March - April 2015 Archives - Positive Feedback

Kora Titan Amplifiers

Editors at Positive Feedback — Mon, 08 May 2017 18:01:42 +0000

This article, by Carol Clark, Dave Clark, Larry Cox, and Francisco Duran, originally ran when audioMUSINGS was in print - Issue 3, 1998. Tubes, tubes, tubes. I'm not used to tube amps and preamps. I guess I always thought that I wouldn't like them. This goes back to an experience I had several years ago, when... Read More »

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Belafonte at Carnegie Hall: The Complete Concert in 3 Channel SACD Stereo

Brian Moura — Sun, 24 May 2015 22:25:20 +0000

Belafonte at Carnegie Hall: The Complete Concert Photo: Courtesy of Acoustic Sounds Sometimes, the best things are worth waiting for. That's certainly the case with this week's long-awaited release of the Living Stereo album Belafonte at Carnegie Hall: The Complete Concert in 3 Channel SACD Stereo on the Analogue Productions label. I'm sure that most... Read More »

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Impressions: Dean Martin, Dream with Dean: The Intimate Dean Martin

David W. Robinson — Sun, 24 May 2015 22:17:33 +0000

Dean Martin, Dream with Dean: The Intimate Dean Martin Analogue Productions, QRP 200 gram LP, stereo, 45 RPM (2 LP set), USD $50 You know, it really isn't fair. There I was. Just getting over my blood-pressure-wrecking pleasure over the brilliant Analogue Productions release of Duke Ellington's Masterpieces by Ellington (as reviewed HERE). Just getting... Read More »

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2015 CES - A Yellow Brick Road Of Integrated Amplifiers

Robert S. Youman — Sun, 24 May 2015 22:12:50 +0000

If you have been following my reviews over the last few years, I have taken a considerable interest in integrated amplifiers. This includes those from Pass Labs, Vitus, D'Agostino, Simaudio, BMC and more. It was not my intent when arriving at CES this year to focus on this subject, but I noticed that there seems... Read More »

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Dynamic Design Heritage Challenger AE15 Digital Power Cord

Robert H. Levi — Sun, 24 May 2015 21:39:28 +0000

Power cords are a specialty within the category of audiophile connectivity that is mighty important. Those supplied with the gear, regardless of price, are merely included to allow the equipment to meet specifications and light the LEDs. They are best discarded and upscale cords should be used to tune your system for maximum performance. I... Read More »

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AK500N The Ultimate MQS Network Audio Player

Robert H. Levi — Mon, 25 May 2015 04:30:15 +0000

I would have called this a Quicky, but lets bump it up to a First Look in honor of Astell&Kern's top effort to date to create a network server, ripper, and ultimate headphone station and more! This powerful digital device has graced my big reference system for two weeks and here is what I heard.... Read More »

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Mourning One of Our Industry's Founding Fathers, John Ulrick

Greg Weaver — Mon, 25 May 2015 04:17:09 +0000

John Ulrick on the cover of Positive Feedback, Vol. 6, No. 4, 1996 Today I mourn the passing of a good friend and one of the men who helped found the high-performance audio industry, John Ulrick. Hired as a Circuit Design Engineer at Litton Industries right out of college to work with the Air Data... Read More »

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cruzefirst Maestro M1 Power Cables

Paul Candy — Sat, 25 Apr 2015 05:00:37 +0000

Aftermarket power cables are a variety of audio product that generally raises the eyebrows of many a hobbyist. I can't offer any technical proof of how a power cable could have any effect on music (although I could list several reasons why they possibly can't) but in my experience, they can and do have... Read More »

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Raven Audio Shadow Reference Stereo Amplifier

Mark Pearson — Fri, 24 Apr 2015 21:50:55 +0000

As I was contemplating where to start this review of the Raven Audio Shadow Reference Stereo amp, the words 'natural ease' popped into my head. Why? Because there is a natural ease about this amplifier that is simply captivating. I want to frame this review by outlining my reference system that I dropped the Shadow... Read More »

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Accuphase DP-720 SACD Player

Marshall Nack — Fri, 24 Apr 2015 21:46:49 +0000

Music servers… audio streaming. Every club needs the next New Thing to survive and grow. At this juncture in the second decade of the new millennium High End audio has already got theirs. But it sure feels like we've been here before. This is déjà vu; I'm seeing 1983, when SONY's “perfect sound forever” ad... Read More »

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Ethan Wolf: Our Man in Sweden Part I - How it All Began

Audio 360 — Fri, 24 Apr 2015 21:41:03 +0000

As personal audio enthusiasts, most of us have a decent portable rig to get us through the day. Occasionally, it becomes our only rig for days (or weeks) at a time during business trips or vacations. However, we always sleep soundly knowing that we'll come home to our reference rigs - eventually - where bliss awaits. But what if there was no home rig to come back to?

