July - August 2014 Archives - Positive Feedback

Red Dragon Audio M500 and M1000 MkII Amplifiers

Jim Merod — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 08:31:08 +0000

Here We Go Again Over many years I've endured hope and disappointment in the service of auditioning and evaluating loud speakers of virtually every sort. At a certain point one becomes braced for the worst or, at least, for the next version of "no cigar" in the process of countervailing but ongoing optimism once again.... Read More »

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Grado PS1000e Headphones

Robert H. Levi — Sun, 24 Aug 2014 20:55:15 +0000

Grado has done it again! I liked the original PS 1000 Headphones at $1695 when I first heard them. I am overwhelmed by the new and super-improved PS 1000e's at—guess what?!—the same price of $1695! The first law of high fidelity is "you never know what you are missing." You try a pair of 1000e's and... Read More »

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Primaluna Dialogue Premium Preamplifier - The Real Deal

Jim Merod — Sat, 23 Aug 2014 20:59:11 +0000

Driving North The road from San Diego to Upland, east of Los Angeles, is both circuitous and a relief from decades of treks straight north up Route 5 or, northwest on the 405, to Santa Monica. Kevin Deal's Upscale Audio empire is defined by two locations in the bliss of semi-rural still rugged and hilly... Read More »

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Classical Releases

Karl Lozier — Sat, 23 Aug 2014 04:35:19 +0000

Antonin Dvorak, Symphony No.8. Leos Janacek. Jenufa Symphonic Suite. Orchestra: Pittsburg Symphony. Conductor: Manfred Honeck. Reference Recordings #FR-710SACD Hybrid It is truly nice to have the Pittsburg symphony back again after some previous delays. The orchestra has a great history supporting it that is not known well outside of the Pittsburg area; the full range... Read More »

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Monterey Jazz @ 57 - Herbie Hancock: Lifting Our Spirits Once More

Jim Merod — Sat, 23 Aug 2014 04:19:39 +0000

Last year, in May, the remarkable (truly without equal) Herbie Hancock gave the commencement address at Soka University, where I teach humanities and literature, as well as coordinating the "Jazz Monsters" concert series which I founded in 2005 after decades of teaching at Cornell, Brown, Stanford, Brandeis, and UCLA. Herbie's eloquent message to our graduating... Read More »

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2014 Capital Audiofest

Scott Dorsey — Sat, 23 Aug 2014 04:16:32 +0000

The Capital Audiofest is one of the few true high-end audio shows left in the world, and as the industry shrinks all of these shows become more and more important. Long-time readers will recall that I have very mixed feelings about the current state of the high end audio industry, and because of that I... Read More »

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Avanti Audio Allegro Cables - Big League, Top Flight, No BS Musical Signal Conductors

Jim Merod — Mon, 18 Aug 2014 03:42:11 +0000

I Never Said This Before Imagine the first time your youthful lust for innocent attachment to a mate of some sort, form or beguiling presence clocked you upside the head. Or inside your throbbing noggin. Imagine that virginal moment of longing and suspension—you, the uncertain gangly animal you were, staring at a creature who (for... Read More »

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Fhloston Paradigm, The Phoenix

Michael Mercer — Fri, 15 Aug 2014 04:37:02 +0000

I love it when an albums' sound is so fresh and mysterious it challenges my ability to classify it. My dear friend and editor Dave Clark recommended Fhloston Paradigm's The Phoenix, knowing my taste (and his) for experimental electronic music. I would definitely call The Phoenix experimental. However, I'm not sure if this record is in fact 'electronic'. It... Read More »

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Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds - Live

Annie Merkley — Fri, 15 Aug 2014 04:14:19 +0000

Nick Cave. The man. The legend. To those who know him, he needs little introduction. He has been steadily churning out his own brand of beautifully macabre music since the '70s—from The Boys Next Door's beginnings in Australia, to the dark art punk outfit The Birthday Party that took up residence in Berlin, to the... Read More »

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Newport THE Show 2014 - A Pictorial Essay of Sorts... Part 4

Dave Clark — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 22:04:15 +0000

Bill Leebens. Jim Aud. EveAnna Manley. Knut Skogrand. Din Johnson of Ristretto Roasters. Andy Regan of Jerry Harvey Audio. Johan Coorg of KEF ESS Labs with Dared. More vinyl and audio accessories/bits and pieces over at the Atrium. Dan Muzquiz of Blackbird Audio. WyWires. More headphones and headphone amplifiers and more at the Atrium (courtesy... Read More »

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Newport THE Show 2014 - A Pictorial Essay of Sorts... Part 3

Dave Clark — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 22:02:09 +0000

One of the Audio Skies's rooms featuring Larsen speakers, Pear Audio Analogue, and Gamut. Walker Aduio showing Slient Source Cables, Raidho Acoustics, and the littler Pass Labs amplifiers. The other Audio Skies' room with Gamut, and Pear Audio Analogue. Liked this room a lot. Quintessence Acoustics showing PBN Audio, Maker Audio, and Snake River Audio... Read More »

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Ypsilon PST 100MKII Preamplifier

Marshall Nack — Thu, 14 Aug 2014 02:25:14 +0000

Before I slip on the green eyeshade, I want to compliment the Ypsilon PST 100 Preamp on the sheer creature comfort of its musical presentation. I had almost forgotten such a thing existed in the land of Hi-Fi. Wow! This preamp is pushing a lot of buttons. But it didn't start out that way. Before... Read More »

