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Ye Olde Editor: a portrait. Happy Valley, OR, 2020. (Photograph by David C. Robinson; image processing by David W. Robinson) It takes time for good things to happen. A child in the womb. A person growing to maturity. Creating art. Composing music. Writing. Fine photography. The aging of wine, whiskey, bourbon, tobacco. All are the... Read More »

Anyone who's followed my love of great recordings and exceptional productions knows that I value the work of Cookie Marenco and company very highly. Cookie is a real professional who has worked in the industry for decades now, and the artists associated with Blue Coast Records are first-rank, all. Recently I downloaded the DSD256 version... Read More »

No, not quite done yet. RSX Technologies MAX Power Cable and the RSX Technologies Power8 Multi-Outlet Power Box The RSX Technologies MAX Power Cable. All images courtesy of RSX Technologies.  Disclaimer first:  Roger Skoff, formerly of XLO Cables, has been writing essays for Positive Feedback for a few years now. Back in 2019 he started... Read More »

Yon Editor, contemplating... Photograph by John Robinson; image processing by David W. Robinson. Here's the fourth installment of my Brutus Awards for 2020. Time flows...I goes. Onwards.... The Mytek Brooklyn Bridge Streamer/DAC & the Mytek Brooklyn Amp+ Straight to this particular chase. I have been listening to designs from Mytek Digital for many years now…all... Read More »

Ye Olde Editor contemplating in the fall of 2019. Photograph by John Robinson; image processing by David W. Robinson Time for Part the Third of my Brutus Awards for 2020... Merrill Audio Christine Reference Preamp Image courtesy of Merrill Audio Anyone who follows my "Impressions" series over the many years now knows that I have... Read More »

Ye Olde Etc. enjoying the moment in the Pacific NW (portrait by John Robinson) Time for Part the Second of my Brutus Awards. iFi Audio Pro iDSD DAC/Headphone Amp/Streamer The iFi Audio Pro iDSD DAC/Headphone Amp/Preamp/Streamer (photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson) Earlier this year, iFi Audio sent along their new pro-grade many-in-one... Read More »

Ye Olde Editor in days collegiate, presenting the goods. Corvallis, OR, 1972 (photograph by Dr. John Hull) Thoughts at this end of the first year of the pandemic… Once again, yes, once again it's time for my Brutus Awards. This time, the 2020 edition…a year that will live in infamy. Our first major pandemic in... Read More »

...with comments on the Synergistic Research MiG SX Isolation Feet. This is a story long in the coming. Long, long, long. Ye Olde Editor in contemplative mode, Happy Valley, OR, 2017… (Photograph by John Robinson; image processing by David W. Robinson) By way of backstory… You see, I've been following Warwick Acoustics and its predecessor... Read More »

The Raidho TD 4.2 Loudspeakers, with a Stillpoints Aperture first-reflection-point panel and stand, and a two-high stack of Ryan Tinsel Rack-It LP storage units. Black and white oil painting by Dan Zimmerman. (Photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson...true of all listening room photographs in this essay.) PF Editor-in-Chief David W. Robinson at Munich... Read More »

The Vinnie Rossi L2i SE Integrated Preamp with DAC and Pono Section (image courtesy of Vinnie Rossi Audio) Ye Olde Editor, in situ (portrait by John Robinson; image processing by David W. Robinson) Mark Sossa is a very discerning man, and a successful US distributor offine audio with his company, Well Pleased A/V. He knows... Read More »

Ye Olde Editor with an exceptional La Flor Dominicana Andalusian Bull (portrait by John Robinson) Oregon and trees…they go together. The forests of the Pacific Northwest are a joy to the soul and a medicine for melancholy, and are not to be misused or simply "consumed" to make "wood products." The back of my hand... Read More »

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." Maya Angelou "…how you made them feel." What's true of human relationships is, in its own strange way, also true of certain audiophile designs and our connections to them. There... Read More »

PF Central…River City and up the Hill…has finally made the investment and switchover to solar power.  (Photograph and image processing by Ye Olde Editor) High-end audio does draw electricity. In some cases (e.g., Pure Class A electronics in particular), a lot of power. Summertime listening also puts a load on air conditioning, while leaving key... Read More »

At RMAF, evening cigars, Denver, CO, 2019 (photograph by Scott Hull; image processing by David W. Robinson) When you do a lot of audio reviewing and show-going over several decades, as I have, you get to see and hear a lot of gear and recordings. Some are good; some are bad; some are ugly. Like... Read More »

Ye Olde Editor in the midst of holy smoke and fine drink...  (portrait by John Robinson) Time for a quick shout-out for two recordings from HDTT:  one, a wonderful Quad DSD (DSD256) recording that you should be aware of, while the other is of a remarkable Double DSD (DSD128) album. Both belong in your DSD... Read More »

Yet more sad news: I've received the belated word today that Marty DeWulf, editor and publisher of Bound for Sound, another well-known high-end audio journal from the late 1980s until the early 2000s, passed away at the relatively young age of 65 on March 22, 2020. Marty's health had apparently not been good for a... Read More »

Ye Olde Editor:  a portrait (Photograph by John Robinson) Last week PF published an "Open Letter to Joel Davis of JD Events/AXPONA 2020" in our Industry News section. It included some 20 supporting signatures from those protesting JD Events' unwillingness to give exhibitors either the option of cancelling their reservation and receiving a full refund,... Read More »

Ye Olde Editor, a moment. (Portrait by John Robinson) Bill Parish of GTT Audio is a great longtime audiobud of mine. We go back nearly 20 years now. During that time, I've come to develop a real respect for his line card, which is always excellent, and pay a lot of attention to his recommendations... Read More »

We are living in strange and terrible times. It is the Golden Age of Audio right now, but that Golden Age has been swallowed up by the COVID-19 pandemic so suddenly that it is hard to remember just a few months ago, when 2020 looked like it would be a very good year for fine... Read More »