May - June 2017
Audio Discourse
From the LA Audio Show: PF's DSD Seminar PowerPoints
From the LA Audio Show: PF's DSD Seminar PowerPoints Those of you who were at the recent LA Audio Show had an opportunity to attend the Positive...
Audio Ramblings - The Aurender A10 and Comments on Cables from...
So, two things on my mind here… the Aurender A10 and how wonderfully musical it is, and the WireWorld Starlight Cat8 Ethernet cables… and how they...
The Acoustic Revive Chronicles, Chapter 13: The RPT-6 Absolute...
Acoustic Revive was founded in Japan in 1997 by Mr. Ken Ishiguro, who is the design genius behind the innovative and ultra-quality Acoustic Revive...
The State of the High End Audio Show
Jeremy R. Kipnis & Bob Carver at New York Audio Show - Nov. 2016 As a teenager of 17, I was introduced to CES: The Winter Consumer Electronics Show...
Sony Adds Quad DSD to Car Digital Media Player
Sony RSX-GS9 Playing Dirty Work by Jenna Mammina in DSD 11.2 MHz (Photo: Blue Coast Music) Sony Electronics has announced that their RSX-GS9 Car...
Impressions: My Audio Oasis! Awards for AXPONA 2017
Chicago 2017 is now firmly in the rear-view mirror, O'Hare Airport and all. The show itself was a well attended event, with a just announced attendance...
HiFi Pig, Part-Time Audiophile, and Positive Feedback Link-Up
The Higher End: HiFi Pig, Part-Time Audiophile, and Positive Feedback link-up In which our hero meditates… Those of you who have been reading...
AudioQuest DragonFly Black and Red DACs - Now with MQA!
The two newest entries in AudioQuest's DragonFly family of DACs are the Black ($99 USD) and the Red ($199 USD), with the core design approach appearing...
Audio Ramblings - The WyWires Diamond Loudspeaker Cables
So, we come to you with another cable review. Sorry, I know many of you believe that cables cannot have a sound or character—that is either they work...
My Digital Journey and the Mytek Brooklyn DAC
Nothing beats the convenience of digital music. For many years, I have stored and played back digital music (before the MP3) because of how easy it...
The Neoteric Listener - The Sonneteer Orton Integrated Amplifier
Sonneteer may not be a familiar company to many of my American compatriots, but they've been in business since 1994 and have a line of audio products...
Beauty, Audio, and Money
Roger Skoff writes about how our eyes, ears, and wallets may all be tied together The traffic on Pacific Coast Highway ("PCH") in Newport Beach,...
and Steve Says… What About Affordable, Entry Level, and Budget...
As anyone who has followed my work for the past twenty years or so know, I am all about lower cost, high value audio. I love finding equipment that...
Journeys in Audio Subjectivism - Part Eight: Of Andrew Jones,...
"The speaker that changed my life?" said Jones. "Easy. The Quad ESL57. It's the first true Hi-Fi speaker I heard once I got to university. I have...
Lefson: French High-End Analog Audio Devices - The Lefson...
I have been enjoying quite a lot of audio adventures over the last year or so while doing audio projects where I experimented with various wire types,...
Hardware Reviews
Synergistic Research PowerCell 12 UEF SE Power Conditioner
Please be patient as I step you through some backstory. I reviewed the Synergistic Research PowerCell 10 UEF power conditioner back in October...
Grado Labs PS2000e Headphones
It is high time an American company—with manufacturing in Brooklyn, New York since 1953—should develop and build a state of the art challenger for...
Synergistic Research Galileo UEF AES/EBU (XLR) Digital Cable
Synergistic Research (SR) is at it again. Like Michael Corleone in Godfather III, "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!" I am always on...
Benchmark AHB2 Amplifier
I've had my fair chance at messing with all sorts of amplifier technologies, from Class A, to AB, D, even T—you name it, and each one carries their...
Fiio X5 3rd Generation Digital Audio Player
Fiio have been well-regarded as an audio company for their budget to mid-priced offerings. The original Fiio X5 DAP captivated audiences worldwide but...
Kuzma 4 Point 14" Tonearm
Albert Porter owns www.porterhouseaudio.com and features products from Allnic Audio, Stahl~Tek, Purist Audio Design, Koetsu cartridges, Airtight...
Einstein Audio Components – The System Part 2
With technical contributions by Jürgen Saile. While working on Einstein's complete audio system with its laudable analogue source, in Part 1 of this...
Einstein Audio Components – The System Part 1
Anyone who has ever looked into the hi-fi world in a little bit more intensive way knows that the arbitrary combination of well-reputed audio...
Thales TTT Compact II Turntable & Simplicity II Tonearm
From time to time, an item is plucked from the mildewed bins of analog history by one of the reissue houses. Occasionally the dredging action strikes...
Pass Labs INT-60 Integrated Amplifier
A few times I've been lucky enough to review a product before the rest of the audio-press get their red-hot hands on it, but mostly I've been...
