March - April 2016 Archives - Positive Feedback

MSB Link DAC II

Editors at Positive Feedback — Mon, 08 May 2017 20:10:03 +0000

This article, by Dave Clark, Larry Cox, Francisco Duran, and Lauren Stephens originally ran when audioMUSINGS was in print - Issue 10, 2000. The MSB Link DAC II 24/96 comes into our home at a very interesting time. As the audio world begins to move to a more refined digital format (24/96, DVD-A, and SACD, none... Read More »

The post MSB Link DAC II appeared first on Positive Feedback.

JPLAY for Windows: The Final Piece of the Puzzle?

Tom Gibbs — Thu, 07 Apr 2016 21:32:37 +0000

Earlier this year I reviewed Fidelizer, an optimization software package designed to reduce the number of active background processes in Windows computers being used for high-resolution music playback. When first approached by Keetakawee Punpeng, Fidelizer's developer, I must admit I was more than a bit hesitant; based on my internet exposure to the product, Fidelizer... Read More »

The post JPLAY for Windows: The Final Piece of the Puzzle? appeared first on Positive Feedback.

Wells Audio Majestic Amplifier

Francisco Duran — Tue, 05 Apr 2016 01:18:49 +0000

I'm not going to tell you what I did on my summer vacation. (Maui) I'm not going to tell you what I got for Christmas. (Schiit Audio Vali 2). I am going to get right to the crux of the matter and tell you about the Wells Audio Majestic integrated amplifier. A few audio shows back,... Read More »

The post Wells Audio Majestic Amplifier appeared first on Positive Feedback.

CanJam SoCal 2016 - Behind the Booths and Back

Michael Mercer — Sun, 03 Apr 2016 20:31:17 +0000

A Personal Audio Odyssey Dan Wrights ModWright Tryst headphone amp was stunningly musical & engaging. CanJam SoCal 2016 was a very special time for me, and it was a raging success for Head-Fi.org and the personal audio community. A good friend recently said on the phone, "Sounds like it couldn't have gone any better," he... Read More »

The post CanJam SoCal 2016 - Behind the Booths and Back appeared first on Positive Feedback.

Aurender N10 Music Server

Robert S. Youman — Sun, 03 Apr 2016 17:05:29 +0000

My recent reviews for the Devialet 400 and 800 Integrated Amplifiers generated plenty of emails and comments. Thanks to all the readers who took notice and had an opinion to voice on these components—both yeah and nay. Just another example of different strokes for different folks. It was all respectfully done in good fun but... Read More »

The post Aurender N10 Music Server appeared first on Positive Feedback.

Notes of an Amateur: Schnittke, Tchaikovsky, Jessica Lee.

Bob Neill — Sun, 03 Apr 2016 01:40:42 +0000

Schnittke, Penitential Psalms; Three Sacred Hymns. RIAS Kammerch0r, Hans Christian Rademann, conductor. Harmonia Mundi 902225. Russian Alfred Schnittke (1934-1998), as I've written many times before here, is one of those second generation modernists who makes you go to him and who generally makes you glad you did. His Penitential Psalms confront us with sternness until... Read More »

The post Notes of an Amateur: Schnittke, Tchaikovsky, Jessica Lee. appeared first on Positive Feedback.

Anne Bisson: Blue Mind An Audiophile Favorite is Given a Makeover

Myles B. Astor — Mon, 28 Mar 2016 19:51:31 +0000

Anne Bisson: Blue Mind, Co-sponsored by Wuti Larnroongroj, Brilliance Music and Studios and Gary Koh, Genesis Advanced Technologies. 15-ips, 2-track, reel-to-reel tape. Originally produced and recorded by: Guy St. Orge. Recorded July 21-22, 2008, Reference Studio, St-Calixte, Quebec. Remastered by Bernie Grundman. http://www.annebisson.com/en/. Price: $600. It's rare that performers get to revisit and remaster their... Read More »

The post Anne Bisson: Blue Mind An Audiophile Favorite is Given a Makeover appeared first on Positive Feedback.

Audio Tekne TFA 9501 Linestage, TEA 9501 Phonostage, and TM 9502 Amplifiers

Marek Dyba — Fri, 25 Mar 2016 16:53:07 +0000

It so happened that together with some friends we delivered the Audio Tekne system I reviewed before directly to the Audio Video Show 2015. As soon as we finished carrying all those damn heavy devices to the exhibition room Hari (from Natural Sound) told us the good news—next we would get the top Audio System... Read More »

The post Audio Tekne TFA 9501 Linestage, TEA 9501 Phonostage, and TM 9502 Amplifiers appeared first on Positive Feedback.

