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John Marks' latest recommendation from his The Tannhauser Gate blog site follows. As always, his recommendations are worth noting. David W. Robinson, Ye Olde Editor Friday, November 9 (2018), Deutsche Grammophon will release the CD Light Eternal—The Choral Music of Morten Lauridsen. Amazon's pre-order price for the CD is $12.59, which is a truly excellent price. But... Read More »

ORG Music, ORGM 1040, LP $27.99, available everywhere For a guy who has owned umpteen copies of Time Out over the years, everything from an early pressing to one of those JVC Super Bit-Mapped CDs to the latest LP remastering from Analogue Productions, my record collection is suspiciously devoid of Dave Brubeck records. Other than... Read More »

Ratings Global Appreciation: 9.5 - Music: A - Recording: 9.5 - Mastering: 9.5 - Lacquer Cutting: 9.5 - Pressing: 9.5 - Packaging: fairly good gatefold + poly-lined paper inner sleaves Category: Memphis soul, funk, protodisco, soul-jazz, Blaxploitation soundtrack style. Format: Vinyl (2x 130 to 150 gram approx. LPs at 33 1/3 rpm) Credits Composed and Produced by... Read More »

I've had the "Dirty Weekend" version of the Zu Audio Omens for almost five years now; retailing for right at $1K USD, they're the least expensive way to taste the Zu experience. Zu has a very liberal upgrade and trade-in policy; they're constantly improving the technology of the drivers and cabinets they employ. The "Dirty... Read More »

Bob James. If you had told me years ago that Bob James of 70s "light" jazz fame was still recording new music in 2018, I'd probably have nodded and said, sure, though I would have wagered that the music would likely be silly place holder stuff, pay the bills sort of at thing. Turns out... Read More »

If you read Parts 1 and 2 of my Soundsmith review series in Positive Feedback Issue 98, where I wrote about the new Carmen Mk II (HERE) and new Zephyr Mk III (HERE) phonograph cartridges, you know that I found Peter Ledermann's designs to be among the most musically satisfying phonograph cartridges I have ever... Read More »

The Virginia-Class Referenceαε isoBASE™ is Silent Running Audio's (SRA) statement platform for vibration abatement, isolation and sound reinforcement in audio source and electronic components. SRA CEO Kevin Tellekamp describes it as "the culmination of what we've learned over 30 years in the design and manufacture of vibration and acoustical solutions for the aerospace, military, electronics... Read More »

Yarlung Records, YAR77215, gold substrate CD pressed in Germany. Also available in Single, Double, and Quad DSD download formats, stereo/multichannel Organ Builder and Technician: Manuel Rosales  Recording Engineers: Bob Attiyeh & Arian Jansen  Microphone Technician: David Bock Vacuum Tube Microphones: Ancona Audio Microphone Preamplification: Elliot Midwood  Stereo Mastering Engineers: Steve Hoffman & Bob Attiyeh Surround Sound Mastering... Read More »

How times have changed! Just a decade ago tape enthusiasts literally grabbed any title they could get their hands on just to have something, anything, to play on their machines. Many of those tapes, in retrospect, were pretty darn bad. Jump ahead a decade and there is such a glut of tapes on the market... Read More »

Trio Archè, BOSSI Piano Trios. Marco Enrico Bossi (1861-1925). BOSSI Piano Trios No. 1 in D minor, Op. 107; No. 2 in D, Op. 123. Brilliant Classics 95581. TT: 66.29.  The music of those nineteenth-century Italian composers who didn't write operas is generally well-crafted and colorful. Yet, despite the occasional attempt to stoke interest—a collection of music... Read More »

For some time, I've desired to experience a true horn-loaded speaker. But it wasn't until Volti Audio a.k.a, Greg Roberts, introduced the Rival that I considered requesting a review. I had heard Mr. Roberts' beautiful horn speakers several times, and they had always impressed me. But it was this smaller footprint Rival hybrid horn speaker... Read More »

Part 1 - The Review You know, it's not every day you get the opportunity to review something as legendary as the ESS speaker. It reminded me of my journey with Jantzen speakers long ago, it can be a tad intimidating as there is just so much rich history about the brand that you want... Read More »

What a treat! To have A. J. van den Hul, the Maestro, personally build a cartridge for review... a cartridge with a treated lacquer finish done three times over many months for proper drying. The lacquer is the precise replica of the lacquer used on the historic Strads, as in violins not cartridges, and flavors the music just... Read More »

The three available finishes of the absolute:  copper, black, and silver (image courtesy of Manley) Let us just cut to the chase! I have reviewed countless headphone amplifiers and the Absolute is absolutely the most elegantly designed, intensely musical, and extremely flexible of them all! Add in the superb remote and it’s game over. Provided with... Read More »

Makeshift towers of stacked maple or walnut wood flooring samples support the wires to my amps Take a look at my gallery of homemade cable supports. What a mess! I am embarrassed to show it. With a mid-six figure investment in gear, this is the best I could come up with? I've been looking for... Read More »

The Nippon Precision Jewel Industry CO LTD is typically referred to as JICO, a company many analog hobbyists are familiar with. JICO has a long and distinguished pedigree in the field of manufacturing, as it began producing steel sewing needles for the kimono industry 140 years ago, and diamond tipped phono cartridge styli in 1964.... Read More »

Disruptor! The MAG-LEV Audio ML1 Levitating turntable is a disruptor! Are you surprised? I own one of six Paravicini magnetic drive turntables in America. It does not levitate, but it is quiet and astonishingly open and life-like. ML1 as delivered: Signal to noise ratio -73dB! Way better than your turntable? Why? It has no motor!... Read More »

Introduction to the AVM I love audio components that offer a lot for the money. The Evolution A5.2 Integrated Amplifier is just such piece of audio gear. Built by German audio manufacturer, AVM, the A5.2 is a part of AVM's extensive Evolution line of high fidelity components. AVM has been building HiFi gear since 1986,... Read More »

Sunny War, With the Sun. ORG Music ORGM-1041, LP $15.89 at Amazon.com. I have this really bad habit of judging albums by their covers. Something gets sent to me in the mail, I glance at it, maybe open it up and look at the liner notes and then I place it in the rotation according to what... Read More »