Everything you want to know about behind-the-scenes of the recording process of Blue Train album and which of the digital reissues of this jazz masterpiece are the best. On September 15th 1957, John Coltrane walked into Rudy Van Gelder's studio in Hackensack and recorded a masterpiece album: Blue Train. It was the only album by... Read More »
Way back in the 50s a phenomenon known as the folk sampler LP existed. The company best known for making folk sampler LPs was Elektra. Other companies, like Vanguard and Prestige, culled their catalogs to create folk music samplers, but their results were sonically mediocre and musically bland. The competition simply couldn't match the musical... Read More »
This article by Francisco Duran and Ed Morawski originally ran in Issue 8, August/September 2003, so while we call this section "New Old Stock - Articles from Our Days in Print" you are also going to see some articles from our early days of going online. The Sophia Baby is a cute little (7 x... Read More »
Let's talk about new releases from High Definition Tape Transfers (HDTT)—they've been on a roll with great reissues of vintage recordings these last few months. Starting with a classic album from Miles Davis, then two iconic John Coltrane albums, moving along to Getz, Brubeck, Anita O'Day, Jimmy Rushing, and Sonny Stitt. And then to reissues... Read More »
Like many, I am a huge Little Feat fan. Despite all of the passion, I have been very patient. It's been quite some time since the last release of significant quality, but there have been several Little Feat audiophile LP reissues over the years. This is a band that still has a considerable following and... Read More »
SPEC Corporation is a Japanese company founded in 2010 by Mr. Shuzou Ishimi and Mr. Shirokazu Yazaki, the former chief engineer of TEAC and Pioneer and International Rectifier respectively, in order to achieve one goal: to provide tube sound from transistor amplifiers. The RSA-BW7 EX amplifier is its latest and most affordable amplifier. It works... Read More »
"Life is a magical mystery; Bert has no part in any of that…" - Bert van der Wolf Producer, recording and mastering engineer Bert van der Wolf, owner of Northstar Recording Services, has been making among the best engineered classical recordings one will find. I've written before about his recordings (see list of articles here) and... Read More »
Mobile Fidelity set off quite a fire storm a year ago when it suddenly became public knowledge that they'd been using a DSD step in many of their LP reissues—which were touted by the label as being all-analog throughout the remastering chain. MFSL LPs were prized by audiophiles, collectors, and music lovers alike, and were... Read More »
Faro, Portugal 21 June, 2023 Fresh from a show in the UK, the Innuos PULSAR will be heard this weekend at the second Pacific Audio Fest alongside the flagship Innuos STATEMENT with Next-Gen PSU, and PhoenixNET Audiophile Network Switch. Held at the DoubletreeHilton Sea-Tac hotel in Washington state from 23 - 25 June 2023, Pacific... Read More »
June 20, 2023 – Succasunna, New Jersey. Following the enormous success of the Starkrimson® Mono amplifier, Orchard Audio is introducing the Starkrimson Duo/Trio amplifier. The Duo (dual mono) configuration is a stereo amplifier. The Trio (triple mono) configuration is perfect for driving the front three channels in a home theater, as well as for 2.1... Read More »
A powerful and moving album tells the story of a romance between a human and alien, weaving synthesizers, acoustic instruments and vocals into a lush soundscape in extraordinary Pure DSD sound Boulder, Colorado, June 21, 2023 – Octave Records artist Thom LaFond’s latest album, Lawless, tells a remarkable tale: a wildly imaginative story about a romance between a human and... Read More »
HOLBROOK, New York, June 20, 2023 — At Pacific Audio Fest 2023 Nola Speakers will feature the West Coast debut of its Baby Grand Reference Gold Series 3 loudspeaker. The full-range floorstanding speaker offers a number of upgrades from the previous model to deliver an extraordinary quality of musical realism, including a new isolation system that provides... Read More »
Ye Olde Editor on the Via Dolorosa, Jerusalem, Israel, 2022 (photograph by John Robinson) Friendships are the only unregulated relationships. There are legal requirements for marriages, the having of children, and the treatment thereof. Business relationships and financial institutions are subject to laws, claims, suits, and the legal system of this country. Relationships with the... Read More »
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL, June 15, 2023 — Wireworld Cable Technology, one of the world's most respected brands of high-performance audio and video cables, announces the release of their Stratus™ and Electra™ Shielded Mini Power Conditioning Cords. These cords feature a new conductor geometry that provides shielding and isolation from external interference. They’re called ‘Power Conditioning... Read More »
Ann and I just finished listening to the Reiner/CSO performance of Scheherazade (RCA Living Stereo, 1960) and we were entranced once again by just how great a performance this is. Since our transition to digital-only listening, I have missed being able to listen to this performance in really superior sound quality. Our standard from our... Read More »
[Seattle, June 15, 2023] – As a pioneer in high-end audio for over a decade, Klaudio will debut its latest masterpiece at Pacific Audio Fest next week. Attendees will have the exclusive opportunity to witness the future of turntables firsthand, as Klaudio showcases the extraordinary capabilities of Magnezar from June 23rd to 25th, at Cascade... Read More »
Faro, Portugal 14 June, 2023 Innuos PULSAR is the top-tier network music player of the PULSE series and will be heard in the UK for the first time alongside its sibling player, PULSE, from 17 - 18 June 2023. The NorthWest HiFi Show is celebrating its eighth edition at the fabulous De Vere Estate, Cranage... Read More »
First Launch at the Pacific Audio Fest in Seattle on 23 June 2023 A new tape machine to playback the wonderful one-off duplicate masters from many companies e.g., Genesis Loudspeaker’s collection from Bernie Grundman. An innovative development to handle priceless master tapes and faithfully reproduce the musical event. Analog Audio Design Was founded 5... Read More »
