Einsam Keit. Schumann Lieder. Mathias Goerne, baritone, Markus Hinterhäuser, piano. Harmonia Mundi HMM 902243. Coming to Matthias Goerne without expectations, which I'll concede is almost impossible, we are struck by the unique combination of weight and lyricism in his voice. Paralleled by the same quality in the piano. The perfect baritone can do this but... Read More »
This article, by Victor Chavira, Larry Cox, and Dave Clark, originally ran when audioMUSINGS was in print - Issue 15, 2001 McIntosh Audio Labs is a classic American company. Since 1949, McIntosh has remained true to its design aesthetic: bullet proof build, black glass, chrome, and big blue meters. The MC352 is their 350 watt stereo power... Read More »
FIRENZE, Italy: Gold Note - the Italian High-End manufacturer based in Firenze – is introducing XT-7, the new full-range, 3 way speaker with anti-turbulence bass reflex and ribbon tweeter available in Black Glossy, White Glossy, Italian Walnut or Grey Maple. Gold Note Website: www.goldnote.it/xt-7 With a distinctive curved design based on a reinforced chassis in... Read More »
This article, by Dr. John Coletti, originally ran when Positive Feedback was in print - Vol. 8, No. 1, 1999. As a teaching exercise, the student of criticism might be assigned the task of comparing or contrasting the work of one author, artist, or composer to that of another. The object of the lesson encourages a... Read More »
This article, by Steve Lefkowicz, Larry Cox, Francisco Duran originally ran when audioMUSINGS was in print - Issue 15, 2001. I have a real problem with the pricing structure in "high end" audio. Though I tend to focus on affordable equipment, I have used, lived with, and evaluated many very expensive products over the years. I just... Read More »
This article, by Dave Clark, Larry Cox, Francisco Duran, and Lauren Stephens originally ran when audioMUSINGS was in print - Issue 10, 2000. The MSB Link DAC II 24/96 comes into our home at a very interesting time. As the audio world begins to move to a more refined digital format (24/96, DVD-A, and SACD, none... Read More »
This article, by Bruce Kinch, originally ran when Positive Feedback was in print - Vol. 6, No. 5, 1997. An Introduction The name at the head of this article is probably unfamiliar, as this is my first contribution to Positive Feedback, so perhaps I should include a few words about myself. I started patching together audio... Read More »
This article, by Dave Clark, Victor Chavira, Francisco Duran, and Sherman Hong, originally ran when audioMUSINGS was in print - Issue 1, 1998. At the Hi-Fi 97 Show in San Francisco, Vince Garino and Joe Reynolds of Nordost were most gracious in giving Carol and me a semi-private demonstration of the cable line. The demonstration involved... Read More »
This article, by Doug Blackburn, originally ran when Positive Feedback was in print - Vol. 6, No. 4, 1997. There is so much stuff going on here lately I'm beginning to think I could write a 1-man magazine. But that might not be as interesting as PF's Assembly of the Diverse so I'll compress my thoughts... Read More »
This article, by Francisco Duran, Dave Clark, Larry Cox, and Victor Chavira, originally ran when audioMUSINGS was in print - Issue 9, 1999. Back in Issue 6, I had Clayton's S40 stereo amp in my system for review, when I had a somewhat different setup than I do now. I was using a Classe CP-60 preamp... Read More »
This article, by Dave Clark, Larry Cox, Francisco Duran, and Roger McNichols, originally ran when audioMUSINGS was in print - Issue 4, 1998. Let's see, a 50-watt integrated amplifier for $3600 (okay, $3595). I'd be the first to agree that this seems like a lot of money, but in all reality (audiophile "reality," that is) this... Read More »
This article, by David W. Robinson, originally ran when Positive Feedback was in print - Vol. 7, No. 5, 1998. Background to a review If you do high-end audio reviewing long enough, you get to hear a lot of equipment. Some of the names come and go...I'd tell you which ones, but I don't remember them!...... Read More »
