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In the year 2002 the CD era was in full swing. CDs made up 93% of all recorded music sales—a huge slice of the pie. Vinyl record sales were 2/10ths of 1%. Into that vinyl-on-life-support environment Lamm Industries introduced their first phono preamplifier, the LP2. Fast forward 17 years to 2019. Sales of all physical... Read More »

Jane Ira Bloom: Wild Lines - Improvising on Emily Dickinson. Anderson Audio (2017, Audiophile Edition 2020 (DXD) HERE Jane Ira Bloom is an acknowledged jazz master on the soprano saxophone. She has built a following bridging modern and experimental jazz. In Wild Lines she has created a fresh and unpretentious exploration of the intersection of... Read More »

Handel: Concerti Grossi, Op. 6 and Op. 3, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin. Pentatone (Three Albums 2019, 2020 (DXD) [HERE] This is big, bold, exciting Handel. None of your timid tinkly stuff. This music has drive! It has bass! It is energetic! Just have fun with it. Yes, that was my first reaction listening to... Read More »

Wave Storm Reference BNC Cables and the Chord Dave I have heard many cables I have liked over the years, and have endorsed several of them throughout my time writing for Positive Feedback. However, I would never have called any of them essential. My recommendations were always wrapped within circumstances; if you have a system... Read More »

Finally! Bluetooth IEM monitors that present real music in real space without wires! Grado has done it and I am mightily impressed. Surpassing the performance of all other Bluetooth IEMs I have heard or auditioned, the new awesome GT220 Headphones are more authoritative, realistic, smoother, offer a more extended top and bottom end, and present... Read More »

Ballads is considered by many as an essential addition to any John Coltrane collection. First released on the Impulse label in mono and then later in stereo, it has continued to cause both consternation and praise by both critics and fans. This new 33 RPM stereo reissue is another wonderful addition to the Acoustic Sounds... Read More »

It is hard to imagine any human inhabitant of planet Earth whose life has not been negatively impacted by the current Covid-19 pandemic. However, amidst this dark cloud there are a few silver linings. One of them is the way it has impacted the listening habits of audiophiles. The feedback that I have received from... Read More »

One of the unsung perks of reviewing high-end gear is getting to travel without the discomfort of leaving home. When something new arrives, often even before the piece has settled in, I'll sit down for a taste and get the strong impression that the acoustic is unfamiliar, like maybe I've gone visiting another dude with... Read More »

"Holistic." "Quiet." "Transparent." Those words are my attempt to summarize the KECES S3 Preamplifier/S300 Combo: A delightful possibility for those who need a simple solution for a powerful, high fidelity system, with excellent headphone performance. As with the KECES E40 integrated amplifier (HERE), the minimalist nature of the Taiwan-born S3, and S300, fits into the... Read More »

ZMF Vérité Closed, ZMF Wooden Case, Cable Bag, and Warrantee Card ZMF has become one of the most well-known names in the head-fi community, producing headphones that sound incredibly good, and perform well above their price tag. They have excellent design that relies on exotic wood finishes, and a passionate team led by Zach and... Read More »

I've had the same Linn LP12 turntable in my system for thirty-six years. Regular maintenance has kept it in tip-top condition. Of course it has had a few different cartridges over that time, but with one exception it is the same now as when I bought it in 1984. That one exception being replacing the... Read More »

The more I listen to the recordings created by Brendon Heinst and his team, the more enchanted I become. TRPTK has easily become a favorite music label in this household because of the highly varied and non-traditional repertoire, extraordinarily good artists (whom we may not know by name but are very deserving of our attention),... Read More »

Impressive sound quality that we've come to expect from Pass Labs. Review By Tom Lyle With this article, Positive Feedback continues its content-sharing relationship with Enjoy the Music. Tom Lyle shares his thoughts on the Pass Labs XP-17 Phono Preamplifier and X250.8 Power Amplifier. Dr. David W. Robinson, Editor-in-Chief For quite some time I've been using a Pass... Read More »

High performance audio components have a variety of needs to reach their full potential, and one of the most critical requirements is being fed the cleanest AC current as possible. A typical audio system can sound quite respectable with a direct feed of AC current from the wall, however hobbyists that are striving to cross... Read More »

My power conditioner is an EQUI=CORE 300 by Core Power Technologies. Some time ago, the company's assets were acquired and renamed Core Power Technologies A/V by web-based audio retailer Underwood HiFi of Hawaii. Underwood HiFi also designs and performs upgrades to components. The device under evaluation is a USB jitter reducer / power conditioner called... Read More »

If you're a baby boomer (OK, Boomer!) or one of their children, you no doubt have a strong familiarity of the works of jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi. Or at least, you know him through osmosis, via his compositions for the many Charlie Brown and Peanuts television specials and movies that have aired almost incessantly since... Read More »

If you believe in RFI—no, let me start over. If you believe in science (since RFI is a measurable phenomenon), most likely you are doing something to address RFI. We have all been advised to get those darn wires off the floor. A dozen companies will be happy to sell you specialized lifts at prices... Read More »

A fairly common thread that runs through most audiophiles who are partial to vinyl rather than digital, is their penchant for tweaking. In contrast to digital domain, where there is a limited scope to tweak the sound, in the analog domain, a cornucopia of tweaking opportunities abound, and many analog buffs revel in them.   ... Read More »

How to think about Power Conditioning Power conditioning is an incredibly touchy subject and seems to divide the audiophile community as a whole. There are some who say it is extremely important, subscribing to the classic garbage in, garbage out mentality. Then there are those that argue that if the equipment is designed properly and... Read More »