MQA showing the difference at RMAF 2016. Aurender had two rooms. The source was the Aurender A10 Server with MQA DAC, 4TB storage. Loudspeakers were Revel Salon 2, amplifier was Mark Levinson No534 2-channel, and cables by Audioquest. Audio Engine. Gavin Fish of Audio Engine having a moment with Carol. ListenUp also had a room... Read More »
Lines were long at registration on Friday for RMAF 2016, that's a good sign! Everyone seemed ready to enjoy the show! Even with all the distractions with the hotel's remodeling, this show went rather smoothly and many, many rooms were producing excellent sound. Much appreciation goes to Marjorie and her team for putting on another... Read More »
[Here's a hot flash update (if such things exist in the world of classical music!) from John Marks of The Tannhauser Gate (http://www.thetannhausergate.com). This is a fine new recording from the Parker Quartet, a young and refreshing ensemble. The samples that John provided are quite moving, showing both great verve and boldness, as well as a touching... Read More »
Here's a hot flash update (if such things exist in the world of classical music!) from John Marks of The Tannhauser Gate (http://www.thetannhausergate.com). This is a fine new recording from the Parker Quartet, a young and refreshing ensemble. The samples that John provided are quite moving, showing both great verve and boldness, as well as a touching... Read More »
So here I am again, returning to one of the touchstone companies for DSD and digital audio: Playback Designs. Am I surprised? Should anyone be surprised? Heck no. In fact, according to Andreas Koch, he and I first saw each other at the original DSD demonstration at Mobile Fidelity in Sebastopol, CA, back in September... Read More »
RMAF, the Denver-based audio show held on 7-9 October, marks the largest-ever public showcase of MQA-ready products, supported by hundreds of MQA albums available to download. In addition to demonstrations from MQA-enabled products already on the market, showgoers can also witness further MQA-ready unveilings, including the Bluesound launch of the world’s first MQA-ready soundbar. The... Read More »
Sonoma Acoustics LLC announced today at CanJam and the Rocky Mountain Audio Festival (RMAF), being held at the Denver Marriott Tech Center, October 7-9, 2016, that it would begin selling its Model One (M1) Headphone System initially in the US, UK and Japan. The price for the entire system, which includes headphones and USB DAC/Energizer, is... Read More »
SVS 16-Ultra subwoofers are the largest and most powerful in the company’s history and tout all new driver and amplifier platforms along with three radical innovations designed to establish the SB16-Ultra and PB16-Ultra as the new reference standard for bass. Rocky Mountain Audio Fest – Room 8004 – SVS, manufacturer of high performance speakers,... Read More »
What a long, strange trip it's been. I've wanted to start an on-going, diary-like series for too long now. I'll be the first one to say that Transcendence For The Rest of Us was indeed a work-in-progress (the Mike Drop I started on September 25th, but I was far too overloaded with other work to keep the flow there) but it quickly morphed into something else.