Woodinville, WA – Genesis Advanced Technologies is proud to announce the chance of a lifetime for music lovers and audiophiles to experience firsthand, the life-changing sound of the Genesis® flagship loudspeaker system, the new Genesis Prime+ at the Pacific Audio Fest, June 23 - 25 in the DoubleTree Hilton Airport, SeaTac, WA. We will be... Read More »
First Launch at the Pacific Audio Fest in Seattle on 23 June 2023 A new tape machine to playback the wonderful one-off duplicate masters from many companies e.g., Genesis Loudspeaker’s collection from Bernie Grundman. An innovative development to handle priceless master tapes and faithfully reproduce the musical event. Analog Audio Design Was founded 5 years... Read More »
The 2nd year of the Pacific Audio Fest is set for the weekend of June 23-25 2023 at the Doubletree Hilton Sea-Tac Hotel in Seattle, WA. PAF is perfectly located next to the Sea-Tac Airport and Light Rail linking you to downtown Seattle. What’s new at Pacific Audio Fest 2023: The Record Row: This year PAF has... Read More »
I love audio shows, but I didn't always love them, so before I talk about this particular show I'd like to share a little bit of my personal history with audio shows. Back in the early 80s I had a friend named Victor Fonseca, and like most men named Victor, he went by the name... Read More »
Elegia | Black $399.00 - Sale $319.00 Bathys Noise Cancellation Headphones $799.00 - Sale $639.00 Press images - https://bit.ly/Bathys Celestee $999.00 - Sale $799.00 Clear MG $1,499.00 – Sale $1,199.00 Stellia $2,999.00 - Sale $2,399.00 Utopia Headphones 2022 $4,999.00 – Sale $3,999.00 Press images - https://bit.ly/2022Utopia Listen Pro $299.00 – Sale $239.00 Clear MG Professional $1,499.00 –... Read More »
I continue to be delighted by the amazing titles coming out of Sam Records. If you have not heard the backstory by now, let me provide some additional insight. Sam Records is an independent one man operation founded in 2011 by Fred Thomas and located in Paris, France. His love and commitment to jazz and... Read More »
Sometimes happiness arrives in simplest of forms, and this obscure LP by George Dewitt (1922 - 1979) is a perfect example. In today's world George Dewitt is unknown, but in the 1950s he was quite visible on TV as a game show host. He was also a singer. The game show was Name That Tune,... Read More »
Shore Fire Media has just announced the first two titles from a new LP reissue program, the Rhino High Fidelity Premium Vinyl Series. Rhino High Fidelity's planned release schedule will be quarterly throughout the year; the inaugural release features two outstanding titles, the eponymous debut album from The Cars, The Cars (1978, Elektra Records), and... Read More »
Last year I had the opportunity to visit with a friend and listen to their system that included the $329,000 Wilson Chronosonic XVX Loudspeakers. Their system is certainly one version of "state-of-the-art" and one of the very best systems I've ever heard. Over the years I've heard many other very expensive, high quality systems that... Read More »
When it comes to audiophile quality reissues, there seems to be a myriad of options these days. My apologies up front, as I am sure that I will miss mentioning a few. We have the exquisite one step releases from Analogue Productions, Mofi , IMPEX, and Craft—many with 45 RPM pressings and with the most... Read More »
Kryna Inc. was established on 21st May 1980 in the city of Machida-shi, which is part of Tokyo Metropolis. Its CEO is Mr. Ryoka Ina who employs only five people. The company offers both cables and vibration reducing products. We are testing an untypical product, the Helca 1 and Helca 2, RFI/EMI and vibration filters,... Read More »
Symmetria Pario: Creation, Pekka Kuusisto, violin, Joonas Ahonen, piano. Yarlung Records 2023 (Pure DSD256, Stereo, MCh) HERE When you take contemporary compositions from nine different composers (six of which were commissioned for your recital), and you add the brilliant artistry of Pekka Kuusisto and Joonas Ahonen, and you record it in a world class, acoustically magnificent... Read More »
Everything you want to know about the recording of Blue Train's behind-the-scenes and which of the digital reissues of this jazz masterpiece are the best. On September 15th 1957, John Coltrane walked into Rudy Van Gelder's studio in Hackensack and recorded a masterpiece album: Blue Train. It was the only album by a saxophone leader... Read More »
The Audio Engineering Society has been giving two conventions a year for decades, with an annual show that has traditionally moved between the east coast and west coast of the US in the fall, and a European show in the spring. While the American AES conventions are split about evenly between begin academic conventions and... Read More »
E-in-C Robinson enjoying cigars rooftop-style near the Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret). Tiberias, Israel, 2022. (Photograph by John Robinson; image processing by the elder Robinson.) As I have been doing for many years now at audio shows, my response to the good stuff is to issue my Positive Feedback Audio Oasis! Awards. What are they?... Read More »
Norman Varney of AV RoomService Ltd. has joined Positive Feedback as a Senior Technical Editor as of Issue 113. His expertise in his field of audio acoustics and experience in the field makes him a helpful voice in our creative community for the audio arts. As has been our wont from the beginning of PF,... Read More »
Roger Skoff writes about dealing with something that affects us all There's no denying that inflation is real. When Eater magazine recently described a $23 Brooklyn hamburger as "controversial" and the thing they said was controversial about it was not its price but the mustard, catsup, and maple syrup sauce used on it (HERE), it... Read More »
This is an ongoing project by Claude Lemaire of Soundevaluations 216. Blondie, "Heart of Glass"/ "Heart of Glass (instrumental)." Chrysalis – CDS-2275 (1978), 12", 33 1/3 rpm. Genre: disco, electro disco, new wave, pop rock. The five-member band fronted by singer Debbie Harry hailed from New York City. Along with Ramones, Television, and Talking Heads, they took part... Read More »
