March - April 2023 Archives - Positive Feedback

AXPONA 2023 - Several Highlights and a Few Observations

Robert S. Youman — Thu, 20 Apr 2023 15:59:16 +0000

What a wonderful weekend at AXPONA 2023! The weather was quite lovely for this time of the year in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs—sunny and in the 70s and 80s. There was a certain sense of excitement and energy in the air, even beyond last year's 2022 event as 2021 was cancelled to due to... Read More »

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Stan Kenton Classics

Robert Pincus — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 15:55:59 +0000

When I was twenty two I came to the conclusion that I actually like jazz, but I had a problem with jazz. The problem was I had yet to hear any jazz that stirred me enough that I'd want to purchase it. Rock and roll is all about hooks and when it's good you feel... Read More »

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Jazz Dispensary Top Shelf LP Reissues from Craft Recordings

Tom Gibbs — Mon, 17 Apr 2023 04:06:05 +0000

Jazz Dispensary is Craft Recordings' house label that mines from the riches of Concord Music's jazz, funk, soul, and fusion recordings from their Prestige, Fantasy, and Milestone imprints from the mid-60s through the mid-70s. While many of their releases are compilation mix-ups of classic grooves from the period, Jazz Dispensary's Top Shelf series highlights rarities... Read More »

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Lawo Classics - A Label Well Worth Exploring - Plus Organ Music!

Rushton Paul — Tue, 11 Apr 2023 15:41:33 +0000

The Norwegian classical music label, Lawo Classics, makes recordings I've come to quite enjoy. They find outstanding musicians and make recordings of exquisite sound quality. As I've been exploring their catalog (over 240 titles since 2008), I'm finding a deep treasure of wonderful performances in excellent DXD recorded sound quality. I'm always delighted to see... Read More »

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Rock and Roll All Night… I Just Might! - Wharfedale Diamond 12.3 Loudspeakers

Michael Laurance — Sat, 01 Apr 2023 23:09:27 +0000

A common topic among audiophiles or collectors of HiFi gear is the piece of gear you regret selling the most. Often, this results in a list of equipment we lament relinquishing to the wild. You have yours and I have mine. What's my regret? A gorgeous set of Wharfedale Pacific Evo tower speakers that I... Read More »

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Phasemation PP-500 Moving Coil Cartridge: Punching Above Its Pay Grade

Myles B. Astor — Sat, 01 Apr 2023 15:48:45 +0000

"The whole is greater than the sum of the parts" is the perfect description of the sound of the Phasemation PP-500 low output moving coil cartridge. In short? The Phasemation PP-500 cartridge is an extremely musical sounding, low output moving coil cartridge whose overall performance transcends its readily identifiable sonic signature. Is the sound of... Read More »

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The Mactone XX-440 Line Preamplifier and MH-120 Stereo Amplifier: Adventures in Max-tone!

Jeff Day — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 18:11:36 +0000

Founded in 1964, and for 59 years now, Mactone has continuously manufactured high-fidelity vacuum tube audio components, longer than any other company in Japan. Steve Mishoe (In Living Stereo) started importing Mactone audio components to North America in late 2018, after visiting the Matsumoto family—who owns and operates Mactone—in Japan. Steve recently contacted me and... Read More »

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Sasha Matson Returns with Works for Jazz Orchestra

Rushton Paul — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 16:10:06 +0000

Sasha Matson is an interesting contemporary American composer. Some may recall my earlier review of his jazz opera, Cooperstown (HERE). Jazz opera? Well, indeed yes. And I'd really enjoyed this funky take on opera with a contemporary jazz setting, and featuring baseball no less! Recently, our Positive Feedback world headquarters got a call: "Would we... Read More »

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Helen Merrill American Country Songs

Robert Pincus — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 15:55:10 +0000

Helen Merrill isn't my favorite female jazz singer, as that designation belongs to June Christy. Having said this, I really like the two Merrill albums that I own. They are the Gil Evans arranged Dream Of You (Emarcy MG 36078) from 1957, and the Chuck Sagle arranged American Country Songs from 1959 (Atco SD 33-112).... Read More »

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Who Made That?

Roger Skoff — Fri, 31 Mar 2023 15:47:19 +0000

Roger Skoff writes about the things we buy Did you know that if you drive a Mercedes-Benz, or a Toyota there's a good possibility that your car wasn't made in either Germany or Japan? It's true; to avoid taxes and duties, to save shipping costs, or even to ensure greater safety, higher quality, lower cost,... Read More »

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Saint-Saens Symphony No. 3 - Paul Paray, Detroit Symphony Orchestra from HDTT in DXD & DSD256

Rushton Paul — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 16:25:25 +0000

Saint-Saëns, Symphony No. 3 "Organ Symphony," Paul Paray, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, with Marcel Dupre organ. 1957, 2023 (DXD DSD256) HERE Paul Paray's 1957 performance of the Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony is another of the great recordings in the Mercury Living Presence catalog. Its release by HDTT in gorgeous high resolution sonics is cause for celebration! The Mercury... Read More »

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Barbra Streisand Live at the Bon Soir on Impex Records SACD

Tom Gibbs — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 16:18:45 +0000

How do you spell diva? Barbra Streisand has been a brash, larger-than-life, irrepressible talent throughout her career, whether on Broadway, the big screen, or in the recording studio. Her amazing voice, her physical presence on stage and in front of the camera, and her prowess behind the microphone has helped win her an astonishing array... Read More »

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Impressions: Additional Robinson Brutus Awards, Time-Shifted into 2023

David W. Robinson — Sat, 25 Mar 2023 21:17:06 +0000

Time shift! Sometimes things stay on track; sometimes they don't. My Brutus Awards for last year fell into that category. There were so many great products that were submitted that it was impossible for me to completely clear them out in 2022. I have therefore shifted them to the first quarter of 2023, and re-dated... Read More »

