January - February 2024 Archives - Positive Feedback

Violent Femmes 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition on 180 Gram LPs from Craft Recordings

Tom Gibbs — Sun, 25 Feb 2024 00:26:09 +0000

On March 1st, Craft Recordings is celebrating the 40th anniversary of the eponymous debut record from folk/punk pioneers Violent Femmes with a new box set, Violent Femmes: 40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition. Craft is offering expanded reissues of the band's groundbreaking first album with multi-disc box sets available in a variety of formats. My supplied review... Read More »

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Collective Soul's 7even Year Itch: Greatest Hits 1994-2001 now on 180 gram LP from Craft Recordings

Tom Gibbs — Fri, 23 Feb 2024 21:50:59 +0000

Craft Recordings celebrates the 30th anniversary of southern alternative rockers Collective Soul with their reissue of the band's 7even Year Itch: Greatest Hits 1994-2001, available for the first time in the LP format. The Stockbridge, Georgia band's debut album, 1994's Hints, Allegations and Things Left Unsaid, was a surprise hit that took them from absolute... Read More »

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Stu's Place - Ice Age Audio Power Cords, Interconnects and Speaker Cables

Stu McCreary — Fri, 16 Feb 2024 20:57:44 +0000

Intro - Some New Toys at Stu's It's been a while. Over two years by my reckoning. There's been a lot going on in my world, but hidden away, deep in my audio bunker, I've been doing a lot of modifying, tweaking, and after doing much careful listening, I've even picked up a few new... Read More »

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Calcutta! by Lawrence Welk

Robert Pincus — Fri, 16 Feb 2024 20:15:07 +0000

It's time for a confession: I enjoy the album Calcutta! (Dot DLP 25359) by Lawrence Welk (1903-1992). Honestly, there's an awful lot to like on this LP. It has incredible sound, incredible musicianship, and memorable tunes that'll make your body move. The stereo imagery is on a par with the best of Martin Denny's exotica... Read More »

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Simplicity Offers a Lot of Possibilities

Wojciech Pacuła — Thu, 15 Feb 2024 18:51:59 +0000

About the fact that what is simple is better than what is complex. But also about the fact that thoughtless simplifying is a mistake. Listening to music should be a simple matter. It is, after all, about one of the basic ways of spending free time that humans have indulged in for a very long... Read More »

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the audio analyst© Episode 160: Vienna - Chasing Beethoven

Greg Weaver — Fri, 09 Feb 2024 20:04:31 +0000

My fascination with and appreciation of Beethoven's work began even before my relatively formal introduction to his vast body of work and influence on Western music which came in junior high school, where I not only had Miss Bloom's music class once a week throughout the 7th, 8th, and 9th grades, but also sat in... Read More »

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Quad Revela 2 Loudspeaker

John Zurek — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 21:15:41 +0000

For the last few years I've been audio lucky. Fat and happy while discovering new music on Qobuz augmented by the convenience of Roon, or listening to CDs and LPs. My system was delivering the goods and communicating the music. All my compatriots who came over to listen agreed. I was consistently contented and not... Read More »

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Topping A90 Discrete Preamplifier/Headphone Amp Offers Exceptional and Affordable Performance

Tom Gibbs — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 17:14:39 +0000

Mid last year, I reviewed the Topping E70 Velvet DAC, which is a Delta-Sigma design that in my view offered astounding performance at a surprisingly low price point. Most of my love of the E70 Velvet revolved around its very cool implementation of the recent new production AKM chipsets, and its use of AKM's Velvet... Read More »

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Richard Gray's Power Company RGPC 1200 Custom Solution for Max Euphoria and Safety!

Juan C. Ayllon — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 18:03:50 +0000

We've all heard horror stories of stereos destroyed by electrical storms and events. Towards that end, many of us use surge protectors or power conditioners, and if you're like me, you take it a step further and when lightning is present, you unplug your system. Unfortunately, you can't always be there when a major surge... Read More »

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Impressions: Portraits from AXPONA 2023, a Gallery

David W. Robinson — Tue, 06 Feb 2024 17:45:53 +0000

As I explained many months ago last May in Issue 127, my 2023 show impressions for both AXPONA and Pacific Audio Fest were derailed and terribly delayed by death...family and close friends...disease, and depressive moments. Top it off with too much work and some travel, and, well here I am. But I'm working on finishing... Read More »

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Is It Really All BS? Part 1

Roger Skoff — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 22:49:12 +0000

Roger Skoff, President of RSX Technologies, at the LAOC Audio Society Gala, December 2023 (photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson) Roger Skoff writes about the weirdest thing about our hobby On one of the larger Facebook audio groups, a question currently being asked is "Who is the biggest proliferator of audio BS?", and... Read More »

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Notes on Recent Finds, No. 19 - HDTT Adds New Bundles of Joy

Rushton Paul — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 22:42:34 +0000

Bob Witrak of HDTT keeps mining the hills for superb vintage recordings on both tape and LP to release in high resolution digital. And new recordings from the master tapes, as well. It is amazing that the flow continues in virtually a never-ending flood of superb music. The skill with which Bob makes these transfers... Read More »

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Puron AC Power Conditioners, Now with Worldwide Distribution by HiFi House UK

Tom Gibbs — Sat, 03 Feb 2024 16:54:14 +0000

There are two recent observations I've made in high-end audio: 1) There are plenty of relatively inexpensive devices that can add significantly to your enjoyment of music and video playback, even if those devices might appear to be incapable of making a difference. Also, 2) The number of "audio enthusiasts" who dismiss the perceived benefits... Read More »

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A Six Pack Of Superb LP Releases From Analogue Productions, Mofi, Rhino High Fidelity, And Sam Records

