July - August 2015
Audio Discourse
Journeys In Audio Subjectivism, Part One
My Hot Tub Epiphany, or: "Where the heck did my ice cubes go?" A funny thing happened to me a couple of weeks into writing this article....
Dimensions of Sound: Ilya Itin Performs Scriabin and
I was a bit breathless. My friend and spiritual colleague David Robinson had invited me to sketch and cover a uniquely intriguing event at Princeton...
Celebrating the Joyous Music of the Great Ruben Estrada
For more than two decades I've been a fan of vibraphonist/pianist/band leader Ruben Estrada, whose lyrical delicacy and musical intensity define,...
In Search of a Perfect Song, Part 2
In Search of a Perfect Song… I recently republished that old article because I've had further opportunity to explore the concept. I began that...
The Neoteric Listener - The MrSpeakers Mad Dog Pro Headphones
"You paid too much for that junk! Take off those fake Vanilla Ice headphones and put on a pair of the real deal!" That's what...
The Neoteric Listener - The Music Technology Incorporated Oppo...
Audio consumers only want to know one thing: "Is it worth it?" You can write, speak, sing, or finger paint about audio products all you want,...
Audio Ramblings - The Antipodes DX Music Server
As we move along the time continuum, expectations are that activities or whatever will become easier and easier. That is, what was time consuming and...
Horch House Launches DSD Wafer Cards
One of the interesting exhibits at the recent High End Audio show in Munich earlier this year featured Horch House. For those of you who aren't...
In Search of a Perfect Song
This article was originally published in Issue 26 of Positive Feedback. I decided to republish it because I've gotten the bug to write another article...
GTT’s Bill Parish & Audionet’s AMP 1 V2 Truthful, Happy...
The Always Unimaginable Future The First World War pre-dated the arrival of vivid sonic capture. It's not difficult to imagine that—despite...
My Dinner With Paul - or - Design and Direction: Getting Up, or...
On Friday, after T.H.E. Show in Newport Beach—actually in Irvine—California, I went to dinner with PS Audio's Paul McGowan and company:...
Cars and Watches and HiFi: Roger Skoff Writes About the Things...
What kind of a watch does James Bond wear? That's easy; everybody knows that, at least as written by Ian Fleming, it's a Rolex Oyster Perpetual. Now,...
The Higher End: Welcome to the New Look of Positive Feedback!
At last! And welcome! The NEW-LOOK Positive Feedback Web site will be going live on July 1, 2015, with the launch of Issue 80. You'll see that...
Audio Ramblings – Acoustic Imagery Atsah Amplifiers and...
Last late Winter… or early, early pre-Spring, depending on how you prefer your "pretty much the same with some slight differences, though...
Audio Ramblings – Verastarr Grand Illusion AC Power Cords
Verastarr Grand Illusion AC power cords ($2500 in 6 foot length) use high purity copper metal foils and produce a musical presentation that is big,...
Hardware Reviews
SVS SB-2000 Subwoofer
I value ground trembling sensation of well-executed extreme low frequency as much as any audio nut. For the majority of my listening, though, extreme...
Nordost Heimdall Headphone Cable
Nordost. Seems that these days Nordost is everywhere. Norse 2 series? Check. Valhalla 2 series? Check. Odin 2? Check. Headphone cables? Check. HDMI...
Mini-Review: Merrill Audio ANAP Interconnect Cables
Let me just say right up top that I generally do not review cables in this low price range. At $1149 per meter, whether RCA or XLR, the Merrill ANAP is...
Mini-Review: Grado Limited Edition GH1 Heritage Headphones
The Grado GH1 Headphones...the sound of Brooklyn-born Maple! "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" and becomes not furniture, but headphones for music...
Finite Elemente Resonator Reference Tuning Device
I like the idea of resonators as a prescription: Take one a day to keep the shakes away. Ha! Not quite, just me being silly. Seriously though, they are...
PS Audio Power Plant P10
I may have said this before, but I'll say it again… all of these amazing cables you have in your system (as beautifully constructed as they...
WyWires Platinum Series USB and AES/EBU Digital Cables
If there is one credo that Alex Sventitsky the founder of WyWires Technology goes by, it is that the accurate reproduction of music is a very complex...
