January - February 2023 Archives - Positive Feedback

Florida Audio Expo 2023 - Part 2

Tom Gibbs — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 23:42:43 +0000

Classic Audio Loudspeakers with Atma-Sphere in the Cypress ballroom John Wolff's Classic Audio Loudspeakers has been exhibiting in the cavernous Cypress ballroom for several years running now, and it's definitely a must-hear at every FLAX show. The amplifiers and preamps were from Atma-Sphere, and cables were provided by Purist Audio Designs. John always brings his... Read More »

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A Brilliant Recording by Katelyn Bouska on Yarlung Records in Pure DSD256

Rushton Paul — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 23:32:22 +0000

This is a brilliant new release by pianist Katelyn Bouska, recorded and mastered in Pure DSD256 by Bob Attiyeh of Yarlung Records. But what makes this recording truly special are the musical works selected and the stories of the composers, all women who were at the cutting edge of the contemporary music scenes in their... Read More »

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Florida Audio Expo 2023 - Part 1

Tom Gibbs — Tue, 21 Feb 2023 22:54:29 +0000

2023 marked my third consecutive trip to the Florida Audio Expo (or FLAX as it seems to have been shortened to), and the experience was hands down the best yet! In terms of vendors, the show was completely sold out, which is great, but also a mixed blessing of sorts. There was so much more... Read More »

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TAD Labs at the Florida Audio Expo, Featuring Jim Anderson and Ulrike Schwarz

Tom Gibbs — Sat, 18 Feb 2023 16:42:02 +0000

The TAD Reference One Experience lets US audiophiles hear TAD's lineup together for the first time. TAD Labs (TAD stands for Technical Audio Devices) is a Japanese high-end audio company that's working to establish higher product visibility in the US audiophile market through the efforts of PAD HiFi (Pro Audio Design), their exclusive US distributor.... Read More »

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Confessions of a Setup Man, Part 15: Avoiding Burnout

Frank Doris — Thu, 16 Feb 2023 21:46:52 +0000

Frank Doris is a good audio friend, and the Editor of PS Audio's Copper magazine. From time to time he shares articles from Copper with Positive Feedback, to bring his excellent writing to our readership. All such articles are re-published with the permission of PS Audio and Copper. We've all experienced burnout in one form... Read More »

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Mixing in Pure DSD - No PCM Allowed

Rushton Paul — Thu, 16 Feb 2023 19:16:02 +0000

For years I've been told that it is not possible to mix in DSD—that this is one of the major limitations of recording in DSD. Well, I'm now learning from Tom Caulfield, mastering engineer for NativeDSD, and Gonzalo Noqué, owner and recording engineer at Eudora Records and Noqué Studio, that this is no longer true.... Read More »

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Unique Innovation Technology Co. (UIT) Perfect Music Booster (PMB) Series

Robert H. Levi — Tue, 14 Feb 2023 21:09:56 +0000

Image courtesy of UIT Unique Innovation Technology Co. (UITaudio.com) is a California company under the guidance of Mitch Ko, an extremely talented electrical engineer and designer who has always been looking to improve and advance connectivity for high-end audio. When I met him for the first time at the LA Audio Show a few years... Read More »

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Impressions: More of My 2022 Brutus Awards, Part the Second

David W. Robinson — Sat, 11 Feb 2023 23:54:07 +0000

Time for some real fun! I, like many others who work in high-end audio publishing, spend a lot of time at my desktop. Just because I'm working, though, doesn't mean that I don't want the best possible sound in the near-field conditions of desktop audio. On the contrary… Years ago, I put a pair of... Read More »

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Mingus' Ah Um - A Terrific New Pure DSD256 Reissue from HDTT

Rushton Paul — Sat, 11 Feb 2023 22:20:53 +0000

When HDTT issues a Redux edition of an album I’ve liked, I always pay attention. I’ve yet to be disappointed with the improvements Bob Witrak has been able to wring from the source tapes. I thought this release was excellent before. In this updated version the sound quality clearly goes up a notch, if not... Read More »

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It's a Mystery

Roger Skoff — Sat, 11 Feb 2023 22:18:26 +0000

Roger Skoff writes about an all-too-common Audiophile problem From its very beginning, our hobby has been one of tinkering and do-it-yourself-ism. Much of that was for very good reason: in the mid-19th century, when the first telephone was attempted; in 1877, when Edison built the first phonograph; and even in 1920, when KDKA, the first... Read More »

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Notes on Recent Finds, No. 5 (More Jazz from HDTT)

Rushton Paul — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 21:52:22 +0000

Bob Witrak continues his quest for access to some great sounding tapes. Here are a few more jazz finds that knock my socks off. In addition to some great stereo releases, I'm including several mono releases from HDTT's Archival Series that are simply superb. We're all well past that notion from a few decades ago... Read More »

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Big Country Hits

Robert Pincus — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 21:15:45 +0000

I own a lot of albums, and my use of the word "albums" means LPs and CDs. Most of them bring me tons of pleasure, but I also keep a few albums for reasons other than pleasure. I find Miles Davis uniquely irritating, and LP-era Ellington turgid, but since I like to cruise in the... Read More »

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Record Doctor VI

Francisco Duran — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 21:08:24 +0000

