March - April 2024 Archives - Positive Feedback

Patricia Barber's Companion, Now Available on 45 rpm 1STEP from Impex Records

Tom Gibbs — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 22:24:21 +0000

Impex Records continues to roll out the hits with another superb choice for their next deluxe 1STEP LP treatment, reaching again into the catalog of classic albums from jazz composer, pianist, and vocalist Patricia Barber. For this release, Impex has chosen Barber's fifth album, Companion (1999, Premonition Records), which was recorded live at Chicago's Green... Read More »

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Do Streaming Services Have a Sound?

Editors at Positive Feedback — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 22:12:12 +0000

I'm pleased to introduce this article by my audio friend, Ferenc Koscsó, founder of My Reel Club™ and eminent recording engineer. As so often in today's world, Ferenc (who lives in Budapest) and I have never met in person, but over the past five years we've shared many online communications about things audio. His goal... Read More »

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Hit Play! Loving Horch House's Latest Yello Release on Tape!

Myles B. Astor — Sun, 21 Apr 2024 17:36:01 +0000

Welcome to the first installment of Hit Play!, a bimonthly column (at least in the beginning) dedicated to the ultimate in music and sound on 15-ips reel-to-reel tape. Why devote space to a column about an obsolete analog format? Easy. Tape is far from obsolete! To start, three companies (Analog Audio Design (France)/Metaxas (Holland)/Ballfinger (Germany)... Read More »

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With the New Record Doctor X, Your Vinyl Cleans Up Nicely!

Juan C. Ayllon — Sat, 20 Apr 2024 17:42:31 +0000

As widely noted, for the second year in a row in 2023, vinyl record sales topped compact disc sales in the U.S.—this time by a whopping $43 million, or about six million more than total CD sales last year (popsci.com). This point recently hit home personally when my wife, Belle, said that her hipster boss... Read More »

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Dave Brubeck & Paul Desmond at Wilshire-Ebel

Robert Pincus — Sat, 20 Apr 2024 17:11:57 +0000

I think it's pretty safe to say that most record-collecting audiophiles know Dave Brubeck (1920-2012), and his album, Time Out (Columbia CS8192). After all, it's one of the most popular jazz LPs ever recorded. Time Out was released in 1959, and it introduced the world to Brubeck's use of unusual time signatures. It also introduced... Read More »

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April 2024 Record Store Day LPs from Rhino and Warner

Tom Gibbs — Thu, 18 Apr 2024 22:59:05 +0000

Rhino Entertainment has an impressive slate of limited-edition LPs available for the upcoming Saturday, April 20th celebration of Record Store Day 2024 (RSD). Rhino's extensive offering of rarities and specialty releases are only a few of the hundreds of exciting albums that will be available from both online sources and at independent record stores everywhere.... Read More »

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Gingko Audio's Cloud22 Isolation Products

Francisco Duran — Wed, 17 Apr 2024 17:20:19 +0000

As many years as I have been in this hobby, within the last few I have become more and more intolerant of the exaggerated claims of expensive tweaks by some manufacturers. You can throw wire and cable into this debate, but that is a subject for another day. If one is trying to eke out... Read More »

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Slouching Towards Schaumburg - AXPONA 2024

John Hughes — Wed, 17 Apr 2024 16:24:17 +0000

I'm sliding into Northern Illinois on a dreary Thursday in early April. There is a touch of nostalgia and foreboding landing here in the suburbs of Chicago filled with its brutalist architecture and utilitarian brick structures. The daffodils and plum trees are blooming. The grass and clover is already coming out and getting green. It is... Read More »

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April Record Store Day LP Offerings from Craft Recordings

Tom Gibbs — Tue, 16 Apr 2024 15:53:47 +0000

Craft Recordings is offering another cool slate of limited-edition LPs for the upcoming Saturday, April 20th celebration of Record Store Day 2024 (RSD). Craft's selection of rarities and specialty releases are only a few of the literally hundreds of exciting records that will be available online and at independent record stores everywhere. For RSD April,... Read More »

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Rare and Classic Top Shelf Reissue LPs from Jazz Dispensary and Craft Recordings

Tom Gibbs — Sun, 14 Apr 2024 18:02:37 +0000

Jazz Dispensary is a specialty imprint of Craft Recordings that's dedicated to mining the riches of parent company Concord Music's vast catalog of labels. The label employs what they call "sound sommeliers" to search the archives to find the finest original sources there for underappreciated masterpieces of funk, soul, jazz, and all the related genres... Read More »

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Classic Contemporary Label Jazz Reissues from Craft Recordings in Combination with Acoustic Sounds

Tom Gibbs — Sun, 14 Apr 2024 17:53:48 +0000

Craft Recordings has announced the latest group of reissues from their Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series, which features twelve LP reissues along with high-resolution digital files that will be released periodically throughout 2024. The exciting roster of Contemporary Records artists chosen for the current installment of the series includes classic titles from Art Pepper, Shelly... Read More »

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Waters on the Hardware: Qln Signature Loudspeakers (5th generation)

Dean Waters — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 23:20:10 +0000

Dean Waters at Pacific Audio Fest 2023: a portrait (photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson) The Qln Signature Series, Fifth Generation, front view with magnetically attached grill cover For the last several weeks I've been gleefully enjoying listening to and marveling at the 5th generation Signature series speakers from Qln. These are 2-way... Read More »

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Three New Audiophile LP Reissues that Really Deliver! Iconic Albums from The Cars, CSNY and Joni Mitchell

Robert S. Youman — Mon, 08 Apr 2024 18:02:14 +0000

The Cars, Candy-O. Rhino High Fidelity Series (33 RPM) The Cars first album entitled The Cars, was released in 1977 on the Reprise label and was a huge success, with a long list of hit singles and a tremendous amount of attention by the press. Their second album entitled Candy-O was released in 1978, also... Read More »

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The New IMPEX Records Getz/Gilberto 1Step. Has IMPEX Now Produced the Definitive Pressing?

