March - April 2021 Archives - Positive Feedback

Brief Impressions on the Music: Blue Coast Records Heavenly Voices in Quad DSD

David W. Robinson — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 00:57:41 +0000

Anyone who's followed my love of great recordings and exceptional productions knows that I value the work of Cookie Marenco and company very highly. Cookie is a real professional who has worked in the industry for decades now, and the artists associated with Blue Coast Records are first-rank, all. Recently I downloaded the DSD256 version... Read More »

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Max Richter's Voices 2

Michael Mercer — Sat, 24 Apr 2021 17:55:49 +0000

Ambient music, like all other genres, has no rules. There may be, however, at least one tenant that many ambient artists collectively follow, or at least strive for, and that's the avoidance of sounding monotonous. This sounds obvious, but painting musically wide-open earthy and outer spacey landscapes is far from simple, even when they seem... Read More »

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Ahhh zaZen! The zaZen II Isolation Platform

Larry Cox — Mon, 12 Apr 2021 21:39:49 +0000

ZaZen is a Zen Buddhist practice for individuals to achieve some peace, however temporary. I am familiar enough with Zen practices to know that I have little to say that is true of it, but allow me to say that the peace does not come easily, and certainly not automatically. One of the results practitioners... Read More »

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Xavian Ambra Esclusiva Loudspeakers

Malcolm J. Gomes — Mon, 12 Apr 2021 20:40:56 +0000

"Hello beautiful" is what I found myself thinking, as I unpacked the Xavian Ambra Esclusiva speakers from their carton. I am a fan of immaculately crafted furniture, and if any loudspeaker can claim to have cabinets that qualify as finely crafted furniture, the Ambra Esclusivas surely can. After having reviewed hundreds of speakers with cabinets... Read More »

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Notes of an Amateur: First Quarter, 2021

Bob Neill — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 15:52:56 +0000

Complete Peter Serkin. Sony 19439713872. 30 CD's. If Serkin is one of your very favorite pianists, as he is one of mine, then this is a treasure trove for you. Thirty CDs for under $100. Includes both solo recordings and work with TASHI. Steal of the year. \ Joseph Haydn, String Quartets, Op. 76, 4-6. Chiaroscuro... Read More »

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Winterreise with Ragazze Quartet and Martijn Cornet

Rushton Paul — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 20:50:25 +0000

Schubert's Winterreise, one of the greatest song cycles written, is most often heard with piano and voice. The Ragazze Quartet treats us to a performance arranged for string quartet—and it works marvelously! The Ragazze and baritone Martijn Cornet give us a performance filled with nuance, emotional impact, and synergistic musicianship. Jared Sacks has outdone himself... Read More »

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Audience adeptResponse aR6-T4 Passive Power Conditioner

Editors at Positive Feedback — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 20:24:20 +0000

With Audience's frontRow powerChord. Reacquaint yourself with the art of deep listening. Review By Dr. Michael Bump With this article, Positive Feedback continues its content-sharing relationship with Enjoy the Music Dr. Michael Bump shares his thoughts on the Audience adeptResponse aR6-T4 Passive Power Conditioner and the frontRow powerChord. Dr. David W. Robinson, Editor-in-Chief I recently came across an article... Read More »

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Record Doctor Clamp

Victor Chavira — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 16:31:38 +0000

Might this be the easiest review I have ever written? I'll cut to the chase and claim that the Record Doctor record clamp is a "no brainer" essential accessory for vinyl enthusiasts. Numerous similar products have been available for years, but I have never felt motivated to experiment with admirable performance of my Pioneer PLX1000... Read More »

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Travis, Good Feeling LP Reissue from Craft Recordings

Tom Gibbs — Mon, 05 Apr 2021 23:28:17 +0000

Travis, Good Feeling. 120 gram, black vinyl LP: $21.99 MSRP. Available from Craft Recordings. It's been said that everyone who listened to the Velvet Underground's first album started a band. The same can almost be said for Travis' first album, Good Feeling, which was massively influential on an entire generation of UK bands, especially the likes... Read More »

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Audio Existentialism - Questions; Music… It's Slipping

Michael Zisserson — Mon, 05 Apr 2021 17:55:47 +0000

The lapping of the bay, the wind through fallen tree. Birds of the sea and the land. It is all music gifted to us by nature. We use our nature to make music, and we cannot forget that nature exists within us all. I recognize the face in the mirror despite the grey flecks in... Read More »

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Karan Acoustics KAS 600 Stereo Amplifier and KAL Reference MK3 Preamplifier

Gregory Petan — Mon, 05 Apr 2021 17:41:52 +0000

A System For All Seasons It seems like a lifetime ago I reviewed the Karan Acoustics KAS 450 stereo amplifier. My conclusion was "This is an amplifier I could live with for the long haul," and was planning on adding it to my system. If not for a train wreck of an experience with a... Read More »

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James Blake, Covers

Michael Mercer — Sat, 03 Apr 2021 21:46:00 +0000

James Blake, Covers Standing out from the noise in popular music is no easy feat. It takes more than a strong voice to stick out from the crowd these days, with so many choices at our fingertips. From the genre blurring and warbly bass bending "Limit to Your Love," to the hauntingly ethereal landscapes of The... Read More »

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Alesis ADAT - 30 Years of Digital Recorder that Revolutionized the Music Industry

