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For more than two decades I've been a fan of vibraphonist/pianist/band leader Ruben Estrada, whose lyrical delicacy and musical intensity define, and extend,the profound artistic heritage he absorbed on his way to Number One world class Latin jazz vibe and timbales guru. Estrada is an enormously modest man. His pride in his playing and his... Read More »

In Search of a Perfect Song… I recently republished that old article because I've had further opportunity to explore the concept. I began that article with a lesson about the difference between opinion and fact. Again I will remind you that this is my opinion of what makes a song perfect. Naturally, if you have... Read More »

"You paid too much for that junk! Take off those fake Vanilla Ice headphones and put on a pair of the real deal!" That's what I'd like to shout when I see somebody sporting one of those garish, neon metallic McHeadphones. Granted, that's hardly polite or inclusive, and who am I to go Grandpa Simpson on... Read More »

Audio consumers only want to know one thing: "Is it worth it?" You can write, speak, sing, or finger paint about audio products all you want, but nobody stops reading and starts buying until cash equals contentment. What's more, determining value is a tricky thing. The glamor goods have it easy. Speakers the size of... Read More »

As we move along the time continuum, expectations are that activities or whatever will become easier and easier. That is, what was time consuming and laborious, is now, and should become, faster and less difficult. These are the goals of a modern society. Which does not mean to make tasks or activities less fun or... Read More »

One of the interesting exhibits at the recent High End Audio show in Munich earlier this year featured Horch House. For those of you who aren't familiar with the company, Horch House is the analog audio division of Lutz Precision, a worldwide leader in auto making equipment based in Austria. While it probably seems a... Read More »

This article was originally published in Issue 26 of Positive Feedback. I decided to republish it because I've gotten the bug to write another article with some more perfect songs. Back when I wrote this article it seemed like I was a topic for discussion on message boards. I was everyone's favorite target because I... Read More »

The Always Unimaginable Future The First World War pre-dated the arrival of vivid sonic capture. It's not difficult to imagine that—despite the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo in 1914, which let loose animosities ready for release after Europe's and Asia's 1870 conflicts—almost anything might have helped stave off the disaster of that delusional... Read More »

On Friday, after T.H.E. Show in Newport Beach—actually in Irvine—California, I went to dinner with PS Audio's Paul McGowan and company: Arnie Nudell, Bill Leebens, Scott Schroeder and Paul's son, Scott. Ostensibly, I was there to talk about something Paul wants to do that will probably involve me. But the talk took an interesting direction.... Read More »

What kind of a watch does James Bond wear? That's easy; everybody knows that, at least as written by Ian Fleming, it's a Rolex Oyster Perpetual. Now, what kind of a car does he drive? Odds are that, whether in a book or a movie, it's an Aston-Martin, a Lotus, a BMW, or a Bentley... Read More »

At last! And welcome! The NEW-LOOK Positive Feedback Web site will be going live on July 1, 2015, with the launch of Issue 80. You'll see that we've spent an enormous lot of time, effort, and money to take PF to a state-of-the-art new publication system. The results speak for themselves, as you'll see:  A... Read More »

Last late Winter… or early, early pre-Spring, depending on how you prefer your "pretty much the same with some slight differences, though not really all that much" seasons here is SoCal, I found myself staring at John Young's Acoustic Imagery Atsah (Htpex NCore 1200 Class D power amplifiers, $9995/ pair based on the Hypex NC1200... Read More »

Verastarr Grand Illusion AC power cords ($2500 in 6 foot length) use high purity copper metal foils and produce a musical presentation that is big, bold, and robust. Not to be clichéd here, but being a copper-based cable, and using lots of copper to address skin effect with its four 2-inch wide foils, music with... Read More »

If you're an audiophile, you realize at some point that digital spinning discs won't be around forever. Although that realization hit me several years ago, it took quite a while before I really decided to get serious about a digital source based on a computer. I'd heard several computer-based rigs at shows, and what I... Read More »

Avec l'assistance de M. Bastille "We sang songs of childhood Hymns of faith that made us strong Ones that mother Maybelle taught us Hear the angels sing along" —"Will the Circle be Unbroken" by Johnny Cash OK, first I have to admit something. I'm about to receive an Ayre QB-9 DSD as my new reference... Read More »

During my career with AT&T Bell Laboratories, I had many opportunities to visit some of the finest higher education institutions in the country. My focus was on central office switches for voice and data services—typically purchased and utilized by regional telephone companies for medium to large cities and urban areas. Of course these elite Universities... Read More »

Dr. David W. Robinson, Yarlung Records, and DSD   David W. Robinson, enjoying some holy smoke of a recent afternoon. Photograph by John W. Robinson…yes, one of my sons, who was also enjoying a fine pipe! Bob Attiyeh is the President and Chief Producer-Audio Engineer at Yarlung Records. He has just released an article talking... Read More »

Power cords are a specialty within the category of audiophile connectivity that is mighty important. Those supplied with the gear, regardless of price, are merely included to allow the equipment to meet specifications and light the LEDs. They are best discarded and upscale cords should be used to tune your system for maximum performance. I... Read More »

A Little Background It's safe to say that mentioning John Tucker's eXemplar audio to an audiophile is likely to get one of three reactions. The most likely reaction is a blank stare accompanied by the questions "Who?" and "What?" There's a smaller group who hears the name and asks, "That guy with the big horns?"... Read More »