Robert S. Youman — Mon, 08 Apr 2024 17:51:37 +0000

I have been waiting with great anticipation for the new IMPEX 1Step Getz/Gilberto reissue to arrive, but that was no problem. I have learned long ago that patience more than pays off when it comes to IMPEX Records. This label never fails to amaze and delight! The excitement began to build after I experienced the... Read More »

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Notes from Recent Finds, No. 20 - More from HDTT

Rushton Paul — Mon, 08 Apr 2024 17:02:17 +0000

High Definition Tape Transfers has released/reissued many superb albums over the couple of months since I last posted an update, and I keep being reminded of earlier releases I've not shared with you. So, here are a dozen I highly recommend. Some may wonder why I continue a focus on HDTT for music. To those... Read More »

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Notes on Recent Finds, No. 21 - New Joys from NativeDSD

Rushton Paul — Mon, 08 Apr 2024 16:43:54 +0000

As David Robinson and I were discussing a couple of weeks ago, we truly are living in the golden age of recorded music and home audio—both in the equipment available to us and, most importantly, in the wealth of wonderful performing artists and recordings. You may note that many of the recordings I recommend are... Read More »

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A Follow-up on the Vanguard Caldera 10 Subwoofer: Dual Subs Now Equals Double the Fun!

Tom Gibbs — Sat, 06 Apr 2024 16:28:34 +0000

My original review of the Vanguard Caldera 10 subwoofer earlier this year was nothing short of an all out rave, and deservedly so! I know this is beginning to sound like the proverbial broken record, but how Vera-Fi Audio's Mark Schifter and his partner Viet Nguyen can design and manufacture a superb unit like this... Read More »

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Pure DSD256 Large Orchestra Recording from Eudora Records - With Free Sample Download

Rushton Paul — Fri, 05 Apr 2024 17:01:15 +0000

Utter transparency. Abundant detail. Extreme delicacy and nuance. A soundstage to die for. Unrestrained dynamics and immense power. This is a recording to cherish, a recording to celebrate. Homeland - Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor and De Falla's Noches en los Jardines de España (Nights in the Gardens of Spain), Judith Jáuregui (piano), Kaspar... Read More »

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Eating Soup with a Fork

Roger Skoff — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 15:47:33 +0000

Roger Skoff of RSX Technologies at the LAOC Gala, 2023 (portrait and image processing by David W. Robinson) Roger Skoff writes about doing the right things the wrong way You wouldn't do that, would you—eat soup with a fork? Or paint your house with a Q-tip cotton swab? Or run a cement mixer in a... Read More »

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Puron Resolve RFI Eliminators

Tom Gibbs — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 23:21:02 +0000

In my recent review of the Puron AC Power Conditioners, I was struck by the abundance of amazing and relatively inexpensive enhancements available to substantially improve the performance of your audio and video systems. Those include devices and accessories of every make and manner that, based on their outward appearance, would seem incapable of... Read More »

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Vaughn Monroe Plays Cole Porter

Robert Pincus — Mon, 01 Apr 2024 16:08:06 +0000

Nobody talks about Vaughn Monroe (1911-1973) anymore. That's sad, because Monroe was a very good singer. It's pretty clear to me that it's his unusual voice that places him in obscurity. Nothing sounds like his baritone voice. By today's standards, and even by my own retro standards, he sounds a little usual. His voice is... Read More »

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XACT S1 Music Server

Marshall Nack — Sat, 30 Mar 2024 17:30:08 +0000

The brochure included with the XACT S1 music server hammered on the point again and again. Digital that doesn't sound like digital. More like vinyl. The single-minded focus caused me to reflect on the scene and our recent history. What began with Perfect Sound Forever in 1983 is now snubbed in 2024. The new standard... Read More »

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Start Your Ear Off Right with Limited Edition LPs from Rhino Entertainment

Tom Gibbs — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 19:22:18 +0000

Rhino Entertainment has announced their cleverly named Start Your Ear Off Right series, which features a slate of eighteen limited edition LP releases, with most of them being offered in cool colored-vinyl variants. The releases criss-cross a multitude of genres and artists, ranging from rock (The Grateful Dead, The Doors, The Velvet Underground, Stevie Nicks),... Read More »

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About Method - Or About What to Do When It Fails

Wojciech Pacuła — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 18:39:32 +0000

For a man who still retains spontaneity, truth will always remain a great word, at the sound of which the heart beats more vividly. W. F. Hegel, Lectures on the history of philosophy I don't know if you have noticed, but since the beginning of High Fidelity, we have tried to operate according to principles... Read More »

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Isaac Hayes' Hot Buttered Soul on Craft Recordings Small Batch LP, and Sounding Better Than Ever!

Tom Gibbs — Wed, 27 Mar 2024 18:14:34 +0000

Craft Recordings' has just released the sixth installment in their premium Small Batch audiophile LP series with a reissue of Isaac Hayes' 1969 sophomore effort, Hot Buttered Soul. Long considered a landmark release of Sixties soul music, Hot Buttered Soul created the template that would serve as the launching pad for Isaac Hayes' future successes... Read More »

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