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I've been interested in high-end audio since the mid 1970s, maybe even before that, certainly before anyone used the term High End Audio. This was mostly due to my love for music, and happening to have a few school friends and acquaintances who parents had really good systems. It wasn't until I was in college... Read More »

Over the past couple of decades, many of my audiophile friends have often questioned my preference for well designed, intelligently engineered 2-way speakers over their 3-way counterparts. This preference has been based not just on listening tests but also on the fact that 2-way speakers enjoy some significant advantages over all but the very best... Read More »

Since converting my digital playback chain to a heavily modded Mac Mini/Mytek Stereo 192 source (read review HERE) I've been very happily listening to a variety of 16/44 and hi-res files. For once I couldn't think of any upgrades that I really needed. But when I read an ad for the Audioquest JitterBug, it resonated with... Read More »

We are creatures of habit. For ten consecutive years Lynn and I have taken our summer vacation at the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival in Canada, which bills itself as the largest of its kind in the world. It is huge in terms of programming and number of days, if not in audience size. A... Read More »

I have come across many audiophiles who have truly splendid turntables, tone arms, and cartridges, of which cost them an arm and a leg. Nevertheless, they still may not enjoy the best that vinyl has to offer if the bottleneck in their audio arsenal is their phono preamplifier. There is no doubt that the phono... Read More »

"It disturbs me that footers make such a difference." Ain't that the truth, Abe. But then you shouldn't have been so surprised. Remember when you gave me an assist installing the Finite Elemente Pagode APS Amp Stands? Talk about a grand disturbance! Such are the pitfalls of the empiricist grappling with the logic of the... Read More »

(Image courtesy of Zesto Audio) Introduced at RMAF in October by Zesto Audio, these new powerhouse mono-blocks have the Zesto signature house sound, which is nearly nothing at all. It also has enough power from tubes to be an amplifier solution to any and all speakers I know of, with extraordinary results. If you loved... Read More »

I am a huge fan of Integrated Amplifiers. I am a firm believer that less is more.  Fewer boxes, cables and resonance control devices is a big plus in my book. Past reviews for models from Vitus, D'Agostino, Pass Labs, Simaudio, BMC, Marantz and more have established several reference standards for sound quality—even when compared... Read More »

Back in the early days of digital-to-analog conversion, I bought one of the first commercially available (for consumers) DACs, a Threshold. I felt the results it yielded were pretty impressive, lifting CD playback to a much more enjoyable and listenable level. My predominantly analog system at that time included electronics by Classe, Magneplanar speakers, dual... Read More »

Few audio companies can lay claim to as rich and storied a legacy as that possessed by JansZen Loudspeaker Ltd. Arthur A. Janszen is credited with the invention of the first practical electrostatic loudspeaker, and in 1954, was awarded a patent for his design. Over the course of the next three decades, Janszen developed numerous... Read More »

Analysis Plus was established in 1993 with a unique perspective in the cable market. Proprietary computer modeling had shown that hollow oval shaped conductors performed better than any other form or geometry. Think of the shape of a new pair of socks in their flat packaging and you'll understand hollow ovals. Currently, Analysis Plus makes... Read More »

Audio cables seem to induce more fractious behaviour among audiophiles than virtually any other component of the hifi chain. The two camps comprise the hardcore objectivist, who demands rigorous scientific evidence and the subjectivist who is merely happy to report what they hear. I don't wish to dwell on this age-old debate; instead I wish... Read More »

So there I was checking my email, and I saw that I had a message from Dave Clark asking if I was interested in reviewing some Mojo Audio gear. As I read down the email, I could see that Benjamin Zwickel has personally asked for me to review his digital gear. The first thought that... Read More »

These are interesting pieces to have to write about in my first for Positive Feedback. When I picked them up, Dave, who hadn't heard them, said something like, "You may not like them and if so, then just don't write about them."  But I didn't think that; I wasn't expecting miracles, but I nearly got... Read More »

Pass Labs is on a roll. The new Xs lineup that includes the Xs Preamplifier ($38,000) and Xs-300 Monoblock Amplifiers ($85,000) has been receiving rave reviews worldwide. Definitely considered state of the art contenders by even the most discerning critics. Bottom line, my short time with them in my system was a revelation. Now we... Read More »

A few times a year there comes a revolutionary product from a vendor. Sometimes it's a well known vendor with the usual high-dollar offerings. With those, it's usually an automatic—"well, they have the money since their products are not cheap" so the logic is maybe they didn't skimp on R&D? But when the underdogs come... Read More »

The only thing "entry level" about Audio-Technica's new AT-LP1240-USB is the price. MSRP is $530, and the street price is closer to $450. It's easily competitive with any source I can think of for that money—analog or digital—and it runs rings around some of them. Sorry if that's vague, but I wanted to let you know upfront that this... Read More »

This is my second installment investigating surround preamplifiers that might function as a reference two channel preamplifier. Leaving my Onkyo 885(b) for the NAD M17 was an encouraging, nearly thrilling start to my investigation. Happily there are an increasing number of promising offerings from bona fide audiophile firms. I naturally alighted on Classe's newly released... Read More »

ATC are makers of studio monitors. I expect every reader of this review has at least one recording in which an ATC speaker was used in producing it. And we're talking some exceptional recordings, think Pink Floyd, Mark Knopfler, Diana Krall, and great recording engineers, again think Doug Sax, George Massenburg and Bob Ludwig and... Read More »