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As I just retired and find myself back full time to the second love of my life (the first being my beautiful wife of 30 years, Paula of course) and that is a lot of dedicated listening and reviewing. Upon throwing my hat back in the ring, almost immediately I was offered a chance to... Read More »

Now that the 2018 classical concert season has drawn to a close, I'd like to share a few of my most contentious observations: 1) the best European orchestras maintain an edge over those from the New World; 2) there are some surpassingly fine ensembles among the next-gen of string quartets; and 3) something must be... Read More »

Marc Phillips has been doing music reviews for Positive Feedback for quite a while now. In the interest of full disclosure, he is also a distributor (Colleen Cardas Imports), and has a separate life selling fine audio gear. You'll want to keep this in mind as you read his comments...but his evaluation dovetails exactly with my... Read More »

Luxman Corporation of Japan celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2015. In late 2017 into early 2018, the high-end audio manufacturer introduced several new models to its already extensive lineup of preamplifiers, amplifiers, integrated amplifiers, source components, and cables, and established its own distribution in the United States. One of the introductions was the L-507uXII integrated amplifier,... Read More »

Cartridges and jazz musicians share at least one thing in common. Ask five artists to play a song and each performer will give a slightly different interpretation. A little more swing. A little behind the beat. A little slower or faster tempo. Improvising differently. Cartridges (and for that matter arms and tables) are no different... Read More »

A Distinguished Legacy My use of, and admiration for, the expansive range of audio products from British manufacturer Musical Fidelity (recently purchased by none other than Heinz Lichtenegger, the director of Pro-Ject Audio Systems and a close friend of retiring Musical Fidelity head Antony Michaelson) dates back almost 20 years. In the late 1990s I... Read More »

Audio companies usually showcase their best, and also the most expensive products. These present company's full potential, its best techniques and technologies, and can also appear as sort of "totem" driven into the ground occupied by tribes worshiping high quality sound. It is no different with the Japanese brand 聖 Hijiri, belonging to the Combak... Read More »

If you read Part 1 of this Soundsmith review series in Positive Feedback Issue 98 (HERE), where I wrote about the new Carmen Mk II phonograph cartridge, you know that I found the Carmen Mk II to be one of the most musically enjoyable phonograph cartridges I have ever written about. The Carmen Mk II... Read More »

As Fiio continues their push into higher-performance personal portables (and into the US market!), they're releasing some technologically remarkable products that perform at a shockingly high level. And at price points that tend to be well below the cost of completing brands like AK, HiFiMan, and Sony. I'm continually impressed by the performance of the... Read More »

"It's good to be the King!" While sitting back and listening to the Pass Labs INT-250 integrated amplifier, I couldn't help but giggle and think about this infamous line from Mel Brook's underground 1981 classic film, History of the World, Part I. What I was hearing had me glued to my seat and skimming through... Read More »

With their headquarters based in sunny-side California, Ultimate Ears was initially founded in 1995 by Jerry and Mindy Harvey. The former of which has played such an influential role in the design of headphones that within just a few years of UE's induction, The Rolling Stones, Enrique Iglesias, and Faith Hill were loyal customers. A... Read More »

With Grado's new superstars of the cartridge world on the scene, I have updated my turntables, adding the EAT Csharp and Forte S models. Both had DIN connectors requiring me to search out top-notch phono cables with DIN plugs. I auditioned many wires, and finally settled on the WyWires Diamond Phono Cables. I also auditioned... Read More »

I don't trust loudspeaker reviews. OK, you do realize you can't trust what you read in the paper, see in an advertisement, watch on cable news, hear on talk radio, or click on Facebook? Or anything on the Internet at all? Unless, a priori, you agree with the content, the trolls, or the known bias?... Read More »

Gosh, it sees that lately I've been inundated with Class D topology amplifiers. Several here for review, pending. Each one with their own style and power. The latest lightweight contenders come from PS Audio, a company well versed in the high end audio scene (and very well respected). Now, when I hear the words PS... Read More »

You know, every once in a while, one of those "disruptive" products that come to the market that make you think "Why didn't I think of that", or "I thought of that!"... enter one of the original ultrasonic record cleaners. Since the release of the original Audio Desk system several years ago, there have been... Read More »

Prologue I used Pass Labs' XP-10 as a reference preamplifier for most of 2017. I had no problem distinguishing it from my previous reference, a circa 1995 YBA Alpha 1 linestage. The XP-10 was more relaxed in the midrange and had every bit as much detail while forming more realistic renderings of bass depth and register... Read More »

After many many years as an audiophile delving into all forms of music reproduction in the home, I am most aware of the direction of the many twists and turns of our limitless hobby. The infinite variability of our quest enhances the fun and fulfillment waiting just after the next acquisition. Recently, I described a dynamite phono... Read More »

Unibody Chassis. Display Brilliance. Tesla G1. Music Streaming Ecosystem. Lightning Link. Frankly, I didn't realize Apple had moved the introduction of a new iPhone to late winter. Of course, I'm only kidding; although reading through AURALiC's all new and superbly well-designed website, you'd be hard pressed to think that what you just read were the... Read More »

In a world where smiling boxes mysteriously appear on your porch and contain products that may or may not be missing a crucial part, fail to operate after two days, or simply not work right out of the box, high end audio is a welcome relief. Online forum tirades from the bored and disgruntled notwithstanding,... Read More »