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Perhaps the Astell & Kern AK70 is better suited for young people who know what the acronym ftw means. It's small, affordable, and holds a lot of music. It has all kinds of features that make it easy to use. But, the AK70 is just right for me, and I'm old. Oh, and don't worry,... Read More »

"Be careful what you wish for" says the old proverb. Oh yeah. In this case, I am glad I did! When I reviewed the limited edition Grado Heritage Series Headphones in all maple last year, I commented on the lively sound of the maple wood and how cool it would be for Grado to experiment... Read More »

[By way of introduction, Greg Beron has become well known in the world of high-end tape recorders for his outstanding Phasexx series. I was extremely impressed by his Phase11S when it was here back in 2013, and used it to do some seminal test transfers of several of our reference library tapes (e.g., Opus3 Records... Read More »

Roger Skoff writes about HiFi and the Music Business Many a long year ago, when I was still in school (Frankly, I don't remember whether it was high school or college) somebody (again, I don't remember who) told me that if I wanted to get rich, I should go into business and sell either water... Read More »

Frederik Carøe in Denmark knocked me out with his amazing Duelund Coherent Audio CAST capacitors, inductors, resistors, and autoformers that I wrote about in Issue 70 and Issue 74 of Positive Feedback as part of the Duelund-Westminster Royal SE loudspeaker project, and now Frederik has done it once again with his superb Duelund Coherent Audio... Read More »

The PS Audio DirectStream Junior DAC is another member of the class of audio components that exudes pride of ownership from the time it lands on your doorstep. No flimsy cardboard boxes here folks. The DSJ comes double boxed with the outer box in plain cardboard to fool nosy audiophile neighbors with a predilection for... Read More »

Try it now! I found a new grounding point!

October has arrived and for many audio fans on the West Coast that means it's time for the annual Rocky Mountain Audio Fest also known as RMAF. This year's edition of RMAF (Rocky Mountain Audio Fest) was held, as in the past, at the Marriott Tech Center Hotel in Denver, Colorado.  RMAF has several advantages... Read More »

How many times have we all heard the left-handed compliment about an audio component when someone says it sounds "really good for the money?" The inference is that even though it sounds really good, it doesn't sound all that good because it just doesn't cost as much as the high-priced spread. I'm going to get right... Read More »

An issue or two back, I wrote enthusiastically about the grounding units from Entreq (HERE), and how these passive grounding boxes allowed me to hear way more into the music. Yeah, they work as advertised and for sure, they should be seen as a requisite addition to anyone who is serious about audio and their... Read More »

Dover Quartet Plays Mozart Quartets K.589 and K.550; and Quintet K.406. Cedille CDR 90000 167. Listening to new recordings of Mozart is often difficult for reviewers because we are always looking for differences—something we can peg a review on. Something new to say. It is rare to come upon a Mozart recording and be surprised...... Read More »

Best Product in Show Okay, I didn't actually see it in the show, only afterward, but it was in there somewhere. Kenetek is making a direct replacement for the optical attenuator module in the LA-3A compressors. Yeah, they have been making it for a couple years now but it was new to me and it's... Read More »

The Audio Engineering Society puts on a convention in the US every year, and what makes it most interesting is that traditionally it has been both a trade show and a scientific conference with formal papers, both in the same building at the same time. This makes it more interesting than other trade shows, because... Read More »

The 12.5-Inch Woody SPU Tonearm™ from Pete Riggle Audio Engineering. If Gustav Stickley (1853 – 1942), the renowned figure of the Arts & Crafts movement in America, were to have made a tonearm to complement his American Craftsman style of furniture, what would it have looked like? I like to imagine that if Stickley had... Read More »

There are tube electronics and then, there are tube electronics. In the wonderful world of tubes, the most popular, reliable and successful amplifier designs nowadays are dominated by push-pull, OTL, triode and pentode circuitry. When it comes today to preamplifiers—and in particular phonostages—hybrid circuits more often than not today rule the roost. Sure push-pull amplifier... Read More »

I spent over (3) years with the smallish, floor standing Devore Super 8's in my home as my go to reference speaker. Leading up to that time, I had audition and/or reviewed several speakers at or well above the Super 8's price point and volume, but it was not until I heard the Verity Audio... Read More »

Ich habe mich – zumindest gefühlt – seit Jahrzehnten nur noch mit Standboxen beschäftigt. Dementsprechend war auch der Test eines Diapason-Schallwandlers ein wenig anders geplant. Und dennoch: Die Begegnung mit der vergleichsweise zierlichen Astera entpuppte sich als audiophiler Glücksfall.

This is probably not the first and neither the last time you shall read a similar introduction to the review of this type of product from Rogoz Audio. I believe, however, that some things are worth repeating again and again. Those who are already well aware of the role of anti-vibration elements should just skip... Read More »

Eine 300B Single Ended Triode muss ins Haus! Whatever it takes (Mario Draghi). Wobei sich die Kosten im Fall des Auris Adagio weniger in Draghischen Sphären bewegen, sondern noch im halbwegs erträglichen Rahmen liegen.