Kinsky, Copula Mundi

Wojciech Pacuła — Fri, 25 Mar 2016 16:31:46 +0000

Kinsky, Copula Mundi. SPV Poland/Requiem Records 104 | 2015. Premiere: 1993. Re-edition: 2015. Medium: Compact Disc The Kinsky band, which was created in 1992, existed only for six years and recorded only one album, but, perhaps thanks to this, it has become the legend of underground rock music in Poland. Its music is most frequently described as a combination of... Read More »

The post Kinsky, Copula Mundi appeared first on Positive Feedback.

The Atma-Sphere Ultraviolet UV-1 Preamplifier

Gary L Beard — Fri, 25 Mar 2016 09:55:19 +0000

Dateline St. Paul, Minnesota: Today, audio engineers observed an invisible sonic wave emanating from Atma-Sphere in St. Paul. The engineer who first discovered this new UltraViolet wavelength—nicknamed Big Tone—has officially christened it UV-1… And that is a bald-faced lie. But Atma-Sphere has indeed, introduced a new preamp named the UV-1 that does, in fact, have... Read More »

The post The Atma-Sphere Ultraviolet UV-1 Preamplifier appeared first on Positive Feedback.

My Life in Music, by Joe Cohen

David W. Robinson — Fri, 25 Mar 2016 04:01:32 +0000

[Joe Cohen is a long-time friend of Positive Feedback, and owner of The Lotus Group, a high-end audio company in California. Joe is married to the Jazz vocalist Daria, and has a deep love of music going well back into the early days of his life. I read an earlier, shorter version of his musical... Read More »

The post My Life in Music, by Joe Cohen appeared first on Positive Feedback.

From The Kipnis Studios (KSS™) – The ART of Observation: Listening and Watching!

Jeremy Kipnis — Tue, 22 Mar 2016 05:42:38 +0000

Music & Film, Audio & Video, Learning & Understanding, Art & Life: "The Soundtrack" – A musical accompaniment created by the Gods! Often when I watch a film, the music portion of the soundtrack can take a back seat to the dialog and sound effects, which make up the better portion of what we experience sonically... Read More »

The post From The Kipnis Studios (KSS™) – The ART of Observation: Listening and Watching! appeared first on Positive Feedback.

Adventures in Cabling

Scott Robertson — Tue, 22 Mar 2016 01:16:25 +0000

Want to start an argument with your audiophile friends? Tell them cables don't make a difference in sound. Or conversely, tell them cables do make a very clear and easily discernable difference. One side or the other, you are bound to get all kinds of personal experience stories and possible pseudo-science claims as to why... Read More »

The post Adventures in Cabling appeared first on Positive Feedback.

David Power Cables from Enklein

Marshall Nack — Tue, 22 Mar 2016 00:48:29 +0000

HEADLINE: Rubinstein Bested by 24-Year-Old Russian Prodigy "Where are the great artists of contemporary classical music?" The question is not infrequently raised in the listening room, usually by the same dudes who don't go to many live performances. That's not a good basis for an opinion. I attend concerts often and, let me assure you,... Read More »

The post David Power Cables from Enklein appeared first on Positive Feedback.

Journeys in Audio Subjectivism - Part Four

Robert Schryer — Wed, 16 Mar 2016 22:53:48 +0000

Zu Audio: divine, evil, beautiful, disgusting; Or, "Careful with that tone, mister." So what kind of sound are you after? Accurate? Musical? Okay. But according to whom? Because, the fact is, each of us has a brain that's unique, including in what it perceives as being accurate and musical. Does this make us all somehow... Read More »

The post Journeys in Audio Subjectivism - Part Four appeared first on Positive Feedback.

Nikolaus Harnoncourt Conducts Bruckner

Stephen Francis Vasta — Mon, 14 Mar 2016 23:55:54 +0000

Bruckner: Symphony No. 3 in D minor, "Wagner" (Nowak ed., 1877) Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam/Nikolaus Harnoncourt Teldec 4509-98405-2. TT: 54.35 The "historical performance" movement that arose in the 1960s proved more popular, at first, among academics than among regular listeners; eventually, however, its notions of performing older scores without the stylistic accretions of later eras... Read More »

The post Nikolaus Harnoncourt Conducts Bruckner appeared first on Positive Feedback.