Wojciech Pacuła — Fri, 02 Apr 2021 19:19:04 +0000

Part 1: TECHNOLOGY In the 1990s, the music industry moved from reel-to-reel recorders, both analog and digital, to DAW recording systems, i.e. computer workstations. The Alesis ELECTRONICS ADAT digital multi-track tape recorders represent a turning point in this history. Digital Sound Recording—an audio preservation method in which the audio signals are converted into a series... Read More »

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Synergistic Research Galileo SX Ground Block - The Benefits of Unshackled System Performance

Robert S. Youman — Thu, 01 Apr 2021 17:40:30 +0000

For many of us, it has been a process. Maybe a long and challenging process, but one with plenty of rewards and satisfaction. Can we call it a hobby, an infatuation, or is it something in between? Regardless, over time, we have learned that passion and new discovery can be a never ending joy. You... Read More »

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Magic from the Van Baerle Trio and Bert van der Wolf

Rushton Paul — Tue, 30 Mar 2021 22:44:30 +0000

It's rare that one gets to experience a true tour de force, but that is what I've enjoyed the past several months with the Van Baerle Trio's traversal of Beethoven's complete works for piano trio—a marvelous journey through some of the greatest music ever written. I've long held the Beaux Arts Trio in highest regard... Read More »

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Fono Acustica Armónico Interconnect

Marshall Nack — Fri, 26 Mar 2021 18:57:23 +0000

Hecho a Mano When I first visited the Fono Acustica site, my attention was drawn to the repeated use of the words artisanal and hand-crafted. These are loaded words to the contemporary ear. As we move from the first machine age into the age of intelligent machines, they stimulate nostalgia for a bygone time when... Read More »

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Acoustics and Critical Listening

Norman Varney — Thu, 25 Mar 2021 21:26:38 +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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Mogwai, As the Love Continues

Michael Mercer — Tue, 23 Mar 2021 17:54:38 +0000

Mogwai, As the Love Continues Like most popular art forms, music is over-classified. When an artistic medium is overly distilled through endless descriptions, categories, names, and titles, the magic is also seemingly stripped from it. The ethereal music of Mogwai, the ever-evolving Scottish band, is an unfortunate victim of these attempts to classify rather than... Read More »

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The Silence Between - Another Remarkable TRPTK Recording

Rushton Paul — Mon, 22 Mar 2021 21:03:59 +0000

The Silence Between, Pieter van Loenen, violin, and Tobias Borsboom, piano, TRPTK (2021, DSD256, DXD) HERE The Silence Between is a marvelously transparent recording of superb performances of five engagingly melodic, tonal 20th century works. (Well, almost. The Debussy piece comes from 1890 but clearly looks forward to the next century.) In this brilliant recording,... Read More »

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Technics SL-1200MK7 Turntable

Ed Kobesky — Sun, 21 Mar 2021 17:06:42 +0000

Reboots are everywhere these days, and it's easy to understand why. Capitalizing on existing goodwill and warm nostalgia is a surefire strategy for attracting an instant audience. My generation especially is eating it up. I mean, come on, who isn't binge watching those over-the-hill karate kids Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence still trading kicks in... Read More »

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(Good) Vibrations: Roger Skoff Writes About What it's Really All About

Roger Skoff — Sun, 14 Mar 2021 21:19:22 +0000

If you stop to think about it, you'll see that all of everything about our hobby—the music we love, the gear we give so much of our wealth and interest to, and the rooms we listen in—is about vibration. The recorded music we listen to is a vibration in the air caused by the vibration... Read More »

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SOTA Escape Turntable

John Hoffman — Sun, 14 Mar 2021 18:43:17 +0000

Within the audio hobby, there is an imaginary divide between companies that produce high-end components and others that create products meant to fill consumer demand at a price point. This demarcation line can be difficult to cross over, as companies may not possess the skills, focus, or resources needed to develop products that appeal to... Read More »

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The Other Cleopatra, Queen of Armenia

Stephen Francis Vasta — Sun, 14 Mar 2021 18:24:17 +0000

HASSE: Il Tigrane: Overture and Arias; VIVALDI: Il Tigrane: Arias; GLUCK: Il Tigrane: Arias. Isabel Bayrakdarian, soprano; Kansas City Symphony Orchestra/Constantine Orbelian. Delos DE 3591. TT: 64.06. Downloads: Amazon.com (mp3); boxset.me (FLAC); qobuz.com (various formats) Did you know about this Cleopatra? I certainly didn't. Cleopatra of Pontus married King Tigranes the Great (Tigranes II) of Armenia, in... Read More »

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Mytek Audio's Brooklyn ADC

Sam Rosen — Sun, 07 Mar 2021 20:26:54 +0000

Most diehard audiophiles believe the best system you can build will have the following components: a turntable, phono stage/preamp, and an amplifier. Keep it simple, keep it analog, and with the right component selection, the result is a system that sounds effortless and realistic in a way that a digital based system can never sound.... Read More »

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AGD Productions' Gran Vivace Amplifiers and Andante Preamplifier

Michael Zisserson — Sun, 07 Mar 2021 20:06:29 +0000

While I was evaluating AGD Productions' "The Audion" Amplifier (HERE), there was a rumor that AGD Productions was going to release a new flagship monoblock amplifier. This new amplifier would be based off a more powerful GaN Tube, a technology unique to AGD that utilizes state of the art Gallium Nitride transistors, and offer enough... Read More »

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