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Fidelizer Nimitra About two months into my first job—bagging groceries—I had a recurring nightmare. Mid-conversation I would discover I was sitting cross-legged on the counter next to the register wearing only my boxer shorts. Writing about computer audio makes me feel, well, let me say my nightmares involve fewer clothes these days. As foreshadowing for... Read More »

Have I got great news for you! The development of the brilliant, new Epoch $12,000 Grado Lineage Series Cartridge (see my review of it in PF Issue 92 HERE), incorporating unique and inventive engineering galore, caused the design team headed by John Grado himself to rethink the entire cartridge line-up! This includes their entry-level cartridges.... Read More »

Ripping CDs is a job that's easy to put off.  "Honey, what's the plan for these CDs?" my wife says sweetly. I may be a little obtuse at times, but even I speak enough Spouse to know that what she really means is, "When are you going to get off your duff and do something... Read More »

The SPEC company and its founder, Mr. Shirokazu Yazaki, as well as its main constructor, Mr. Banno Tsutomu, have a special place in my heart. I was the first person from outside Japan to test the company's products and my relationship with Mr. Shirokazu is especially close. It was no coincidence that he described the... Read More »

Marek Pospieszalski, gra piosenki, które śpiewał Frank Sinatra Marek Pospieszalski MP001, Medium: Compact Disc. Date of release: 15th March 2017 A parcel with Marek Pospieszalski's album was sent from my home city of Cracow. It is modest, released in a digipack without any booklet, with minimum lettering imprinted on the CD and is – let me tell... Read More »

When I listened to the Spatial Audio M3 Turbo S (read that review HERE) I was hoping to pair them with the Linear Tube Audio Micro ZOTL MZ2 preamp/heaphone amp and ZOTL 40 power amp. Clayton Shaw of Spatial audio opined that the pairing of the LTA components driving his M3 Turbo S was magical,... Read More »

Having known the legendary John Curl's work since he did the JC2 Preamplifier for Levinson in 1972, a ground-breaking design for solid-state, and every bit as competitive as the tubed ARC SP-3a-1 of the era, I fearlessly replaced my current mega phono gear, both tube and solid-state, with the Parasound Halo JC 3 Jr. Phono Preamplifier, costing just... Read More »

Fyrlyd Records FYRLYDLP1602, available at http://fyrlyd.no/ for 389 NOK "I'm a huge fan of those guys." Music reviewers aren't supposed to admit to such things. We're supposed to be objective in our approach to something that's almost perfectly subjective. We're supposed to accurately describe the release, offer some sort of reference for the reader that... Read More »

Bill Conrad and Lew Johnson of Virginia-based conrad-johnson feel that typical integrated amplifiers are compromised in performance compared to high-end separates. Audio manufacturers, they posit, build integrated amplifiers to meet a price point, sacrificing parts quality and sonics along the way. The CA150 Control Amplifier represents conrad-johnson's answer to the ubiquitous integrated amplifier. Note the subtle distinction in terminology—conrad-johnson refers to the CA150... Read More »

Chopin's Last Waltz, Robert Silverman pianist, Kimber Kable ISOMIKE 5606, LP. Producer: Ellen Silverman Editing: Aaron Hubbard Mastering: Chad Kassem, Aaron Hubbard Recording Engineers: Aaron Hubbard, Ray Kimber Mastering Engineer: Kevin Gray, Cohearent Audio, LLC Recorded using the ISOMIKE RECORDING TECHNIQUE recorded at DSD256 and edited in that format without any compression or equalization other than... Read More »

Audio Note Music – ANM 1601 ­(UK) (2017, March) Format: Vinyl (2x180 gram LPs at 45 rpm) Named official 'musical ambassador' for Audio Note Music, Canadian cellist Vincent Bélanger is part of an all too rare breed: an authentic audiophile/musician. Dedicated to raising awareness around his beautiful bicentennial or so instrument, the busy 38-year-old is on... Read More »

Streaming is the future of computer audio. Anyone who's serious about playback of digital files knows that streaming is essential to achieve the ultimate in effortless, totally transparent playback. Think of it like this: with computer audio, there's no transport, per se; you can have the world's greatest digital-to-analog converter, but you've still gotta have... Read More »

Yuko Mabuchi Trio; Yuko Mabuchi piano, Bobby Breton drums, and Del Atkins bass; Yarlung Records 80161 CD, pressed in Germany on high definition special composite materials. Available in PCM and DSD on HDTracks, and NativeDSD.com up to DSD256 (Quad DSD). 2017. Recorded before a live audience at the Brain and Creativity Institute’s Cammilleri Hall.   Yuko Mabuchi plays a Steinway Piano. Recording... Read More »

Have Class-D amplifiers gotten a bad rap? Despite my colleague Guido Corona's enthusiastic review of Merrill Audio's Veritas amplifiers (HERE) some four years ago, the sound and performance of all Class-D amplifiers still tends to be lumped together and in the words of the immortal Rodney Dangerfield, "…don't get any respect." Is or isn't that... Read More »

Many of our readers will have read my earlier rave review of the Unique Innovation Technology (UIT) interconnects back in Positive Feedback Issue 92. With some 18 meters of UIT Interconnect included in my two systems, I can now further report on the extraordinary performance of this under-$1000 per meter  interconnect development for audiophiles and music lovers. I... Read More »

Reviewing Reviewing has been a boon to me. I enjoy audio and music more than I ever have because of it. While my time for listening is pinched by my life outside of audio, I enjoy a greater variety of music than ever. I've discovered the wonder underneath the horror of the distant shore of... Read More »

I am so excited about this amplifier I don't know where to start. First and foremost is its surprising performance. Secondly is the price. For something so small and inexpensive, it seems only natural that expectation bias rears its ugly head. But that would be doing anyone with even a passing interest for this amplifier... Read More »

Air Tight's Supreme and Opus Cartridges What's the Pecking Order? "That would make life very interesting, but wouldn't it be overkill?" I was in the middle of a Thales turntable review and had the TTT-Compact II table and Simplicity II tonearm on the floor mounted with my Air Tight PC-1s MC cartridge ($14,500, $9200, and... Read More »

One look at the Arai Lab MT-1 step-up transformer (SUT) and you'll know in a moment that it is a very serious, ultra-quality, audio product. The fit and finish are impressive and impeccable, yet what really stood out for me was the Arai MT-1's considerable size and weight—it wasn't that much smaller than one of... Read More »