Some of you may recall that Ann and I have been on a journey of discovery these past three years. After 45 and more years as died-in-the-wool analog listeners, we moved from an all-vinyl listening system to an all-digital listening system. And as we've explored digital recordings, we've kept our "audiophile-off-the-deep-end" hats firmly in place,... Read More »
When I was a Kid Hi-Fi Crazy many years ago, "specs" were really important to me and to all of my Kid Hi-Fi Crazy friends. Being kids, we naturally had no money, and couldn't afford to buy anything—or at least not anything that wasn't either a kit or second-hand. Even so, we were all very... Read More »
Escape into your own world of high-quality sound! Salisbury, England – May 11, 2021 - British hi-fi specialist, Naim Audio has launched Uniti Atom Headphone Edition – a headphone-optimized version of its multiple-award-winning Uniti Atom music streaming system, designed to be the ultimate solo listening source. Unlike traditional headphone amplifiers and DACs, which require a... Read More »
I've been enjoying the wonderful recordings from Eudora Records for several months. I asked Gonzalo Noqué, founder and chief recording engineer, if he'd be willing to share a conversation about his label and recording philosophy. He agreed and we corresponded via email about some topics I thought Positive Feedback readers might find of interest. Enjoy. Gonzalo... Read More »
As lovely a piano recording as we are ever likely to hear. Javier Laso gives us superb performances of two great works of the piano literature. And Gonzalo Noqué, producer and chief recording engineer for Eudora Records, gives us a recording that captures of the sound of a grand piano as well or better than... Read More »
Sarah Shafer (s), Tessa; Raquel Winnica Young (ms), Pi; Dan Kempson (b). Arts Crossing Chamber Orchestra/Efraín Amaya. Albany TROY 1846. TT: 78.30 About a year ago—when it became apparent that the pandemic shutdowns would be dragging on for a while—the noted singer-actor Stephen Pasquale was interviewed by Classic Stage Company's Artistic Director, John Doyle (on Zoom,... Read More »
Wide variety of reference-quality music includes solo piano, jazz, classical, pop and more, recorded in stunning DSD and SACD audio -- Boulder, Colorado, May 10, 2021 – PS Audio’s Octave Records label announces its first compilation album, Audiophile Masters, Volume 1. The hybrid stereo SACD disc features 10 new and previously released tracks by a... Read More »
Production run limited to 300 units, of which 100 allocated to North America BALLSTON SPA, New York, May 2021 – The new Luxman L-595A SPECIAL EDITION is a premium Class A integrated amplifier built to commemorate Luxman’s 95th anniversary. The unique industrial design reimagines the highly regarded L-570 series inaugurated in 1989. “Not many consumer... Read More »
10 May, 2021; Englewood, CO - Monarch Systems Ltd., a distributor of high-performance consumer audio electronics, is excited to announce a new offering from Siltech, the Classic Legend Series. Classic Legend is a revision of Siltech's industry leading and multi-award-winning Classic Anniversary Series, first launched in 1997. It has since grown to become their best-selling product... Read More »
May 3rd, 2021 – Furthering the company's reputation for developing high-performance source components, AURALiC has launched the ALTAIR G2.1, a comprehensively featured product, developed to account for both digital and analogue sources, delivering transformative, dynamic sound for the demanding high-performance audio enthusiast. The ALTAIR model name has always been synonymous with that of extensive features... Read More »
A friend of mine was looking at these Sophia Electric vacuum tubes, and she told me "They're so pretty, they look like works of art." These Sophia Electric vacuum tubes really are works of vacuum tube art. The Sophia Electric 45 mesh plate triode (above) and Aqua 274B rectifier (below) vacuum tubes are not only... Read More »
We are listening to the album: Santana, Santana Krakow Sonic Society is an informal group of music lovers, audiophiles and friends who meet to learn something new about audio products, records, music, etc. The idea for Krakow Sonic Society was conceived in 2005 and this is already meeting No. 129. THE MUSICIAN In the last few years,... Read More »
