May - June 2023 Archives - Positive Feedback

You Need Only One - Reiner's Scheherazade from HDTT

Rushton Paul — Fri, 16 Jun 2023 18:00:16 +0000

Ann and I just finished listening to the Reiner/CSO performance of Scheherazade (RCA Living Stereo, 1960) and we were entranced once again by just how great a performance this is. Since our transition to digital-only listening, I have missed being able to listen to this performance in really superior sound quality. Our standard from our... Read More »

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Hana Umami Blue Moving-Coil Cartridge

Robert H. Levi — Sun, 11 Jun 2023 22:32:46 +0000

In my search for the Sweetheart of the most popular phono cartridge lines, offering the highest value and top performance for the price, the Hana series of cartridges brings a powerful entry. New to the market is the Hana Umami Blue Moving-Coil Cartridge also created by the brilliant Maseo Okada of Excel Sounds in Japan,... Read More »

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The iFi Neo Stream DAC - A Modern Musical Marvel for the Money!

Juan C. Ayllon — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 22:21:21 +0000

The iFi Neo Stream network audio streamer is a sterling representation of smart audio design, boasting an open, musical delivery from a simple and compact chassis sporting clean angular lines and functional features. As such, it's a gleaming 21st Century take on form meets function, melding well with the natural and industrial elements of a... Read More »

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An Alluring Ménage of Superb LP Selections from Sam Records

Robert S. Youman — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 17:27:07 +0000

I continue to be delighted by the amazing titles coming out of Sam Records. If you have not heard the backstory by now, let me provide some additional insight. Sam Records is an independent one man operation founded in 2011 by Fred Thomas and located in Paris, France. His love and commitment to jazz and... Read More »

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The New Apartment Lounge: Von Schweikert Audio's Game Changing Center Stage2 "LS" 0.8 Series Loudspeaker Footers

Maurice Jeffries — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 17:18:50 +0000

Back Up the Loudspeaker Evolutionary Ladder Last summer I waxed enthusiastically about Von Schweikert Audio's remarkable Endeavor Special Edition (ESE) loudspeakers (HERE), one of the finest components to have graced my home during my many years as a reviewer. Compact in dimensions (an important consideration here at the Lounge), blessed with first-rate fit and finish,... Read More »

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George de Witt's Name That Tune

Robert Pincus — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 16:38:59 +0000

Sometimes happiness arrives in simplest of forms, and this obscure LP by George Dewitt (1922 - 1979) is a perfect example. In today's world George Dewitt is unknown, but in the 1950s he was quite visible on TV as a game show host. He was also a singer. The game show was Name That Tune,... Read More »

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Rhino High Fidelity Premium Vinyl Series Debuts with Classic LPs from The Cars and John Coltrane

Tom Gibbs — Thu, 08 Jun 2023 17:30:53 +0000

Shore Fire Media has just announced the first two titles from a new LP reissue program, the Rhino High Fidelity Premium Vinyl Series. Rhino High Fidelity's planned release schedule will be quarterly throughout the year; the inaugural release features two outstanding titles, the eponymous debut album from The Cars, The Cars (1978, Elektra Records), and... Read More »

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…and Steve says…On Excellence and Expectations – and Choosing Speakers

Steve Lefkowicz — Thu, 08 Jun 2023 17:15:41 +0000

Last year I had the opportunity to visit with a friend and listen to their system that included the $329,000 Wilson Chronosonic XVX Loudspeakers. Their system is certainly one version of "state-of-the-art" and one of the very best systems I've ever heard. Over the years I've heard many other very expensive, high quality systems that... Read More »

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The New Rhino High Fidelity Series - The Cars And John Coltrane Kick It Off in Grand Style!

Robert S. Youman — Wed, 07 Jun 2023 18:16:17 +0000

When it comes to audiophile quality reissues, there seems to be a myriad of options these days. My apologies up front, as I am sure that I will miss mentioning a few. We have the exquisite one step releases from Analogue Productions, Mofi , IMPEX, and Craft—many with 45 RPM pressings and with the most... Read More »

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Pekka Kuusisto and Yarlung Records in Pure DSD256

Rushton Paul — Wed, 07 Jun 2023 17:31:45 +0000

Symmetria Pario: Creation, Pekka Kuusisto, violin, Joonas Ahonen, piano. Yarlung Records 2023 Pure DSD256 HERE When you take contemporary compositions from nine different composers (six of which were commissioned for your recital), and you add the brilliant artistry of Pekka Kuusisto and Joonas Ahonen, and you record it in a world class, acoustically magnificent music hall... Read More »

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Audio Engineering Society 2023 Conference in Helsinki

Scott Dorsey — Wed, 07 Jun 2023 16:53:48 +0000

The Audio Engineering Society has been giving two conventions a year for decades, with an annual show that has traditionally moved between the east coast and west coast of the US in the fall, and a European show in the spring. While the American AES conventions are split about evenly between begin academic conventions and... Read More »

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My Audio Oasis! Awards for AXPONA 2023: Chunklet the First

David W. Robinson — Wed, 07 Jun 2023 00:44:59 +0000

E-in-C Robinson enjoying cigars rooftop-style near the Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret). Tiberias, Israel, 2022. (Photograph by John Robinson; image processing by the elder Robinson.) As I have been doing for many years now at audio shows, my response to the good stuff is to issue my Positive Feedback Audio Oasis! Awards. What are they?... Read More »

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Contemplations On the Current State of High-End Audio Trade Shows