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T.H.E. Show Newport 2014

Steve Lefkowicz — Mon, 11 Aug 2014 22:06:53 +0000

I realize that for many years I've opened my various show reports with a little rant of sorts, carrying on about things that bother me about the high end audio industry, or about trade shows like CES. I was thinking about what to open with this time, when a brief conservation with an industry friend... Read More »

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Newport THE Show 2014 - A Pictorial Essay of Sorts... Part 2

Dave Clark — Mon, 11 Aug 2014 21:59:53 +0000

GIK Acoustics showed with Odyssey Audio. Devialet showed with Focal courtesy of Audio Plus Services. Sonic Studio demonstrating with Marten Logan and Peachtree. Brooks Berdan room showing Chord Electronics, Magico, VPI, and Light Harmonic Cables. Gingko Audio showed with DanaCable, Wells Audio, and LampizatOr. Another Brooks Berdan room, but this time showing Auralic, Spendor, Cardas,... Read More »

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Newport THE Show 2014 - A Pictorial Essay of Sorts... Part 1

Dave Clark — Mon, 11 Aug 2014 21:55:09 +0000

What a great time was experienced by anyone attending this year's event. Healthy attendance, crowded rooms, wonderful discussions (many heartfelt thanks to those who asked about Carol—is nice to see such love for her and for myself after such a year). And hats off to Richard Beers and his organization for putting such a stellar... Read More »

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David Robinson and David Elias on DSD... Interviewed by Steve Rochlin - Video!

David W. Robinson — Mon, 11 Aug 2014 21:08:58 +0000

Enjoy the Music.TV's interview with David W. Robinson of Positive Feedback magazine and singer/musician/songwriter David Elias. Hosted by Steven R. Rochlin, we discuss creating and recording music, early Internet mp3.com and other services plus the places to buy modern DSD files today. As always, in the end what really matters is that you.... enjoy the music !

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Manley Chinook Phono Preamplifier

Mark Pearson — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 03:47:23 +0000

After reviewing several pieces of high-end audio gear lately that arrived at my house in plain cardboard boxes, marginally adequate packing materials that weren't designed or manufactured by professionals, wrapped in layers of cellophane wrap instead of being inserted into a custom made plastic bag, and arriving sans power cord and instruction manual, it was... Read More »

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CH Precision C1, D1, and X1 - The Ultimate Digital Source?

Marshall Nack — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 03:37:44 +0000

C1 Preamp/DAC "I know who that is—that's the trumpet/piano duo we heard at the Kitano Hotel that night." Spot on, George. The date was the release party for Only Many with Fred Hersch and Ralph Alessi (Cam Jazz CAM 5048). We both bought CDs, which they autographed for us. Now we were in my living room, listening... Read More »

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Tiglon Magnesium Cables

Gary Lea — Mon, 11 Aug 2014 20:25:36 +0000

TiGLON is not a household name here in the states but if Phillip Holmes has anything to say about it they will be before long. Phillip is the principle and owner of Mockingbird Distribution LLC who are the importers for TiGLON, Jasmine, Abis, Zorin, Jakutus, Mockingbird Speakers, Pyon and a few other items just for... Read More »

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Kiseki PurpleHeart MC Phono Cartridge

Robert H. Levi — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 03:22:48 +0000

A legendary cartridge with a pedigree that spans three continents returns to the marketplace and to audiophiles everywhere, thanks to some fantastic entrepreneurs who believe in the LP! With the brilliant engineering efforts of Herman van den Dungen of PrimaLuna fame in the Netherlands, and the superb marketing and financial efforts of Kevin Deal of... Read More »

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Sota LP RCM Record Cleaning Machine

Marc Phillips — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 03:20:12 +0000

I've said it before and I'll say it again—you need a record cleaning machine if you're going to get serious about LPs. The tip of your stylus is not going to push the dust out of the way, as some famous people in our industry have claimed. Washing your LPs in the kitchen sink with... Read More »

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Kaiser Kawero Chiara Loudspeakers

Jurgen Saile — Mon, 11 Aug 2014 19:20:37 +0000

English translation of original German text from HiFi Statement "Oh, those are cute!" I'm actually not used to hearing such statements from my better half; at least not regarding hi-fi. For me at least, the Chiara design actually seemed more like an american stealth jet. First impressions aside, this loudspeaker truly represents more than meets... Read More »

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V-MODA XS Goodbye M-80. Hello XS

Audio 360 — Mon, 11 Aug 2014 18:57:54 +0000

A short while ago Arly approached Val Kolton, the CEO of V-MODA, in hopes of securing two review samples for himself and Ethan concerning his new headphone, the XS. Val Kolton, always interested in feedback of his products, immediately agreed.

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McIntosh Brings the Bizness! The Statement MHA100 Headphone Amp/DAC

Audio 360 — Mon, 11 Aug 2014 18:55:39 +0000

In the days leading up to CES 2014, McIntosh extended a special invitation to Audio360 to check out a prototype of their upcoming headphone amplifier: the MHA100. Having reviewed their D100 digital preamp just prior to CES, and having found it most worthy, we were of course thrilled to accept the invitation.

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Nothing but the Music - Emerson, Lake & Palmer, 7 Inch Platinum SHM-CD

Wojciech Pacuła — Sun, 10 Aug 2014 04:38:53 +0000

EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER, Island/Victor Entertainment VICP-78001 (1970/2014) TARKUS, Island/Victor Entertainment VICP-78002 (1971/2014) PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION, Island/Victor Entertainment VICP-78003 (1971/2014) Platinum SHM-CD is the newest and best CD pressing technology. I have no doubt about that. Although its advantage over "regular" XRCD and K2 HD releases differs from title to title, even the smallest difference... Read More »

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