What if I told you there is a two box phono preamp with one box being the outboard power supply and the other box contains the dual mono balanced phono circuit, and that it has inputs for four separate cartridges (two moving magnet and two moving coil), complete loading adjustments for all four phono inputs... Read More »
I have become quite familiar with Meze Audio, born in the city of Baia Mare at Romania's northwestern border. Their flagship headphone, the Empyrean, was selected as an AudioKey Reviews Best Product of the Year for 2020, and its In-Ear-Monitor (IEM), the Rai Penta, is an AudioKey Reviews' favorite. And not just because of the... Read More »
What's new in audio? Not much in the past 40 years or so. When was the last technological shake-up in audio? Compact Disc, maybe? From there, digital technology has spawned endless formats of claimed resolving power that is rarely capitalized on. What I have had a hankering for is not another format war, rather, HARD... Read More »
Sacred Trance Music from Taos Mountain, Habib Chishti, Michael Rosell, Salman Hanuman Lee, Shawnina Good Road Woman. Yarlung Records. (DSD256) (HERE) Go to your quiet place, turn out the lights, transport to the original recording session with these musicians. The sound quality is that good—immersive, translucent, and transcending. And the musical performances are that subtle,... Read More »
Craft Recordings continues their 50th anniversary celebration of the founding of Creedence Clearwater Revival with this new LP reissue of their seminal album, Cosmo's Factory. Starting in July 1970, Cosmo's Factory quickly rose to the top of the US Billboard album charts and was propelled to quadruple platinum status in the US alone on the... Read More »
The Streaming Houses—Spotify, Apple, Amazon, Qobuz, Tidal, etc.—that provide access to, literally, millions of albums at home or On-The-Go (OTG), can be said to have birthed the "Glorious Age of Accessible Music (GAAM)." And the generation that is, arguably, best suited to take advantage of this is Generation Z (<20yrs)—the largest population segment at 25.9%,... Read More »
Enjoying everything the Gingko Swarm has to offer with many options available too! Review By Brett Rudolph With this article, Positive Feedback continues its content-sharing relationship with Enjoy the Music. Brett Rudolph shares his thoughts on the Gingko Audio Sextet Speaker System. Dr. David W. Robinson, Editor-in-Chief Over the years, I have had the opportunity to review several... Read More »
That so much transparency—detail, macro/micro-dynamics—and music lies within these small and, relatively, inexpensive IEMs is, no doubt, a wondrous discovery. For more years than I'd like to recall, I have chased after the audiophile "Maltese Falcon" (The Maltese Falcon, John Huston, Warner Brothers,1941) only to be left wanting for what a given piece of equipment—speaker,... Read More »
Roger Skoff writes about how systems really work, and why that can be a problem Roger Skoff (photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson) Many years ago, upon learning that my sister had no home music source other than her television set and a table radio, I decided to buy her a stereo system.... Read More »
Once again, our great friend and music lover, John Marks, Editor of The Tannhauser Gate, has favored us with his reflections...this time on the Moonriver Audio Model 404. As usual, John writes with great knowledge and discernment on the audio virtues of this integrated amplifier. Read, and learn! Dr. David W. Robinson, Ye Olde Editor... Read More »
From Heaven on Earth - Lute Music from Kremsmunster Abbey, Hubert Hoffmann. Challenge Classics | Northstar Recording (DXD) (HERE) A beautiful and sensitive recording of some exquisite compositions recently discovered in the library of the Benedictine Abbey of Kremsmünster in Upper Austria. Hubert Hoffman is clearly a master of the 11-string lute, as heard here... Read More »
Or what do the audiophiles sit on "First of all, audiophile doesn't listen to. He assesses." source: Bartek Chaciński, Wyż nisz, Kraków 2010 ⌋ Preparing the 3-part mini-series entitled. MICROTUNNING I focused on three elements of audio systems: 1 LOUDSPEAKERS, 2 ELECTRONCS and 3 CABLES. Already back then one of our Readers pointed out to... Read More »
This review of the Final Sonorous III represents, per my directive, bringing those products to light that continue to distinguish themselves brilliantly, despite a host of earlier, positive reviews. In this case, the Final Sonorous III made their debut in 2016, but I find that they are remarkably well suited to 2020! "Fun, fun, fun,... Read More »
It is an aardvark; it is a platypus. That was my first impression when I took the Soundkaos VOX 3f speakers out of their shipping crate. First, these are small speakers, but they are a 3-way, four driver design. The bandwidth is rated (-6dB) 35Hz-35kHz. There are 13cm Galm Audio woofer drivers on the side... Read More »
Positive Feedback is an American audio magazine. From 1990 to 2002 it had been printed, but then it started to be published online only; it is one of the oldest and largest online audio magazines in the world. We are talking to one of its founders, Dave Clark. Dave and Carol Clark in their listening... Read More »
The In-Ear-Monitor (IEM) company VISION EARS was founded by Marcel Schoenen, a former guitarist and singer for the band SUIDAKRA (folk-metal), and Amin Karimpour, a design and IEM enthusiast with an "exceptional love for detail1." The two met while working for a leading German IEM company. And it would be a shared vision—for quality, product... Read More »
2020 marks the 20th anniversary of the formation of progressive / hardcore / metalcore band Between the Buried and Me, and Craft Recordings continues to celebrate this watershed moment with remix / remasters of the band's entire catalog. Now up: BTBAM's third studio album, 2005's milestone release Alaska, which gives us the band featuring their... Read More »
Alex Rosson, as many may know, was one of the founders of the Audeze line of planar magnetic headphones, which instigated quite an audio revolution at the debut of its first and then successive models. Alex would, however, step down as CEO of Audeze to pursue other opportunities, before accepting a position with Shinola—a luxury... Read More »
Linear Tube Audio has a delicious solution for our headphone amplifier needs—the microZOTL MZ3. We love it! Let me tell you why it now has a well-deserved home in Ann's study. Prologue… I've written previously about our journey into headphone-only audio as the result of our retirement, downsizing, and move into apartment living. We found... Read More »