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As a reviewer, I'm accustomed to switching gear in and out of my system for evaluation purposes, but it's not often that I fundamentally change the overall configuration of components. Owing to this, I've been able to optimize the selection and placement of ancillaries to support my specific needs. Recently, however, I repositioned my rack,... Read More »

An audio reviewer's mandate is to seek out the new, the innovative, the cutting-edge, and to write about it, preferably while it's still new and innovative and cutting-edge. As a scribe for Positive Feedback, I've certainly done my share of chasing the newest and most revolutionary products for evaluation. But, in assembling my reference system... Read More »

As I've grown older, and presumably, wiser, I've come to appreciate more the significance of anniversaries. Whether they be personal, such as birthdays and wedding anniversaries, or professional (it occurs to me that I've been on the masthead at Positive Feedback for nearly 20 years), these milestone accomplishments resonate with me, due perhaps to their... Read More »

Garbage in, garbage out—health-conscious individuals focused on nutrition will nod their heads knowingly. This same aphorism applies to high-end audio, where electrically-powered components draw their sustenance from AC power. Audiophiles often go to great lengths to optimize the power flow to their systems, employing dedicated lines, power conditioners, upgraded power cords, and upgraded fuses. Aftermarket... Read More »

It was Lord Acton (John Emerick Dalberg-Acton - 1834 - 1902) who famously wrote "Power Tends to Corrupt." While I am quite certain that Lord Acton was not considering high-end audio when making this assertion, it is nevertheless applicable, especially in these times. With more and more new-build houses competing for space on power grids,... Read More »

Apportioning budget to a high-end audio system represents a complex exercise, one inherently fraught with compromises, and one for which there is no hard-and-fast formula. Recognizing that loudspeakers generally have the greatest influence on the sound of a given system, does one allocate a more significant portion of his or her budget to speakers? Or,... Read More »

When it comes to room acoustics, size matters. The axiom that smaller listening rooms lead to larger acoustical challenges holds true in my experience. Room-mode resonances, which greatly affect bass response, generally manifest higher in frequency in small rooms, leading to coloration, not just in the bass, but further up into the midrange. Those of... Read More »

Luxman Corporation of Japan celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2015. In late 2017 into early 2018, the high-end audio manufacturer introduced several new models to its already extensive lineup of preamplifiers, amplifiers, integrated amplifiers, source components, and cables, and established its own distribution in the United States. One of the introductions was the L-507uXII integrated amplifier,... Read More »

German loudspeaker manufacturer Audio Physic has a long and storied history of innovation. From the employment of side-mounted woofers and narrow baffles featured throughout its loudspeaker lines, to coaxial, string-suspended midrange / tweeter drivers utilized in the legacy Kronos and Caldera II models, and even to the promotion of radical nearfield-based placement recommendations, Audio Physic... Read More »

German loudspeaker manufacturer Audio Physic celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2015.  In the world of high-end audio, 30 years is quite an achievement. Equally laudable, Audio Physic's initial loudspeaker, the Tempo, has been in continuous production since 1986, albeit in numerous evolutionary incarnations. The latest version of the Tempo, the Tempo plus, embodies everything that Audio... Read More »

Bill Conrad and Lew Johnson of Virginia-based conrad-johnson feel that typical integrated amplifiers are compromised in performance compared to high-end separates. Audio manufacturers, they posit, build integrated amplifiers to meet a price point, sacrificing parts quality and sonics along the way. The CA150 Control Amplifier represents conrad-johnson's answer to the ubiquitous integrated amplifier. Note the subtle distinction in terminology—conrad-johnson refers to the CA150... Read More »

Ascend Acoustics is a high-end loudspeaker manufacturer operating out of Southern California. Founded by David Fabrikant in 1999, Ascend Acoustics' mission has been to deliver class-leading price-to-performance ratios for customers seeking loudspeakers for music-listening and home-theater applications. Ascend Acoustics maximizes value by selling direct to customers and minimizing marketing expenditures. Over the years, the company... Read More »

Few audio companies can lay claim to as rich and storied a legacy as that possessed by JansZen Loudspeaker Ltd. Arthur A. Janszen is credited with the invention of the first practical electrostatic loudspeaker, and in 1954, was awarded a patent for his design. Over the course of the next three decades, Janszen developed numerous... Read More »

Singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett cites a poster hanging in her Grandmother's bathroom when she was a child as inspiration for the title of her first full-length album, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit (Mom+Pop Records MP221-2). Distilling the mundane into lyrical profundity extends beyond just the titular for Barnett, whose songs on... Read More »