Hardware Reviews Archives - Positive Feedback

Small Green Computer sonicTransporter i7 CDR (Gen 3) and Sonore opticalRendu Deluxe

John Zurek — Mon, 07 Apr 2025 23:38:51 +0000

It was back in 2015 that I decided to get into a digital audio source that was not based on either a CD Player or a Transport/DAC combo. I'm really having a hard time wrapping my head around just how long ago this was. In the 2015 May/June issue of PF—now in the archives—I wrote... Read More »

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Vincent Audio SV-500MK Integrated Amplifier

Dean Seislove — Mon, 07 Apr 2025 23:13:28 +0000

Talk about poor timing. Just as I had this review sealed up, the tariff wars erupted. All politics may be local, but high-end audio sings to the tune of a global economy, in ways great and small. Headquartered in Germany, but manufactured in China, Vincent Audio has long offered excellent performance at an affordable price.... Read More »

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Parasound Halo JC1+ Mono Amplifiers

Mark Pearson — Sat, 05 Apr 2025 18:07:19 +0000

As an owner of the Parasound JC5 stereo amplifier, I was intrigued to review the mighty JC1+ mono amplifiers in my system. As many of you know, the JC5 was John Curl's attempt to distill as much of the JC1 amplifiers into a single stereo chassis as he could. As good as the JC5 stereo... Read More »

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Waters on the Hardware: Dejitter it’s Remarkable Switch X

Dean Waters — Sat, 05 Apr 2025 15:18:03 +0000

Dean Waters enjoying a fine drink at Munich 2024 (photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson) As lovers of clean, pure, wonderful audio, we spend much time and effort in regard to equipment, power, and cabling, among other things. When it comes to networking, we tend to not give it much thought other than... Read More »

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Karan Acoustics Master Collection POWERa Stereo Amplifier

Key Kim — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 15:51:58 +0000

The Karan Acoustics Master Collection POWERa Stereo amplifier is Milan Karan's new masterpiece stereo amplifier. The Master Collection is Karan's accumulation of over 30 years of audio engineering and design experience, replacing the entire previous product line. He began designing his Master Collection 10 years ago. Karan's goal was to make the best sounding amplifier... Read More »

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Coherence Systems Sorcer Apprentice and Vivid

Will Wright — Fri, 14 Mar 2025 16:42:08 +0000

I was passionate about music in my youth. I lived for Rock & Roll. I had a good voice and, like many young men in that era, I started learning guitar and piano. When it was time for me to head off to college I had some choices to make. Earn my living on music... Read More »

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Serve Vinyl on Your Best China with the Korf HS-A02 Ceramic Headshell

Juan C. Ayllon — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 18:52:32 +0000

I first heard about their ceramic headshell last year when I was updating my turntable setup with a vintage Micro Seiki BL-91 turntable and a GrooveMaster 3 tonearm. "Ceramics? Isn't that what they use in pottery and fine china?" I thought. Nevertheless, Jam Somasundram, a friend and turntable specialist, insisted I try Korf Audio's HS-A02... Read More »

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Audiomods Series Six LM Tonearm

John Hoffman — Mon, 03 Mar 2025 16:31:55 +0000

In the late 1980s, I was fortunate enough to obtain the dream job of many an audiophile. I worked part-time at an audio store while attending a local college. The Stereo Shoppe wasn't a high-end store, though we did carry several well-regarded lines. This was also an era when print magazines ruled; you could walk... Read More »

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iFi Audio Zen Phono

Francisco Duran — Mon, 10 Feb 2025 18:37:46 +0000

The last product I reviewed from iFi was their GoBlue. It is a wireless intermediary between your source and headphones. It works great. That one was a keeper. It gets its fair amount of use from my Android phone to my system when the mood for the sounds of Bluetooth rears its homely little head... Read More »

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Grado Labs Signature HP100 SE Headphones – a Brand New Direction for a Historic Manufacturer

Robert H. Levi — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 19:48:09 +0000

One hundred years ago Joseph Grado, founder of Grado Labs, was born. In 1953, he established the iconic Grado Labs producing extraordinary phono cartridges and dynamic headphones in Brooklyn, New York. The skilled manufacturing continues there today with even stronger creative energy from John Grado providing the leading Epoch 3 Phono Cartridge and the very... Read More »

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The iFi Neo iDSD 2 DAC/Amp: Yeah, Yeah, Little GTO!

Bruce Kinch — Tue, 04 Feb 2025 17:48:08 +0000

The iFi Neo iDSD 2 occupies a most intriguing spot in the UK firm's extensive roster of DACs and DAC/Amps. At $899, it is the first step down from the much praised $3249 iDSD Pro Signature. In fact, the two are the only items the iFi website lists as "Home Audio" above the ZEN range... Read More »

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New! HiFi-Tuning Diamond Fuses

Marshall Nack — Mon, 27 Jan 2025 20:42:06 +0000

Audiophiles spend thousands for a 39" (1 meter) power cord, only to follow it with an inch of conductor that costs around $3 at a local hardware store. That power cord may be highly rated, but current flow and sound quality will be constrained by the cheap fuse element at its tip. Surely, we can... Read More »

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The S-DUO Pro Ultrasonic Stylus Cleaner + Gauge and I-Brush from HumminGuru

Bruce Kinch — Fri, 24 Jan 2025 21:56:35 +0000

I recently became aware of HumminGuru, a Hong Kong based company with a quite forward-looking perspective on the viability of vinyl. While reviewing their affordable and very effective ultrasonic record cleaning machines (HERE), I also discovered a couple of accessories that break new ground for LP spinners. As with their record cleaners, HumminGuru's only outlet... Read More »

