thoughts on audio Archives - Positive Feedback https://positive-feedback.com/tag/thoughts-on-audio/ A Creative Forum for the Audio Arts Sat, 05 Apr 2025 15:24:36 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8 Waters on the Hardware: Dejitter it’s Remarkable Switch X https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/hardware-reviews/dejitter-it-switch-x/ https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/hardware-reviews/dejitter-it-switch-x/#respond Sat, 05 Apr 2025 15:18:03 +0000 https://positive-feedback.com/?p=95864 Dean Waters enjoying a fine drink at Munich 2024 (photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson) As lovers of clean, pure, wonderful audio, we spend much time and effort in regard to equipment, power, and cabling, among other things. When it comes to networking, we tend to not give it much thought other than... Read More »

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A HiFi Tail Chaser https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/hifi/ https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/hifi/#respond Thu, 03 Apr 2025 01:51:09 +0000 https://positive-feedback.com/?p=95750 Roger Skoff writes about your system and the state of our hobby I was talking recently with a friend of mine (also a HiFi Crazy, also in the Industry) about the future of our hobby, and we came to one of those "forehead-slapper" moments—you know, when something finally occurs to you that should have been... Read More »

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Impressions:  Long Reflections on the T+A 3100 HV Stack https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/ta-3100-3000-hv-stack/ https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/ta-3100-3000-hv-stack/#respond Tue, 01 Apr 2025 14:56:17 +0000 https://positive-feedback.com/?p=93778 Ye Olde Editor enjoying a cigar and Single Malt at Tiberias, Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret), Israel, 2022. (Photograph by John Robinson; image processing by Ye Olde Editor himself.) A keyboard can be a piano. "It is the artist who, more than other men, is able to create something out of nothing. A whole artistic work... Read More »

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Master Tapes, Shmaster Tapes https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/master-tapes-shmaster-tapes/ https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/master-tapes-shmaster-tapes/#respond Sat, 08 Mar 2025 16:40:39 +0000 https://positive-feedback.com/?p=94773 Watch out. This is going to be a bit of a rant. I begin to cringe every time I read/hear from audiophiles: Was it made from the master tape? Or..., It can't possibly sound very good—it wasn't from the master tape. Yes, I'm talking about reissues. And, yes, I'm talking about audiophiles being brain-washed into... Read More »

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Jamie Howarth of Plangent Processes: Making Recordings Sound Better, Part 3 https://positive-feedback.com/interviews/jamie-howarth-plangent-processes-3/ https://positive-feedback.com/interviews/jamie-howarth-plangent-processes-3/#respond Thu, 06 Mar 2025 00:55:26 +0000 https://positive-feedback.com/?p=94872 This article is the third and final part of Copper Magazine's interview with Jamie Howarth by Copper Editor and good audiobud Frank Doris. We republish it with the kind permission and blessing of PS Audio's Paul McGowan, with whom we have a deep shared love of DSD. You'll find part one republished by PF HERE, and... Read More »

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Choosing the Best Sounding File Format with Free Sample Downloads https://positive-feedback.com/uncategorized/file-format-sample-downloads/ https://positive-feedback.com/uncategorized/file-format-sample-downloads/#respond Wed, 05 Mar 2025 17:21:49 +0000 https://positive-feedback.com/?p=94271 Since downsizing 5 years ago and leaving behind my LPs and vinyl playback equipment, I have gradually built a new digital music library. At Dr. David's request, I shared this traumatic journey in several articles titled Yes, There Really is Music After Vinyl, the first of which you can find HERE. Today, most new additions... Read More »

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Spending Money https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/spending-money/ https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/spending-money/#respond Mon, 03 Mar 2025 00:48:45 +0000 https://positive-feedback.com/?p=94633 Roger Skoff at the LAOC Audio Society Gala, 2024 (photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson) Roger Skoff writes about the cost of building a system On one of the audiophile groups on Facebook, I just read a post where some guy wrote in and said he's got a turntable that cost whatever number... Read More »

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Sound Liaison's Remastering of Thousand Shades of Blue - Free Download Tracks to Compare https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/music-reviews/thousand-shades-of-blue/ https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/music-reviews/thousand-shades-of-blue/#respond Thu, 13 Feb 2025 17:21:50 +0000 https://positive-feedback.com/?p=93831 I was fascinated recently by Sound Liaison's 2024 remastering of their excellent 2012 album Thousand Shades of Blue by Carmen Gomes Inc. In this new release, Thousand Shades of Blue Revisited, recording engineer Frans de Rond and producer Peter Bjornild went back to the original 96kHz 24-bit recorded tracks and applied everything they'd learned the... Read More »

