May - June 2019 Archives - Positive Feedback

A Technique - Fine Tuning, Part 3

Wojciech Pacuła — Sat, 29 Jun 2019 17:22:28 +0000

Time for cables Cables are one of the elements that constitute an audio system. It is neither more, nor less important than the remaining ones, but it is still approached with suspicion and from a distance by many engineers and music lovers. However, those who have already gone through this stage—St. Thomas's stage—do not need... Read More »

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Audioengine 512 Portable Wireless Speaker

Gary L Beard — Fri, 21 Jun 2019 20:33:57 +0000

Austin, Texas based Audioengine recently introduced the 512 Portable Wireless Speaker. My thanks to them for sending a sample to review. The 512 is a handsome product, with a high quality feel. And it is small; a mere 3" deep x 3" high x 7.75" wide, two and a half pound oval of transportable audio goodness. ... Read More »

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T.H.E. Show Long Beach, Photo Essay Part 4

Carol Clark — Thu, 20 Jun 2019 19:20:06 +0000

Continuing our coverage of T.H.E. Show, photos by Dave Clark, words by me, additional words by Dave as noted. Arion Audio, The Apollo System loudspeaker. Arion Audio LS-200 Line-stage, HS-500 amplifier. Chang Lightspeed powerline filters. Wilf Audio Systems Alpha 3 music servr. JPS Labs cables. EMM Labs DA2 Dac. Stillpoints rack. Arion Audio subwoofer. Computer... Read More »

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T.H.E. Show Long Beach, Photo Essay Part 3

Carol Clark — Thu, 20 Jun 2019 19:13:22 +0000

Continuing our coverage of T.H.E. Show, photos by Dave Clark, words by me, additional words by Dave as noted. Sanders Sound System. This room insisted, "No pictures!" Okay... Esoteric: Grandioso P1X transport, Grandioso D1X monoblock DAC, N-03T network audio transport, Grandioso G1 rubidium master clock, Grandioso C1 preamplifier, Grandioso S1 amplifier. Von Schweikert Audio Endeavor... Read More »

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Campfire Audio Solaris IEMs

Smit Patel — Mon, 17 Jun 2019 18:15:02 +0000

Born out of curiosity and experimentation, the Campfire Audio brand have come a long way since the initial release of the well-received Jupiter, Orion, and Lyra earphones. With a keen passion for all things audio, Ken Ball has spent hours of time perfecting releases from rigorous performance testing to tuning iterations. It is thus not... Read More »

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The New Apartment Lounge: Two Memorable Winter Road Trips

Maurice Jeffries — Sat, 15 Jun 2019 18:19:49 +0000

Back to the Midwest-SR In late January 2019, over the MLK holiday weekend no less, I ventured north by northwest from Florida to the wilds of exurban Indiana to pay my close audio bud, Greg Weaver, a long-overdue visit. I made a similar trek a year earlier to hear his then reference setup, namely Audionet's... Read More »

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Impressions: My Photographic Portraits from AXPONA 2019

David W. Robinson — Thu, 13 Jun 2019 01:39:15 +0000

To close out my reflections on AXPONA 2019, I am publishing my photographic portraits from AXPONA 2019…the faces and moments seen, and created. Many of these were published several at a time at Facebook immediately after the event, as mementos. Now they are available all at once, given in no particular order...a photo book of... Read More »

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The New Apartment Lounge: Solid-State Joy with Parasound's New HINT 6 Halo Integrated Amplifier

Maurice Jeffries — Tue, 11 Jun 2019 19:25:17 +0000

Don't Mess with Success Armed with a seemingly boundless reservoir of engineering creativity, a healthy dose of professional humility, and keen market instincts, the stealth-like stalwarts at San Francisco-based Parasound continue to re-calibrate accepted price-vs-performance expectations in the high end. The firm has survived (and thrived) not by touting revolutionary design advances to its... Read More »

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Vanatoo Transparent One Encore Satellite/Subwoofer System

