TVLogic is a Korean manufacturer of audio components and UHD (Ultra High Definition) TV monitors. It just so happens that its research department is behind creating one of the most interesting audio file transports, the W20. Milled from an aluminum billet and equipped with a SSD drive, ultraprecise Oven-Controlled Crystal Oscillator (OCXO), jitter reduction circuit... Read More »
By calling his turntable Little Super Deck (LSD), Arthur Khoubessarian (you can see him on the head picture made during the High End 2014 show in Munich) displayed a sense of humor. You can't deny him that, nor his talent and intuition. Looking at his first designs he presented under the Pink Triangle brand or... Read More »
When I returned to Warsaw, I got a phone call from Franciszek Walicki asking for some photographs of Czesław, because he had just hired him for the band Niebiesko-Czarni. I thought that they had all lost their minds and said that I didn't take pictures of bad singers. Walicki got seriously angry. He retorted: You'll see,... Read More »
AK240 Astell&Kern is a company that is advancing high fidelity playback and while introducing new and exciting—innovative products—for portable audio. Astell&Kern is the high-end division of Iriver. Iriver was founded in 1999 when seven former executives left Samsung with a vision. Located in Seoul, Korea, the company's first products were MP3 players that were sold... Read More »
QUESTION: "What cans do you like to listen to? What do you hear as differences between speakers and headphones in terms of how they present sound?" ANSWER: "Good question. For myself, I use an ALO modded Grado 225 and Senn 600 for some recording work but I find the midrange on the Senn is not... Read More »
"And you may ask yourself How do I work this? And you may ask yourself Where is that large automobile?" —"Once in Lifetime" by David Byrne, Brian Eno, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, and Tina Weymouth It took a really long time to get to review the Ayre QB-9DSD and even then they had to send... Read More »
Roger Skoff, for the first time ever, actually advocates blind testing! Any of you, who have followed my writings, either here or in other publications, should already have a pretty good idea of where I stand on the issues of measurement and double blind testing as related to High End audio. Even those of you... Read More »
Six months ago, we caught our first sight of Woo Audio's WA7tp prototype at CanJam 2013. It was unassumingly dressed in a faux WA7 enclosure, and plainly labeled as a "Prototype Tube Power Supply for WA7 Fireflies."
Crunch! That was the most prominent sound in my mind on my trip to The Home Entertainment Show in Newport Beach, California. The reverberating crunch of being solidly rear-ended at a stop light, late Thursday night, echoes throughout my sore muscles. The accident also punctuated what was to be a much-needed change of pace: less stress, more relaxation.
For several years now, Astrotec has been a name familiar to enthusiasts as a manufacturer of value-conscious, yet quality-engineered, balanced armature IEMs. This past year, they began shifting over to hybrid IEMs en masse.
Los Angeles: A seething darkness, grimey with discarded dreams of souls hiding behind its glittering, welcoming facade. The consummate actress, as much a chameleon as the talent it spins into the world on the silver screen.
Everyone has at one time or another fallen prey to a never say never moment. My most recent gaff? Never, even in my wildest dreams, did I ever expect to write a follow-up to "Paper or Plastic? Vinyl's Final Resting Place: The Next Installment" (http://positive-feedback.com/Issue38/lp_sleaves.htm). In fact, I would have bet the house that the... Read More »
For years, I've ripped CD's, or downloaded music from the Internet (legally, of course) and have always found it difficult that most people simply don't understand how to properly tag the metadata! Little things that matter; Disc numbering, album art, proper "various artists" tagging (don't even get me started on this one!) These things really... Read More »
The loudspeaker survey that I started a year ago culminates with the Gauder Akustik Berlina RC7. (Gauder Akustik formerly known as Isophon). These are rather interesting—and clearly different than the other loudspeakers I have written about in the survey—in that their 'tear-dropped' (or perhaps winged) shaped cabinet is composed of stacked 'layers' of ribs made... Read More »
This is unequivocally NOT a review; it is also the most difficult non-review I've ever written. This is an experience of the audio-kind; a transitory recounting of a few months with one of the unique products in audio; the Unison Research Unico Upower Booster Amplifier. I became interested in the Upower after reading about it... Read More »
We love our music at Audio360. Over the last two decades the mobile audio market heated up at an exponential rate thanks to companies such as Sony and Apple. Companies like these pioneered the industry.