Melco HA-N1A, Part 2, by Roland Dietl

Dirk Sommer — Fri, 11 Mar 2016 09:02:29 +0000

[Amended byline: Roland Dietl, by courtesy of Dirk Sommer] If you are into music streaming and especially into hires music there is one question you can't avoid: Where to store all these files? Until now the way to go was either to keep the music on your PC or laptop computer, or to use a... Read More »

The post Melco HA-N1A, Part 2, by Roland Dietl appeared first on Positive Feedback.

Melco HA-N1A, Part 1

Dirk Sommer — Fri, 11 Mar 2016 16:39:42 +0000

When you are looking for a way to comfortably manage your collection of digital music, enjoy it with the best sound quality possible and without the need to mess around with computers in your scarce spare time, the Melco N1A is just what you need Just nine years ago integrating a computer into my Hi-Fi... Read More »

The post Melco HA-N1A, Part 1 appeared first on Positive Feedback.

Star Wars Comes to DSD and Analog Tape

Brian Moura — Fri, 11 Mar 2016 15:32:23 +0000

Star Wars Original Soundtracks in Stereo DSD and Analog Tape Horch House has released the first three original soundtracks from the Star Wars Series: Episode 4: Star Wars – A New Hope, Episode 5: The Empire Strikes Back and Episode 6: Return of the Jedi in Stereo DSD, analog tape, and WAV formats. The albums... Read More »

The post Star Wars Comes to DSD and Analog Tape appeared first on Positive Feedback.

Notes of an Amateur: Handel's Water Music; Music@Menlo 'Live' 2015.

Bob Neill — Tue, 08 Mar 2016 22:02:36 +0000

George Frederick Handel, Water Music. Academie fur Alte Musik Berlin. Harmonia Mundi HMC 902216. Handel was German, but he was also a Londoner for 47 years and lived and studied for four years in Italy. We can hear all of this in his music, an extremely satisfying blend of three distinct baroque musical cultures. He... Read More »

The post Notes of an Amateur: Handel's Water Music; Music@Menlo 'Live' 2015. appeared first on Positive Feedback.

Audio Research Ref 6 Line Stage - Preliminary Thoughts

Mark Pearson — Tue, 08 Mar 2016 01:27:09 +0000

Transformative Evolution I first heard about the Ref 6 line stage coming to market in late October 2015. Without any hesitation, I contacted ARC and placed my order. Why? Because ARC has rarely taken missteps in the evolution of their products since the inception of the company and I was confident that the Ref 6... Read More »

The post Audio Research Ref 6 Line Stage - Preliminary Thoughts appeared first on Positive Feedback.

Audio Vault USA Rack

Mark Pearson — Mon, 07 Mar 2016 08:34:48 +0000

Audio Vault USA is a relative newcomer to the world of audio equipment racks designed for use in high end systems. Audio Vault USA was founded a year ago by Dave Vincent. Dave is the President of Audio Vault USA and Dave is a mechanical engineer. Dave and James Wall who works for Audio Vault... Read More »

The post Audio Vault USA Rack appeared first on Positive Feedback.

Furutech AC Bundle

Victor Chavira — Mon, 07 Mar 2016 00:28:51 +0000

Usually, I come to a review with foreknowledge about a product and a set of basic expectations. In this case, I had no first hand prior exposure to Furutech or experience with high-end power receptacles. A very long time ago, before cell phones and audio websites, I replaced the original duplex of my typical post-war... Read More »

The post Furutech AC Bundle appeared first on Positive Feedback.

The Aurender N100H and The Well-Rumored Death of the Mac mini

Andy Schaub — Mon, 07 Mar 2016 08:14:42 +0000

"Help!" —The Beatles In memory of Lee Weiland, the man who introduced me to the concept of a digital music server and whose Locus Design cables I still use All my audiophile friends have NAS clusters. There's tremendous peer pressure for me to have one, too, and I tried an inexpensive one to see how... Read More »

The post The Aurender N100H and The Well-Rumored Death of the Mac mini appeared first on Positive Feedback.

Sony Adds Car Digital Media Player, Turntable and Disc Player to DSD Lineup [UPDATED 3/5/16]

Brian Moura — Sun, 06 Mar 2016 00:01:11 +0000

Sony Electronics is expanding the company’s High Resolution Audio line with a new Car Audio System, Turntable and Universal Disc Player which all support Double DSD (5.6 MHz) and PCM music files during 2016. The new products build upon the company’s High Resolution Audio line which started in 2013 and was timed to support the... Read More »

The post Sony Adds Car Digital Media Player, Turntable and Disc Player to DSD Lineup [UPDATED 3/5/16] appeared first on Positive Feedback.