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Glazunov, Symphony No. 6 in C minor, Op. 58; La mer, Op. 28; Introduction and Dance from Salome, Op. 90. Royal Scottish National Orchestra/José Serebrier. Warner Classics 2564-69627-0. TT: 66.48 Downloads: amazon.com (mp3); prestomusic.com (320 kbps mp3, FLAC); qobuz.com ("16-Bit CD quality," 44.1 kHz). Streaming: app.idagio.com; spotify.com Coming to the classics, as I did, by way of... 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 »

Per Norgaard, Paul Ruders. Works for Solo Cello. Wilhelmina Smith. Ondine ODE 1381-2 With much contemporary music composed in the high modernist idiom, we pretty much have to follow the composers to see where they go. Guidelines are hard to find. Is it an interesting place? Does the music speak to us? Can we infer... 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 »

World Premiere Review! A quiet background, and extended response, making instruments sound real. 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 Oracle Audio PH200 Mk III Phono Preamplifier. Dr. David W. Robinson, Editor-in-Chief I'll start this review of Oracle Audio Technologies' PH200... Read More »

Photo courtesy New York School of T'ai Chi Chuan Sundays at noon I take Qigong class, a Chinese discipline of standing postures and slow movements. Translated, it means "energy work," and is related to T'ai Chi Chuan. The aim is to help you achieve relaxation. Sounds easy, right? That's what you think. By the time you... Read More »

I first came across Triangle Art around 7 years ago while scrolling through a familiar webzine. It was fortuitous as I was getting back into vinyl after abandoning it decades ago, leaving behind my thoroughly thrashed Garrard that carried me valiantly through my childhood and teens. What caught my eye in that webzine's ad was... Read More »

How's your consumer confidence these days? Mine could be better. Seems like the more I buy, the less I'm satisfied. Higher price and lower quality is starting to become the rule rather than the exception. I especially take umbrage with products that feature a description that seduces you into thinking they're great, and then disappoint... Read More »

Rossini: Orchestral Music. Budapest Festival Orchestra/Iván Fischer. Channel Classics CCS SA 27708. TT: 65.00 La scala di seta: Overture. Serenata per piccolo compresso. String Sonata in G Major. Le rendez-vous de chasse. Variazioni a più instrumenti obbligati. Andante, e Tema con Variazioni per quattro strumenti a fiato. Semiramide: Overture. Downloads: amazon.com (.mp3); channelclassics.com ("stereo and multichannel");... Read More »

There was hum in my system! It was the dreaded 60 cycle hum. So was it caused by a faulty power supply, or a power transformer too close to a high gain amplifier? No, more likely the progenitor of this problem was electromagnetic coupling somewhere in the cabling. Experimentation narrowed my search for the source... Read More »