July - August 2017
Audio Discourse
Equipment for Making Archival Digital Copies of an LP, Part 3:...
This is the third installment of John Marks' very helpful series that guides our readers through various aspects and considerations for digitizing...
Equipment for Making Archival Digital Copies of an LP, Part 2: ...
Herein we have part two of our good audio friend John Marks, he of The Tannhauser Gate blogging fame, in which he continues his series on...
Equipment for Making Archival Digital Copies of an LP, Part 1
This is a fascinating new series from our good friend John Marks, editor of The Tannhauser Gate. In it, John proposes to provide a reasonably simple...
An Adventure in the Art of Tone with the Duelund Coherent Audio...
Back in Issue 88 of Positive Feedback I wrote about the Duelund Coherent Audio DCA16GA tinned-copper audio cable that I've been using for building...
From Digital to Digital: Converting a Library from Spinning...
Bricasti Design surpasses their already world-class performance with a new Network Player option for the M1 DAC. Since the Network Player provides an...
Coming Up! Monterey Jazz Bash @ 60
Monterey CA, September 15 – 17, 2017 One of this legendary jazz festival's most star-studded line ups will drive energy and sheer musical glory to...
Vintage SME 3009 Tone Arm Rebuild, Part 1
In this exciting episode, our good friend and courageous audio guide John Marks of The Tannhauser Gate (http://www.thetannhausergate.com) announces...
Impressions: The LA Audio Show 2017, My Portraits
David W. Robinson, Editor-in-Chief of Positive Feedback. (Photograph by John Robinson) As time has gone by, I have become more and more interested in...
First Listen to Grado Epoch Phono Cartridge: World Premiere...
Great news! John Grado and Grado Labs have come out with a brand new reference Grado cartridge, and were kind enough to send me a review sample for me...
Dan Zimmerman Music Video: "It All Happened So Fast"
Those of you who have been reading Positive Feedback for a long while will likely recognize the name Dan Zimmerman. He is a very close friend and...
Playback Designs Integrated Single Chassis Sonic Masterpiece: ...
What? My first "hi fi" stereo box, in 1957, was an elegantly constructed Magnavox LP changer with a built-in amp-preamp feeding two inch mono speakers....
Impressions: The Sonoma Acoustics Model One Headphones
[Readers who read this article before the afternoon of 7/20/17 should re-read this amended version. In it, I correct a misapprehension that I was under...
From the Kipnis Studios (KSS) - A Cursory History of My...
High end audio is one of those hobbies where there are a seemingly endless number of tweaks and refinements one can add to an existing stereo system,...
John McLaughlin and the Tonight Show Big Band, "Cherokee"
Dear friend and fellow sojourner John Marks once again shares a musical morsel with us, originally published on his blog site, The Tannhauser...
The Higher End - The Beginning of the Positive Feedback "Online"
To celebrate our 15th year of publishing Positive Feedback as a 'webzine', we are re-running the article David Robinson wrote (Issue 1, June, 2002)...
Raising HiFi Consciousness
Roger Skoff writes about bringing new people into our Audiophile hobby There will be a total of three HiFi shows just in California this year. The...
Frank Sinatra's Hi-Fi, circa 1947
Well, lawdy Miss Clawdy! John Marks' latest republication from The Tannhauser Gate is compact, but delicious. A shout from the past, really, right...
PS Audio's New Huron Operating System for the DirectStream...
It's been a little over a year since PS Audio's DirectStream Junior DAC landed in the Tune Saloon. I gave it a well-deserved two-thumbs up in my PF...
Impressions: The GamuT Reference System, a Study in Organic...
Sometimes you write reviews. Sometimes you write raves. And sometimes you write love songs… Introduction "Sherman, set the Way-Back Machine to THE...
Hardware Reviews
KR Audio P-135 Preamplifier
The little preamplifier that could? KR Audio is the now relatively well known Czech amplifier brand that made its name on very big, and big sounding,...
Core Power Technologies EQUI=CORE 300
Image courtesy of Tweek Geek Power conditioners are an essential part of a high fidelity audio system. The reproduction of musical sounds in our homes...
Elac Discovery Music Server
Computer audio is a little bit like Sauron's "Ring." It promises audiophiles control over their digital files, easier access to information about the...
