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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 »

I remember my first high-end digital player, a California Audio Labs DX-1. Looking forward to perfect sound forever, I tried to sell myself on the virtues of that CD player. Listening through my (then) Martin Logan Aerius speakers and Classe amp, I could never shake the feeling that the DX-1's sonic signature was contributing to... Read More »

Arvo Pärt. Mullova - Järvi. Onyx 4201. Darf ich..., Fratres, Passacaglia, Tabula rosa, I Ludus, II Silentium, Spiegel im Speigel] I have never been drawn to the extremely popular and to be fair much admired Estonian contemporary composer, Arvo Pärt. I have found his music an example of the dictum that less may be less. It... Read More »

Let's keep it simple and direct. The new Synergistic Research Galileo SX cables are the finest cables that I have used in my system. Over the last two years, I have reviewed or personally auditioned flagship cables from many of the elite well established major brands and also from several new innovative upstarts. Not everything... Read More »

Indra Redux Back in the Precambrian Era of audio (circa 2003), STEALTH Audio introduced an interconnect that disrupted the cable industry. The Indra had many ground-breaking features, not least its MSRP of $5750/meter, a startling number at the time. (Little did we know what was to come on that front.) But one element in particular... Read More »

Sarah Reich, New Change. Tap Music Productions B07FTXR22W, CD $9.49 from Amazon.com "I want to be the first tap dancer to win a Grammy Award!" Okay yeah, it's nice to have dreams, kid—wait a minute, did you say tap dancing? A Grammy Award? When you think of tap dancing as an art form, do you think about... Read More »

The larger your record collection, the more likely many of your favorite albums will remain buried, waiting years or possibly decades for another chance to grace your turntable again. With hundreds, or even thousands of records squirreled away on shelf after shelf, it's easier than ever to forget about all the hidden gems you own,... Read More »

When Mark Still contacted me in June about reviewing his handcrafted Still Audio EL84 integrated amplifier (below) I was immediately intrigued, particularly when Mark urged me to give it a try with my pair of vintage Altec 832A Corona loudspeakers, whose visceral musicality I adore. I was impressed with Mark's chassis design for his Still... Read More »

Ferguson Hill are a niche British designed loudspeaker company who have garnered notable interest for their innovative and striking horn-loaded speakers and Hi-Fi components. Headed by Tim Hill, a former aeronautical engineer, the company first set the scene with their £17,000 artisan FH001 full-size speaker system. Through research and more innovation, the company was able... Read More »

Nearly a decade ago, my girlfriend and I co-wrote a favorable review of the GLOW Audio music system, composed of their Voice One loudspeakers, GLOW Amp One integrated amplifier, and Sub One subwoofer. Both of us were mightily impressed by the system's inviting sound and stylish good looks. It was our first experience with single... Read More »

The final Sonorous X Closed Back Dynamic Headphones are the unmatched audiophile enigma of the decade. This cost-no-object luxury model of S'Next Co. Ltd. of Japan is both: 1) The most scientifically advanced, meticulously-complex, exquisitely-designed, delivering superior imaging and soundstaging, with the ne plus ultra definition I have ever heard; and, 2) have received a Rodney-Dangerfield-styled series... Read More »

Analysis Plus is essentially an engineering firm that has chosen audio manufacturing as one of the areas to focus their resources. What I find interesting is that the fundamental concepts and design geometry that Mark Markel had identified years ago has remained essentially unchanged within their product line. In today's popular culture, a large cross-section... Read More »

Ever since I discovered the ultra-high-value audiophile cables and now power cords from Unique Innovation Technology (UIT), my audiophile life has been altered forever. Two years ago I met the UIT folks, headed by the extraordinary Mitch Ko, at the LA Audio Show, and their suggestion that I try their interconnects with a pure silver module... Read More »

In Positive Feedback Issue 31 (May/June 2007) I reviewed three CDs from Silva Film Music (HERE). Silva Film licenses the rights to film scores and re-records the music using the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. In my review of 2007 I was impressed by the quality of the performances, the excellent recording and mastering that results in... Read More »