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Roger Skoff writes about what might be the future of our hobby So what do you do when there's nothing to do? That's what a whole lot of us have had to figure out over most of the last year. Without restaurants, the movies, sports, concerts or other live music, without parties, the gym, or... Read More »

Roger Skoff writes about audiophiles and double-blind testing. Yup, I was on Facebook, browsing one of the audiophile groups (you'll probably know which one from what I'm about to tell you) when I came across a slugfest between a long-time reviewer friend of mine and several "rationalist" "audiophiles" (Yeah, both of those terms are in... Read More »

Roger Skoff writes about how systems really work, and why that can be a problem Roger Skoff (photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson) Many years ago, upon learning that my sister had no home music source other than her television set and a table radio, I decided to buy her a stereo system.... Read More »

One of the audiophile "tweaks" most often criticized on the internet and in back-room bull sessions is the use of cable lifters to improve system sound. In fact, other than cables, themselves, which are a perennial source of audiophile controversy, there's hardly anything I can think of that gets more consistently negative commentary, with or... Read More »

Many a long year ago, there was (really; truly; I kid you not!) an audiophile product called EarWax™. Apparently following the same logic that came up with the idea for "board wax" (used on surfboards to make the board and its rider glide more smoothly across the waves), a dab of this stuff was to... Read More »

Roger Skoff writes about cost and value in high-end audio Roger Skoff, a portrait. LAOC Audio Society Gala, 2018 (photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson) Note to our readers:  Roger Skoff has been writing essays about high-end audio for years at Positive Feedback. Roger was formerly the founder and CEO of XLO Cables,... Read More »

Chip and Roger at the LAOC Audio Society Gala Banquet, December, 2019 (photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson) Roger Skoff finally proves that cables work and tells at least part of the reason why. For at least the last thirty years (that I know of), audiophiles have been divided into four—if not necessarily... Read More »

Roger Skoff tells how to increase your enjoyment and get better sound out of your system. Chip Moore and Roger Skoff at the LAOC Audio Society Gala, 2019 (photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson) Do you know the difference between hearing and listening? Both involve the same sounds, from the same sources; both... Read More »

Roger Skoff writes about getting the most from our audio hobby. Many years ago, Stereophile, to get a better handle on its marketing, had a study done to find out who and how many its readers were. One of the (then-surprising) things that study turned-up was the fact that almost all (well more than 90%)... Read More »

Roger Skoff writes about everybody'd favorite controversial product While the debate continues on the internet over whether different cables sound different, those of us with the ears and listening skills to hear it and the systems and listening environments of sufficient resolution to show it know that it's not just different cables that sound different,... Read More »

How many times have you read a review of some recording, some system, or some individual piece of gear that said something like this? "The orchestra was rendered perfectly, with each individual instrument hung in its own separate space, emerging from a perfectly black background…" Or maybe the reviewer had enthused that "It was easy... Read More »

Roger Skoff, LAOC Gala 2018 (photograph by David W. Robinson) Roger Skoff writes about possibly unexpected things that can affect the sound of your system. Well more than half a century ago, when I was a kid, the teacher in my High School physics class did something I will never forget. Let me tell you... Read More »

WARNING: This may very well be the most controversial article on High-End audio you'll ever read. Roger Skoff at the LAOC Audio Society Gala, 2018 Are you going to put together a new High-End audio system? Start with the cables! Read on to find out why this can give you better sound and save you... Read More »

Roger Skoff at the LAOC Audio Society Gala Banquet, 2018:  a portrait by David W. Robinson In Part 1 of this two-part article, I pointed out that we audiophiles are the only fan group I know of who argue, not just about which stuff is better, but about whether, for some products, there's any difference... Read More »

Roger Skoff writes about the ongoing war over cables and what really matters Roger Skoff at the LAOC Audio Society Gala Banquet, 2018:  a portrait by David W. Robinson I've said it before, and you've seen it before:  We audiophiles, unlike any other group of fans or hobbyists that I know of, are always at... Read More »

Roger Skoff writes about a basic split in our hobby I admit it; I don't own a smartphone. And for driving instructions, I have to go to my home computer. I've also never owned an Amazon "Kindle" or any other such device, and I don't intend to. Does that make me a Luddite? Maybe, but... Read More »

Roger Skoff Comments on the State of Music and Our Hobby Most of us will never sit on the stage at a concert of any kind. Neither will we ever have the opportunity to actually see—either by our physical presence or even through pictures—our favorite music of whatever kind being performed or recorded. Even so,... Read More »

Roger Skoff writes about bringing new people into our Audiophile hobby There will be a total of three HiFi shows just in California this year. The first of them, the Los Angeles Audio Show ("LAAS") has already happened and I loved it. I saw a great many of my friends; had the wonderful honor of... Read More »

Roger Skoff writes about how our eyes, ears, and wallets may all be tied together The traffic on Pacific Coast Highway ("PCH") in Newport Beach, California is slow and awful, jammed most of the time with tourists, beach bums and bunnies, locals doing whatever they do, and others, from Orange County and elsewhere, on their... Read More »