Accuphase DP-560 Super Audio CD Player
The Compact Disc player launched some time ago by the Norwegian Hegel Audio company was called the Mohican. It is a clear allusion to The Last of the...
World Premiere Review of the Grado Epoch Phono Cartridge
The Grado Epoch Phono Cartridge has become available this August, 2017, and takes its place as Grado's supreme cartridge offering. With my hands-on...
Studio Electric FS1 Loudspeakers
I've used the same pair of speakers for 22 years. (And they still surprise me.) They're nameless and were made for me by Richard Marsh: a pair of...
Unique Innovation Technology Perfect Music Purifier (PMP)...
At the recent LA Audio Show packed with manufacturers—many known to me, but also many surprises—I noticed a table loaded with sharp-looking cables...
Stein Music Power System, World Premier Review: Powerbar 10...
The Stein Music Powerbar 10 Signature (US version) With a track record of doing the amazing and, occasionally, the impossible, Stein Music of...
Kimber Kable Axios USB Cable: World Premier Review
Hot off the assembly line in Ogden, Utah, comes Ray Kimber's very latest thinking in USB cable design. With five other models listed, starting at $50,...
Koeppel Design Record Dividers
It was about fifteen, sixteen odd years ago that I fell into the "vinyl" trap. Sure, growing up mom and pop had records, mostly of the classical...
Doshi Audio V3.0 Tapestage: Choices, Choices, Choices
To go reel-to-reel tape or high resolution digital? That was the question facing this basically all analog person some ten years ago. No, there wasn't...
The Murasakino Musique Analogue Sumile MC Phonograph Cartridge...
Ever since the first moving-coil phonograph cartridge was developed in 1948 by Holger Christian Arenstein (the Ortofon Mono-A), phono cartridge...
NSMT M100 Loudspeakers
For many years my music has been enjoyed through small, two-way stand mounted speakers. Although ones listening room usually dictates the size of the...
A Tale of Two Power Cables - TARA Labs Omega Evolution and The...
One Monday night at Carnegie Hall, we found ourselves in the second row orchestra, way over on the right, in front of and looking up at the double...
Wireworld Eclipse 7 Cables
The years 2015 and 2016 was a major transition for my family. A promotion for my wife resulted in the remodeling and eventual sale of our home on the...
EAR MC4 Step Up Transformer
Back in the olden days, I owned an Ortofon MC30 Cartridge. It had output to low for my ARC SP3 to handle so I went looking for a step up transformer. I...
Campfire Audio Vega IEM
Released in 2015, Campfire Audio headed by Ken ball has emerged as a successful in-ear monitor (IEM) company across the audiophile community. Having...
Interviews
An Interview with Dan D'Agostino
Dan D'Agostino is a name that is nearly synonymous with high end audio. As the founder of Krell, Dan pioneered the development of high powered, Class...
Music - SuperSonic Recordings
Top 500 SuperSonic List - Part 4
This is an ongoing project by Claude Lemaire of Soundevaluations. "Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair"... 31. The Beatles. Sgt. Pepper's...
Music Reviews
3Divas
DIVA 3DCD-2017, CD $17.99, available at http://divajazz.com/sights-and-sounds/recordings/3divas_cd/ Should it matter that the music you're listening to...
Bill Evans Trio, Sunday at the Village Vanguard
Bill Evans Trio, Sunday at the Village Vanguard. Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab UD1S 2-002 Box (2017, June), #2103 of 3000. Originally released on...
Mephisto & Co.
LISZT: Mephisto Waltz No. 1 (with two concert endings). MUSSORGSKY: Night on Bald Mountain. LIADOV: Baba Yaga. FRANCK: The Accursed Huntsman. DUKAS:...
Notes of an Amateur: Osorio Plays Brahms and Schubert;...
Jorge Federico Osorio, Final Thoughts. Last Piano Works of Schubert and Brahms. Çedille CDR 90000171. I grew up on the music of the late nineteenth...
The Secret Sisters, You Don't Own Me Anymore
New West Records BO6XPTH66X, LP $20.98, Amazon.com When it comes to harmonizing singers, who's your favorite group? The Beach Boys? Crosby, Stills,...
Joel Fredericksen and Ensemble Phoenix Munich, Requiem for a...
Good friend John Marks once again shares with PF readers the rich trove of musical discoveries that he shelters at his blog site, The Tannhauser...