Charisma Audio MC-2 Moving Coil Cartridge - That Olde Black
The $1495 Charisma Audio MC-2 moving coil cartridge sounds far better than it has any right to! In fact, this recently introduced cartridge–and...
Music Hall Audio On Merit: MMF-5.1SE vs. Ikura
Tipping the register at $1095 and $1195, respectively, the Music Hall MMF-5.1SE and recently introduced Ikura turntables share certain design and...
Ultimate Ears Reference Professional Monitors IEMs and UE...
The old proverb is false. You can teach an old dog new tricks! After 55 years as an audiophile, I finally have inner ear monitors (IEMs) that are not...
Audionet PAM G2 Phono Preamplifier - You’d Think It Was Tubes
At a Chicago Symphony Orchestra performance in Carnegie Hall one night I struck up a casual chat with the greybeard seated next to me. I learned he was...
The iFi Micro iPhono - and Why All LPs Were Not Created EQual
If you have followed the trending audiophile markets for headphone amps and DACs, you've probably stumbled across the iFi line of shiny,...
The Art of the Subtle - The Pyon Sound Step-up Transformer
Although a stalwart in many the audiophile setup, you can really see the resurgence of analog playback in mainstream society. Even chain stores are now...
Funk Audio 6.1P Loudspeakers
Nathan Funk resides in Canada. Nathan lives for music. He is handy with shop tools and would love to build you a pair of speakers. That is exactly what...
Interviews
Reviewers' View, THE Show Newport 2015: David Robinson and Peter...
Watch David Robinson and Peter Breuninger of AV Showrooms.com, share their thoughts on the THE Show Newport 2015 on YouTube Part 1 Courtesy of AV...
Music Reviews
TANGERINE DREAM Platinum SHM-CD EDITION
The Tangerine Dream is considered either a co-creator of krautrock, or of electronic music in general, and new age in particular. In fact both...
Music of Mozart, Grieg, Schubert, Brahms, Stravinsky, and More.
Grieg. Peer Gynt Suites. Six Orchestral Songs. Orchestra: Malmo Symphony. Conductor: Bjarte Engeset. Recording: Naxos CD8-570236 These Peer Gynt suites...
Impressions: HDTT’s Brilliant Quad DSD release of Cootie...
If you love DSD downloads as much as I do, but haven't yet heard of High Definition Tape Transfers, then brother, let me do you a big favor. Some...
Courtney Barnett, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I...
Singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett cites a poster hanging in her Grandmother's bathroom when she was a child as inspiration for the title of her...
Two Really Strong Reference Quality CDs for Audiophiles
Sagebrush Rebellion Papillon Recordings BluePort Jazz, BPJ-024 Producer: Dmitri Matheny Recording Engineer: Jim Merod Mastered by: Jim Merod and...
Notes of an Amateur: Bartok and Erickson.
Bartok. Sonatas for Violin Nos. 1 and 2; Sonata for Solo Violin. Barnabás Kelemen, violin; Zoltán Kocsis, piano. Hungaroton HSACD 32515....
New Old Stock - Articles from Our Days in Print
47 Labs Gaincard Amplifier
This article, by Steve Lefkowicz, Larry Cox, Francisco Duran originally ran when audioMUSINGS was in print - Issue 15, 2001. I have a real problem...
