Loading...

Robinson reflecting… (portrait by John Robinson; image processing by Ye Olde Editor) Prologue… At long last, after 2.5 years of pandemic interruption and scheduling conflicts, I was finally able to get to an audio show…and not a moment too soon. The Pacific Audio Fest was held from July 29-31 in SeaTac, WA, at the Hilton... Read More »

A special Positive Feedback guest editorial from John Marks, J.D. and James Tuomy, AES John Marks has been a longtime audio friend of mine, and a respected member of audiophile recording and loudspeaker design community. He recently approached me to publish a technical paper that he and James Tuomy had written regarding proposed modifications to the... Read More »

In the early days of our hobby, one reviewer reigned supreme. From his first "test report," in 1957, until his retirement in 1998, Julian Hirsch is said to have written— either as himself, or as Hirsch-Houck Laboratories—some 4000 "laboratory test reports" on the hi-fi equipment of his time. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Hirsch). All of those were, reminiscent of... Read More »

Chris Sommovigo, sharing a beer with me at AXPONA 2019 (Photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson) Chris Sommovigo passed away at his home in Atlanta, Georgia, on Monday, August 15, 2022. Another really good man gone to glory. Apparently, Chris came home an hour early on the day that he died, complaining that... Read More »

Jim Merod: a self-portrait. Sony's LSPX-S3 glass sound speaker can be regarded as a leaner, no less enjoyable sonic anomaly which the paradigm-setting Harmon Kardon three-unit stereo playback device, a decade or so back, brought the convenience of music's joyful digital miniaturization. This inexpensive, highly-compatible audio triumph depends not so much on Bluetooth flexibility, but... Read More »

Dr. David contemplating the mysteries of Life. Happy Valley, OR, 2018 (Photograph by John Robinson; image processing by Ye Olde Editor) Last month's reflection upon the good things happening at Gold Note in Italy concentrated on some of their key people, as profiled on their YouTube channel. It was good stuff, people being the most... Read More »

Sensitivity First, I measured the sensitivity of the Audeze CRBN, comparing it to the Stax 007. My headphone measurement instrument is the Mini DSP "Ears," which is far from a standard. However, using my ACO Pacific SPL calibrator, I was able to calibrate the Mini DSP for SPL at 1kHz within about a dB, I... Read More »

E-in-C Robinson photographing at the Kronos factory, Montreal, 2022 (photograph by Bill Parish; image processing by Robinson) If you've been following my comments since last February, you're well aware of the fact that I have been repeatedly stating my extremely pleased astonishment at Louis Desjardins' Discovery Turntable System. So have others in our creative community.... Read More »

As you probably know, I'm not just a writer and a long-time audiophile (I and my friends call ourselves "HiFi Crazies"), but a manufacturer of High-End audio cables, originally XLO, now RSX. As such, to some of our HiFi brethren, that automatically makes me and anything I might say suspect. They insist—often based more on... Read More »

At the 18th High Fidelity Anniversary In the past, before I started to work as a journalist, I heard several times from one of the audio distributors that audio magazines were "leeches" and "parasites." He said it deadly serious and pissed off. Which did not prevent him from partying, having fun, laughing and joking with... Read More »

Written by Tom Methans While browsing around Steve Guttenberg's The Audiophiliac channel on YouTube, I came across several videos featuring Devon Turnbull, a multi-talented audio engineer and former clothing and graphic designer and graffiti artist, who now runs a small audio company in Brooklyn called Ojas (Devon's original graffiti pen name pronounced with the same "j" as in jazz... Read More »

As a reminder to Positive Feedback readers, PF has some very fine content-sharing relationships with a handful of fine audiophile publications. Among this fraternity of online magazines is Copper Magazine, the journal of PS Audio, Paul McGowan's audiophile company. Frank Doris is the current Editor there, and is a good friend, respected due to his many years in... Read More »

Dirk Sommer, Birgit Hammer (photography). This review is quite unusual: Audioquest's "LowZ/Noise-Dissipation" mains power technology, implemented in cables and power conditioners, which has recently received the Statement in High Fidelity award, has to show in the CSM mastering studio whether it has there just as positive an influence on the sound as in a HiFi... Read More »

  Ye Olde Editor, 2022: a portrait in Ink Outline (photograph by John Robinson; image processing by Ye Olde himself). A Study in Synergy There's that word again. As defined online by Oxford Languages, synergy is "the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater... Read More »

Greetings friends, I hope you are doing well! Today's article is about the new Audio Note (UK) Meishu Phono Silver Tonmeister 300B single-ended-triode (SET) integrated amplifier (MSRP $19,300.00 USD, website link HERE). Long time readers know I have a special fondness for high-performance integrated amplifiers, as they represent what I consider to be the value... Read More »

By Harold Tichenor Harold Tichenor:  a portrait. (Photograph by Matt Tichenor.) I encountered Harold Tichenor recently, while looking for a particular box set of the complete Solti Wagner Ring on Decca [recorded in 1958-1959] and issued in 1970, over at discogs.com. Since that time, we have gotten to know each other a bit, and I... Read More »

David W. Robinson making the photograph "Departure." Happy Valley, OR, 2022 (Photograph by John Robinson; image processing by Ye Olde Editor) Pushing ahead with my brief notes on Gold Note from last month, and progressing onwards in my discovery of their company, this month I'll share a couple of very brief videos that they've produced... Read More »

Dr. David W. Robinson: a moment. Vancouver, WA, 2022. (Photograph by Colt Milton; image processing by Robinson) Every now and then in a blue moon it happens. A quick blast about a design that really rocks me, and is reasonably straightforward to bring to your attention. (That's rare; most require a lot of work to... Read More »

I'm not a skier. It's not that I don't know how—I've actually taken a total of three "dry land" ski courses so, if I were to try, I might not crash too often before I actually got the hang of it. I've never tried, though. The cost in time, money, on-site instruction, and unlikely-but-possible injury... Read More »