AURALiC Launch POLARIS Wireless Streaming Amplifier The All-in-One Solution for Modern HiFi System AURALIC North America Inc. is proud to introduce the POLARIS Wireless Streaming Amplifier. POLARIS has seventeen inputs channels comprising streaming, digital and analog sources. The internal DAC, incorporating AURALiC Flexible Filters and Femto Master Clock, supports Quad-Rate DSD and PCM up to 32Bit/384K. The powerful internal stereo... Read More »
ACOUSTIC SOUNDS TRANSFORMS HOME AUDIO AGAIN! Analogue Productions Ultra Tape Debuts with 12 Killer Titles! 15 ips ¼-inch analog tape copies sourced from the master tapes From Acoustic Sounds, Inc., the world leader in audiophile music sales, comes the highest quality analog reel-to-reel tape album reissues — Analogue Productions Ultra Tape! Twelve masterpiece titles... Read More »
There's glory for you! In which our hero meditates… This isn't going to be anything like a standard review, which is something that I don't do anyway. No short-term romance…no quickie relationship…no three-months-and-done. No "Wow, what the hell was that?!" No "of all the turntables I've ever heard, this is another one." No, this is... Read More »
Next-gen transport plays SACDs, outputs DSD, and transforms the performance of standard Red Book CDs PS Audio is proud to announce the World Premiere of the new DirectStream Memory Player in Suite 1107 at Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, October 7-9, 2016. PS Audio's best-selling PerfectWave Memory Player transport has been the ultimate optical disc transport since... Read More »
Award-Winning HA-2 Gets a Performance Boost Continuing the pursuit of innovation and value for customers, OPPO Digital (www.oppodigital.com) today introduces an updated version of the award-winning HA-2 portable headphone amplifier and DAC, HA-2SE. Aesthetically, the HA-2SE continues the HA-2’s elegant style and design - genuine leather casing with contrast stitching and beveled aluminum edges. Inside,... Read More »
Sonoma Acoustics Heads To CanJam@RMAFTo Debut Model One Electrostatic Headphones Following on the heels of CanJam London where Sonoma Acoustics LLC showed a prototype of their revolutionary Model One (M1) Headphone System—the first high-end headphones to utilize the High-Precision Electrostatic Laminate (HPEL) transducer developed by Warwick Audio Technologies Ltd.—the company is headed to CanJam at the... Read More »
In which our hero meditates… What a year it's been. As I observed in the first of these "Brief Impressions" articles, on the Oppo Sonica (HERE), there have been so bloody many products and projects here at PF Central in 2016 that I'll be writing from here until the end of the year to cover... Read More »
ROON ENABLED MERGING+NADAC PLAYER AT RMAF 2016 A new generation of integrated audiophile server will be demonstrated by On a Higher Note Merging Technologies will display a pre-production version of the Merging+NADAC Player at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest. The result of a dynamic partnership with Roon Labs, On a Higher Note, Merging’s US... Read More »
Luis Filipe Fortunato’s Live and Pure A year or two ago I had to adopt a somewhat self-serving policy as a reviewer—physical formats only, please. I did this for a few reasons. First of all, too many publicists simply wanted to send me a link to some MP3 download of their clients—one in particular wanted... Read More »
This is my fourth attendance at the National Audio Show held each year at Whittlebury Hall near Towcester, England. I believe this will be the first time our readership at Positive Feedback will have been exposed to this show. This has been the premier show in the UK until the last couple of years where... Read More »
Once again John Marks educates and enlightens us with his recommendation of a worthy recording from our audio treasures. "Some of the best recordings were done decades past" is a truth that is none the worse for being so true that is has become a truism. Those who are newer to fine audio will want... Read More »
Incredibili Sine Compromissum This is it. Think of Trader Joe's. The Hyundai Genesis. A Hamilton watch, Uniqlo clothing, a CAO cigar, the...well, you may begin to get the idea. Bear witness: this is the Alpha Design Labs STRATOS and it is the hidden value champion of USB DAC's. Long may it reign. God Knows... Read More »
SVS Prime Elevation soars as an uncompromised height effects speaker and as a front, center, rear surround, side surround and/or LCR speaker when ideal placement isn’t possible. SVS, manufacturer of high performance speakers, subwoofers and audio accessories, proudly announces availability of the SVS Prime Elevation Speaker. The SVS Prime Elevation takes speaker versatility to new... Read More »
The LAAS – Los Angeles Audio Show – is a new high-end audio and home theater show debuting in June 2017 and every weekend each year following Memorial Day. The LAAS is presented in collaboration with the Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society at the Sheraton Gateway LA with complimentary shuttle service from the Los Angeles International... Read More »
