November - December 2014
Audio Discourse
The 11th Annual Positive Feedback Writers' Choice Awards for...
Beginning at the end of 2003, PF established its first annual awards for fine audio. The Brutus Award was established for the best that Dave Clark and...
The Acoustic Revive Chronicles: The Eleventh House!
As many of you know—and as the title reference to "The Acoustic Revive Chronicles" suggests—over the years I've written quite...
When Old Is New and Streaming Media: The iBasso D12 Anaconda...
"Oh help me, please doctor, I'm damaged There's a pain where there once was a heart It's sleepin, it's a beatin' Can't ya please tear it out, and...
My Favorite Tubes and Their Substitutes
I love and appreciate tube based audio gear and own sixteen pieces of tube gear between my two reference systems. Without a thorough knowledge of tube...
How Wall Street Destroyed the Record Business
"The digital music business has been a war of attrition that nobody seems to be winning," said David Goldberg, the former head of Yahoo...
Music Enhanced To an Astonishing Level: The Transcendent...
The First Blueport "Audio Transcendence" Award (With a response by Marshall Nack) What does it mean that the onset of Global Warming...
Kubala-Sosna XPander Power Distributor - Neutrality and...
Talking About Power Distributors (With a response by Jim Merod) Every time I'd get in a new power product, Joe Kubala would come over to check it out....
Lampizator's 5th Generation DSD DAC: A Game Changer
The New Lampizator Generation V DSD DAC (Photo: Brian Moura) In May I attended The Show in Newport Beach with a list of new products I wanted to hear....
Why I Left TAS
I discovered the high end in 1978. But I seemed to have a natural inclination towards high-quality experience. My father was a largely self-trained EE,...
Audio Intelligent Vinyl Solutions' Premium One-Step Formula No.
"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man." – Heraclitus That's how...
Covalent-Audio Nucleus Headphone Amplifier-Preamp Review
A golden age only happens in retrospect: By the time you realize you're in one, you ain't. Hell, most of us have a hard enough time deciding...
Quick Notes: Astell&Kern Remote Control for AK 100, AK120,...
Bingo! Using the Astell&Kern AK 240 as a server in your main system just got super easy with the delightful AK Remote, $49.95. Using Bluetooth as...
But, What About The Music?
I've just spent a little time reading posts—both the originals and the comments on them—in some of the more than fifty audiophile groups that I...
Response to Dr. Robinson's Essay on Harry Pearson - It's Like...
A Portrait of Michael Mercer: THE Show, Newport Beach, CA, 2013 I have to admit, it felt great to laugh out-loud while reading Dr. D's (as I call...
The Audio Circular: No.11 in a Series of Parallel Narratives -...
I admit it; I can be late to the party. The vast majority of gear I have written about is not new to serious audio buffs and some has had much previous...
Impressions: Harry Pearson
Harry Pearson, a characteristic pose. RMAF 2009, Denver, CO With the death of Harry Pearson, Michael Mercer and I talked and decided that we would put...
Harry Pearson, Jr.: Godfather of High-End Audio, Sonic Explorer,...
Harry Pearson was an extraordinary man. He was always curious, and could turn an acidic, negative situation into fine wine and smiles with a...
The Rolling Stones, Sam Cooke & The Animals Come to DSD
The Rolling Stones, Sam Cooke & The Animals in DSD Just over a year ago, Chad Kassem at Acoustic Sounds announced the launch of Super HiRez, a new...
From Clark Johnsen's Diaries: When Harry Met Clarkie, or, Harry...
Only my oldest, dearest friends call me "Clarkie", so be careful – but it does make for a better title, so, yeah. / The author When I first met Harry...
HeaDSPeaker - A DSP Headphone Surround Sound Processor for Home...
DSPeaker is a Finnish company that manufactures audio products using DSP chips made by its parent company, VSLI Solution. The two most widely known...
The Neoteric Listener... Out of Your Head Software and the...
Our entire hobby is predicated on the contradiction of music reproduction, and one chord strummed live shatters the illusion of high end. But the joy I...
Hardware Reviews
Viero Equilibrio Level 3 Speaker Cables
So the call came out from PF: Who wants to review a pair of expensive speaker cables made in Italy? I raised my hand, er, I mean I responded to the...
VPI Classic Direct Turntable - Turning Back Time
Dogma is defined in the dictionary as, "A belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or...
Zu Audio Druid V Loudspeakers
'twas the year of our Lord twothousandandfive, when I had the very first opportunity to audition and opine about Zu's Druid loudspeakers...
LKV Veros One Phonostage
Quietude… That isn't a word you hear too often when describing high-end audio! But, what is most important with high fidelity LP playback? I...
Kronos Audio Products Sparta Turntable
Watching the Kronos Audio Products Sparta Turntable being assembled on my rack, it's clear that this is not your father's turntable. Visually,...