Anna Marie Wooldridge was born on August 6, 1930, in Chicago, Illinois, although she was raised from childhood in Michigan. Alternating between her desires to be an actress and a singer, she started performing while still in high school, and soon relocated to the west coast in the early Fifties, where she performed mostly in... Read More »
New “mountaintop” OS achieves a remarkable new level of sound quality along with improved performance including quad-rate DSD capability – Boulder, Colorado, May 4, 2021 – PS Audio has released its Sunlight firmware upgrade for its PerfectWave DirectStream DAC and DirectStream Jr. The new OS enables the DirectStream DAC to deliver an extraordinary new level of musical realism and improved performance including quad-rate DSD... Read More »
San Marcos, CA, May 4, 2021 – Audience today announced the introduction of its Studio ONE and Studio TWO Series interconnects and speaker cables, designed to offer exceptional high-end sound quality. The Studio ONE and Studio Two are available as RCA and XLR (balanced) interconnects, and speaker cable. In addition, the Studio ONE lineup includes phono and headphone... Read More »
Buffalo, NY, April 22, 2021 --- Bluebird Music, distributor of high-performance audio products since 2000, is pleased to announce the availability of two exciting new products from German manufacturer, AVM: the CS 6.3 All-In-One Streaming Receiver, and the A 6.2 ME Integrated Amplifier. AVM (Audio Video Manufaktur) is one of seven brands distributed by Bluebird, alongside Weiss Engineering DACs, Jadis vacuum tube electronics, SME tonearms and turntables, Questyle headphone amps... Read More »
iFi’s new SilentPower range tackles mains-related noise to improve audio/AV system performance. Southport, England – Alongside its award-winning collection of audio devices for home and portable use, including class-leading DACs and headphone amps, iFi makes a range of accessories to tackle common issues that affect the performance of audio systems. The prime objective is to reduce... Read More »
VANA Ltd. to distribute the Hypsos PSU from Ferrum, the new house brand from the engineering team at HEM Nesconset, NY — April 21, 2021: VANA Ltd announces the United States launch of the Hypsos, the inaugural product release from Ferrum: a first-of-its-kind linear/switching DC power supply suitable for DACs, preamps, phonostages, powered speakers and... Read More »
What's old and famous, and yet brand new? Many tens of thousands of music lovers are already enjoying better audio enabled by the AudioQuest JitterBug USB Noise Filter—whether plugged into a car's USB jack, or a laptop computer, or a USB “service-only” jack on an Ethernet Streamer, etc… Now, JitterBug FMJ, with its Full Metal Jacket raises the stakes.... Read More »
Two more titles from the "Polish Jazz" series in the new releases of Warner Music Poland: Young Power, Young Power. Polish Jazz vol. 72 Jaroslaw Smietana Sounds & Colours. Polish Jazz vol. 73 The "Polish Jazz" series is one of the national treasure of Polish culture—and I say it with full conviction. As part of it, selected,... Read More »
Clark Johnsen New Old Stock - Articles from Our Days in Print The topic of acoustic polarity, also known as Absolute Polarity, has cropped up again recently. No surprise—since 1962 it's lingered in the professional literature, where most researchers claim that polarity matters greatly. But today, who cares? For that sorry state of affairs, you... Read More »
Citizen Cope, The Pull of Niagara Falls Music has become so overproduced that even the most natural of things, the sound of a human voice, is often so auto tuned away from the real thing that it ends up sounding like a futuristic robotic-like facsimile of itself, and since it's digitally rendered—it sounds like a... Read More »
Edward Pong Edward Pong is the owner of UltraAnalogue Recordings. Those in the high-end reel-to-reel community will need no introduction to Ed; his stellar RTR recordings are magnificent, and really embody the sorts of audio virtues that audiophiles can appreciate all day long. As a very long-time RTR lover myself, I asked Ed to write... Read More »
We are hopeful that audio shows will return some time soon. In the mean time, take a trip down memory lane with this look back at RMAF 2016. Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four
Qobuz commissions seven time GRAMMY® Award-winning jazz artist Christian McBride for The Q Sessions Hi-Res exclusive EP out tomorrow, 4/30 (International Jazz Day) End-to-end creation proves the power of Hi-Res to put listeners “in the studio” Listen to "Brouhaha" at WBGO HERE Seven-time GRAMMY® Award-winning jazz artist Christian McBride and Qobuz, the Hi-Res streaming and download... Read More »