RETURN TO VINYL: ROCK ‘N’ ROLLA™ PORTABLE BRIEFCASE TURNTABLES ARRIVE AT RETAIL OUTLETS IN OCTOBER Go Anywhere, Attractively-Priced Record Players Make Perfect Complement to Vinyl Sales Surge "Back to the future, a retro look with today's technology" Rock ‘N’ Rolla™, the ultimate in Portable Briefcase Turntables, will be available from retailers and online outlets beginning... Read More »
The Italian MC FIRENZE, Italy: Gold Note - the Italian High-End manufacturer based in Firenze – has announced the release of Donatello, the new MC cartridge available in two models: Donatello Gold (low output level) available at an MSRP of 950€ and Donatello Red (high output level) available at an MSRP of 650€. Gold Note... Read More »
[I'm pleased that our longtime cartoonist, Bruce Walker, is becoming active with us again. His unique style of edgy, crazy, Feifferesque drawings are unlike anyone else that I know of. He's been drawing for us on and off again from the very early days of Positive Feedback...we hope to have new work from him periodically. Enjoy!... Read More »
NEW AUDIO SHOW IN SUNNY CALIFORNIAThe LA Audio Show is Coming to Los Angeles, Summer 2017! Join us in Sunny California for a new Audio Show experience jam-packed with Audiophile bliss! Find your perfect chair in the plethora of private listening rooms or skip booth to booth to hear the best in headphones, find your... Read More »
Funny thing. You'd think that there wouldn't be any enormous mountaintops in Newark, New Jersey. And you'd be wrong…. Let me explain. Bill Parish of GTT Audio A couple of months ago I got an invitation from Dick Diamond of YG Acoustics, Bill Parish of GTT Audio, and Joe Kubala of Kubala-Sosna to attend a... Read More »
Select members of the audio press were invited to GTT Audio for the YG Acoustics Sonja XV speaker press event. Over the course of a week, each of us got to experience a personal listening session. Lynn and I were scheduled for the afternoon of the first day; Dr. David Robinson, ye olde editor at... Read More »
Michael Kiwanuka, Love & Hate Polydor B0024912-01 2 LPs – $24.99 Purchased at The Sound Garden in Syracuse, NY Tidal strikes again. Just a few weeks since I accidentally played The Avalanches' Wildflower on the streaming music service and discovered a mind-bending, sensibility-changing masterwork, I've done it a second time. Hmmm…Michael Kiwanuka…wonder who this is,... Read More »
Dirk Sommer, with photographs by Helmut Baumgartner For everyone who takes a real interest in High End it's a truism that even the best equipment can't recreate a live impression. This alleged fact, however, while perhaps not refuted, would be at least seriously shaken by visiting the Audio Forum in Duisburg, Germany, the Acapella Audio... Read More »
Von Schweikert Audio Introduces the UniField 2 MkII Von Schweikert Audio is pleased to announce our newest loudspeaker, the UniField 2 MkIII. First introduced in 2006, the stand-mount designed UniField 2 has proven extremely popular. So much so, it’s earned the distinction of being the highest selling model of any Von Schweikert Audio design since... Read More »
[UPDATED VERSION with new purchase links for NativeDSD.com included at the end of the review.] For quite a while now I've been sitting on an advance copy of an important Quad DSD recording, waiting for it to be released commercially. Now, I'm glad to say, the time has come…at last! The album is music by... Read More »
AURALiC Introduce ARIES firmware 4.0 New playback engine brings massive sound quality improvement and exciting new features Beijing, China, 11th September, 2016 – AURALiC LIMTIED released version 4.0 of Lightning device firmware for ARIES, ARIES LE and ARIES MINI. The new firmware, which utilizes AURALiC’s latest Lightning Playback Engine V2, brings user several new... Read More »
MAHLER: Symphony No. 9 Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Pierre Boulez Deutsche Grammophon 289 457 581-2 TT: 79.46 The death of Pierre Boulez earlier this year provides as good an opportunity as any other to consider his recorded legacy, as well as giving me an excuse to check out this 1995 Mahler Ninth, which I'd somehow managed to... Read More »
FIRENZE, Italy: Gold Note - the Italian High-End manufacturer based in Firenze - is going to release Vasari in October, a new MM cartridge engineered to offer high quality at a competitive price. The cartridge will launch in two models: Vasari Red and Vasari Gold, both featuring a unique body design, fully machined from solid... Read More »
It was a glorious day for a Hudson River crossing, with clear skies and endless visibility, the kind of day that photographers love. Lynn and I were off to visit Distinctive Stereo in northern New Jersey. We boarded the New York Waterway ferry at West 39th Street. Eight minutes later we docked at Port Imperial/Weehawken,... Read More »
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