Robert S. Youman — Thu, 01 Feb 2024 18:38:10 +0000

Dire Straits, On Every Street. Mofi (45 RPM) Highly underrated and one of my favorite Dire Straits studio albums, On Every Street was released in 1991 on the Vertigo label in Europe and on the Warner Brothers label in the USA. "Calling Elvis," "Planet of New Orleans," and "How Long" are three tracks that belong... Read More »

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The Youngbloods - Elephant Mountain, Finally Reissued on a Fabulous 180 gram LP from Impex Records

Tom Gibbs — Thu, 01 Feb 2024 17:58:05 +0000

Impex Records has just released a newly remastered LP reissue of Elephant Mountain, the 1969 RCA label neglected classic from folk-rock group The Youngbloods. Elephant Mountain came on the heels of the band's incredible success with the song that helped shape an entire generation, "Get Together." Apparently, getting this reissue together required the production team... Read More »

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Waters on the Hardware: The Vivid Audio Kaya 45 and Kaya 90 Loudspeakers

Dean Waters — Thu, 01 Feb 2024 02:36:56 +0000

Dean Waters with cigar: a portrait at Pacific Audio Fest 2023 (photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson) The Vivid Audio Kaya 90 loudspeaker in one of its many custom colors (image courtesy of Vivid Audio) The smaller Kaya 45, again in a custom color (image courtesy of Vivid Audio) The Kaya product line... Read More »

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Aidas Mammoth Gold Moving Coil Stereo Cartridge

Tim Aucremann — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 19:46:29 +0000

Phono cartridges, like musical instruments, use their body's resonance to influence the unique character of their sound. The cartridge body holds the cartridge's suspension and its electrical generating system—its stylus, cantilever, coils and magnet—while sitting between those and the tonearm. The body is a source of resonance that vibrates at its own frequency while it... Read More »

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Jimmy Namaro Trio

Robert Pincus — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 18:19:50 +0000

Mexican-Canadian pianist, vibes player, and band leader Jimmy Namaro (1913-1998) isn't the best known name in music. The only reason I know him is because I have an eagle eye for unusual records. Born in La Rosita, Mexico, in 1913, he became a Canadian citizen in 1945. He moved to the US in 1970. Information... Read More »

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Vera-Fi Audio's Vanguard Caldera 10 Subwoofer

Tom Gibbs — Sun, 28 Jan 2024 23:43:39 +0000

Back in 1984, before all the cool old independent hi-fi shops started vanishing into oblivion, there was a nice older dealer in northwest Atlanta called High Fidelity SSS. The shop had McIntosh amps, JBL Hartsfields, and all kinds of vintage gear scattered about, along with one room that was stocked with more modern gear. The... Read More »

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Craft Recordings' OJC Reboot Continues with a Trio of Classic LPs from Tony Bennett and Bill Evans, The Cats, and Yusef Lateef

Tom Gibbs — Sun, 28 Jan 2024 20:33:39 +0000

Craft Recordings continues their Original Jazz Classics relaunch with three superb new reissues, featuring Tony Bennett and Bill Evans together on The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album (1975, Fantasy); Tommy Flanagan and John Coltrane on The Cats (1957, New Jazz), and Yusef Lateef's Eastern Sounds (1961, Moodsville). The Tony Bennett/Bill Evans Album was the first of... Read More »

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Notes on Recent Finds, No. 18 - More Bert van der Wolf Recordings

Rushton Paul — Sun, 28 Jan 2024 20:23:35 +0000

If you've followed along with some of my other articles, you may have picked up on how much I admire the recordings made by Bert van der Wolf of Northstar Recording Services (see HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE). Bert ranks very highly among a small group of highly talented independent recording and mastering engineers whom... Read More »

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As Good As It Gets - Music from Tonian Labs

Larry Cox — Fri, 26 Jan 2024 01:05:15 +0000

Is your system where you want it to be? How would you know? There are a number of "test records" for you to get a sense of your progress that feature pink noise, white noise, and other noises can help you do that. If your perspective arises from science or testing, those can be good... Read More »

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Bud Shank's Barefoot Adventure: A Lost Classic Rediscovered by Impex Records

Tom Gibbs — Thu, 25 Jan 2024 17:58:50 +0000

Clifford Everett "Bud" Shank (1926-2009) was an American sax player and flautist regularly mentioned as being one of the preeminent exponents of the subgenre commonly known as West Coast jazz. Call it West Coast jazz, or even Cool jazz, if you will; it's freely associated with the likes of Gerry Mulligan, Chet Baker, Stan Getz,... Read More »

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Wes Montgomery's The Complete Full House Recordings Reissued on three 180 gram LPs by Craft Recordings

Tom Gibbs — Tue, 23 Jan 2024 23:17:22 +0000

On what would have been his centennial, Craft Recordings has releasing the complete recordings of jazz guitarist extraordinaire Wes Montgomery's seminal 1962 live date, Full House. Which in its new guise, The Complete Full House Recordings, presents everything recorded on June 25, 1962 at the short-lived Berkeley, California coffee house and jazz hotspot, Tsubo. Compiling... Read More »

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Hot House: The Complete Jazz At Massey Hall Recordings on three 180 gram LPs from Craft Recordings

Tom Gibbs — Tue, 23 Jan 2024 23:09:50 +0000

Craft Recordings has just released Hot House: The Complete Jazz At Massey Hall Recordings, which is an expanded reissue of the original album, The Quintet: Jazz At Massey Hall. The event took place on May 13, 1953, at Toronto, Canada's Massey Hall, and the gathering of jazz giants Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Bud Powell, Charles... Read More »

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