"Listen as the wind blows from across the great divide voices trapped in yearning, memories trapped in time the night is my companion, and solitude my guide would I spend forever here and not be satisfied?" —"Possession", Sarah McLachlan This does look back a long time. After a conversation with Josh Heiner of Sonicweld about... Read More »
Read the complete review HERE "In the absence of visual cues, auditory cues have to be that much better." J. Gordon Holt After 10 weeks of consistent use of the Zesto Audio BIA 120 Class A Amplifier, I find its performance continues to be unmatched by most amplifiers, as I did in my original review. In one parameter,... Read More »
I first became aware of the audiophile forums about ten years ago; at the time, I was working on site at Delta Air Lines in their Corporate Communications department. As a contractor representing R.R. Donnelley, I was required to spend long days there, essentially at their total beck and call. Because of the seriously complicated... Read More »
The recent changes in music distribution have been nothing but revolutionary. Since the dawn of mechanical reproduction of sound we have always dealt with the physical media, first strip of paper, then a cylinder and a flat 78 rpm record, through vinyl Long Play, reel-to-reel and cassette tape, to the Compact Disc. Dozen other consumer... Read More »
Sony Jumps into High Resolution Audio, Launches the HAP-Z1ES Music Server Last September, Sony Electronics brought High Resolution Audio into their Audio Product Line with the announcement of several new products including a top-of-the-line Stereo Music Server, the HAP-Z1ES that retails for $1999.99. The HAP-Z1ES is designed as a turnkey music server that includes 1TB... Read More »
The Sophia Electric Family Sophia Electric is a family owned and operated enthusiast audio company located in Vienna, Virginia, that designs & builds premium vacuum tubes, vintage-inspired Hi-Fi amplifiers & preamplifiers, and low-powered amplification simpatico loudspeakers, all of which are intended titillate the fancy of high-performance audio devotees & music lovers. Sophia Electric also designs and builds various transformers, chokes, capacitors, and slow... Read More »
Remastered Edition Coming to Multichannel SACD and LP from Analogue Productions [With this article, PFO welcomes long-time SACD/DSD commentator and writer, Brian Moura, to the masthead. Brian is an experienced audiophile, and has been an enthusiastic supporter of DSD, SACD, multi-channel/surround recordings, and the higher resolution scene for a long time now. I've been impressed with the... Read More »
I upgraded to JRiver Media Center 19 about four months ago (thanks Jim), and while I haven't had the opportunity to check out its performance with Mac equipment, I still firmly believe that JRiver sets the gold standard for PC-based music playback. Media Center 19's performance is miles beyond their iterations from just a couple... Read More »
Positive Feedback readers with an analog attitude will likely have taken special note of Myles B. Astor's extensive evaluations of both the Audio Desk Systeme and the Klaudio ultrasonic record cleaning machines. While the two machines have significant differences in how the ultrasonic technology is utilized, they share both the basic "toaster" form factor, and—how'd you guess?—the same price. $4000. ... Read More »
Less is More or Less? Necessity is the mother of invention. Planning for a move from my current country mouse lifestyle in up-state New York, (i.e. old large Victorian high ceiling dedicated listening room), to the ultimate city mouse experience, (small Manhattan apartment with multi-purpose rooms), created a logistical and musical challenge that I... Read More »
Roger Skoff looks at whether saving money is always worth doing! "Breathes there a man with soul so dead, Who never to himself hath said" (from HERE) "They want HOW much? For that? No way! I could build one for myself a lot cheaper – maybe even better, too!" Do-it-yourself has been a part of HiFi as long as there's been... Read More »
For several years I've been living in the land of low watt tube SET amplifiers: 2A3, 45, 300B and 845 Triode amps have been in my personal collection. Lately, the arrival of a new pair of reference speakers finds me auditioning higher power amps. There is quite a difference between a gaggle of glass bottles... Read More »
Bay Audio is a small company based in Poway, CA, approximately twenty-five minutes from downtown San Diego. They are not your usual high end audio company churning out box speakers, and fancy components with lavish faceplates. No, they mine a far more interesting area that was relatively new to me when I was contacted with... Read More »
Chad Kassem's Super Hirez site has an excellent and growing collection of DSD downloads from major labels (Sony Music, Universal Music Group), as well as from smaller/indie labels (Analogue Productions, Reference Recordings, David Elias) at http://store.acousticsounds.com. Chad's helpful documentation about all aspects of DSD hardware and software is the best I've seen, and really helps the person who... Read More »
As an Indiana native and dyed-in-the-wool audio nut, I am proud to introduce a new product from Indiana speaker manufacturer Bamberg Audio. Located in Fishers (Indianapolis), Philip Bamberg quietly builds high-end loudspeakers. Mr. Bamberg has degrees in Mechanical and Electrical engineering and after having worked for several well-known audio companies, he set out to bring his no-nonsense,... Read More »
It is with the deepest regret and heaviest heart that we report the sudden and unexpected passing of our dear friend and colleague, Tony Weber. While Tony was part of MIT for just less than a year, he shared with us his love, knowledge, and understanding of music that goes unsurpassed the industry. His depth of... Read More »
"Well, what'll it be, Dean? The fabulous tube phono stage behind curtain number one? Curtain number two's amazing boutique basket of USB mini DACs? Or the box Carol Merrill is standing beside, which may or may not contain the fabulous audiophile headphone and headphone amp collection set?" "Tough choices, M. Hall, but thank goodness I've... Read More »
"Then you better start swimmin' Or you'll sink like a stone For the times they are a-changin'" —Bob Dylan, "The Times They Are A-changin'" Sometimes, less is more, and innovations come from unexpected places. One example is the KingRex UPower and uArt Y USB cable. Although the UPower is very small (about the size of... Read More »
It has been a long while since I wrote about a vibration isolation platform. In fact, I would have to go back to the days of the Vibraplane Model 2210 passive platform's arrival here at Clark Johnsen's strong recommendation to find the last time that I did this. And that takes it back to the... Read More »
Background You always remember your first love. In my case, at least audio-wise, that was with a pair of Magnepan 3.3's. I was struck by the way the sound filled the listening room—it sounded like the entire wall was radiating sound. Not just any sound, but crystal-clear sound. I still remember the way the highs... Read More »
Paraclete Recordings, a classical and sacred music record label based in Orleans, Massachusetts, has released 4 albums of chorale music in Multichannel and Stereo DSD Download format in partnership with NativeDSD.Com. Paraclete Recordings is part of Paraclete Press. They note that: Paraclete Recordings is committed to uncompromising quality and faithful interpretation in recorded sound. A... Read More »