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Review: Matrix M-Stage HPA-2

Audio 360 — Fri, 24 Apr 2015 21:34:48 +0000

Matrix Audio is a Chinese manufacturer of amps and DACs that have garnered global praise in the last few years. The original M-Stage was their breakout hit in the West. It caused some waves on Head-Fi (lots of heavy discussions) with its stellar performance and optional DAC addition

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Ethan Wolf: Our Man in Sweden Part II - Expectations

Audio 360 — Fri, 24 Apr 2015 21:31:17 +0000

A new life awaited me. From everything that I've read, this would be an entirely new lifestyle, one that that wasn't about working the extra hours towards more money, one that focused on enjoying life to the fullest extent possible. And, for me, one filled with excitement

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Review: Matrix Mini-I Pro

Audio 360 — Fri, 24 Apr 2015 21:26:53 +0000

The moment the Matrix Audio Mini-i Pro landed on our doorsteps and we took a listen, we knew that you guys (our readers) had to hear about it

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The Passing Of a Legend - Harry Pearson... From the Heart of Michael Mercer

Michael Mercer — Fri, 24 Apr 2015 21:23:04 +0000

It is with heavy hearts that we must share with you the sad news of the passing of a legendary man. Last night, the evening of November 4th, Harry Hall Pearson Jr. passed away peacefully in his home in Sea Cliff, NY, at the age of 77

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Musings on Building a Digital Music Server: Catching Up on Portable, High-Resolution Audio with the RAL REX-KEB02iP

Andy Schaub — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 00:12:38 +0000

"A smile like the cartoon, tooth for a tooth you said that irony was the shackles of youth you wore a shirt of violent green, uh-huh I never understood the frequency, uh-huh" —"What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" by REM As Slim Pickens' character says in the film Dr. Strangelove, "Well, I've been to one world fair, a... Read More »

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The Early Annals of High-end Audio, Rediscovered

Clark Johnsen — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 07:07:16 +0000

Everyone takes the limits of their own vision for the limits of the world. – Arthur Schopenhauer DEDICATION To J. Gordon Holt and Harry Pearson, who regrettably missed out on beholding their own antecedents, which both would have so enjoyed reading. Our modern times have been blessed with a copious amount of writing about music reproduction.... Read More »

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A Factory Tour In The Enchanting Foothills Of Arizona - D'Agostino Master Audio Systems

Robert S. Youman — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 07:03:09 +0000

Petra and Dan D'Agostino are two of the rare ones. Yes, Dan's legacy is firmly locked in place after Krell Industries and now his Dan D'Agostino Master Audio product lines. To say the least, Dan is an industry Icon, but he is much more than this and has much more to do. I think he... Read More »

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ALO's Studio Six Amplifier: On the Road From Remarkable to Exceptional

Michael Mercer — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 07:00:04 +0000

ALO's Studio Six has been an integral part of the heart-and-soul of my beloved Sonic Satori Personal Audio Lab since its inception. What the hell is the SSPAL? For the un-initiated: I've been working on a range of headphone systems that, IMHO, reproduce some of the most musically-engaging, excitable, and sonically addictive music playback experiences I could find.... Read More »

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The SPEC RSA-M3 EX Real Sound Amplifier from Japan

Jeff Day — Sun, 19 Apr 2015 23:46:00 +0000

Most regular readers of Positive Feedback know of my long-time passion for vacuum tube electronics. I've enjoyed the musical prowess and sonic chops of contemporary artisan-designed single-ended amplifiers with various output tubes, like the EL84, 45, 2A3, 300B, F2a, and 845 output valves; as well as inspired push-pull amplifiers using KT88, EL84, KT66, EL34, KT90 outputs, and... Read More »

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The Nativity of Native (DSD)

Ted Brady — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 06:43:24 +0000

This article was published recently by our good friends at NativeDSD.com (see HERE). In it, Ted Brady makes some useful distinctions and clarifies some definitions about DSD. Given the growing interest in DSD, and the excellence of Ted's commentary, it is our belief that this article will benefit the readers of Positive Feedback. His remarks are presented... Read More »

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The Neoteric Listener…The Triangle Antal Anniversary Loudspeaker

Dean Seislove — Sun, 19 Apr 2015 23:39:00 +0000

Clothes may make the man, but what do loudspeakers make you? Sure, we all wish the fashion police would drape a hazmat pancho over that ratty Dynaco Dynamite! T-shirt stretched tight as tube top on your audio buddy. But who is in charge of equally egregious audio disasters like the ear-shredding "faithful to the source" experiment? What... Read More »

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Can We Trust Our Hearing?

Robert Schryer — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 06:33:30 +0000

We can't hear the absolute absolutely. Our ears are organic matter evolved over generations of overlapping genes. No two are exactly alike, including our own, just as no two ears located at the slightly lopsided extremities of a bumpy skull are diametrically synchronized. Add to that that both can't be equally sensitive to sound or deteriorate at... Read More »

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Impressions: The Walker Audio Proscenium Black Diamond, Level V, Walker Audio Procession Phono Amplifier, the Walker Audio Eliminator, Room Crystals, and the Soundsmith Hyperion MI Cartridge (plus a supporting cast!) – a photo essay

David W. Robinson — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 06:24:29 +0000

The Walker Audio Proscenium Black Diamond Level V Reference Turntable Slow train comin'… First things first. Those of you who haven't already read my extensive review of the Audionet reference system elsewhere in this issue (HERE) need to stop right here, go to that essay, and complete it before going on with this one. It... Read More »

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The Audio Circular - No. 14 in a Series of Parallel Narratives

Gary L Beard — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 06:17:38 +0000

A couple of years ago, I promised Positive Feedback readers that I'd tackle a few topics on which I was less than proficient. As an audiophile and audio writer, I've learned an amazing amount in the past 15 years, yet I am inexperienced in a few subsets of high-end audio. And even though I've been listening to... Read More »

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