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As I look back, it has been a number of years since I have evaluated a Rotel Audio component. "The Rotel corporation grew from the efforts of one family's love of music." The company was launched some 60 years ago in, 1961. Today Rotel has launched an assault on the high end with their top-of-the-line... Read More »

Far too much time has passed since my last Positive Feedback review. This unintentional hiatus was traceable to the Covid-19 pandemic (and resulting work changes) coupled with an unexpected move to new digs early this year. For the record. Heidi and I weren't in the market for a new place but pandemic pricing on Manhattan... Read More »

The Euphony Summus Server and Endpoint, alongside the PS Audio Stellar Gain Cell DAC and the Gustard X16 DAC. From late 2019 into 2020, my personal life was an absolute shambles, mostly due to a seemingly never-ending series of health crises that quite nearly took me down with them. The only really positive thing (besides... Read More »

As mentioned in some of my recent reviews, I have really settled in on the basic building blocks in my current system. Click on my name above in red for a complete list and description. Even during the lockdown, I never thought twice about making any major changes. This despite plenty of time reading about... Read More »

A fellow-traveler who delights in extracting the max from his gear relayed this narrative the other day. "When guys come over for a listen, they often comment they never heard XYZ gear sound this good. Why is that? I tell them it is the attention paid to the little things—like premium fuses, RFI noise stopper... Read More »

Outstanding performance and value! Review By Phil Gold With this article, Positive Feedback continues its content-sharing relationship with Enjoy the Music where Phil Gold shares his thoughts on the Meitner Audio MA3 Integrated Hi-Res DAC. Dr. David W. Robinson, Editor-in-Chief The industry is converging around integrated digital front ends—something to access streaming services such as Tidal, Qobuz, Spotify,... Read More »

My journey in high end audio started with Digital to Analog converters (DACs). The first piece of audio gear I bought was a Yulong D100 DAC/Headphone amplifier. Since then I have listened to 30+ different high end DACs ranging from $100 to $25,000+. During this process, I  discovered that my personal tastes lean towards DACs... Read More »

Competitive upgrade, the notion of "keeping up with the Joneses," was never my thing. For whatever reason, even as our income grew, we opt to maintain the same comfortable lifestyle, rather like Warren Buffet has famously chosen to live in the same modest abode for 63 years. (We're going on 40 in our apartment. The... Read More »

I had the good fortune of reviewing the excellent original Andros Téssera, which when spiced up with a few Mullard tubes, revealed extraordinary musical performance. I have since purchased a Zesto Audio Andros Deluxe II Phonostage with the introduction of the new tube combination and the massive upgrade in the power supply. Unlike the Téssera I reviewed,... Read More »

My father once said to me that if you live long enough, you will see everything. He was right—at least in this case. After 60 years as an audiophile and music lover, the ultimate in electrostatic headphone technology has finally yielded what I believe to be the most musical and lifelike electrostatic headphones on the... Read More »

There is something to be said for stability in an audio system. In this case I don't mean "stability" as in free of vibration or unwanted movement, though that is obviously essential in a quality audio setup. I mean stable as in it is good to have some pieces of equipment that don't get swapped... Read More »

Something strange happened recently that caused me to rethink the testing paradigm used by reviewers. I was multitasking, putting some low-priced music streaming gear through its paces, while checking out a sampling of AudioQuest Ethernet cables. I began with AQ's bottom-of-the-line Pearl ($49.95/1.5m), then swapped to the top-of-the-line Diamond ($1599.95/1.5m), when it struck me. For... Read More »

Justin Weber, the owner of ampsandsound, has been on a roll lately. 2021 has been a big year for him. He introduced two new headphone amplifiers (The Rockwell, and the Agartha), had two of his products put on the 2021 Stereophile recommended component list, and introduced a new set of mono block speaker amplifiers known... Read More »

Excellent transparency and musicality deliver musical bliss. Review By Tom Lyle With this article, Positive Feedback continues its content-sharing relationship with Enjoy the Music where Tom Lyle shares his thoughts on the Aavik Acoustics RIAA R-180 Phono Preamplifier. Dr. David W. Robinson, Editor-in-Chief In July of 2021, I reviewed Aavik Acoustics's I-180 integrated amplifier, D-180 DAC, and S-180 streamer... Read More »

Prologue I've had the Magneplanar LRS loudspeakers in my daily-listening system for over two years now; every time I swap them out for something else, they invariably seem to find their way back in. And that's despite being devilishly difficult loudspeakers to drive; their 2.8 ohm impedance (almost constant across the entire audio spectrum) presents... Read More »

Unless you have been living under a turntable weight, you are likely aware of PureAudioProject. Founded in 2013 by Ze'ev Schlik, the collaborative PureAudioProject (PAP) offers a line of highly regarded modular open baffle loudspeakers using interchangeable upgradable frame structures, drivers, and crossovers. In addition to the modular speakers, PAP has expanded its product line,... Read More »

These days it seems like many high end manufacturers are building all in one digital front ends. What I mean by that is one box that consists of both the DAC and Streamer. On paper this approach makes a lot of sense. With the rise of Roon and HD digital music services, many audiophiles are... Read More »

My last foray in the fiefdom of iFi focused on fixing a pair of power problems that plague too many audio setups: ground loops and DC offset. The diminutive GND Defender and DC Blocker elegantly address that annoying rattle and hum—and at the most un-audio-extortionate prices. As I mentioned in that review HERE, the two... Read More »

I was first introduced to Rotel products back in the mid 70s when I bought my first Rotel turntable from the Stereo Buff in Springfield, MO. I was a poor college student, and they had very affordable prices. I ran that table through a Yamaha integrated amp along with a Aiwa cassette player and Genesis... Read More »