If any audio product should be standard issue, the lowly record cleaner certainly qualifies for that status. If you play records, they need cleaning. If you buy new or used records, they need cleaning. Yes even new ones need a once over with a good old record cleaner. Of course I have talked to people... Read More »

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The AGD Productions Gran Vivace Monoblock Amplifier

Greg Weaver — Mon, 06 Feb 2023 19:29:59 +0000

Classy Operation A class-D amplifier, or switching amplifier, all too often mistakenly referred to as a "digital" amplifier, differs from the much more traditional and popular linear amplifier classes. In a switching amplifier, its transistors, usually MOSFETs (Metal–Oxide–Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistors), rather than directly providing gain to the sourced signal, operate as electronic switches. The audio... Read More »

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More from Hunnia Records - Carmina Burana, Mozart, Post-Processed DSD256 vs DXD

Rushton Paul — Fri, 03 Feb 2023 16:20:19 +0000

I wrote about my enthusiasm for what Hunnia Records has been doing in this earlier article covering a dozen or so of their releases over the past few years. But Hunnia does not stand still! Not by any means. And I continue to enjoy their new releases. Here are a few you should know about...... Read More »

Sonus faber Sonetto III Loudspeakers

Michael Zisserson — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 17:28:02 +0000

It has been a little over one year since the write-up about the Sonus faber Lumina V (HERE). A keen-eared reader made a comment regarding the Lumina V: "It was amazing how little the Lumina V gave up to the Sonetto VIII." The Sonetto VIII is the big brother of the Sonetto III which will... Read More »

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Secrets of the Armónico Ethernet Cable from Fono Acustica

Marshall Nack — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 17:22:31 +0000

The last of the Fono Acustica cables had been sent back about six months ago. Already, their sonic profile was receding. It's difficult to retrieve what you can barely describe in words because sounds are not stored in long-term memory. So it was amazing and a testimony how fast that profile resurrected when the newly... Read More »

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Hand Book of a Hidden Man, Part 7: I Go To School

Dan Zimmerman — Sat, 28 Jan 2023 23:56:26 +0000

What Happened Before Before the emotional drama I'm about to relate took place, something happened to set the stage. It was a typical sunny day in San Luis Obispo. When he wasn't busy with church work, Dad usually had a project going around the house. He liked to worked with his hands. Mostly he preferred... Read More »

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Confessions of a Setup Man Part 12: Failed Experiments

Frank Doris — Sat, 28 Jan 2023 22:51:32 +0000

Re-published from Copper magazine, Issue 133, and used by permission of PS Audio. Many audiophiles are tinkerers. We're constantly striving to squeeze the last iota of performance out of our audio systems, or we just like to putz with stuff, or we're obsessive-compulsive. Tinkering often involves experimentation. And (cue evil horror movie laugh), the experiments... Read More »

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Bass is Always a Problem

Norman Varney — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 22:05:31 +0000

Norman Varney of AV RoomService Ltd. has joined Positive Feedback as a Senior Technical Editor as of Issue 113. His expertise in his field of audio acoustics and experience in the field makes him a helpful voice in our creative community for the audio arts. As has been our wont from the beginning of PF,... Read More »

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Musician Audio Knight 1 Loudspeakers

John Hoffman — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 17:38:58 +0000

An electric bass sets the rhythm and is instantly recognizable as the snap of a snare drum and the splash of a single cymbal resonates in the background. The lights are turned down in my listening room and Stevie Nicks voice is dark, haunting, and otherworldly. Though this is a classic song, the lyrics remain... Read More »

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Cuarteto Quiroga - Beautiful Musicianship and Intriguing Programming

Rushton Paul — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 17:15:56 +0000

Over the past four years, I've found myself regularly returning to recordings by the Spanish string quartet, Cuarteto Quiroga. Their performances are refined, beautifully played, nuanced in interpretation, and played with total conviction. They recently released their sixth album for Cobra Records, Und es Ward Licht! (below), and it's a stunner. It's well past time... Read More »

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Wolf von Langa WVL 12639 SON Loudspeaker System

Tim Aucremann — Fri, 20 Jan 2023 18:16:54 +0000

The SON also Rises The name Wolf von Langa (WVL) is known in Germany as a manufacturer of high-end audio speakers. Unless you are up on the European speaker scene, the brand may be new to you. Here's a little background about Herr von Langa, the man: After making his very first speaker at age... Read More »

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Patricia Barber's Clique! on 33.3RPM, HQ180 Vinyl from Impex Records

Tom Gibbs — Wed, 18 Jan 2023 17:24:25 +0000

Patricia Barber, Clique!. HQ180 33.3 LP: $39.99 MSRP. Patricia Barber patriciabarber.com. Impex Records impexrecords.com Patricia Barber's Clique! was released to great fanfare by Impex Records in August, 2021. I had the good fortune to review the DXD (Digital eXtreme Definition) 32-bit/352.8kHz digital download files of the album at that time, and you can read my review... Read More »

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On the Road Again: Featuring Greg Weaver's Home Audio System

Editors at Positive Feedback — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 19:57:51 +0000

With this article, Positive Feedback continues its content-sharing relationship with Enjoy the Music where Maurice Jefferies visits the home of Greg Weaver, also known as the Audio Analyst Dr. David W. Robinson, Editor-in-Chief The New Apartment Lounge's Maurice Jeffries visits the Audio Analyst at home for the third time. Report By Maurice Jeffries What would we do without... Read More »

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