This article, by Carol Clark, Victor Chavira, Larry Cox, and Larry Fisher, originally ran when audioMusings was in print - Issue 9, 1999. When was the last time music inspired you to dance? No, I don't mean the obligatory dancing you do at say, a wedding—I'm talking about the pure, unadulterated dancing that you do... Read More »
This article, by Carol Clark, Dave Clark, Larry Cox, and Francisco Duran, originally ran when audioMUSINGS was in print - Issue 3, 1998. Tubes, tubes, tubes. I'm not used to tube amps and preamps. I guess I always thought that I wouldn't like them. This goes back to an experience I had several years ago, when... Read More »
This article, by Dave Clark, Victor Chavira, Larry Cox, and Francisco Duran, originally ran when audioMUSINGS was in print - Issue 6, 1998. Some things in life are inevitable. Death and taxes are the obvious ones, but I would add one more—the perfection of low-powered amplifiers, in this case an eleven-watt tube amp that uses two KT-88s... Read More »
Nothing beats the convenience of digital music. For many years, I have stored and played back digital music (before the MP3) because of how easy it was. I loved having a huge collection of music just to play at the tip of my fingertips. Not only that, but it caused a surge of new music... Read More »
Same Room Records SSR030, double LP $25, double CD $20, download $15—robertsarazinblake.bandcamp.com Recitative is one of those albums you release after you've had your big breakthrough, after you've hit it big and now sales are guaranteed because everyone's watching to see what you'll do next. This is the album where you get the big budget,... Read More »
Bushmen of the Kalahari When We Were Free: Bushman Music of the Kalahari Rhythm is the prominent element of the music on these CDs: claps, rattles, single-stringed instruments with mouth or can as a resonator, thumb pianos. This is sad, passionate music. Some of it sounds like a collective expression of misery set to hypnotic, repetitive... Read More »
Audio shows! Local, regional, national, international. I've been covering shows and have had the privilege of producing show reports for various outlets for over 25 years. I attended them as a consumer for over 15 more before that. When you've walked the halls of as many as I have, it might be understandable that it... Read More »
Jim Merod was in NYC recently, helping to MC a special Jazz event at The Lincoln Center. While there, he took the time to visit with Bill Parish of GTT Audio, at his listening rooms in NJ. Bill took the time to get Jim's take on the listening experience in Bill's big reference room, one... Read More »
Sonneteer may not be a familiar company to many of my American compatriots, but they've been in business since 1994 and have a line of audio products receiving favorable reviews worldwide. There's something quintessentially British about the Sonneteer name, so when Arcadia Audio Marketing, Sonneteer's U.S. distributor, asked if I would like to review Sonneteer's... Read More »
Roger Skoff writes about how our eyes, ears, and wallets may all be tied together The traffic on Pacific Coast Highway ("PCH") in Newport Beach, California is slow and awful, jammed most of the time with tourists, beach bums and bunnies, locals doing whatever they do, and others, from Orange County and elsewhere, on their... Read More »
ROSEMONT, IL (May 2, 2017) - AXPONA (Audio Expo North America) welcomed 6,723 attendees and 400 exhibitors to the Westin O'Hare in Rosemont, IL, April 21-23, 2017, offering music lovers, audiophiles, and seasoned audio enthusiasts three jam-packed days of incredible sound, technology, seminars, live music and the very latest products in the industry. Attendance was up 13% over 2016 with... Read More »
SUITE 533 AT THE LOS ANGELES AUDIO SHOW! In 1984, Steve Jobs introduced the Mac I with the bold claim of "computers for the rest of us." Contained in that statement was the recognition that not all PC buyers were "computer nerds" or aspiring programmers. AND that many people could benefit from and enjoy what... Read More »