Inex Innovation Photon USB2 Audio Cable and USB to S/PDIF...
INEX Innovation, Inc. is a small audio company that was founded in 2004 by a group of audiophiles with strong engineering backgrounds in fiber optics...
Pendulumic Stance Bluetooth Headphones
I've never really been into headphones or personal listening, I usually enjoy an engaging experience with a normal 2 channel system where the...
REL Gibraltar G2 Subwoofer
I have owned several iterations of REL subwoofers over the years. Either as a single unit or in pairs. My first was the Stentor III at 133 lbs, 300 RMS...
Wilson Audio Alexia Loudspeakers
Alexia. Everyone wants to know Alexia. Everyone wants to have Alexia. She's the femme fatale who has you wrapped up in dreams of being James Bond...
Audience AV aR2p-TOS Power Conditioner
Audience has made a name for itself over the years by producing very fine interconnect cables, phono cables, speakers, and power chords well as the...
MG Audio Design Planus Cables
Cable reviews are always fun. They can be challenging, too as you're really trying to focus on the nuances and draw a positive experience....
Audioengine B1 Bluetooth DAC
Audioengine, based in the USA, is one of those companies that has worked to bring music into just about any environment, and at affordable prices. This...
Backert Labs Rhythm 1.1 Linestage
I'm excited to tell you about this great new tube line stage from Backert Labs based in Hockessin, Delaware near Philadelphia. This is, I believe,...
Pass Labs Xs Preamplifier and Xs 300 Amplifiers
When I was in my early teens, one of my fondest memories was helping my Father while he was working on his various audio projects. This was in the...
Codia Acoustic Design Stage 3000 Duo Audio Rack
My first experience with an audiophile rack was Grand Prix Audio's Monaco which blew my mind both in price and performance. Up until that point I...
Jasmine Audio Tiger Moving Coil Phono Cartridge
I cannot remember the last time I did a review that exploded my mythological view of things like this one has done. I have said for a number of years...
Blue Circle FX2 6 XOe Power Line Conditioner
Blue Circle's Gilbert Yeung is one of high end audio's more colorful and unconventional characters. I can't think of another audio designer...
Interviews
David Robinson and David Elias on DSD Interviewed by Steve...
Enjoy the Music.TV's interview with David W. Robinson of Positive Feedback magazine and singer/musician/songwriter David Elias. Hosted by...
Music Reviews
Recondite, Iffy
Recondite is a master of smooth grooves. 2013's Hinterland was/is a superb compilation of intelligent electronic music that's ideal for just...
Releases by Tacet Audio, Navona Records, Art Haus Musik and
Phoenix in Flight. Orchestra: Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Kirk Trevor. Clarinetist: Richard Stoltzman. Navona Records CD NV801 This...
Notes of an Amateur: Schubert, Gubaidulina, Shostakovich.
Schubert, Winterreise. Matthias Goerne, baritone. Christoph Eschenbach, piano. Schubert Edition, No. 9. Harmonia Mundi. HMC 902107. Schubert's...
Caribou, Our Love
Some records, I find, are best described as a sonic journey, a whole, rather than dissecting each track (though, admittedly, I'll be doing some of...
New Music - David Roth, Guru Guru, and More
David Roth - Will You Come Home Stockfisch SFR 357.8079.1, 2 x 180 g 45 rpm LP The tradition of Stockfisch LP releases goes back to the 1990s. On a...
Notes of an Amateur: Rachel Podger, Margaret Brouwer, Galina...
Perla Barocca. Early Italian Masterpieces. Rachel Podger, violin. Harpsichord, organ, and therobo accompaniment. Channel Classics. CCSA 36014. CD/SACD....
The Beatles In Mono LP Box Set
When the Beatles' digital remasters came out a few years ago on CD (and the higher-resolution 24-bit FLACs loaded onto the USB Apple version), a...
Stockfisch Records Finds Analog Pearls
Analog Pearls, Volume 1 Cover Stockfisch Enters the Remastered SACD/DSD Market Some of our readers are familiar with Stockfisch Records. It's a...
Darren Chase Sings Schumann Lieder
SCHUMANN: Kerner Lieder, Op. 35; Lenau Lieder und Requiem, Op. 90; Liederkreis, Op. 39. Darren Chase, baritone; Sergey Schepkin, piano. Arabesque...
Notes of an Amateur: Harbison, Couperin, Jonathan Harvey, and...
John Harbison, String Trio; Four Songs of Solitude [for solo violin]; Songs Americans Love to Sing [flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano]. Members...
Sonic Satori – Thom Yorke Brings it on Tomorrow's Modern Boxes
The weight of expectations must be huge for Thom Yorke. I mean, not only is he the front-man for Radiohead, but he's got deep commitments musically...
Impressions: Howard Hanson: An American Romantic in Quad DSD...
