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While sitting in the Synergistic Research room at Axpona 2018 this year, what I observed proved to be quite insightful but it also just verified what I have seen and heard so many times before. Ted Denney (Synergistic Research CEO and Chief Designer) had the audience's focused attention as the session began. Sitting off to... Read More »

When this review offer came from Norman Varney's company, AV RoomService, Ltd., I knew Norman from the Facebook experience, and I knew that he worked with custom audio installations that appeared to me to be fairly high-end. He seemed to me to be a really nice, knowledgeable guy, and I enjoyed seeing photos of some... Read More »

Paavo Järvi conducts Bruckner's Ninth. BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 9 in D minor. Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra/Paavo Järvi. RCA Red Seal 88697542572.  TT: 65.39 The notion of Bruckner's music as thick and heavy persists in some circles, but the earliest recorded evidence from the composer's prominent exponents—think Furtwängler, Klemperer, Horenstein —belies the stereotype. Those conductors projected the music in... Read More »

As I just retired and find myself back full time to the second love of my life (the first being my beautiful wife of 30 years, Paula of course) and that is a lot of dedicated listening and reviewing. Upon throwing my hat back in the ring, almost immediately I was offered a chance to... Read More »

What is the difference between a collector and someone who just gathers some items? Mieczysław Stoch, the hero of the interview you can also read in this issue of High Fidelity says that collecting is gathering with sense and purpose (HF | No. 171). And what is listening to music from files and how does... Read More »

I was checking my email recently when I noticed a breathless announcement from Best Buy that “AUDIOFEST IS HERE,” with “Incredible Savings on Amazing Sound.”

Now that the 2018 classical concert season has drawn to a close, I'd like to share a few of my most contentious observations: 1) the best European orchestras maintain an edge over those from the New World; 2) there are some surpassingly fine ensembles among the next-gen of string quartets; and 3) something must be... Read More »

One of the fun aspects of reviewing gear from small start-up companies is getting to know the owner/proprietor, who is also usually the designer and builder of the piece of gear I’m reviewing. Such is the case with Mike McGary, something of a new kid on the block in the world of vacuum tube amplifier design.

US $16,995.00. There, I’ve said it, in bold. That’s nearly seventeen thousand dollars for a phono cartridge. I still remember the first turntable I bought back in 1981, it was a Luxman PD-284 which cost me $150 dollars.

Marc Phillips has been doing music reviews for Positive Feedback for quite a while now. In the interest of full disclosure, he is also a distributor (Colleen Cardas Imports), and has a separate life selling fine audio gear. You'll want to keep this in mind as you read his comments...but his evaluation dovetails exactly with my... Read More »

Luxman Corporation of Japan celebrated its 90th anniversary in 2015. In late 2017 into early 2018, the high-end audio manufacturer introduced several new models to its already extensive lineup of preamplifiers, amplifiers, integrated amplifiers, source components, and cables, and established its own distribution in the United States. One of the introductions was the L-507uXII integrated amplifier,... Read More »

Cartridges and jazz musicians share at least one thing in common. Ask five artists to play a song and each performer will give a slightly different interpretation. A little more swing. A little behind the beat. A little slower or faster tempo. Improvising differently. Cartridges (and for that matter arms and tables) are no different... Read More »

Friday Night In San Francisco  - John McLaughlin, Al Di Meola, and Paco De Lucia Back Story Impex Records has now reissued Friday Night In San Francisco on 180 Gram Numbered Limited Edition vinyl. Only 3000 copies will be made available for sale. Remastered by Bernie Grundman and Bob Donnelly from the original master tapes,... Read More »

Vivaldi, Sonatas for Cello and Basso Continuo,  Jean-Guihen Queyras, cello. Harmonia Mundi. It has been quite a while since we've had recordings of this seldom heard, truly engaging music. Christophe Coin did it well in 1989 for L'oiseau Lyre, Susan Sheppard did it fine that same year with L'école d'Orphee for CRD; and then there... Read More »

All right, so I am a digital file playback guy and I admit it. My confession. I apologize and please forgive me for my regressions in audio… digital as opposed to analog. Oh screw that... digital is right fine, just different. For sure we buy as many LPs as we can, but truth is we... Read More »

"Laid Back is a masterpiece! Gregg's greatest solo album and I'd be shocked by anyone disagreeing with that!" - Alan Paul, author of One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band. "Laid Back is probably the finest record Capricorn released in the post-Duane Allman era." - Scott Freeman, author of Midnight Rider:... Read More »

A Distinguished Legacy My use of, and admiration for, the expansive range of audio products from British manufacturer Musical Fidelity (recently purchased by none other than Heinz Lichtenegger, the director of Pro-Ject Audio Systems and a close friend of retiring Musical Fidelity head Antony Michaelson) dates back almost 20 years. In the late 1990s I... Read More »

Audio companies usually showcase their best, and also the most expensive products. These present company's full potential, its best techniques and technologies, and can also appear as sort of "totem" driven into the ground occupied by tribes worshiping high quality sound. It is no different with the Japanese brand 聖 Hijiri, belonging to the Combak... Read More »

Carrie Ellyn Fisher, January 19, 1959 - August 4, 2018. Carrie Ellyn Skokut Fisher of Reston, VA, born on January 19, 1959 in Garfield Heights, Ohio, to the late Margaret Skokut and the late Miller Skokut, passed away at age 59 on August 4, 2018 in Reston, Virginia. Carrie graduated from Independence High School in... Read More »