Editors at Positive Feedback — Tue, 11 Jun 2019 15:17:52 +0000

Speakers for those who love music. Review By Matthew Clott With this article, Positive Feedback continues its content-sharing relationship with Enjoy the Music. Mathew Clott shares his thoughts about the Vanatoo Loudspeakers. Read, and learn.... Dr. David W. Robinson, Editor-in-Chief I have become increasingly impressed with the quality of truly affordable audio gear. The newly released Vanatoo... Read More »

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Impressions: My Audio Oasis! Awards from AXPONA 2019 - Part the Fifth & Final

David W. Robinson — Tue, 11 Jun 2019 14:57:34 +0000

Here is the final installment of my Audio Oasis! Awards from AXPONA 2019. A major event; a major set of articles reflecting upon the awards that I gave. Daedalus Audio/Vacuum Tube Amplification/LampizatOr/WyWires In the Daedalus Audio/VAC/LampizatOr/WyWires room…great beauty here! Lou Hinkley, Fred Ainsley, Kevin Hayes, and Alex Svetinsky were making beautiful music in Room 496,... Read More »

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The Neoteric Listener - The Tweek Geek Dark Matter Stealth AC Power Purifier v.2

Dean Seislove — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 16:28:31 +0000

If you're all in when playing the game of high stakes audio, the Tweek Geek Dark Matter Stealth AC Power Conditioner is for you. Will you hear a noticeable difference? Yep. Is it worth the cost? That depends on your stash of ready cash and your obsessiveness with elevating your system's impact. Face it, ours... Read More »

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Pneuance Audio Pneupod Pneumatic Isolation Feet

Michael Corsentino — Fri, 07 Jun 2019 00:28:57 +0000

When James Brown urged everyone to "get on the good foot!" he could have just as easily been singing about Pneuance Audio's new Pneupod Pneumatic Isolation Feet, they've sure got me singing their praises! Isolating components from unwanted vibrations and the resonance they cause with high quality isolation footers can, and does result in very... Read More »

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Paradox Pulse Guard R SMR Cartridge

Gary Lea — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 20:31:22 +0000

Can You Build a Better Mousetrap? This is not so much a review of a new cartridge as it is about what happens when you take a tried and true cartridge and make significant modifications to the body, cantilever, and stylus of the cartridge. To down play the impact of cartridge body design and material... Read More »

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The Neoteric Listener - The Gold Note IS-1000 Integrated Amplifier and Streamer

Dean Seislove — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 23:20:24 +0000

Audio is all about good times. At least, it should be. Yes, I'm like everyone else in this silly hobby, poring over the mysteries of phono cable capacitance or trying to squeeze gear the size of a Mennonite hope chest into a room too small for much hope to fit. Still, at the risk of... Read More »

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Impressions: My Audio Oasis! Awards from AXPONA 2019 - Part the Fourth

David W. Robinson — Mon, 03 Jun 2019 00:02:00 +0000

Continuing my long march through AXPONA 2019, here's Part the Fourth of my Audio Oasis! Awards. The Audio Company/Von Schweikert Audio/Valve Amplification Company/MasterBuilt Audio/Critical Mass Systems/Aurender/Esoteric Lukasz Fikus of LampizatOr taking it easy with the VSA Ultra 11 and VAC amplification: a portrait Once again at AXPONA 2019, Von Schweikert Audio linked up with VAC,... Read More »

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ModWright Instruments PH 9.0 Phono Stage: A New Paradigm in Affordable Excellence

Greg Weaver — Sun, 02 Jun 2019 17:07:36 +0000

Honey, I Shrunk the Phono stage I've had the privilege of knowing Dan Wright for the past twenty years. Over that time, I've seen ModWright burgeon from its humble beginnings as an upgrade or modification-only service provider, to becoming a respected manufacturer of a full line of products. Over the past two decades, ModWright has... Read More »

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What isn't Black? Roger Skoff Writes about the Real Sound of Sound

Roger Skoff — Sat, 01 Jun 2019 22:37:46 +0000

How many times have you read a review of some recording, some system, or some individual piece of gear that said something like this? "The orchestra was rendered perfectly, with each individual instrument hung in its own separate space, emerging from a perfectly black background…" Or maybe the reviewer had enthused that "It was easy... Read More »