Norman Varney — Sat, 03 Jun 2023 15:55:33 +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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Three Good Ideas for Beating Hi-Fi Inflation

Roger Skoff — Fri, 02 Jun 2023 22:11:59 +0000

Roger Skoff writes about dealing with something that affects us all There's no denying that inflation is real. When Eater magazine recently described a $23 Brooklyn hamburger as "controversial" and the thing they said was controversial about it was not its price but the mustard, catsup, and maple syrup sauce used on it (HERE), it... Read More »

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Top 500 SuperSonic List - Part 36

Claude Lemaire — Fri, 02 Jun 2023 16:33:56 +0000

This is an ongoing project by Claude Lemaire of Soundevaluations 216. Blondie, "Heart of Glass"/ "Heart of Glass (instrumental)." Chrysalis – CDS-2275 (1978), 12", 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: disco, electro disco, new wave, pop rock. The five-member band fronted by singer Debbie Harry hailed from New York City. Along with Ramones, Television, and Talking Heads, they took part... Read More »

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Fono Acustica FAL-2 Cable Lift

Marshall Nack — Fri, 02 Jun 2023 16:16:14 +0000

There's no getting around it, cable lifts are controversial. With so many competing designs and theories all claiming to remediate the same issues—mechanical vibrations, interactions between wires, and RFI/EMI contamination—sorting them out can make your head spin. One company says the best RFI solution is lifting the cable with a minimum of mass, coming close... Read More »

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Parasound HALO JC 5 Amplifier

Mark Pearson — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 19:03:59 +0000

The Parasound JC 5 stereo amplifier has been in continuous production since 2018 and has been reviewed many times over the years including reviews in Positive Feedback. I want to be upfront that I purchased the JC 5 prior to writing this review. I made the leap of faith based on the reputation of the... Read More »

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Kuijken and La Petite Bande - Remastered in Original DXD Resolution!

Rushton Paul — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 17:30:54 +0000

With La Petite Bande's 50th anniversary in 2022, Challenge Records celebrated with the release of a nine CD box set, which you may have seen. All nice, but that's not what I want to talk about. I want to talk about something even more wonderful: the release of the original DXD recording resolution files! (HERE) From... Read More »

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Classic Latin Jazz Reissues from Craft Recordings

Tom Gibbs — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 17:22:10 +0000

Craft Latino is a specialty imprint that focuses on reissues of classic salsa, Latin jazz, Latin soul, and Afro-Cuban releases from Craft Recordings' deep catalog of Latino artists, many of which haven't been reissued as LPs for decades. Their newest reissues highlight classic records from a pair of legendary Latino percussionists, conguero Ray Barretto's Que... Read More »

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Topping E70 Velvet DAC: Bringing Delta-Sigma Playback of Native DSD to a Higher Level

Tom Gibbs — Mon, 29 May 2023 17:35:51 +0000

Back in February, I received a series of unsettling emails from Dalibor Kasac, my contact at Euphony Audio in Croatia, telling me about a discovery they'd made concerning how ESS Pro delta-sigma DAC chips process native DSD. And that Euphony had gotten a couple of the new Topping E70 Velvet DACs that incorporated the newest... Read More »

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Stokowski's Rachmaninoff Third Symphony - From the Master Tapes in Pure DSD256

Rushton Paul — Mon, 29 May 2023 17:09:02 +0000

This transfer in Pure DSD256 directly from the original Desmar master tapes recorded by the great Bob Auger is hugely impressive. So clean, open, detailed and dynamic. Just beyond excellent! And the performance is one of the most compelling, most thoroughly convincing, performances of this symphony among the six alternate recordings I have in my... Read More »

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Remembering Copper's Dan Schwartz: A Friendship That Went Deep

Frank Doris — Fri, 26 May 2023 20:44:27 +0000

Reprinted with permission by the author and Copper Magazine. Dan was also a contributor and good friend here at Positive Feedback. I and his friends knew the day would come, but when it did, it was no less of a shock. Copper contributor, bassist extraordinaire, and audiophile Dan Schwartz passed away on May 16, 2023 at age... Read More »

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Confessions of a Setup Man 11: Can a System be too Good?

Frank Doris — Thu, 25 May 2023 00:35:50 +0000

PF Senior Associate Editor shares with us one of his columns from PS Audio's Copper Magazine, Issue 127, December of 2020. He raises excellent issues here, ones that the readers of PF may well benefit from. Enjoy! Dr. David W. Robinson, Editor-in-Chief As audiophiles, we are on what can sometimes seem a never-ending quest for better sound... Read More »

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Classic LPs from Miles and Monk Herald a New Era for Original Jazz Classics by Craft Recordings

Tom Gibbs — Wed, 24 May 2023 20:47:32 +0000

Berkeley based Fantasy Records built their early reputation in the 1950s with classic LPs from Dave Brubeck, Cal Tjader, Gerry Mulligan, and Vince Guaraldi. Many of those LPs were pressed on red and blue translucent vinyl, and they became immensely popular with record buyers. I'll never forget finding a sealed copy of Vince Guaraldi's Jazz... Read More »

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Impressions: AXPONA 2023, a Photo-Essay & Intro to the Extro

David W. Robinson — Tue, 23 May 2023 21:37:37 +0000

Ye Olde Editor at work at AXPONA 2023, in ink outline (photograph by Bill Parish; image processing by Robinson) The years of the plague… It’s no feat of insight to say that the coming of COVID during 2020, 2021, and 2022 was a time that hit high-end audio shows with significant force. One after another,... Read More »

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