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Do you recall certain artists whose new releases you eagerly awaited? Anna Fedorova is that artist for us these days. We only recently discovered two of her solo albums on Channel Classics, Storyteller and Four Fantasies. I wrote about these thoroughly engaging releases in a recent article. Now we've found her duo album, Silhouettes, with... Read More »

As I've grown older, and presumably, wiser, I've come to appreciate more the significance of anniversaries. Whether they be personal, such as birthdays and wedding anniversaries, or professional (it occurs to me that I've been on the masthead at Positive Feedback for nearly 20 years), these milestone accomplishments resonate with me, due perhaps to their... Read More »

Rachel Podger is a joyful music maker, regardless of her choice of composers. And she is one of the best artists performing today on baroque violin and within the world of period instrument performance generally with her Brecon Baroque ensemble.  I wrote enthusiastically about Podger and Brecon Baroque in my article about Channel Classics and the... Read More »

...with comments on the Synergistic Research MiG SX Isolation Feet. This is a story long in the coming. Long, long, long. Ye Olde Editor in contemplative mode, Happy Valley, OR, 2017… (Photograph by John Robinson; image processing by David W. Robinson) By way of backstory… You see, I've been following Warwick Acoustics and its predecessor... Read More »

It is the story of birth of digital audio, as well as a journey through the 1970s and 1980s, the best period in the history of digital recorders, and finally the story of their unique representatives; reel-to-tape recorders from Mitsubishi. (Part 1 can be found HERE) DIGITAL SOUND RECORDING method of preserving sound in which... Read More »

Circa 1967, that is… Imprints on music are lifelong influences. Among my early imprints that I continue to cherish are the recordings made by André Previn with the London Symphony early in his career. Released by RCA from around 1967 to 1972, these Decca recorded performances are a consistent pleasure. The various Decca recording teams,... Read More »

Nicolas van Poucke: The Schumann Collection, Vol. 1, TRPTK. (2020 (DXD) (HERE) What a pleasure to listen to this quite extraordinary pianist, Nicolas van Poucke, in this new release from TRPTK. His performances of the Schumann works on this album are totally engaging, full of musical intelligence and emotional depth. It is always a treat... Read More »

Beginning at the end of 2003, PF established its first annual awards for fine audio. The Brutus Award was established for the best that David Robinson and Dave and Carol Clark had heard in their own listening rooms during that year. You can think of it as our equivalent of an "Editors' Choice" award. The Gizmo... Read More »

Definition from Oxford Languages coup de main /ˌko͞o də ˈman/ noun: a military attack that relies on surprise, speed, and concentrated strength to attain its objectives. Introduction There are brands that many consider the very foundation of the high end industry. In my opinion, REL is one of those brands. They have a long and impressive... Read More »

Nickel Creek formed in 1989, at a point when all three members were under the age of thirteen. They actually went by the moniker "The Nickel Creek Band" for a few years before eventually deciding to drop "The Band" to present themselves with a more modern and concise identity. Consisting of mandolin player and vocalist... Read More »

Soon after I received the Soundkaos VOX 3f speakers for review, I was given the opportunity to listen to a very interesting amplifier along with these terrific speakers. Mr. Soo In Chae of Bakoon International Corp. asked me if I would like to listen to the Bakoon AMP-13R integrated amplifier (Gary Lea also has reviewed... Read More »

My appreciation for ribbons goes back to my earliest days with high end audio. As a university student, I rode public transportation across the city with my CD wallet in hand to visit fine audio shops on the west side in order to listen to Magnepans and Apogees. Their incredibly spacious and transparent sound left... Read More »

Lanchbery-Herold, La Fille Mal Gardée, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, conducted by John Lanchberry. HDTT 1962 2017 (Pure DSD256) HERE These excerpts from John Lanchbery's 1960 adaptation of Ferdinand Hérold's 1828 score have been a guilty pleasure of mine since I first heard them on the original Decca SXL 2313 LP in... Read More »

The consistent excellence of Channel Classics' recordings has rapidly made this label our "go to" resource for modern recordings of both long-standing classical musical favorites and new areas for exploration. Jared Sacks, founder and chief recording engineer, is a recognized master of his craft and deservedly so. His recordings are transparent jewels that have become... Read More »

In my article about the Audio Note (UK) Oto Phono SE Signature Integrated Amplifier for Positive Feedback (Issue 108 HERE) I discussed how impressed I was with the Oto's performance powering my vintage Duelund-Altec Project "Stokowski" loudspeakers (Issue 105 HERE). The Oto and Altec-Duelund combination really wowed me with its superb musicality and sonic performance,... Read More »

We review products across a relatively narrow band, a niche, if you will. And our niche is dichotomous, generally, in that it supposes that great transparency and superb musicality can coexist in the same piece of audio equipment—headgear. Our research has revealed that we are, indeed, in a quite narrow niche, as manufacturers, to date,... Read More »

Wouldn't it be nice if we could all agree what neutrality means? Webster's definition may be clear, but in the dialect of HiFi, we don't get off so easy. Is it a binary—either present or not—or a sliding scale with degrees of the quality? And consider that it is a loaded term carrying a positive... Read More »

Readers might remember my review of the McGary Audio SA1 in 2018 (HERE). It was a wonderful amp and highly recommended. It made the PF Writer's Awards list and that is not something that is easy to do. Well Mike McGary is at it again with the new SA2 Stereo Amplifier and what a follow... Read More »

Bob Witrak's High Definition Tape Transfers (HDTT) is a treasure house for DXD and DSD256 downloads of some of the best recordings from the golden age of analog stereo recording. Perusing the HDTT catalog is like traveling back in time to my favorite record store to wander through shelves of wonderful recordings from Decca, RCA,... Read More »