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If you missed it, the other day I posted a review of the PS Audio DirectStream DAC MK2 (HERE) that was prefaced by the idea that is it ever "As good as it can get?" Or something like that. Simply, one does whatever and sits back thinking that it is as good as it gets…... Read More »

The iFi Neo Stream network audio streamer is a sterling representation of smart audio design, boasting an open, musical delivery from a simple and compact chassis sporting clean angular lines and functional features. As such, it's a gleaming 21st Century take on form meets function, melding well with the natural and industrial elements of a... Read More »

Ye Olde Editor with pipe:  a portrait by John Robinson Hold the phone! Every now and then I run across a new audio design whose virtues are so obvious that I need to make our readers aware of it as quickly as possible. In this case, the discovery came immediately after PAF 2022. Having been... Read More »

The world of digital audio progresses through a perpetual cycle of change, with a continual improvement process occurring that allows a listener to experience a degree of sonic excellence that was only hinted at when the compact disc was first introduced. In some cases these changes are driven by increasing sophistication of chip sets or... Read More »

When something is not as advertised, I have no problem calling it out. So it was when music streaming came along. I read reviews, heard the demos, and my ears told me it was a step backwards, plus it was always crashing. I stayed on the sidelines until about four years ago when my DAC... Read More »

You can have your cake and eat it too. Review By Paul Schumann With this article, Positive Feedback continues its content-sharing relationship with Enjoy the Music where Paul Schumann shares his thoughts on the LUMIN U2 Mini Music Streamer. Dr. David W. Robinson, Editor-in-Chief Shortly after I was born, my dad put together his dream audio system. It... Read More »

Dr. David W. Robinson: a moment. Vancouver, WA, 2022. (Photograph by Colt Milton; image processing by Robinson) Every now and then in a blue moon it happens. A quick blast about a design that really rocks me, and is reasonably straightforward to bring to your attention. (That's rare; most require a lot of work to... Read More »

Two very versatile, and impressive, performers. Review By Bob Grossman With this article, Positive Feedback continues its content-sharing relationship with Enjoy the Music where Bob Grossman shares his thoughts on the Ayon Audio CD-35 II CD Player and USA Labs RS9 Music Server. Dr. David W. Robinson, Editor-in-Chief The Ayon Audio CD-35 II, as reviewed here, is the... Read More »

North America Premiere Review! An island in the stream. Review By Paul Schumann With this article, Positive Feedback continues its content-sharing relationship with Enjoy the Music where Paul Schumann shares his thoughts on the Lindemann Limetree Network II Music Streamer. Dr. David W. Robinson, Editor-in-Chief Streaming is the last frontier of high-end audio, or so I've been told.... Read More »

These days it seems like many high end manufacturers are building all in one digital front ends. What I mean by that is one box that consists of both the DAC and Streamer. On paper this approach makes a lot of sense. With the rise of Roon and HD digital music services, many audiophiles are... Read More »

This is too much streaming player and not enough at the same time. It feels like something only a forty-something could love, which I am, and I do. I love that it's a very good DAC, especially since my Rega Apollo will likely be my last CD player; when it dies, I'll just wade into... Read More »

A symbiotic sonic relationship... for your listening pleasures. Review By Tom Lyle With this article, Positive Feedback continues its content-sharing relationship with Enjoy the Music where Tom Lyle shares his thoughts on the Aavik Acoustics I-180 Integrated Amplifier, D-180 DAC, And S-180 Streamer / Network Player. Dr. David W. Robinson, Editor-in-Chief The Danish high-end audio manufacturer Aavik was... Read More »

When it comes to streamers, my point of view is simple: software is king. Good software can make a streamer, and bad software can break a streamer. For example, I have a streamer that sounds wonderful, however, it crashes at least once a listening session. For a time I tolerated these crashes, however, with no... Read More »

I recently reviewed the entry level Boulder 508 phono stage, and it surprised the boots off me by its price / performance ratio. It's so good, in fact, that it ended up finding a permanent spot in my system. Since then I have been following the roll out of Boulder's latest product, the 866 integrated... Read More »

I-O DATA was founded in 1976 in the Japanese city of Kanazawa. I-O Data is one of the largest manufacturers of computer peripherals in this country. In 2016, an offspring brand called  Fidata was founded within company, whose audio files transports / music servers are intended for the "premium consumer market." In 2019, they decided... Read More »

Simaudio recently introduced a new streaming digital to analog converter to their Moon product line. The $9000 680D streaming DAC slots in somewhere between the $15000 780D v2, and the $3000 280D. As with many, if not most of the products in the Moon series, the 680D has the same width and depth (18.75 x... Read More »

      Music lovers come in all stripes and colors. As much as I love the multi box room dominating rack of separates which make up my reference audio system, that kind of space and financial commitment isn't realistic for, or desired by everyone. Often a more modest space saving approach is called for.... Read More »

Over the past four decades I have had the pleasure of taking my readers through, and helping them understand many different music formats. During the 1970s we saw the compact cassette take over from vinyl records as the dominant format for music consumed at the mass-market level. The compact cassette was then eclipsed by the... Read More »

Jump back in time to May 2016; Beth and I are going through probably the most difficult period of transition in our lives together. We'd just sold our house of thirty years, and our closing date was rapidly approaching. And we were in a mad scramble to move all our belongings into multiple storage units.... Read More »