This article, by Harvey Rosenberg, originally ran when Positive Feedback was in print - Vol. 7, No. 6, 1998. During my short tenure as PF's Techno-Shaman of Coolosity I have suggested that you, while artifying your harmonic/space/time continuum in your expanded aural matrix, consider single-ended triode amplifiers with tube regulated power supplies, Nobu Shishido's Inverted Interstage... Read More »
A general rule, which I try to follow selecting audio products for my tests and when performing the test boils down to credibility. On the one hand, my own, ultimately, what I write will stay online "forever" and it attests in my favor or against me, and on the other hand it defines a company... Read More »
PIPKOV: Bulgarian Suite for Piano, Op. 2. HADJIEV: Melodic Etudes. VLADIGEROV: Bulgarian Songs and Dances, Op. 25. Victoria Terekiev, piano. Gega New GR 31. TT: 48.14 Downloads: amazon.com (mp3); getlinksoundcloud.com (mp3, 128 kbps) The album's title, Wind from the East, momentarily misled me: I was expecting music from rather further east, perhaps on the order of the... Read More »
As anyone who has followed my work for the past twenty years or so know, I am all about lower cost, high value audio. I love finding equipment that punches above is price class and attempts to give real, solid, quality sound with the potential for long term satisfaction. I feel I have been pretty... Read More »
LOS ANGELES — "Sorry, we're sold out," Marine Presson was overheard telling a caller. Although, from the look on the LA Audio Show Director's face, "sorrow" was not the first emotion that crossed her mind. Ms. Presson was, however, careful to point out to the disappointed caller that while exhibit rooms per se were no longer available there were still avenues... Read More »
Devices and Desires: The Best of the Best at AXPONA 2017 Without question, last weekend's AXPONA show (April 21-23) in Rosemont, Illinois ranks amongst the best sounding AXPONAs in recent memory. Not since the show's rebirth at the Doubletree by Hilton O'Hare in 2013 has the Chi-town cavalcade boasted such superb sound quality overall. Yes,... Read More »
This time Brahms. Our musical guide John Marks, of The Tannhauser Gate (http://www.thetannhausergate.com), leads us into a recent recording of four symphonies by Brahms. Andris Nelsons leads the Boston Symphony Orchestra in four of Brahms' compositions. John's reviews of worthy music is once again republished from TGG with pleasure here at Positive Feedback! The performances are brilliant, done... Read More »
LOS ANGELES - Saturday, June 3 is likely to be a "Red Letter" day for Southern Californians and others who are fans of contemporary piano music. That will be the day that Fiona Joy, unveils her new solo piano album, "Into the Mist." The official launch will be at the three-day Los Angeles Audio Show at the Sheraton Gateway... Read More »
"The speaker that changed my life?" said Jones. "Easy. The Quad ESL57. It's the first true Hi-Fi speaker I heard once I got to university. I have almost always owned a pair." No surprise, then, that the ESL57's creator, Peter Walker, continues to inspire Jones's own work. "I had many conversations with Peter," said Jones.... Read More »
"The XA2 is an affordable transition amplifier enabling the discriminating Music Lover to move to Class A Technology." - Nelson Pass Pass Labs has started shipping their new XA25 Class A Power Amplifier, the most affordable power amplifier in their current line. With 2 x 25W @ 8 ohms, 2 x 50/W at 4 ohms... Read More »
I have been enjoying quite a lot of audio adventures over the last year or so while doing audio projects where I experimented with various wire types, capacitors, inductors, and resistors in audio circuits. As a result, my knowledge, skills, and confidence related to developing, modifying, and optimizing audio circuits have been progressing to where... Read More »
The Critical Mass Systems QXK Mk. III Rack in Four-Shelf Configuration, photograph courtesy of Critical Mass Systems. The latest chapter in a story… Some designs and products that I review are from new companies. This is a very good thing; it shows that the world of fine audio remains vibrant, creative, and open to innovation.... Read More »
Daedalus Audio at AXPONA 2017!
