November - December 2023 Archives - Positive Feedback

Plumbing the Depths of Subterranean Bass with Vera-Fi Audio's Vanguard Caldera 12 Subwoofers

Tom Gibbs — Thu, 21 Nov 2024 16:23:12 +0000

Early this year, I flim-flammed Vera-Fi Audio main man Mark Schifter into sending me one of his new Vanguard Caldera 10 subwoofers. I was desperately in need of ultra-low bass following the untimely demise of my beloved REL T9, which had been a true and faithful servant for a dozen years. I honestly had no... Read More »

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AES 2023 New York Convention

Scott Dorsey — Wed, 27 Dec 2023 18:41:07 +0000

The Audio Engineering Society has a big event every year that alternates between the east and west coasts of the US. What makes it interesting is that it's both a big trade show upstairs and an academic conference with papers downstairs. This makes it much more interesting than most audio events because it brings in... Read More »

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"Christmas Jazz Vespers" Jazz-Quintet Track "What Child Is This?" Recorded by John Marks: Free Download!

John Marks — Sat, 23 Dec 2023 23:59:38 +0000

EXCLUSIVE! FREE HI-RES DOWNLOAD! 24-bit/88.2kHz Christmas Jazz Vespers jazz-quintet track "What Child Is This?" recorded location-live by John Marks. From the Editor: Our good friend John Marks got in touch about a "Christmas Jazz Vespers" concert he had recently recorded location-live in the spacious Third Meeting House (1775) of the First Baptist Church in America (gathered... Read More »

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The Simaudio Moon 810LP Phono Preamplifier - A Flagship Offering that Checks all the Boxes and More

Robert S. Youman — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 19:24:15 +0000

As I continue to re-evaluate my system, I have been auditioning various standalone tube phono preamplifiers. I am a big fan of utilizing tubes in the front end of my system when paired with solid-state preamplifiers and/or amplifiers. The unwritten rule claimed by many audiophiles is that there must be tubes somewhere in the system... Read More »

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Audio by Van Alstine M750 Mono Amplifiers

Larry Cox — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 21:18:18 +0000

Audio by Van Alstine ("AVA") is a familiar name to long toothed audiophiles, but maybe not so much for newer audiophiles. Fifty plus years ago Frank Van Alstine founded AVA, building a reputation for good sounding, high value products. AVA started selling direct to consumers when that was called "mail order." I thought to describe... Read More »

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Notes on Recent Finds, No. 16 - More Treasures from HDTT

Rushton Paul — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 20:53:33 +0000

High Definition Tape Transfers (HDTT) has been very busy these past few months with some excellent new releases of some of the best recordings from both classical music and jazz. I previously shared my thoughts about their DSD256/DXD reissue of Reiner's performance of Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kije and Stravinsky's Song of the Nightingale (reviewed HERE) which I... Read More »

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Impressions: A Collection of Notes on the Furutech Lineflux XLR NCF, V-1 Power Cable, and Pure Power 6 NCF

David W. Robinson — Sat, 16 Dec 2023 01:06:13 +0000

David W. Robinson in Jerusalem, 2022 (portrait by John Robinson; image processing by Ye Olde Editor himself) The Furutech Lineflux XLR NCF The Furutech Lineflux NCF XLR interconnect (image courtesy of Furutech) Furutech. A front-rank, top o' the heap high-end audio headquartered in Japan. I've followed their products for many years now, and for very... Read More »

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All Day Thumb Sucker

Robert Pincus — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 16:14:10 +0000

This isn't the first time that I've expressed my love for sampler LPs, and it probably won't be the last. Some of them sound awful, but the ones that sound great are a pleasure to own. One of the main reasons I love samplers is because they provide me the opportunity to hear songs and... Read More »

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Enhance Your Holiday Celebrations with Evocative Christmas LPs from Craft Recordings

Tom Gibbs — Tue, 12 Dec 2023 22:05:42 +0000

Welcome to Ho, Ho, Ho, mistletoe, and all that jazz once again! Craft Recordings brings us another selection of Christmas albums this year, and they're certain to brighten any holiday celebration. Included among Craft's offerings is an expanded reissue version of the classic A Charlie Brown Christmas, available as Super Deluxe Edition CD/BluRay sets and... Read More »

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The 2023 30th Anniversary Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society: A Photo Essay

David W. Robinson — Tue, 12 Dec 2023 21:35:47 +0000

Ye Olde Editor presenting the first LAOC AS MUSE Award to Abey Fonn…in ink outline, no less! (Photograph by unknown; image processing by yours truly) The weekend of December 2-3, 2023, saw the Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society (LAOC AS) hold its 30th Anniversary Gala celebration. Following is a collection of photographs that... Read More »

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Origin Live's Vinyl Accessories - Mat, Weight, and More.

