Loading...

Aggghhh... Christmas music in the stores. Here's an antidote to the mind numbing drivel we're all going to be exposed to endlessly over the next several weeks. Unlike the yearly onslaught of "stuff to avoid," here is one album to balance out your musical sanity. Imagine Christmas, Various Artists from Sono Luminus (2017 (DXD) HERE... Read More »

A fellow-traveler who delights in extracting the max from his gear relayed this narrative the other day. "When guys come over for a listen, they often comment they never heard XYZ gear sound this good. Why is that? I tell them it is the attention paid to the little things—like premium fuses, RFI noise stopper... Read More »

Elbow, Flying Dream 1 Consistency and critical acclaim are the banes of an artist's existence. Countless bands have made this unfortunate discovery throughout millennia. Release a hit single your first time out, or, God forbid, an entire album that's embraced by the critics and the record-buying masses, and it feels almost impossible to meet expectations... Read More »

Commencing with the scintillating opening to Ernst von Dohnányi's Sonata for cello and piano, op. 8, and finishing with the abrupt falling phrase that concludes Shostakovich's Sonata for cello and piano, op. 40, Fernando Arias, cello, and Noelia Rodiles, piano, take us for a joyous ride through some superb music. Over the past several days... Read More »

Nathaniel Rosen is one of those rare artists whose playing captivates me for hours on end. There is a remarkable depth, intelligence and empathy to his playing. He is a simply immersive cellist whose performances are full of nuance, color, and imaginative flair. Listening today to his Schumann Complete Works for Cello and Piano, with... Read More »

Outstanding performance and value! Review By Phil Gold With this article, Positive Feedback continues its content-sharing relationship with Enjoy the Music where Phil Gold shares his thoughts on the Meitner Audio MA3 Integrated Hi-Res DAC. Dr. David W. Robinson, Editor-in-Chief The industry is converging around integrated digital front ends—something to access streaming services such as Tidal, Qobuz, Spotify,... Read More »

My journey in high end audio started with Digital to Analog converters (DACs). The first piece of audio gear I bought was a Yulong D100 DAC/Headphone amplifier. Since then I have listened to 30+ different high end DACs ranging from $100 to $25,000+. During this process, I  discovered that my personal tastes lean towards DACs... Read More »

If you are at all interested in checking out the underground Idol scene in Japan, here is an article by our own Peter R. Clark. Check out the review HERE at Citadel Review.

As we all know, vinyl is booming. Not only new sales, but collectable titles are also in high demand. Discogs and eBay have shown tremendous growth in sales for pre-owned and sealed out of print vinyl. Prices almost seem unfair. During the lockdown and to keep myself busy, I found myself pursuing the various Internet... Read More »

Competitive upgrade, the notion of "keeping up with the Joneses," was never my thing. For whatever reason, even as our income grew, we opt to maintain the same comfortable lifestyle, rather like Warren Buffet has famously chosen to live in the same modest abode for 63 years. (We're going on 40 in our apartment. The... Read More »

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 »