January - February 2020
Audio Discourse
Qobuz and the Hard Drive
It's not news that streaming has gobbled up 75% of the USA consumer music market, as reported recently by the RIAA, simply how fast it happened. This...
Hemiolia Records Master Tapes
"Hey Danny, are you familiar with Hemiolia Records?" asked Kerry St. James, YG's formidably friendly European sales director late last year. "No," I...
Cables, Footers, and Fuses
So this is the time of year for returning unwanted gifts, breaking resolutions, and picking up a few Steel Band CDs in the Caribbean. It's also a time...
Impressions: My Brutus Awards for 2019, Part the Fourth and...
Port and a Cigar at Night on a Deck. Happy Valley, OR, 2019 And now, on to the final chapter of my Positive Feedback Brutus Awards for 2019. Clarus...
In Search of a Perfect Song, The Astell & Kern Edition
By now, readers of this series have realized that it's a means for me to discuss songs I really like. In previous articles, these are songs that send a...
Impressions: My 2019 Brutus Awards for Recordings, Labels,...
E-in-C Robinson going deep with the Sonoma Acoustics reference headphone system at AXPONA 2018 (photograph by Martin Roberts; image processing by David...
An Interview with Karen Gomyo
Karen Gomyo was born in Tokyo, but grew up in Montréal. That is, up to the point when, at age 10, she moved to New York City, in order to study at...
Snake Oil and the Velocity of Propagation
Chip and Roger at the LAOC Audio Society Gala Banquet, December, 2019 (photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson) Roger Skoff finally proves...
David Elias YouTube Music Video: "The Long Road Home"
David Elias: self-portrait at the Kilauea volcano crater, Hawai'i; Mauna Loa is in the distant background David Elias is a Musician-in-Residence here...
The Fading Audiophile Armchair
This post excerpt comes in part from an email response to my friend Harold in the Netherlands. He was curious about our discussion related to my early...
Jakub Józef Orliński: "Vedro con mio diletto" from Il...
Here's the latest from our good friend and fellow audio voyager, John Marks, he of The Tannhauser Gate. As always, John's sensibilities are...
Impressions: My Brutus Awards for 2019, Part the Third
Ye Olde Editor at play… (Portrait by John Robinson) Into the home stretch with my Brutus Awards for audio hardware in 2019. Just two or three more to...
Impressions: My Brutus Awards for 2019, Part the Second
Ye Olde Editor at the wheel of my BMW M3 hardtop convertible, 2014 (photograph by John Robinson) LampizatOr Pacific DAC upon arrival (DHT SET Triode,...
How China Made the Piano Its Own
Yuja Wang, courtesy of Medici TV This is a first—I can't ever remember reading an article in The Economist that brought tears to my eyes… . The...
Impressions: My Brutus Awards for 2019, Part the First
David W. Robinson photographing at Icicle Creek during the fire season of 2012: a portrait. Leavenworth, WA. (image by Lila Ritsema) My Brutus...
Homeward Bound: Reflections on a Musical Legacy
A boy hears a sound. He hears sound before he has a name. He hears gurgling, pounding underwater. He hears an ocean of blood swimming around him....
Make Listening a Skill
Roger Skoff tells how to increase your enjoyment and get better sound out of your system. Chip Moore and Roger Skoff at the LAOC Audio Society Gala,...
Hardware Reviews
The Zesto Audio Leto Ultra Preamplifier: Premiere!
I am an imaging junkie. Musical images, properly recorded, must have realistic tonality, unwavering stability, a rounded aspect, and—whether vocal or...
PS Audio Stellar Phono Preamplifier
The savvy audiophile is keenly aware of the weakest link of the chain theory when it comes to our hobby. The arena of vinyl playback is one place where...
Grado Labs Lineage Series: The Flagship Grado Epoch3 Phono...
We live in exciting times for phono reproduction, a new golden age for LPs from manufacture to playback. The key lesson learned since the production of...
Pushing the Envelope: The AudioQuest Dragon Power Cable and...
AudioQuest's founder, William Low, and Senior Director of Engineering, Garth Powell, have once again co-developed the next generation of AudioQuest...
KEF R3 Bookshelf Loudspeakers Do Small Big
"Let's get small, real small!" - Steve Martin, 1977. KEF's new R3 stand mount speakers, the smallest of their recently introduced, redesigned...