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Jamie Howarth of Plangent Processes: Making Recordings Sound Better, Part 2 https://positive-feedback.com/interviews/jamie-howarth-2/ https://positive-feedback.com/interviews/jamie-howarth-2/#respond Wed, 12 Feb 2025 23:29:07 +0000 https://positive-feedback.com/?p=93856 This is the latest installment of re-published articles from our good audiobud, Frank Doris, Editor of Copper magazine, the journal of Paul McGowan's company PS Audio. Paul has kindly given Frank Doris permission to re-publish here at Positive Feedback, and some of Frank's valued articles appear here occasionally, courtesy of them both. This is Part 2 of a three-part interview with Jamie... Read More »

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The Grateful Dead, (Momentarily) Considered as a "Christian" Rock Band https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/the-grateful-dead/ https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/the-grateful-dead/#respond Fri, 07 Feb 2025 22:03:14 +0000 https://positive-feedback.com/?p=93762 An Affirmation of the Concept of Grace I can already envision the angry Comments: Herr Doktor Marks: We hereby award you the Prize for the Most Completely Outrageous Clickbait Trash-Post of the Week! I reply: Nicht so schnell! Please read my headline carefully. I am not claiming that the Grateful Dead were a "Christian" rock band,... Read More »

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Call It! https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/call-it/ https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/call-it/#respond Thu, 06 Feb 2025 21:19:29 +0000 https://positive-feedback.com/?p=93749 Roger Skoff writes about a game that could save a valuable part of our culture... As many of you probably know by now, I like and listen to just about every kind of music: everything from opera to Tuvan Throat-singing, to Mexican Rancheras, to Russian folk songs (which are just like Mexican music in that... Read More »

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Jamie Howarth of Plangent Processes: Making Recordings Sound Better, Part 1 https://positive-feedback.com/interviews/jamie-howarth-plangent-process/ https://positive-feedback.com/interviews/jamie-howarth-plangent-process/#respond Tue, 21 Jan 2025 17:05:51 +0000 https://positive-feedback.com/?p=93328 This is the latest installment of re-published articles from our good audiobud, Frank Doris, Editor of Copper magazine, the journal of Paul McGowan's company PS Audio. Paul has kindly given Frank Doris permission to re-publish here at Positive Feedback, and some of Frank's valued articles appear here occasionally, courtesy of them both. Enjoy! Plangent Processes offers a... Read More »

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Impressions: Final Postcard from Los Angeles & the LAOC Audio Society https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/los-angeles-the-laoc-audio-society/ https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/los-angeles-the-laoc-audio-society/#respond Sat, 04 Jan 2025 17:18:09 +0000 https://positive-feedback.com/?p=92213 Another year, another Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society Gala weekend. Early December once again. Been doing these for a long time, now...over the past number of revolutions around the Sun, chairing the LAOC Audiophile Recording of the Year Awards (ARYA). 2024 was another trip to LA for this event; my photographs and brief... Read More »

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The Aging Audiophile https://positive-feedback.com/nos/the-aging-audiophile-2/ https://positive-feedback.com/nos/the-aging-audiophile-2/#respond Wed, 01 Jan 2025 17:14:32 +0000 https://positive-feedback.com/?p=92873 This article by Dr. Sardonicus originally ran in Issue 77, 2015, 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 Aging Audiophile … a Tale of Sorrow and Redemption (sort of) I... Read More »

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Imersiv D1 DAC (now in Beta) and Audeze CRBN2 Headphones https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/hardware-reviews/imersiv-d1-dac/ https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/hardware-reviews/imersiv-d1-dac/#respond Sat, 28 Dec 2024 00:57:44 +0000 https://positive-feedback.com/?p=92335 Bob Katz at work wearing the Audeze CRBN 2 Headphones, a portrait. (Photograph by Mary Kent.) Introduction Today I'm reviewing two remarkable products, both of which represent a new audio paradigm and a veritable redefinition of the state of the art! I know, this is an old audio cliché, but in this case I think... Read More »

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Bah! Humbug! https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/roger-skoff/ https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/roger-skoff/#respond Fri, 13 Dec 2024 23:36:01 +0000 https://positive-feedback.com/?p=92180 Roger Skoff: a moment. Los Angeles and Orange County Audio Society Gala. Buena Park, CA, 2024 (photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson) Roger Skoff writes about glad tidings from HiFi Land...  Happy Holidays! Now's the time to enjoy family, good food, good friends, and good music, played in great sound. But, even now,... Read More »

