Hardware Reviews Archives - Positive Feedback

Master Fidelity’s NADAC Digital Suite: A New Benchmark

Greg Weaver — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 19:23:40 +0000

When the opportunity to evaluate the singular performance of the comparatively affordable Master Fidelity digital suite, comprised of the $27,500 NADAC D DAC and its identically priced companion, the NADAC C Clock, in my own reference system, I was beside myself with anticipation. My enthusiasm for spending time with these components in my own reference... Read More »

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Gingko Audio MooVu Loudspeaker Kit

Michael Zisserson — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 17:15:53 +0000

Somewhere between the impassioned corporate overlords of large audio conglomerates and the overly passionate do-it-yourselfer lies a middle ground of small-to-medium audio companies. Many of these middle ground overachievers carve their niche by offering products that combine the value of the big brands with esoteric-like perfection in everything they build. Or in this case, you... Read More »

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Stereo Dave's Audio Alternative Custom Made Furutech Power Cord

Francisco Duran — Sat, 01 Nov 2025 21:46:07 +0000

Call it serendipity, a strange coincidence, or just plain chance, but when the power cords arrived from Stereo Dave's Audio Alternative for me to review, I was watching a video on YouTube from none other than Audioholics. Those familiar with that organization will know they are not supporters of high-end, high-priced audio cables whatsoever. One... Read More »

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Matrix Audio MP1 and MA1

John Hoffman — Sat, 01 Nov 2025 16:10:34 +0000

"Keep your voices down a little bit" is faintly heard in the background. This phrase is incredibly difficult to decipher in many systems, as it is located deeply in the background of the recording. "Then, a band member says"Oh I will tell you everything," and while it cannot be documented it is likely Christine McVie... Read More »

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Monitor Audio Bronze 300 7G Loudspeakers

Malcolm J. Gomes — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 17:18:21 +0000

When I started reviewing high-end audio in the early 1980s, I was young, naïve and easily fascinated with the fast-evolving technologies in the audiophile speaker sphere. I drooled at state-of-the-art designs and the exotic materials used in the top-of-the-line models from the leading brands. I admired the people designing these models, which were, more often... Read More »

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Aries Cerat Ithaka Minor DAC

Key Kim — Fri, 17 Oct 2025 16:40:23 +0000

My first encounter with the Aries Cerat was back in 2019 at the Munich High-End show. All I really remember was a truly magical experience—even under show conditions (noisy background, people coming in and out). The Aries Cerat system was very natural and analog sounding, surprisingly, I was listening to a digital set-up. Fast forward... Read More »

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KECES P14 Ultra Low Noise Linear Power Supply

Mark Pearson — Fri, 10 Oct 2025 18:36:48 +0000

The KECES P14 Ultra Low Linear Noise Power Supply is a relatively new addition to the KECES Pier product line and it replaces the P8. The P14 is a four-channel power supply and the channels are labeled as zones I - IV. Zones I – III gives you a selection of different voltages ranging from... Read More »

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SteinMusic Acoustic Disc - Correctly Tune an Entire Listening Room with just Six 2-inch Discs!

Robert H. Levi — Wed, 08 Oct 2025 23:23:08 +0000

Bob Levi: a moment. LAOC Gala Board Banquet, 2022 (Photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson) One of my pet peeves in listening room acoustic treatments is devices that not only enhance the sound quality, but also cause an irregularity to the musical reproduction at certain frequencies. I run across these items almost weekly... Read More »

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Parasound's JCA100 Tribute Amplifiers

Greg Weaver — Wed, 08 Oct 2025 22:52:06 +0000

I first heard the now-acclaimed Parasound Halo JC1 amplifier during the January 2002 CES, though this soon-to-be-acclaimed amplifier was not officially available for purchase until March of 2003. But on that January day, the late Bob Crump had used four pre-production JC1s, a soon-to-be-acknowledged overachieving amplifier from renowned electronics designer John Curl, to drive a... Read More »

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HyperAnalogue Hyper Sonic X4 Moving Coil Cartridge: Cooking Up A Masterpiece

Myles B. Astor — Mon, 06 Oct 2025 23:37:15 +0000

My first encounter of the Hyper Sonic X4 cartridge kind occurred in the VPI room at Capital Audiofest 2023. The next year, Laurence Borden, proprietor of Distinctive Stereo in NJ, also turned to the Hyper Sonic X4 to anchor his vinyl playback setup at Capital AudioFest 2024. Both times I left the show incredibly impressed... Read More »

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The Gryphon Power Zone 3 and the Art of No Noise

Lee Scoggins — Sun, 28 Sep 2025 15:52:26 +0000

Michael Fremer and Lee Scoggins, a moment. Los Angeles, CA, 2017. (Photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson) In my recent experience, I have discovered that lowering noise is one of the most beneficial things you can do for better music playback. It's a true three-for-one deal for audiophiles. Bass, midrange, and highs all... Read More »

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Pass Labs Lowers the Noise Floor with Its Newly Minted HPA-1c Headphone Amplifier

Juan C. Ayllon — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 16:43:45 +0000

The Pass Labs HPA-1c (photo by Juan C. Ayllon) If you don't already own one, you've probably seen them on the equipment racks of high profile audio reviewers: rugged and utilitarian, a milled metal block with an oversized volume knob that sounds sumptuous. For the past two years, I've been enjoying the lush delivery of... Read More »

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Thoughts on Cleaning, Freezing, Polishing, and De-Magnetizing used CDs and SACDs

Douglas Seth Brown — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 02:11:27 +0000

