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Linn did it. Meridian has also done it. So have Naim, Avantgarde, Burmester, Gryphon, and a host of other brands, mostly hailing back to great European heritage and lineage. Naturally, one may ponder the who, the what, the it may refer to, and you would of course be right in that quest. Here, this question... Read More »

Back in November I published a review of the 33 Rackit Modular Record Storage Unit, a replacement for the original Per Madsen LP racks. Afterward, I was contacted by Ryan Tinsel who informed me that he also was making a replacement for the Madsen racks. Per Madsen in San Francisco made a modular storage system... Read More »

Abundant availability of AC power is something we take for granted. The distribution of electrical power has been executed with a level of unprecedented success: no matter where we look, there's the good ol' AC power outlet staring at us. Unfortunately, what is delivered by that good ol' AC power outlet usually arrives seriously flawed.... Read More »

Where are the Gatekeepers? Even as audio-related content has proliferated on the web, I tend to spend my browsing time elsewhere. The three reasons are: the slippage in quality, the ubiquitous upbeat bias, and the sheer redundancy. Click on the latest hardware article and it won't take long to realize you've already read it—just replace... Read More »

True, ​from "Those Wonderful Folks That Brought You the Blue Hawaii"… …except, subtract the tubes, use different designers, develop for dynamic headphones, use bipolar transistors output in class A, have a much more extended frequency response, undergo extensive modification including new exquisite volume control, produce up to 6 watts into a pair of headphones, and... Read More »

Despite my growing fascination with all things computer/network audio, I've always loved the sound of vinyl and still spend a fair amount of time spinning LPs. Even considering the many acoustic and mechanical flaws either inherent or possible with vinyl reproduction, the sound of a well-played LP has an almost intoxicating quality that's near impossible... Read More »

Trigger warning: This article claims that power cables can change the sound of an audio system. To me, a review of AudioQuest power products is necessarily an article about their designer, Garth Powell. I wish everybody who is considering a Niagara power conditioner or Storm Series power cables (and more so people who think it's... Read More »

The game-changing Critical Mass Systems Center Stage footers, one 25mm, and one 20mm, tall I've been using and experimenting with footers since their very genesis back in the summer of 1983, which saw the introduction of both the Sorbothane™ footed Mission Isoplat and Steve McCormack's machined aluminum ModSquad TipToes, but the Critical Mass Systems Center... Read More »

What differentiates state-of-the-art cartridges from the rest of the pack? Simple. State-of-the-art cartridges (or for that matter any audio component) establish performance benchmarks for other cartridges to meet. Take for the sake of argument assessing a cartridge's performance on a scale of one to ten using criteria such as dynamics, soundstaging, timbre, linearity, transient attack,... Read More »

Alta Audio started for what I think was a great reason. Someone asked. This is the story of a long-time audio-industry person and speaker designer deciding to leave the field, and then a reviewer friend saying, "Hey I want to be able to own current versions of your wonderful speakers—don't stop making them!" I like... Read More »

Few cable manufacturers had the kind of rookie effort Rick had with his first company, Virtual dynamic, in the early 2000s. Like his initial approach, Rick continues to have an unwavering commitment to the use of high powered magnets that surrounds the wire the signal passes through. Rick has several patents, and plenty of data... Read More »

In my Issue 96 product preview, I raved about several exceptional components currently in my review queue, not the least of which was Bakoon International's sensational little DAC-21. Although relatively new to my reference set-up, it quickly became apparent that the DAC-21's sonic performance would require a wholesale reassessment of what affordable outboard DACs can... Read More »

The Grado RS1 headphones: a classic! (Photograph by clothfairy via Flicker; Creative Commons license is at https://www.flickr.com/photos/7403543@N04/2250991856. Used in accord with that license. No changes were made to this image; use of this image does not imply endorsement by the photographer.) Twenty-three years ago, in a city far, far away, I purchased the most expensive, mahogany headphones... Read More »

Quietly Musical That was my initial thought when I listened to the Pass Labs XP-17 Phonostage for the first time. Yes, quiet and musical, is an apt description. But there must be more. After all, this is not some run-of-the-mill update. This is a new product in the Pass line. That does not happen all... Read More »

The word Titan brings a whole lot of imagery to mind for most people. Titan Missile; the king of all intercontinental ballistic missiles. Capable of delivering multiple nuclear warheads to other continents within a matter of minutes. Clash of the Titans; Gods at war using their giant minions to battle. It invokes the image of... Read More »

It's patently clear after countless years of reviewing that cables can—and often do—make or break the sound of better audio systems. Enter the Skogrand Beethoven speaker cables originally reviewed in Issue 75 of Positive Feedback (HERE). In the end—even with my patience being tested by the Beethoven's long burn-in time—the speaker cables truly excelled when... Read More »

Fidelity - a virtue peculiar to those who are about to be betrayed Ambrose Pierce "Fidelity to the source!" A ton of money has changed hands on the promise that some gizmo or recording can, "Put you right there next to the performers!" Unfortunately, those who actually make recordings are rarely content with raw footage.... Read More »

Enter Stellar… Early last year, PS Audio introduced a new line of audio components. Dubbed Stellar, the initial line includes the Gain Cell DAC/Preamp, the S300 Stereo Amplifier, and the M700 monoblock amplifiers. I caught wind of the Stellar M700 while at AXPONA 2017. Always on the prowl for reasonably priced, high-end audio components, I... Read More »

The Age of Bulk Occasionally I invite non-audiophile, classical music aficionados over to listen. I intentionally leave them unprepared for what they will see, except to mention that I'm an audiophile. It's a setup and it always works. They enter my living room and they freeze. After a pause, they point to the Kronos Sparta,... Read More »