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Impressions: Vivid Audio at GTT Audio, a Photo-Essay…and Another Mountaintop Experience

David W. Robinson — Sat, 25 Mar 2023 05:49:39 +0000

Robinson in Jerusalem, 2022, contemplating on the Via Dolorosa. (Photograph and image processing by John Robinson.) Every now and then I make a trip to visit my very good audiobud Bill Parish over in Long Valley, New Jersey. Bill owns GTT Audio and has an exceptional line of high-end audio brands, each of which sets... Read More »

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A Journey Rediscovered: Bill Evans' Classic You Must Believe In Spring on Craft Recordings' SACD

Tom Gibbs — Thu, 23 Mar 2023 16:23:55 +0000

I was a longtime subscriber to the now defunct Audio magazine; around the midpoint of 1981, while thumbing through the record review pages, I came across two albums that caught my eye. The first chronicled Glenn Gould's autumnal re-interpretation of The Goldberg Variations; the second documented the posthumous release of Bill Evans' You Must Believe... Read More »

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Top 500 SuperSonic List - Part 35

Claude Lemaire — Wed, 22 Mar 2023 22:33:38 +0000

This is an ongoing project by Claude Lemaire of Soundevaluations 211. Donald Byrd, At the Half Note Cafe (Volume 1). Blue Note – BLP 4060 (mono), BST 84060 (1961), Blue Note Tone Poet Series – B0033842-01 (2023), 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: jazz, hard bop, bebop. Will that be black or with milk and sugar? From the patron's... Read More »

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YouTube Video from Greg Weaver: GTT Audio Launches Vivid Audio Distribution with a Major Event!

Greg Weaver — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 19:06:05 +0000

David W. Robinson, Editor-in-Chief of Positive Feedback, with Greg Weaver of the audio analyst and a Senior Associate Editor at Positive Feedback in New Jersey for the GTT Audio Vivid Audio launch event. (Photograph by Bill Parish; image processing by David W. Robinson.) The first weekend in March saw a substantial press event hosted by GTT Audio... Read More »

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Classic Contemporary Records Reissues from Craft Recordings and Acoustic Sounds

Tom Gibbs — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 17:06:00 +0000

Craft Recordings is beginning a new push with remasters and reissues of titles from the Original Jazz Classics (OJC) series from Concord Music's vast catalog of classic jazz from the Fifties, Sixties, and beyond. Many titles from the record labels that fall under the OJC umbrella rank among the finest ever recorded or released, and... Read More »

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FiiO R7 Desktop Digital Music Streamer, Preamplifier, and Headphone Amplifier

Editors at Positive Feedback — Mon, 20 Mar 2023 18:16:04 +0000

With this article, Positive Feedback continues its content-sharing relationship with Enjoy the Music where Steven R. Rochlin shares his thoughts on the FiiO R7. Dr. David W. Robinson, Editor-in-Chief A superb DAC, streamer, preamplifier, and headamp designed for music lovers. Review By Steven R. Rochlin When FiiO sent me an e-mail showcasing their new R7 desktop stereo... Read More »

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The Bobby Hammack Quintet

Robert Pincus — Mon, 20 Mar 2023 17:21:43 +0000

When you think of jazz pianists you probably don't think of Bobby Hamack (1922-1990). That's because his work was primarily behind-the-scenes studio work in radio and television. Hammack was the West Coast musical director of the ABC-TV and radio networks between 1958 and 1963, and he conducted his own orchestra and scored music for several... Read More »

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Maya Fridman - The Power of Indifference

Rushton Paul — Fri, 17 Mar 2023 17:50:02 +0000

There are some artists whose music I find so compelling they force me, compel me, to stop and listen and absorb. Such is the impact of Maya Fridman—cellist, composer, singer. Born in Russia, making her home in the Netherlands, fierce advocate of support for Ukraine in this current war of Russian aggression, Maya is a... Read More »

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Die Walküre with the Greatest Cast Ever Assembled - from HDTT in DSD256 and DXD

Rushton Paul — Thu, 16 Mar 2023 18:53:00 +0000

High Definition Tape Transfers (HDTT) has released the great Erich Leinsdorf recording of Die Walküre—let there be celebrations in the streets! With the greatest cast ever assembled, and led by a great Wagner conductor, this recording should have been the start of a full Ring Cycle for RCA. Unfortunately, it was not. By the time... Read More »

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McIntosh MP100 Phono Preamplifier

Gary Lea — Mon, 13 Mar 2023 21:29:05 +0000

If you are a reader of this esteemed publication it is not a stretch to presume you are an audiophile and probably pretty deep into our wonderful hobby. Having said that, I think you would be hard pressed to find anyone amongst us who has not heard of, listened to, or even owned McIntosh components... Read More »

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Notes on Recent Finds, No. 6 - A Potpourri of Worthy Albums

Rushton Paul — Mon, 13 Mar 2023 17:55:23 +0000

This episode provides a potpourri of musical gems that I thought worth bringing to your attention. All are available from HDTT or NativeDSD or Octave Records in either DXD or DSD256. I apologize for the length of this article with well over 20 albums discussed, but publishing opportunities kept pushing this article further and further... Read More »

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Boxing Match: Bargain Headphone Amplifier vs. Audiophile Classic

Bob Katz — Mon, 13 Mar 2023 17:41:06 +0000

Headphone stuff comes up in my email feed all the time! Last week I received a notice from online bargain store Monoprice that an "audiophile" headphone amplifier, normally priced at $129.99, is on special for $67.99—the Monoprice Monolith Series Liquid Spark. Oh, come on! An "audiophile-quality" headphone amp at a bargain-basement price? This put me... Read More »

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