The movement of reference-grade reference tapes to DSD for downloading continues apace. One of the industry leaders in this regard is High Definition...
Vinyl in the Round: ECM Re:Solutions
Mastered from the original 1970s era analog tapes and pressed in Germany on beautiful 180 gram vinyl (and also released on CD), ECM's Re:Solutions...
New Old Stock - Articles from Our Days in Print
Acoustic Masterpiece M-101 Amplifier
This article, by Dave Clark, Victor Chavira, Larry Cox, and Francisco Duran, originally ran when audioMUSINGS was in print - Issue 6, 1998. Some...
Our Friends at HIFI Statement
And enjoy a free download of a song in highres and DSD played by...
Nein, es geht hier nicht um irgendwelche Hifi-Klänge: Die britische Band heißt wirklich The New Mastersounds und groovt wie der Teufel: endlich mal.... . . Read More »
Listen to it's sound via three free downloads in our sound...
Klangbeispiel 70 • Transrotor Figaro. . . Read More »
A review of the EINSTEIN's MC-cartridge The Pickup (in German)
Manche Tests sind das Resultat langer Planung, andere ergeben sich spontan. Zu letzteren zählt dieser. The Pickup war noch im SME V montiert, den.... . . Read More »
A review of THOMAS MAYER's tube amps 10Y (in German)
Thomas Mayer ist ein Hersteller, der bislang in der Highend Szene in Deutschland noch nicht so bekannt ist. International sieht die Sache wieder ganz.... . . Read More »
A review of the van den Hul's cartridge The Crimson (in German)
Das Crimson ist zwar nun schon seit über einem Jahr auf dem Markt – aber dennoch ist dieser Bericht hochaktuell. Aalt van den Hul, der.... . . Read More »
A review of the KORG's DAC DS-DAC 100 and the Audiogate...
Keine Angst, in den Hörräumen der Kollegen und in meinem warten schon Plattenspieler, Tonabnehmer, gewichtige Mono-Endstufen und Lautsprecher auf.... . . Read More »
A review of AQUA ACOUSTICS QUALITY's cd-transport and DAC La...
Die Mailänder Firma Aqua hat nun nichts mit dem Städtischen Wasserwerk zu tun, sondern dies ist ein Wortspiel mit der Abkürzung von Acoustic.... . . Read More »
A review of the KRON's integrated tube amplifier (in German)
Bei Hybridverstärkern denkt der Audiophile als solcher irgendwie an: nicht Fisch und nicht Fleisch. Insbesondere die Hardcore Röhrenliebhaber haben.... . . Read More »
Read a portrait of MYTEK DIGITAL in Warsaw (in German)
Mytek baut Digital-Elektronik mit einem faszinierenden Preis/Leistungsverhältnis, ist seit Jahren in der Studioszene bestens etabliert, hat aber bei.... . . Read More »
Our Friends at High Fidelity
Fonica - F-901 VIOLIN Turntable + F-03 rev.3 Tonearm
The turntable is a relatively simple mechanical design. Its task is to spin the platter with a vinyl disc in an appropriate manner, i.e. at a...
Rogoz Audio 3RP1/BBS Isolation Board
It was with great pleasure that I unpacked the newest isolation board from Janusz Rogoz, which is marked as the 3RP1/BBS. Large and heavy, employing...
Phasemation HD-7A192 D/A Converter
When I think about Phasemation I see a picture in front of my eyes of an older gentleman, the CEO of this company, standing next to the TechDAS Air...
Ultrasone EDITION 5 Headphones
In a year 2003, a not so widely known German company called Ultrasone launched the Edition 7 headphones. It was a limited edition of 999 units. That...
Abyssound's ASP-1000 Preamplifier and ASX-2000 Amplifier
The pictures that accompany High Fidelity's review of the ASX-1000 amplifier show that it is a fairly large, not to say massive, unit. Short...
Show Reports
2014 TAVES Show Report Part Two
One of the fastest growing distributors in Canada is Charisma Audio. Owner Bernard Li always puts on a good show and this time was no exception. This...
2014 TAVES Show Report Part One
Tis the season for TAVES and yet again, it provided a reason for celebrating sonic excellence. This is the one high-end audio show that I truly enjoy...
Jon Mayer Solo: LIVE! in Portland
Jazz pianists are the archivists and barometric interpreters of the Great American songbook, a repository of melodic brilliance that legendary pianist...
Impressions: Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2014, & My PFO Audio...
The registration lines at RMAF 2014…busy! The Intro… Shazam! How does time pass this bloody quickly? It seems like just the other day that I was at...
The Three Musketeers See the RMAF 2014
Gary Dahl, Thom Mackris (of Galibier Designs) and I have been working on a high-efficiency speaker for a while now. This is the outcome of the enormous...
RMAF 2014
During the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest 2014, Myles Astor posted images and thoughts daily on the Positive Feedback Facebook page. Check out his reports...