Our Friends at HIFI Statement
NAD D3020
Wenn NAD eine digitale Verstärkergeneration auf den Markt bringt, ist das natürlich für sich schon eine Nachricht. Wenn eines der neuen Geräte den.... . . Read More »
Paralyse Audio PROTO
Am Anfang war das Wort, heißt es im Evangelium, aber am Anfang jeder guten High-End-Kette steht erst einmal ein Rack. Wie wichtig ein solches für die.... . . Read More »
Acoustic Signature Challenger Mk 3, TA-1000 und Soundsmith
Acoustic Signature kombiniert seinen neuen Challenger Mk 3 mit der langen Variante des Tonarmes TA-1000. In diesem ist der Moving-Iron Tonabnehmer.... . . Read More »
AcousticPlan Aruna
Claus Jäckle baute schon immer Verstärker, die sich wohltuend vom einheitlichen Schwarz oder Silber unterscheiden. So auch der neue Vollverstärker.... . . Read More »
Transrotor Figaro Pickup (in German)
Wohl selten dürfte in die Entwicklung und Abstimmung eines Tonabnehmers soviel analoge und musikalische Erfahrung eingeflossen sein wie in Transrotors.... . . Read More »
Auralic Aries Bridge and SBooster(in German)
Die Auralic Aries Bridge ist nicht brandneu, wurde aber im ersten Jahr nach Markteinführung im Detail verbessert und wirft die spannende Frage auf:.... . . Read More »
Unison Sinfonia Integrated Tubeamp
High-End-Röhrengeräte werden ja gern außerhalb jeder Konkurrenz gesehen. Geradezu ätherisch der Welt entrückt sieht man ihnen ob ihrer großen.... . . Read More »
PSAudio Directstream DAC Part 2 (in German)
Vor kurzem hatte ich mich ausführlich mit dem DirectStream DAC (DS) von PS Audio beschäftigt. Der DS rechnet alle eingehenden Daten – also auch PCM.... . . Read More »
Lumen White Recordplayer (in German)
Der Mystere fasziniert auf den ersten Blick mit seiner eleganten Linienführung und noblen Anmutung. Aber weder seinen Preis noch den konstruktiven.... . . Read More »
Improved Swiss Cables Power Cables ( in German)
Wie der Name schon vermuten lässt, stammen die Swisscables aus unserem Nachbarland Schweiz. Dabei bin ich immer wieder überrascht, wie viele.... . . Read More »
Audiomachina Maestro Speaker (in German)
Es gibt gute Gründe, lieber alles andere als Lautsprecher zu testen. Und dabei ist die Logistik noch nicht einmal der gravierendste. . . . Read More »
Resonessence Labs DAC (in German)
Neunmillionendreihundertachtzehntausend Bits in der Sekunde ausgelesen aus einer 750 MB großen Songdatei, überfluten den Resonessence Labs Wandler.... . . Read More »
Lyra Etna Pickup (in German)
Es war damit zu rechnen, dass das Lyra Etna, der Nachfolger des erfolgreichen Titan i, kurz nach seiner Vorstellung nicht gleich in großen.... . . Read More »
Our Friends at High Fidelity
Pylon Audio Loudspeakers SAPPHIRE 25
Talking only about the price of these speakers, about how impressive product we get for the price, how well it is made—that would be a classic...
Chord HUGO TT Digital-to-Analogue Converter/Headphone Amplifier
Cutting edge technologies are expensive. Whether they are used in medical, food, or military industry, or for sound recording and playback. Small...
Audio Tekne TFM 2000 + TEA 2000 Integrated Amplifier and...
It so coincidentally happened that me and Wojtek, both love Japanese audio products. I admittedly prefer devices with tubes on board, but am also...
RT Audio Design Ultra USB DAC Orpheus Digital to Analogue...
More and more interesting devices come to us from countries that, not that long ago, seemed to have nothing to offer for audiophiles, and today, to...
Trenner&Friedl ART Loudspeakers
For whatever reason, despite my best intentions, until now I've never had a chance to listen to any product of Austrian company Trenner&Friedl in...
C.E.C. CD5 Compact Disc Player
The latest Compact Disc player manufactured by the Japanese company C.E.C. (which I am going to simplify to CEC in this article), which was launched at...
Show Reports
Impressions: My Audio Oasis! Awards for THE Show Newport Beach...
THE Show Newport Beach 2015, held on May 28-31, is in the books now…and what a show it was! Upwards of 9,000 people were in...
THE Show - Newport 2015, Part 2
To reiterate from Part 1... Before we get to our show report... here are a few general thoughts on shows and the people who attend: People count, in...
THE Show Newport 2015 - Part 1
The past few years I've been pretty soured on the whole Audio Show routine. Too much excessively high priced equipment being demonstrated to appeal...
THE Show Newport 2015, Part 1
Before we get to our show report... here are a few general thoughts on shows and the people who attend: People count, in most cases, more than gear....
Reviewers' View, THE Show Newport 2015: David Robinson and Peter...
Watch David Robinson and Peter Breuninger of AV Showrooms.com, share their thoughts on the THE Show Newport 2015 on YouTube Part 1 Courtesy of AV...
DSD and Analog: The Great Convergence
The recent edition of THE Show Newport was held at the Hotel Irvine and featured not only a host of audio exhibits and demonstrations, but also a...