Bruce Kinch — Sun, 10 Dec 2023 17:42:02 +0000

About a year ago I put together a selection of analog tweaks under $50 (HERE)—a mix of DIY, off-label use of non-audio thingamajigs, and commercial offerings. Among the latter was Origin Live's cool little Cartridge Enabler. I described it as a gateway drug for the firm's spindle weight and platter mat (which uses the same... Read More »

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LAST Factory Products Will Brighten Any Vinyl-Head's Holiday

Nan Pincus — Sun, 10 Dec 2023 17:06:35 +0000

As we approach the holiday season, our impulse is often to get new, get more, get everything. New releases and reissues fill our notes app as we shop for records for the fellow audiophiles in our life, perhaps occasionally picking up an album or two for our personal collection. The process of collecting is a... Read More »

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Affordable Magic - the SOTA Pyxi Phono Stage

Michael Laurance — Thu, 07 Dec 2023 17:06:07 +0000

Recently, I was reading about a leading industry engineer who strived for components that were "one-noters." What they meant by that phrase was simple: a piece of audio gear should create an impact in your listening environment from the first note you hear through it. Tall order. It certainly gave me pause for thought. How... Read More »

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PS Audio BHK 600 Mono Amplifiers

Pete Davey — Wed, 06 Dec 2023 23:50:31 +0000

It's not often that I get the opportunity to review an amplifier that harkens back to the days of yore—big, heavy, power hungry. It's a fun exercise to cleanse ones palate, so to speak, of all of the Class D amps I've been using lately. There was a period of time where I didn't enjoy... Read More »

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The 20th Annual Positive Feedback Writers' Choice Awards for 2023

Editors at Positive Feedback — Wed, 06 Dec 2023 22:48:54 +0000

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 Award,... Read More »

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Mercury's March-April 1958 Spin Girl

Robert Pincus — Sun, 03 Dec 2023 18:13:27 +0000

There are many reasons to collect records, and the best and most common reason is for the music. However, if you also care about sound, and you own a high end audio system, the sound can be, as it is to me, just as important. You can also collect LPs like people collect stamps and... Read More »

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Khozmo Acoustic Passive Preamplifier

Steve Lefkowicz — Fri, 01 Dec 2023 17:10:26 +0000

Over the many years that I've been involved in high quality home audio, there's been no part of system that has given me more concern, and kept me from making a decision for what my system needs, than the preamp or linestage. Seems silly, as in theory at least, a preamp or linestage should be... Read More »

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Zesto Audio Leto Ultra II Preamplifier

Robert H. Levi — Fri, 01 Dec 2023 01:55:45 +0000

The Zesto Audio Leto Ultra II Preamplifier Now celebrating its 13th anniversary of producing award-winning all-tube designs for audiophiles, California's Zesto Audio has introduced its most advanced preamplifier to date. The Leto Ultra II Preamplifier is the amazing George Counnas's assault on the state of the art in all tube topology, and the third incarnation of the... Read More »

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Improve Your System's Sound With ADD-Powr's ElectraClear Eau4 Harmonic Resonators

Tom Gibbs — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 17:19:49 +0000

A little over four years ago, I reviewed tech guru Bill Stierhout's ADD-Powr Sorcer X2 Harmonic Resonator, which is manufactured in the USA by his company, Coherence Systems. The Sorcer line of harmonic resonators employ a novel approach to improve audiophile AC power conditioning by using an additive process versus the typical subtractive process of... Read More »

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Chandos Recording of Chamber Works by Robert Müller-Hartmann: 7th Album of the "Music in Exile" Series

Dean Waters — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 02:38:40 +0000

A portrait of Dean Waters at Pacific Audio Fest 2023 (photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson) In November of 2023 Chandos Records released their seventh album in their Music in Exile series. Each album in this series of recordings focuses on a different composer who was forced to flee their homeland to avoid... Read More »

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Is There a Best Hi-Fi System?

Roger Skoff — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 02:31:47 +0000

Roger Skoff tells it like it is, and why When I recently Googled the question, "What is the best HiFi system in the world," I found that American Songwriter magazine had published the following (HERE). Quick Summary of the Best Home Stereo Systems Denon D-M41 (Best Overall) Bose Wave SoundTouch Music System IV (Best Compact Home Stereo... Read More »

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The Furutech 1.2m Digiflux NCF 110 Ohm AES/EBU Digital Interconnect

Douglas Seth Brown — Mon, 27 Nov 2023 00:43:15 +0000

Sometimes reviewing high-end audio cables can feel like checking-in for an overbooked trans-Atlantic flight and being assigned the middle seat in economy class. Ohhh yeah… that torturous middle seat where you're stuffed in between the adjoining aisle seat and window seat. On your left, there'll assuredly be someone with scorching halitosis whom can't stop droning... Read More »

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Waters on the Hardware: the PS Audio PowerPlant 15

Dean Waters — Fri, 24 Nov 2023 17:34:05 +0000

Dean Waters at the Pacific Audio Fest 2023 (photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson) If you wanted to set out to build the most perfect power source solution for your system, you'd be hard pressed to do better than Paul & Scott McGowan and their team at PS Audio. They have created a... Read More »

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Audience frontRow powerChord

John Acton — Tue, 21 Nov 2023 16:59:50 +0000

As a reviewer, I'm accustomed to switching gear in and out of my system for evaluation purposes, but it's not often that I fundamentally change the overall configuration of components. Owing to this, I've been able to optimize the selection and placement of ancillaries to support my specific needs. Recently, however, I repositioned my rack,... Read More »

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Sexy Blue Tubes - The New Sophia Electric Aqua II 274B Rectifier!

Jeff Day — Fri, 17 Nov 2023 19:03:23 +0000

Greetings friends, I hope you are doing well! In August of 2019 the Shuguang Electron Tube Factory was shut down in preparation for a move to a new location. By March 2020 the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a worldwide pandemic, which would result in the shut down of most vacuum tube production still operating... Read More »

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