The Audia Flight Strumento n°1 mk2 Preamp
The Audia Flight Strumento n°1 mk2 Preamp Many audiophiles believe that they can get along without any preamplifier in these digital times. However, I...
van den Hul Colibri XGW Stradivarius Moving Coil Cartridge -...
I'll save you the trouble and time of skipping the discussion and jumping directly to the conclusions for the low down on the van den Hul Colibri...
Makin' Magic with Protons and Electrons - The BybeeTech Quantum...
Jack Bybee's iQSE or internal Quantum Signal Enhancer (iQSE) differs from the AC Purifiers I wrote about last month. As you'd expect the signal from...
Scansonic MB-5 Loudspeakers
There has always been something magical about the Raidho line of speakers. Why do I mention Raidho in an article about Scansonic speakers? Great...
Ayon Audio Vulcan Evo Amplifiers
Ayon Audio has over the last 15 years become one of the best known high end tube amplifier manufacturers, at least here in Europe. In particular, they...
Esperanto Audio Black S/PDIF Cable
Michael Zisserson's review of the Esperanto Audio Black S/PDIF Cable is published with a disclosure. Michael has done some professional work for John...
Audiophile Analog and Digital Quickies
Stein Music The Perfect Interface, Pi Slip Stein Music's Pi Interface Sheet under your LP and prepare for sonic improvement most every time. Whether...
A Second Look at the AURALiC Altair Wireless Streaming DAC
A couple of years ago I wrote one of the first in the nation reviews of the AURALiC Vega DAC (read my Vega review HERE). I found the experience of...
Larsen Model 4 Loudspeaker
In 2013 I wrote about Sweden's Larsen Hifi Model 8 speakers (HERE) a veritable bargain at $6,995 for those with such resources. The musical and organic...
KEF LS50 Wireless Loudspeakers
We are witnessing an entirely new generation of HiFi. Gone [going?] are the singularly designed, specifically functioning, one trick ponies; all hail...
Accuphase DP-950/DC-950 Super Audio CD Player
It's been thirty years since Accuphase presented to the world their own Compact Disc Player. The two-box DP-80/DC-81 system premiered in July 1986 and...
Interviews
Bill Parish Talks with PF's Jim Merod
Jim Merod was in NYC recently, helping to MC a special Jazz event at The Lincoln Center. While there, he took the time to visit with Bill Parish of GTT...
From the Kipnis Studios (KSS): The View From The Top - An...
Kipnis Studio Standard (KSS) - Stereo Loudspeaker & Amplifier Testing Array with (Left to Right) Ologe Model FIVE, Ceratec Effeqct Mk. IV, and...
Music - SuperSonic Recordings
Top 500 SuperSonic List - Part 3
This is an ongoing project by Claude Lemaire of Soundevaluations. In a slight variation of sorts, and at the risk of foregoing a bit of diversity,...
Music Reviews
Thurston Moore, Rock and Roll Consciousness
Ecstatic Peace!/Caroline Records CAROL015LP, $19.99 2-LPs Amazon.com For me there are two Sonic Youths. I really like one of them. They're edgy and...
Freedom is Free, Chicano Batman
As I write this review, Chicano Batman takes the stage in the blaring sun of the Coachella Valley for the second time—two years ago, some...
Notes of an Amateur: Goerne Sings Schumann, Pacifica Quartet...
Einsam Keit. Schumann Lieder. Mathias Goerne, baritone, Markus Hinterhäuser, piano. Harmonia Mundi HMM 902243. Coming to Matthias Goerne without...
Robt Sarazin Blake, Recitative
Same Room Records SSR030, double LP $25, double CD $20, download $15—robertsarazinblake.bandcamp.com Recitative is one of those albums you release...
The Mother of All Music - Music of the Bushmen
Bushmen of the Kalahari When We Were Free: Bushman Music of the Kalahari Rhythm is the prominent element of the music on these CDs: claps, rattles,...
Victoria Terekiev, Wind from the East
PIPKOV: Bulgarian Suite for Piano, Op. 2. HADJIEV: Melodic Etudes. VLADIGEROV: Bulgarian Songs and Dances, Op. 25. Victoria Terekiev, piano. Gega New...
Brahms: The Four Symphonies, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris...
This time Brahms. Our musical guide John Marks, of The Tannhauser Gate (http://www.thetannhausergate.com), leads us into a recent recording of four...
Camilla Tilling, "loves me… loves me not…"
In which our esteemed friend, John Marks of The Tannhauser Gate (www.thetannhausergate.com) introduces us to yet another worthy singer, she of a...
New Old Stock - Articles from Our Days in Print
The Sun Rises in America - Reinventing Push/Pull: Some Dancing...
This article, by Harvey Rosenberg, originally ran when Positive Feedback was in print - Vol. 7, No. 6, 1998. During my short tenure as PF's...