For many modern music lovers, listening to songs from FM-radio stations in the car or streamed over computers at home from websites like You Tube is how they (er… we) discover new music. If you're lucky enough to have a Sirius-XM radio subscription or can afford to stream high-resolution digital music from various online providers,... Read More »

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SVS SB17-Ultra R|Evolution Subwoofer

Pete Davey — Sat, 13 Sep 2025 16:41:58 +0000

Listening Impressions There's an elephant in the room, and I mean that almost literally. Certain frequencies, the lowest ones, simply aren't reproduced faithfully by most loudspeakers. They'll wobble along, giving the impression of bass, but when you sit in the chair you're left wondering: can you feel it? Subterranean frequencies are not just meant to... Read More »

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PS Audio PowerPlant 20

Pete Davey — Fri, 12 Sep 2025 18:15:11 +0000

Sliding the PS Audio PowerPlant 20 into my system wasn't like unboxing a new amplifier or speaker. It doesn't announce itself with power meters or driver cones. Instead, it quietly rebuilds the very electricity your system relies on. Yet, from the first few tracks, it was obvious this wasn't a subtle change. For my particular... Read More »

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Pass Labs X350.8 Amplifier

Pete Davey — Thu, 11 Sep 2025 16:55:28 +0000

After living with a handful of Class D amps over the past few years, it's been a real joy to get back into a serious Class AB amplifier. The Pass Labs X350.8 has reminded me why these big, heavy beasts are still so special. There's simply more weight, more authority, more current on tap, and... Read More »

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Node Audio SS-1 Cable Lifts

Marshall Nack — Thu, 11 Sep 2025 15:47:08 +0000

When the Support System One (SS-1) from Node Audio came to my attention, I was smitten by its elegant looks, intrigued by its intelligent design, and impressed by its very sensible list of materials. Welcome to SS-1, a modular component support eco-system that isolates equipment from its support, drains equipment vibrations, and focusses stray magnetic... Read More »

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Audio-Technica AT-LP8x Turntable

Ed Kobesky — Sat, 06 Sep 2025 15:34:03 +0000

What happened to all of the luxury Japanese turntables? You know the ones I mean: those tall, chunky, rosewood-veneered JVCs and Denons and even Hitachis, with their fully-automatic feature sets, dead-on direct drive propulsion and wildly over-engineered parts like servo-damped tonearms? While other companies like Rega were trying to simplify turntable design, these folks... Read More »

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Charisma Audio™ Caprisse Bookshelf Loudspeakers

Douglas Seth Brown — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 23:22:52 +0000

So you want to travel back in time to the mid-1970s to buy a brand new (back then) 1975-era pair of Quad ESL-57 loudspeakers. Okay… I get it. The primary difficulty, of course, is that all of your efforts to build a time machine out of a Delorean have failed; completely and utterly failed. Is... Read More »

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Starkrimson Mono Ultra Premium Amplifiers from Orchard Audio

John Hoffman — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 15:42:58 +0000

Rarely does technology trickle up into the high-end realm of two-channel audio playback. Yet, in the case of Class D amplification, this has indeed happened. The Class D circuit was invented in the mid-1950s by Alec Reeves, and the first commercial product was released by Sinclair Radionics in 1964. A bit further down the road,... Read More »

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PS Audio Stellar DAC

Dean Seislove — Fri, 29 Aug 2025 20:36:41 +0000

Kapow! Right in the noggin! Wobbling like a UFO saucer in the finest Ray Harryhausen tradition, the record sailed crazily in the air, then jetted straight into the hapless boy's forehead. Score! A direct hit! The lesson here was, while some may argue about a Dynaflex record's sound quality, it's pretty tough to dodge in-flight.... Read More »

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The Premier of Two Extraordinary Audiophile Accessories by SteinMusic of Germany: the Schumann Generator S1 and the Inline Speaker Signature Silver

Robert H. Levi — Tue, 19 Aug 2025 00:55:09 +0000

Bob Levi, a portrait. (Photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson) I am delighted to have the first opportunity to experience the perfected Schumann Generator S1 and the Inline Speaker Signature Silver for the first time in America. They are both exquisitely finished products and enhance the listening experience in vastly different ways. From... Read More »

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RAY Tubes Shootout: Reserve KT88's vs Reserve EL34's in the PrimaLuna EVO 300 Tube Integrated Amplifier

Tom Gibbs — Sun, 17 Aug 2025 16:45:53 +0000

When Nelson Wu, CEO of RAY Tubes offered earlier this year to send a full complement of RAY Select and Reserve tubes for evaluation in my PrimaLuna EVO 300 tube integrated amplifier, I jumped at the chance. I've never looked back; RAY Tubes have lifted my analog system performance and musicality to new heights, providing... Read More »

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The Power and Precision of ATC SCM40 Active Loudspeakers - Are They For You?

Juan C. Ayllon — Fri, 15 Aug 2025 18:57:44 +0000

Backdrop loudspeaker drivers image courtesy of ATC Like a surgeon's scalpel, the ATC SCM40A loudspeaker is a serious instrument, deftly cutting through sinew, fat, and bone to the heart of music with surgical precision and clarity. A three-way floor-standing model at just under 40 inches tall, it is unobtrusive and remains at the top of... Read More »

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Zu Audio Method Bookshelf Loudspeaker

Dean Seislove — Tue, 12 Aug 2025 17:51:36 +0000

A colleague once postulated that audio gear invariably sounds like the people who make it. The line of thinking goes that, if the person is big and bold, then their speakers look and sound the part. High-energy, constantly moving personalities turn out cables big on dynamics and tilted up tonal range. Quietly brilliant masterminds bring... Read More »

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