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The plan was to assemble an inexpensive, two-channel home theater for my rec room. Nothing fancy, just a cheap receiver and Blu-Ray player with some hideaway speakers that blend in above the fireplace. There's no shortage of options. Polk Audio has always been a reliable choice, and I liked the sleek looks of the first... Read More »

Several months ago I wrote about Blue Circle's FX-2 X0e PLC and was impressed enough to purchase my review loaner. When visiting Blue Circle's Gilbert Yeung at last year's TAVES he suggested I try his new balanced power based TPX120. The TPX120 is a plug-in balanced power module that offers 120W of filtered and balanced... Read More »

It is a good time to seek out good gear these days. There's more functionality, interoperability and really, really good sound than ever. Yes, the pricing on some gear is incomprehensible, I cannot fathom or do not want to imagine that the price of an amp exceeds the price of nearly any car. Having said... Read More »

Quad DSD (DSD256) is arriving! And I am delighted to say that it is doing so with some albums that makes us sit up and take notice of the powerful virtues of this supreme format. If you don't get what the buzz about DSD is all about…if you think that CDs are "good enough," or... Read More »

Dieterich Buxtehude. Complete Vocal Works, 10 volumes (17 CD's). Ton Koopman. Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra and Chorus. Challenge Classics. In my long, lost youth, while dating one of three lovely young roommates in the magical Sixties of Cambridge, Massachusetts (all of us in our early twenties), one of the other two announced to us that her... Read More »

Elgar, Symphony No. 1. Cockaigne Overture. Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Vasily Petrenko. Onyx. ONYX4145. Why listen to Elgar? Unless you're British and feel the need for some nostalgic cultural reinforcement? Elgar? Pomp and Circumstance? Though I'll confess to some pleasant moments with the composer'sCello Concerto, I didn't come to this recording for Elgar. I came for Petrenko—the young... Read More »

BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Richard Hickox. Chandos CHAN 9959. TT: 75.48. Enter Spring. Isabella. Two Poems for Orchestra. Mid of the Night. Downloads: amazon.com (mp3); prestoclassical.co.uk (mp3, 320 kbps; FLAC, lossless) Although the present program was originally released in 2001—"old news" at the current rate of digital obsolescence—it's worth fresh attention. We still don't get to hear... Read More »

OK, straight outta the gate: Pearson Sound is not for everyone. Especially not all PF readers! If you're a fan of hard-hitting, percussively manic, and downright trippy intelligent electronic music—you should definitely give this LP a spin (or a click, whatever). However, if you're strictly a classical and jazz guy or gal—I don't think it would be fair to... Read More »

Robert Schumann, Violin Concerto; Piano Trio No. 3. Isabelle Faust, violin; Jean-Guihen Queyras, cello; Alexander Melnikov, piano. Harmonia Mundi. HMC 902196. CD & DVD. At some point in record collectors' lives they find themselves looking for musicians as much as for music. I have all of the Schumann I 'need'—but when I saw these three... Read More »

Duke Ellington, Masterpieces by Ellington 200 Gram LP, monophonic, $30. Years ago, a good friend sent me a vintage copy of Duke Ellington's Masterpieces by Ellington. It had been recorded at the dawn of the LP and Columbia's essay into those newfangled Germany-to-America tape recorders (courtesy of Bing Crosby!), back in 1950. It was in mono, natch, but... Read More »

Here We Go Again Over many years I've endured hope and disappointment in the service of auditioning and evaluating loud speakers of virtually every sort. At a certain point one becomes braced for the worst or, at least, for the next version of "no cigar" in the process of countervailing but ongoing optimism once again.... Read More »

KLaudio has introduced several significant functional and cosmetic improvements to their highly acclaimed ultrasonic record cleaning machine since my original report back in the September/October 2013 issue of Positive Feedback. Included among the many changes are: The top loading record cleaning slot and the fill port for pouring the distilled water into the tank are... Read More »

Since the early 1980's David Belles has been plying his craft with soldering iron, resistor, and capacitor to bring us some of the finest amplifiers that the common man could afford. The focus of the Belles products have always been centered on sound quality, reliability, a superior level of fit and finish that belies its... Read More »

CD: Orchestra of Radio Canada/Jean Deslauriers; *unidentified pianist DVD: Nancy De Long (s), Feodor; Misha Raitzen (t), Shuisky; Yoland Guérard (bs), Pimen; orchestra and chorus/Pierre Hétu. Analekta 2 9223-4 (CD+DVD). CD time: 39.09. DVD time: 29.28. CD: BORODIN: Prince igor: Galitzky's Aria; Konchak's Aria. GLINKA: A Life for the Tsar: Ivan Susanin's Aria. RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Sadko:... Read More »

Springing out of Minneapolis in the early '90's, the Jayhawks' music offered a healthy musical antidote to the rainy weather nihilism emanating out of the Pacific Northwest. With their gorgeous country harmonies, jangly Byrdsian–like guitar, combined with their knack for capturing pop hooks, the Jayhawks were conveniently pigeonholed by DJ's & music critics into the... Read More »

  As an occasional contributor to this site, may I also mention that I "read" every issue of Positive-Feedback.com in more or less the same way I read the TAS and S'phile pulps. That is, not every word, but for the musings of certain personalities, and for others' commentary on topics, recordings, and equipment of... Read More »

Most power line conditioners are passive, meaning the components that are doing the conditioning are in parallel to the power cord. This is done so that the conditioning components do not interfere with the instantaneous demand for power that happens with amplifiers when the music goes from very soft to very loud in a few... Read More »

The Krell legacy via designer Dan D'Agostino is well known and respected if not revered. Thirty plus years ago I remember my first experience with the legendary KSA-50 amplifier. Along with the Mark Levinson ML-2, the KSA-50 was one of the first in the industry to lay the ground work for today's strong and continuing... Read More »

The Jazz Mecca At one time, you could club hop along 52nd street in New York City and hear the likes of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Charles Mingus, et al., jamming until the wee hours of the morning. More than thirty clubs ranged along the street known as Jazz Alley, at a time when NYC... Read More »