Our Friends at HIFI Statement
Kaiser Acoustics Kawero! Classic
Wer ab und zu einen Blick in die Liste der für den Test verwendeten Komponenten wirft, dem dürfte aufgefallen sein, dass die Kawero! . . . Read More »
High End Munich 2017
Our Partner in Europe, Dirk Sommer of HIFI Statement, offers a plethora of images from Day 1 of the High End Munich 2017 show by HIFI Statement's.... . . Read More »
Einstein Audio Components Komplettanlage - Teil 1
Wer sich auch nur ein wenig intensiver mit Hifi beschäftigt hat, weiß, dass die willkürliche Kombination auch von bestens beleumundeten Komponenten.... . . Read More »
Crayon Audio CFA-1.2
Ein alter Bekannter? Für einige von uns ist sicherlich. Auf den Norddeutschen HiFi-Tagen brachte eine gelungene Präsentation des RB-Audiovertriebs.... . . Read More »
ZeroUno Plus
Vor ungefähr einem Jahr hatte ich mit dem ZeroUno DAC einen Digital-Analog-Wandler zum Test, der wie eine kleine Röhrenendstufe aussah und der mich.... . . Read More »
Wells Audio Milo
Falls Ihnen der Milo bekannt vorkommt, ist das kein Déjà-vu-Erlebnis: Im Bericht über die Messe in Warschau hatte ich Ihnen den originell.... . . Read More »
Zingali Twenty Evo 1.2
Was hat die Zahl „Twenty“ mit den Lautsprechern der italienischen Edelschmiede Zingali zu tun? Wenn Sie jetzt weiterlesen, werden Sie noch viel.... . . Read More »
Ayon S10 Streamer
Bereits auf der letztjährigen High End hat mir Gerhard Hirt, Eigentümer und Chef von Ayon, seine Neuentwicklung im Bereich Netzwerkspieler.... . . Read More »
Our Friends at High Fidelity
Soundsmith Zephyer MIMC Star Cartridge
Soundsmith Zephyer MIMC Star Cartridge The world's best turntables use Soundsmith because we've been designing and hand-building the world's best phono...
Yayuma Audio Awareness Line ASP 01 Sound Processor
A general rule, which I try to follow selecting audio products for my tests and when performing the test boils down to credibility. On the one hand, my...
Accuphase DP-950/DC-950 Super Audio CD Player
It's been thirty years since Accuphase presented to the world their own Compact Disc Player. The two-box DP-80/DC-81 system premiered in July 1986 and...
Krakow Sonic Society Meeting 108 - Kondo ONGAKU Integrated...
It was clear from the moment I knew I would receive Kondo OnGaku amplifier for a review that I would also want to listen to it together with my...
Our Friends at Part-Time Audiophile
ELAC Uni-Fi UF5 floor standing speakers
What we have from the outside is, as I mentioned, a pair of fairly conventional-looking narrow-baffle towers. Each speaker stands 39 inches in height.... . . Read More »
Fostex TH-610, Massdrop TH-X00, and TH-X00 Ebony
Fostex has a long history in the audio business. The company was founded in 1973, but its parent company Foster Electric Co., Ltd was formed way back.... . . Read More »
darTZeel CTH-8550 integrated amplifier (with Siltech)
The $25,000 USD gold, and Ferrari-red, solid-state integrated amplifier from Switzerland exuded raw sex appeal as it sat in my listening room oozing.... . . Read More »
“Affordable high-end” — is that like “jumbo shrimp”?
How many Simolians do you have to part with these days to get good sound? I mean, really? Is it even possible, or just a frustrating pipe.... . . Read More »
Show Reports
Los Angeles Audio Show Part Four
Continuing on with our coverage of the Los Angeles Audio Show... Part Four. Musical Fidelity, Crystal Cable, Audio Plus Services. Musical Fidelity. A...
Los Angeles Audio Show Part Three
Continuing on with our coverage of the Los Angeles Audio Show... Part Three. Channel Islands Audio had two passive line controllers, the PLC.1 MKII and...
Los Angeles Audio Show Part Two
Continuing on with our coverage of the Los Angeles Audio Show... Part Two. Elite Audio Systems, Viola Labs, Kharma International. Alma Music &...
Los Angeles Audio Show Part One
This was the first time for this new show, also known as the LAAS. The venue moved from Orange County to LAX. This show report will feature a lot of...
High End Munich 2017
Our Partner in Europe, Dirk Sommer of HIFI Statement, offers a plethora of images from Day 1 of the High End Munich 2017 show by HIFI Statement's.... . . Read More »
AXPONA 2017: Pictures at an Audio Exhibition
Dateline: Westin Hotel, Rosemont, Ill., April 21-23rd, 2017 AXPONA! I get a serious kick out of listening to exotic, cost-no-object systems. In fact,...
AXPONA 2017: A Personal Journey, and the Von Schweikert Audio...
Audio shows! Local, regional, national, international. I've been covering shows and have had the privilege of producing show reports for various...
The "New" AXPONA?
Devices and Desires: The Best of the Best at AXPONA 2017 Without question, last weekend's AXPONA show (April 21-23) in Rosemont, Illinois ranks amongst...
