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Triode Wire Labs' Cables Come to the Tune Saloon! All right, you caught me. Triode Wire Labs is already a Star. Their products have been favorably reviewed by numerous respected audio publications, including several appearing in the cyber-pages of Positive Feedback. I never expected to write about them too, but it seemed that every time I attended an... Read More »

It's been a little over a year since PS Audio's DirectStream Junior DAC landed in the Tune Saloon. I gave it a well-deserved two-thumbs up in my PF review, HERE. Since that time, DS Junior been the primary source for my digital audio system. The beating heart of the DSJ (and big bro DirectStream), is its custom Field... Read More »

A few times I've been lucky enough to review a product before the rest of the audio-press get their red-hot hands on it, but mostly I've been Gary-come-lately to the audio-party. I'm grateful of course, for opportunities to be the first to review a new offering; but while plotting how to get ahead of the... Read More »

Dateline: Westin Hotel, Rosemont, Ill., April 21-23rd, 2017 AXPONA! I get a serious kick out of listening to exotic, cost-no-object systems. In fact, I enjoy them so much, it's hard to tear myself away. Where reality and common sense meet, its clear I have little business in those rooms other than to experience some of the finest audio this... Read More »

As Joe Walsh would say, I'm an ordinary, average guy. While I've got some very nice gear, the room itself has been neglected. I'm sure it has modal ringing, uneven frequency response, and sucky suck-outs. This chamber of audio horrors is stuffed with a mishmash of unmatched furniture, as well as several bottles of excellent bourbon;... Read More »

When I first requested an opportunity to write about the next new First Watt amplifier, I was candid with Nelson Pass that it was possible my Von Schweikert Audio VR-35 Deluxe loudspeakers and passive Bent Audio AVC-1 linestage might not be a good match for any First Watt amplifier. Several months later, I received a note... Read More »

For the second time this year, I've had the good fortune to report on an exciting new digital product. This time it is Auralic's latest digital to analog star, the Auralic Altair Wireless Streaming DAC.   According to Auralic's president & CEO, Xuanqian Wang, "The new ALTAIR is both a high quality streamer and DAC, and was... Read More »

Perhaps I should start at the end. I love the XP-15 phonostage preamplifier. In fact, I love it so much that one night I dreamt I had barricaded myself in the Tune Saloon, armed with a cheap 1980's CD player blasting a non-remastered version of "We Built this City" at 120dB, forming an impenetrable sonic barrier against... Read More »

The DirectStream Junior DAC is my first in-home experience with a PS Audio product. It is also a brand-spanking new product, so my thanks to PS Audio's Marketing Director, Bill Leebens for making it happen. Having such a hot product on my review-plate does not happen to me that often. It's awesomely cool... It's Steve McQueen... Read More »

For a number of months, I've been jamming to the sounds of the Benchmark Media Systems DAC2 HGC D/A converter and AHB2 stereo amplifier. While a bit late to the review party; I am anything but a groomsman, because listening to this gear is the ultimate reward for my time. BM builds serious professional equipment;... Read More »

Dateline St. Paul, Minnesota: Today, audio engineers observed an invisible sonic wave emanating from Atma-Sphere in St. Paul. The engineer who first discovered this new UltraViolet wavelength—nicknamed Big Tone—has officially christened it UV-1… And that is a bald-faced lie. But Atma-Sphere has indeed, introduced a new preamp named the UV-1 that does, in fact, have... Read More »

A Serious Overachiever From the moment I opened the box containing Audioengine's new flagship HD6 powered loudspeaker system, I had a feeling something special was in my possession. The velvety drawstring bags containing cables and speakers made it seem almost like Christmas. And while it wasn't a winter holiday, it was very, very cold, so... Read More »

I first met Merrill Wettasinghe at AXPONA 2014 where he was showing his Veritas monoblock amplifiers with Sadurni horn speakers. It was quite an incredible system, and to say I was impressed would be an understatement. After enjoying the Merrill Audio room once again at the 2015 show, Mr. Wettasinghe offered to send me his... Read More »

Phase Three: The Search is Over! This is final installment of my three-part series on upgrading my turntable. I've made low budget isolation tweaks, added fabulous accessories, and modified the tonearm wiring and the counterweight. The last piece of the musical puzzle was adding a new phono cartridge. While I let the cartridge choice out of the bag... Read More »

There's anarchy afoot in the listening room; LP's are stacked everywhere, yet even in the shadow of chaos, there is a renewed love for that old black plastic magic. Yep, spinning records has become quite the pastime again, and it all started with a realization that I wanted better vinyl playback. While writing Phase One... Read More »

The is Interview originally ran back in 2015, but we felt it was worthy enough to run again... Image of Nelson Pass by David R. Robinson. Hello PF readers! Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Gary Bread. I am a woeful reviewer—all that subjective metaphoric bullshit and all—but I like to think I'm kinda... Read More »

Dateline April 23-25th, 2015, The Westin Hotel, Rosemont Ill Today's Headlines: AXPONA 2015 Returns and Morphs into Audio Con! Spock Sighted Dancing with AXPONA Speaker Girl! Audiophiles Applaud Reviewers for a Job Well Done! This report and crappy photography brought to you by cub Field Reporter, Gary L. Beard. AXPONA 2015 Wow, how time flies.... Read More »

A couple of years ago, I promised Positive Feedback readers that I'd tackle a few topics on which I was less than proficient. As an audiophile and audio writer, I've learned an amazing amount in the past 15 years, yet I am inexperienced in a few subsets of high-end audio. And even though I've been listening to... Read More »

The Pass Labs XA30.5 vs. XA30.8: A Classic Matchup! [In my best Michael Buffer ring announcer voice] Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Pass Labs Class A Lightweight Ch(amp)ionship of the World! In one corner, weighing in at a svelte 62 pounds without cardboard, the reigning champion, XA30.5! In the opposite corner, weighing in at 106 pounds boxed... Read More »