Pro-Ject X2 Vinyl LP Turntable
Easy to set up and very easy to use. You will not be disappointed. Review By Tom Lyle With this article, Positive Feedback continues its...
64 Audio Tia Fourte & U18t In-Ear Monitors
With just a decade of experience, 64 Audio have quickly grown to become a tour de force in the world of portable audio. Part of their ascension has...
SVS SB-3000 Subwoofer Follow-up
Back in July 2019, after completing the original review of the SVS SB-3000 subwoofer (HERE), I took the subs out of my system. It took just minutes to...
Cardas RCA/XLR Caps
I do endless cable comparisons. Along the way, I learned it was not a good idea to leave unused cables dangling from the preamp. We all know the cable...
The New Apartment Lounge - The Audience AdeptResponse aR12-T4...
Removing the Wool A few months back, I received an out-of-the-blue text message from an old friend whom I've known for over 40 years. My friend...
Moon Audio Silver Dragon Headphone Cable
Do cables make a difference? That is a question I get asked quite often, and it is a question that Audiophiles have debated since the beginning of...
Furutech DeMagα LP Demagnetizer
What the Hell is That It's no secret that I like to tweak. In fact, I made a name for myself and built a huge following in my early writing career...
RSX Technologies Beyond Power Cord
New company, new product alert! Roger Skoff is back in the game, with a new company and new products. At 9AWG, the spellbinding Beyond Power Cord is...
Gold Note DS-10 DAC/Preamp/Streamer
Digital Streaming is a relatively new sound source for me. Call me old fashioned, curmudgeonly, resistant or even a snob, but I have been seriously...
Meze Audio Rai Penta In-Ear Monitors
Following the success of the impeccably designed and tonally agreeable Meze Empyrean headphones, the Meze Audio Rai Penta IEMs were established with...
Integrity HIFI's Tru-Kleen
Any analog lover will be the first to tell you, vinyl is a commitment. From record cleaning, to storage, to outer and inner sleeves, to dust removal...
Long Island Record Care Cable Elevators
Back when I moved last year into a home with a larger dedicated listening room, I wanted to spruce things up a bit and get some real cable elevators....
ZMF Verite Headphones: Open-back vs Closed
It is always great to see humble boutique companies produce high-quality artisan products that can compete with those from far larger firms. One such...
Hifiman Ananda-BT Bluetooth Headphones
Creating a killer pair of headphones which appeals to a broad spectrum of listeners, musical tastes, and listening preferences, is no mean feat. It...
Magna Riser Airborne Stands for the Magneplanar LRS Loudspeakers
When the opportunity came up to review the new Magneplanar LRS (Little Ribbon Speakers), even though I had thirty-plus years of experience with...
Final Touch Audio Callisto USB Cable
I started several cable reviews towards the end of 2019. My lack of interest in cable reviews prior was due to disbelief that extremely high end...
Stage III Concepts Pulsec USB Cable
The other day I had one of those funny moments when I did something out of character. These used to be infrequent, but now that I'm retired from the...
Symposium Acoustics Rollerblock Jr HDSE Coupling / Decoupling...
Apportioning budget to a high-end audio system represents a complex exercise, one inherently fraught with compromises, and one for which there is no...
Gold Note Valore 25 Plus Turntable and Donatello Red Cartridge
Are you in the market for a really nice entry level turntable for under $2000? You may have just landed at the right spot. I have been living with this...
Synergistic Research Foundation Cables
Oracles house themselves within temples of the humble. Review By Rick Becker With this article, Positive Feedback continues its content-sharing...
When Computer Audio's Top Quality Hi-Res No Longer Requires a...
The last 2 years of computer audio (2017 – 2019) for listeners and musicians have been unlike anything I have seen or heard since the earliest...
The Neoteric Listener - The Furutech DSS-4.1 Speaker Cables and...
Cables have it rough. Last in thought, least in budget, forever to be put to work quickly, and then quickly overshadowed by flashier audio gear. When...
Audio Swiss Army Knife: Manley Labs Absolute Headphone Amplifier
This review took a little longer than I thought. I originally found out about this amp from my colleague Robert Levi, and could not resist sending...
Final Touch Audio Callisto USB Does Digital Like an Analog Boss
When it comes to high end audio, there's no lengths—or distance—some will spare to squeeze out that extra bit of performance from their kits. And...
SOTA Cosmos Eclipse Turntable
Some of the fondest memories I have of growing up is fishing with my father on the waters of the Puget Sound. Those outings left an indelible mark on...