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Audiophile Economics - Part 2 https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/audiophile-economics-part-2/ https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/audiophile-economics-part-2/#respond Wed, 20 Nov 2024 22:39:15 +0000 https://positive-feedback.com/?p=91506 Roger Skoff writes about why things cost what they do In the first part of this article, I wrote about how pricing works, using not only our own industry but others for illustration. I explained that this article is not intended to replace an economics text, but to just touch on, and state in language... Read More »

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Waters on the Hardware: The Mola Mola Makua Preamplifier https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/hardware-reviews/mola-mola-makua-preamplifier/ https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/hardware-reviews/mola-mola-makua-preamplifier/#respond Mon, 21 Oct 2024 23:28:10 +0000 https://positive-feedback.com/?p=90695 "Dean Waters: Portrait with Cigar." PAF 2023, SeaTac, WA The Mola Mola Makua Preamp, front-top oblique view In June of this year, I had a wonderful opportunity to attend High End in Munich. With an attendance of well over 20,000, it is certainly one of the largest, if not the largest, trade shows for the... Read More »

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My Experience with the GTT Audio Reference Listening System https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/gtt-audio-reference-listening-system/ https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/gtt-audio-reference-listening-system/#respond Wed, 16 Oct 2024 22:49:11 +0000 https://positive-feedback.com/?p=90589 Pastor Dave Robinson and Bill Parish with the Vivid Audio Moya M1 Loudspeaker A little about myself: This is a very brief review of the experience of the reference system with Vivid Audio M1 by Pastor Dave Robinson, a musician with a degree in music, an author, performer, and music director. I recorded at Capitol... Read More »

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Audiophile Economics (Part 1) https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/audiophile-economics-part-1/ https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/audiophile-economics-part-1/#respond Thu, 10 Oct 2024 21:48:26 +0000 https://positive-feedback.com/?p=90400 Roger Skoff, a portrait, Orange County, CA, 2023 (photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson) Roger Skoff writes about why things cost what they do Like everything else, the cost of HiFi gear has escalated over the last few years. Some might say that that's just because the whole world is caught in an... Read More »

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Impressions: A Postcard From New Jersey about GTT Audio https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/gtt-audio/ https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/gtt-audio/#respond Sat, 21 Sep 2024 23:37:03 +0000 https://positive-feedback.com/?p=89635 Ye Olde Editor the seeker:  A moment in Jerusalem. Jerusalem, Israel, 2022 (photograph by John Robinson). Well, actually from Long Valley, NJ, the home base of Bill Parish and GTT Audio.  Because there's significant news from that site. Those of you who have been following my reviews, photo essays, and commentary over the years, you... Read More »

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Waters on the Hardware: A Life-Changing Visit to GTT Audio https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/visit-to-gtt-audio/ https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/visit-to-gtt-audio/#respond Sat, 21 Sep 2024 23:06:45 +0000 https://positive-feedback.com/?p=90009 Dean Waters with Cigar:  a study. 2023 Pacific Audio Fest, Seatac, WA (photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson) Throughout our lives we encounter special moments that are so transformative that we know that we will always remember exactly where we were and what we were doing the moment they occur. If you're old enough,... Read More »

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Art and Audio https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/art-and-audio/ https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/art-and-audio/#respond Wed, 11 Sep 2024 15:24:26 +0000 https://positive-feedback.com/?p=89548 Roger Skoff doesn't write about sour grapes In a previous article, I wrote about how one manufacturer of exceptionally fine High-End audio electronics had had to raise the price of his products in order to be able to sell them. It was all a vicious cycle that worked like this: In order to get the... Read More »

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The Strangest Hobby https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/the-strangest-hobby/ https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/the-strangest-hobby/#respond Tue, 02 Jul 2024 15:19:59 +0000 https://positive-feedback.com/?p=87757 Roger Skoff writes about audiophilia No matter how busy we are with home, family, making or spending money, or any of our other more mundane concerns, all of us have time and resources that are not demanded for something else, and things that we do or enjoy for no reason other than simply that we... Read More »

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A Visit to the Audio Café in Beverly Hills to Hear the Clarisys Studio Plus Speakers https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/audio-cafe-clarisys-studio-plus-speakers/ https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/audio-cafe-clarisys-studio-plus-speakers/#respond Thu, 20 Jun 2024 17:17:21 +0000 https://positive-feedback.com/?p=87375 Ron Resnick shows off his pride and joy, The Clarisys Studio Plus Speakers. As I was snaking my car up the ribbon of road leading high up in the Beverly Hills, I thought about my history with ribbon speakers. I had been invited by Ron Resnick to experience the listening room which comprises his new... Read More »

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