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Impressions: My Audio Oasis! Awards from AXPONA 2019 - Part the Third

David W. Robinson — Fri, 31 May 2019 23:03:28 +0000

Continuing my Audio Oasis! Awards, reflections on AXPONA 2019, and my photographs... Merging Technologies/Evolution Acoustics/Wave Kinetics/darTZeel/Durand Tonearms/ATR/Analog Audio In the Blue Light Audio room…world-class components, all! Another big-time non-surprise: The Blue Light Audio et al. room was gassed, stoked, and ready-to-go! once again. Jonathan Tinn, Kevin Malmgren, and Joel Durand hosted a really seductive room,... Read More »

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Master & Dynamic MW07 Wireless Earphones

Smit Patel — Fri, 31 May 2019 17:14:52 +0000

New York based audio company Master & Dynamic are a vision of class, delivering beautiful and well-thought out products in their impressive line-up of headphones and IEMs. Although a newcomer to the world of audio, they have quickly learned the ropes through releasing precision-designed boutique headphones with a sound to match. Their website itself shows... Read More »

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Toes in My Head, er Sand - MrSpeakers' Aeon Flow Headphones, Schiit Gungnir Multibit DAC, and Ampsandsound Kenzie Amplifier

Larry Cox — Thu, 30 May 2019 22:29:52 +0000

This note reflects, essentially, my first toe in the water of a higher end headphone setup, at least as a reviewer. I've heard high end speaker systems for decades. My first "high end" headphone setup was sometime in the late 1970s, an unknown model of magical Stax "earspeakers." At the time I thought them better... Read More »

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Schiit Audio Yggdrasil Analog 2 DAC

Smit Patel — Thu, 30 May 2019 00:38:21 +0000

Headed by two industry veterans, Schiit Audio is a company that has taken the world of high-end personal audio by storm with their focus on value and commitment to developing game-stopping products. The original Yggdrasil represented Schiit's flagship DAC product, and garnered the company a loyal following. Now, the company have further modified the internals... Read More »

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Video Interviews from Munich 2019, Part 2: NativeDSD.com Talks with the Industry About DSD

Editors at Positive Feedback — Wed, 29 May 2019 21:36:55 +0000

Continuing their video interview series from Munich 2019, the good folks at NativeDSD share more of their conversations with people from that event. Great stuff! 1. Giulio Cesare Ricci, Fonè Records Floor van der Holst from NativeDSD Music catches up with Giulio Cesare Ricci from Fonè Records at High End Munich 2019. They discuss 2... Read More »

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Bricasti Design M25 Power Amplifier

Michael Zisserson — Wed, 29 May 2019 16:01:06 +0000

This is the real deal. Or at least that was the knee-jerk emotion that flooded in during the first few notes from the Bricasti Design M25 power amplifier (M25) as it first drove my loudspeakers. Sure; the M25 had drive, poise, a neutral tonality, and an impeccably tidy soundstage. But most well designed high-power amplifiers... Read More »

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Leaving Class A - 2019 Redux: A Biased Opinion from Nelson Pass

Nelson Pass — Wed, 29 May 2019 03:07:21 +0000

In spite of the improvements in efficient Class D switchers, watt-sucking Class A power amplifiers continue to attract high-end audiophiles. The breed remains as popular as ever—and why not? Any product of our school system knows that A is better than B, or C or D... I get quite a bit of email, and it... Read More »

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DS Audio ST-50 Stylus Cleaner; Keeping Your Stylus – and the Message – Crystal Clear

Tom Gibbs — Mon, 27 May 2019 15:28:29 +0000

There's a scene from The Godfather where Sonny, Michael, Tom Hagen, Tessio, and Clemenza are all sitting around, strategizing in the aftermath of the failed assassination attempt on Don Corleone. They're also concerned with the whereabouts of Luca Brasi, the family's ruthless hit man. Tessio then brings in a brown paper wrapped package and places... Read More »

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