseph Audio (your recommendation), I am looking at the Perspective model. Also curious about YG Acoustics Carmel.

I got a new power supply unit, a Weizhi Precision PRS-6 Power Distributor. I am using an Isotek Synchro AC cord with it (do a Google on this cable).

I am stun with the result. It blows away my Equi=Tech 1.5Q.

Best regards

B. Noel, Ottawa

Hi Basile,

It's nice to hear from you. Lots of changes in my system.... Yes, I have the Claytons and they have been sent in for upgrading. They are finally done. I should be getting them back into the rig soon. Yes, the Joseph Audio speakers are a good choice, Jeff is an excellent designer. You may also want to consider Ty at www.tyleracoustics.com . Ty is making some great loudspeakers, and can personalize them to your particular needs if needed. I am in the process of getting a really cool pair of speakers from Ty based upon the Scanspeak Revelator tweeter and Seas Excel drivers in a two box system with a powered 10" (Seas) woofer. I have had a lot to do with the design of these speakers as they were modified to my design needs and parameters. I attached a picture of the speakers.

Glad you are happy with the Purity Audio linestage. Bill is a great guy, and an excellent designer. I had considered purchasing from Bill if it were not for my commitment to Joseph Chow's designs at Audio Horizons. I own the AH 2.3 linestage and the AH 8.13 phono stage. Never heard of the LC you are talking about but if it works for you, then great. I have heard of the Isotek cable since it came with my Isotek Sigmas II LC. It's okay in my opinion, but no where near as good as the Audience PowerChord-e ($795.00 retail @ 6' 15amp IEC)and Au-24 powerchord. For the money the PowerChord-e really is a bargain! The Au-24 powerchord (though an improvement) at the almost 3 times the cost you are approaching the point of diminishing returns. These are my current reference cables where I utilize both sets of cables in my rig.

Anyhow it was nice to hear from you. I hope all is well, and please stay in touch.

Jeff Parks

Dave & Carol, et al…
W-O-W ! ! I wish I had a better capitalized, emboldened, hyphenated & exclamation'd interjection by which to launch this missive, but I'm simply awestruck, dumbstruck & flattened-by-a-truck after reading your account of the 6^th Grade Zu Audio Soul Superfly Art Project! That Sean Casey's unsolicited initiative happened in the first place is amazing. Then to be benevolently followed by like-motivated Joe Reynolds, John Stronczer, the generous folks from Wadia, Silver Circle Audio & Ultralink/XLO, and your selfless contribution as well is… well, constitutes proof positive of the often overlooked altruistic bent of “random acts of kindness.” Whatta way to introduce kids to our microcosm of better audio—something that rarely happens, other than maybe to our offspring. Y'never know… a seed planted?!? Let's hope. 

Anyway, I just wanted to take a minute to let you all know how your collective philanthropic gesture was inspiring. It also rekindled the memory of kick-starting my daughter's participation in the hobby several years ago with a Zune and a pair of Swan M200MkIIs. She occasionally reminds me of how proud she is of the speakers 'daddy gave her'—so thanks on behalf of those sixth graders and the other dads out here!

Warmest regards to you all,

Fred Sartin

Atlanta, GA

The Higher End

About the "expectation of privacy" and those emails to Positive Feedback Online…

Ye Olde Editor

We do like hearing from you, our readers. It adds a great deal fun to what we do, encourages our editors and writers, provides information we may have missed, and correction that we may need. This is all to the good.

Your communication with us these days is almost always via the highly rational path of email. And we do read it, responding to the constructive correspondence—which is most of it, really—as quickly as possible. (The destructive stuff is routed directly to the bit bucket. Didn't yo' mama teach you better than that?!) Dave Clark and I are generally pretty rapid in getting back to you if a response is needed from us, or in re-directing inquiries to the appropriate person at PFO if it needs to go to an editor or writer.

By the way: please understand that the writers and editors at PFO are helpful folks, eager to assist their fellow audio/music lovers, or they wouldn't be doing what they're doing. Nevertheless, PFO is not an audio consulting service. Please do not clog the gears with complex requests for assistance with the sourcing of audio gear in your personal setting. Remember too that PFO is not, and has never been, an audio ombudsman. If you are having problems with a particular vendor, company, or dealer, please avail yourself of the normal channels for such resolution; no audio publication has the time or resources to take on such a responsibility for consumers. Enough said.

With an increasing flow of emails to Positive Feedback Online, and upon evidence of some recent confusion on the part of our email correspondents, it's become necessary to re-state the ground rules by which we operate here. So gather round the campfire, friends…

Any time an email, or an exchange of emails, is both constructive and of potential wider interest, we exercise the reserved right to publish it in "Reverberations," the letters section of PFO. This is, after all, a publication, a "journal for the audio arts." We are seeking to further educate and entertain our readership in our common love for fine audio, and contributions in the form of emails/letters from our readers are one way that we accomplish this goal. When you write to any of us… our essayists and reviewers included… we assume that you are aware of our nature as a publication, and that you write to us in the light of that knowledge.

This means that—unless you request confidentiality explicitly in your email or letter—there is no expectation of privacy here at Positive Feedback Online.

To put it another way: Any email or letter sent to this journal will be considered fair game for publication, unless you state in the document itself that the contents are private/confidential.

So… our default is PUBLISH.

The reverse is also true: the editors do reserve the right not to publish an email or letter. We are not obligated to publish your letter or comments simply because they are submitted. And hostile, negative, sarcastic, destructive emails or letters are never published.

So…sometimes we DON'T PUBLISH.

Finally, our subtitle for "Reverberations"—"Our readers respond—we respond right back!" is not a guarantee that we will always respond to an email or letter that is published. Often we do; sometimes we don't… usually when we don't, it's a case of res ipsa loquitur.

So finally… sometimes we PUBLISH WITHOUT RESPONSE.

I think that makes things clear. Having said all of this in the name of clarity, keep those cards and letters coming in!

All the best,

David W. Robinson

Editor-in-Chief