Philips Fidelio X2HR Headphones
This is one of the best, most fun-sounding headphones I've ever heard, at any price. It comes from an unlikely source, and I probably would have never...
Hifiman Ananda BT Headphones
A few months ago, Hifiman reached out to me, and asked if I would be interested in reviewing the Ananda BT. I was intrigued because I traditionally...
The Triangle Art Anubis Turntable—Bling and Performance...
If King Tut had a turntable, he'd own a Triangle Art Anubis. The namesake of an Egyptian god, it's appropriately clad in shiny gold and black, infusing...
Interviews
An Interview with Hans Ole Vitus Nielsen
Hans Ole Vitus Nielsen with his latest SIA-030 amp, next to the High Fidelity reference system Hans Ole Vitus Nielsen, usually called Hans Ole, known...
Jeff's Place
Tube rolling in the new Leben CS-600X integrated amplifier -...
One of the favorite pastimes of many original Leben CS-600 integrated amplifier owners has been trying different combinations of vacuum tubes in their.... . . Read More »
Music Reviews
MoFi's Monumental Monk
The Thelonious Monk Quartet, Monk's Dream. Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab UD1S 2-011, Columbia 19075930421, Limited Edition, SuperVinyl, Box Set (2019,...
Karen Gomyo and Ismo Eskelinen: Carnival (music for violin and...
Here's the latest from our good audio friend and brother who writes and edits at The Tannhauser Gate, John Marks. He draws our attention to a very...
Trio Archè plays Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari
WOLF-FERRARI: Piano Trios: No. 1 in D, Op. 5; No. 2 in F-sharp, Op. 7. Trio Archè. Brilliant Classics 95624. TT: 70.15 Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari...
Lifeline: Music of the Underground Railroad
Yarlung Records is always full of surprises, and Lifeline: Music of the Underground Railroad is no exception. Bob Attiyeh, award winning President of...
Our Friends at HIFI Statement
Bergmann Audio Galder Record Player
Dass ich die Laufwerke und Tonarme von Bergmann Audio sehr schätze, dürfte hifistatement-Lesern nicht verborgen geblieben sein. Als sich dann in.... . . Read More »
ifi Zen DAC
Zen. Dieser Begriff sollte jedem bekannt sein, was dahinter steckt jedoch nicht zwangsläufig. Auf Wikipedia ist einem Zitat zu entnehmen, dass Zen.... . . Read More »
Sforzato Networkplayer
Tauschgeschäfte bringen manchmal Überraschungen mit sich, vor allem dann, wenn man sich – so wie der Autor – vorher nicht über das Tauschobjekt.... . . Read More »
Eternal Arts CD-Player and DAC
Der neue EternalArts DP MkII ist ein CD-Player und Digital-Audio-Wandler mit Röhrentechnik. Die Bezeichnung ist etwas irreführend, denn das MkII.... . . Read More »
Our Friends at High Fidelity
Vitus Audio Signature Series SIA-030 Integrated Amplifier
PREMIERE The first amplifier from the Danish company Vitus Audio was presented in 2003. Earlier, however, for eight years, its project was improved and...
Our Friends at Part-Time Audiophile
Bricasti M12 Source Controller Platinum Edition
It’s good to be king, or so they say. For me, that’s precisely the vibe that exudes from the Bricasti M12 Platinum Edition Source Controller. With.... . . Read More »
Ronny Whyte, Whyte Witchcraft | The Vinyl Anachronist
I toyed with the idea of resting and relaxing until after the first of the year, but then there’s this, Ronny Whyte‘s latest album, and it’s the.... . . Read More »
Show Reports
The Florida Audio Expo, Part 4
Here's the last installment of my show coverage for the Florida Audio Expo. You can see Part 1 HERE, Part 2 HERE, and Part 3 HERE. An absolute...
The Florida Audio Expo, Part 3
Here's the current installment of my ongoing show coverage for the Florida Audio Expo. You can see Part 1 HERE and Part 2 HERE. Jerry Stoeckigt...
The Florida Audio Expo, Part 2
I didn't attend the 2019 Florida Audio Expo, but was told many times over that there were nearly double the number of rooms this year over 2019. There...
The Florida Audio Expo, Part 1
The Florida Audio Expo is currently underway, February 7-9, 2020, at the Embassy Suites Hotel located near the airport in Tampa, Florida. Though the...