New Old Stock - Articles from Our Days in Print
The Lowther Medallion II Loudspeakers
This article, by Jeff Silverstein, originally ran when Positive Feedback was in print - Vol. 8, No. 2, 1999. I miss my Lowther Medallion II...
Our Friends at HIFI Statement
Aurorasound Vida
Die feine Analog-Elektronik von Aurorasound wird in Japan von Shinobu Karaki entwickelt und gefertigt. Mit einem Umweg über die Bretagne, . . . Read More »
Grandinote Genesi
Ein neues Topmodell von Grandinote erblickt das Licht der High-End-Welt. Hat die Genesi Vorstufe das Zeug dazu,. . . Read More »
Thrax Dionysos und Heros
Die in Sofia beheimatete Firma Thrax hat sich in kurzer Zeit einen ganz ausgezeichneten Ruf unter Audiophilen erarbeitet.. . . Read More »
Magna Hifi Mano Music Streamer (High-Res)
Dieser Music-Streamer mit ungewöhnlicher technischer Ausstattung kommt aus den Niederlanden. . . . Read More »
Audio Exklusiv Powercord Netzkabel
Die akademische Ausbildung meiner von mir sehr geschätzten Nachbarn ist umfangreich. Einem Physikstudium schloss sich ein Studium der Mathematik an. . . . Read More »
Our Friends at High Fidelity
Fidata HFAS1-S10U Network Server/Files Player
I believe that the hottest word recently used by people listening to decent quality music is Tidal. Tidal is a paid streaming service offering music...
Accuphase DP-560 Super Audio CD Player
The Compact Disc player launched some time ago by the Norwegian Hegel Audio company was called the Mohican. It is a clear allusion to The Last of the...
Acoustic Revive RAS-14 Triple-C and RPC-1
The bad is a magical space Whispers screams and laughter There is room for happiness There is room for sin It's an island of pleasure A sea of...
Our Friends at Part-Time Audiophile
The Smoking Jacket: Pablo’s Boutique
As an agnostic progressive, I’ve learned to keep my own counsel when herfing with strangers or casual acquaintances. I don’t want to perpetuate any.... . . Read More »
Mini-Review: Zu Audio Dirty Weekend Omen Version II
Sometimes just reading the news here at PTA gets me into trouble. Like last March, when I happened upon a blurb about Zu Audio’s Dirty Weekend event,.... . . Read More »
Review: McIntosh MP1100 Phono Preamplifier, Digging into Your...
When the McIntosh MP1100 phono preamplifier arrived at my doorstep, I was as excited as when I saw the first McIntosh product at 12 years old. I.... . . Read More »
Vancouver Audio Festival 2017: High Fives on Day Two
Smiles greeted me from a number of manufacturer representatives as I headed into HiFi Centre for the second, and final day of the inaugural Vancouver.... . . Read More »
LA Audio Show 2017: The $350 to $5,000 systems they were lining...
There were a number of spectacular, cost-no-object components drawing stereo fans at the Los Angeles Audio Show, but the room I had the hardest time.... . . Read More »
Review: Roon, Tidal and totaldac – Part Two – delving into...
This is the second part of a three-part series on living with a computer-based audio system from an analog diehard’s perspective, and how it has.... . . Read More »
PS Audio P10 Power Plant Regenerator: An impressive start
PS Audio very kindly provided me a P10 Power Plant Regenerator for review back in March, and after having the unit in my reference system for last few.... . . Read More »
Radio Free Chip
Segovia - The Blue Guitarist
RADIO FREE CHIP Ourselves in the tune as if in space, Yet nothing changed, except the place - Wallace Stevens The guitar is a small orchestra. It is...
Show Reports
Klipsch Pilgrimage, 2017 - A Story About Speakers, People, and...
by Dave Mallette with assistance from Robert Schryer In 2014, a dozen of us from the Klipsch Community Internet forum held our first, the first,...
Los Angeles Audio Show Part Five
Continuing on with our coverage of the Los Angeles Audio Show... Part Five. ELAC. Stellar speakers for $6k a pair. MBL radialstrahler loudspeakers, new...
Munich High End 2017 - The Greatest Audio Show on Earth?
Bavarian Spring My flight landed at Flughafen München in Munich, the Bavarian capital and third most populous city in Germany, exactly on time,...