Anyone who's followed my love of great recordings and exceptional productions knows that I value the work of Cookie Marenco and company very highly. Cookie is a real professional who has worked in the industry for decades now, and the artists associated with Blue Coast Records are first-rank, all. Recently I downloaded the DSD256 version... Read More »
Ambient music, like all other genres, has no rules. There may be, however, at least one tenant that many ambient artists collectively follow, or at least strive for, and that's the avoidance of sounding monotonous. This sounds obvious, but painting musically wide-open earthy and outer spacey landscapes is far from simple, even when they seem... Read More »
True Wireless. Incredible Sound. Bowers & Wilkins reveals the PI7 and PI5 True Wireless headphones, engineered for incredible sound anywhere. British premium audio specialist launches two state-of-the-art True Wireless In-ear headphones, engineered for a high-performance audio experience wherever life takes you. PI7 and PI5 True Wireless headphones feature the unrivalled high-resolution sound quality that audiophiles... Read More »
LEVERAGING THE BRAND'S MICHI TECHNOLOGY Upgraded MKII Audio Circuits and Components Deliver A Higher Level of Acoustic Performance Tokyo, Japan (April 19, 2021) – Rotel is thrilled to announce acoustic and performance upgrades to three of their award-winning integrated amplifier models in the 14 and 15 Series product lines. The upgrades include circuit design innovations... Read More »
To all our friends in the hifi community, With much heartache, Gary Gill and I have decided to postpone the inaugural Pacific Audio Fest until 2022. This Wed morning we woke up to hear that Gov. Inslee had to roll back the reopening status for three counties in Washington state. This was a wake up... Read More »
Paris, April 15, 2021 - Qobuz, the French platform for streaming and downloading high-quality music, confirms its international ambitions and announces that it will be opening in six new countries: Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland. Now, millions more music fans and audiophiles will have access to Qobuz’s unique offerings: unparalleled sound quality... Read More »
9 April 2021;Englewood, CO – Monarch Systems Ltd. is happy to announce the immediate release and availability of a production upgrade to the Int One integrated amplifier from Alluxity. The Int One Mk. II has aUS MSRP of $9,500. The Int One has been Alluxity’s best-selling product in North America. The revised Mk. II edition... Read More »
Complete Peter Serkin. Sony 19439713872. 30 CD's. If Serkin is one of your very favorite pianists, as he is one of mine, then this is a treasure trove for you. Thirty CDs for under $100. Includes both solo recordings and work with TASHI. Steal of the year. \ Joseph Haydn, String Quartets, Op. 76, 4-6. Chiaroscuro... Read More »
A portrait of Wayne Goins Every Sunday between 10 a.m. and noon, I show up to the Bluestem Bistro in Aggieville to play with my jazz guitar duo partner, "Slick" Rick Smith. Rick is a very cool guy. A former student of mine back in the early 2000s, he's all grown up now and is... Read More »
Schubert's Winterreise, one of the greatest song cycles written, is most often heard with piano and voice. The Ragazze Quartet treats us to a performance arranged for string quartet—and it works marvelously! The Ragazze and baritone Martijn Cornet give us a performance filled with nuance, emotional impact, and synergistic musicianship. Jared Sacks has outdone himself... Read More »
New PST features SACD and pure DSD playback, exclusive Digital Lens technology, galvanically isolated output stage, plug-and-play setup and more – Boulder, Colorado, April 7, 2021 – PS Audio is now shipping its PerfectWave SACD Transport (PST), designed to deliver the ultimate in disc playback from SACD, CD and other optical disc formats. The new PerfectWave SACD Transport... Read More »
Travis, Good Feeling. 120 gram, black vinyl LP: $21.99 MSRP. Available from Craft Recordings. It's been said that everyone who listened to the Velvet Underground's first album started a band. The same can almost be said for Travis' first album, Good Feeling, which was massively influential on an entire generation of UK bands, especially the likes... Read More »