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The Goldring Ethos SE - a Ringer of an MC Phono Cartridge

Juan C. Ayllon — Wed, 22 Jan 2025 19:02:09 +0000

The Goldring Ethos SE Moving Coil Cartridge sports a capital G on its body's front like the "S" on Superman's chest—or the G on the University of Georgia football helmet of Herschel Walker—to which I see a passing similarity. Going into his first game in 1980, he was a fourth-string running back—unexceptional, merely fitting in... Read More »

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The Invisible DAC: My Listening Impressions of the dCS Varèse System

Lee Scoggins — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 21:55:50 +0000

The dCS Varèse DAC For some time now, I have enjoyed visiting my friend Scott Carpenter who owns Evolution Hi-Fi in the Buckhead section of Atlanta, Georgia. As my friends will tell you, I am a frequent visitor of hi-ﬁ shops, and I have a deep passion for the latest technology. Fortunately, Scott is not... Read More »

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Acoustical Systems Archon Improved MC Cartridge

Robert H. Levi — Tue, 14 Jan 2025 17:05:37 +0000

I love reviewing phono cartridges. In my incredibly neutral Helius Omega Tonearm, for example, they dramatically reveal either error or truth, thin or full textures, and the recording or the performance. Michael Fremer and Bob Levi at the LAOC Audio Society Board dinner, 2024 (photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson) The Acoustical Systems... Read More »

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Origin Live Agile tonearm

John Hoffman — Mon, 13 Jan 2025 17:27:12 +0000

In the beginning of 2024, an old acquaintance came to visit. While we have known each other for quite a while, I am afraid I only know him by his nickname of "What If." Some days my friend What If drops by for an evening to chat, other times it becomes a weekend stay. Well,... Read More »

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A Pippen of a Component - the Pass Labs X150.8 Stereo Amplifier

Juan C. Ayllon — Tue, 07 Jan 2025 23:28:55 +0000

The Pass Labs X150.8 Stereo Amplifier, seen up front atop a 1/4" steel plate on A/V RoomService EVP Equipment Vibration Protectors. In the back to the left is one of my reference Usher Audio ML-802 Loudspeakers. As a longtime Chicagoland resident and audio enthusiast, the Pass Labs X150.8 conjures Scottie Pippen's impact on the 1991-1998... Read More »

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Music Hall Stealth Turntable

Ed Kobesky — Thu, 02 Jan 2025 19:00:21 +0000

I threw everything but the kitchen sink at this relatively affordable Darth Vader-looking contraption in terms of upgrades. Not because it's bad, but rather, because it's very, very good. It sounds and feels more like a $2500 product than something priced at $1649, including cartridge. Could a few, well-chosen and easily installed swaps make it... Read More »

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The Dan Clark Stealth Planar Headphones - A Sublime Upgrade to Your Headphone Experience!

Juan C. Ayllon — Thu, 02 Jan 2025 18:53:36 +0000

Good headphones immerse you in an aural cocoon, delivering remarkable soundscapes that allow you to escape the noise and stress of daily life. Whether I was listening to Steely Dan tapes with their low-grade hiss on an AM/FM radio cassette player over Koss "Stereophones" back in 1979 at my college dorm room, or savoring a... Read More »

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MoFi Electronics MasterPhono Phonostage

Greg Weaver — Thu, 02 Jan 2025 17:56:16 +0000

Before we explore the exceptional performance and remarkable value that the moderately priced Mobile Fidelity MasterPhono Phonostage represents, the historian in me wants to make sure you understand why it is so noteworthy. Since Mobile Fidelity's humble beginnings as an independently owned audiophile recording company by recording engineer Brad Miller in March of 1958, it... Read More »

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Imersiv D1 DAC (now in Beta) and Audeze CRBN2 Headphones

Bob Katz — Sat, 28 Dec 2024 00:57:44 +0000

Bob Katz at work wearing the Audeze CRBN 2 Headphones, a portrait. (Photograph by Mary Kent.) Introduction Today I'm reviewing two remarkable products, both of which represent a new audio paradigm and a veritable redefinition of the state of the art! I know, this is an old audio cliché, but in this case I think... Read More »

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Euphony Audio's Stylus OS 4.0 (RC 24), in Combination with Mozzaik Upsampler, S.M.S.L.'s VMV D2R DAC, and a Peek at Exciting New Upcoming Euphony Hardware

Tom Gibbs — Sat, 21 Dec 2024 21:14:39 +0000

Over a decade ago, the late John Sunier of Audiophile Audition called me with a hardware review offer for the original AURALiC Aries streamer. I was clueless as to what a streamer was or what it was supposed to do, John was unable to offer any explanation of its function to me, and I only... Read More »

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The GIK Acoustics Q7D Diffuser

John Zurek — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 23:49:12 +0000

Over the years I've worked on refining the sound in my listening room by both upgrading/changing components and adding room treatments. Not sure why, but the whole room treatment project always seemed like a separate component of the system. Corner treatments, absorptive panels, diffusers, and Argent Room Lenses, in addition to the occasional component and... Read More »

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iFi Audio ZEN Phono 3 - Let's Make Some Friends

Al Chieng — Fri, 13 Dec 2024 17:21:24 +0000

I recently met a good friend for dinner and we got to talk about all things audio. It was there that he pondered an earth-shaking scenario to me. He told me that he was considering selling off his vinyl collection and rig to go all digital. It took me a moment to get my jaw off... Read More »

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