May - June 2020
Audio Discourse
A Missive from the Recording Industry Regarding Covid-19
While he was in quarantine from the terrible plague that was raging in London, Shakespeare wrote King Lear. That is a hard act to follow. I don't think...
Albert Von Schweikert: In Memoriam
Albert Von Schweikert, March 13, 1945 – May 29, 2020. Founder and Chief Designer: Von Schweikert Research/Von Schweikert Audio Though born in South...
A Fern & Roby Rack and a Bevy of Olympia Record Crates
So how many of you reading this are getting so tired of the same old "staying at home, and man do I need to mix things up?" state of mind? Well, count...
The Square and Exponential Laws
Nelson Pass: a portrait. Sea Ranch, CA, 2018. (Photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson) This piece was originally presented at the 2019...
More Fun in the New World of High Fidelity
The very first time as a teenager I laid eyes on my brother's new DynaKit amp, I knew inside that I'd found one of my life's true callings. I've always...
Martin DeWulf of Bound for Sound Magazine Has Passed Away
Yet more sad news: I've received the belated word today that Marty DeWulf, editor and publisher of Bound for Sound, another well-known high-end audio...
Ella Fitzgerald: Always True to You (In My Fashion) (Cole...
Personally, I consider this to be one of the more memorable musico-poetic explorations that John Marks has done. He of The Tannhauser Gate ambushes...
Why Does This Stuff Cost So Much? Is It Worth It?
Roger Skoff writes about cost and value in high-end audio Roger Skoff, a portrait. LAOC Audio Society Gala, 2018 (photograph and image processing by...
From an Editor's Notebook: An update on the Petition to JD...
Ye Olde Editor: a portrait (Photograph by John Robinson) Last week PF published an "Open Letter to Joel Davis of JD Events/AXPONA 2020" in our...
Impressions: the Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC
Ye Olde Editor, a moment. (Portrait by John Robinson) Bill Parish of GTT Audio is a great longtime audiobud of mine. We go back nearly 20 years now....
O Brother, "HERE" Art Thou
O Brother, Where Art Thou. A twenty-year old movie soundtrack, with music written a century ago, is once again relevant today. What a World It is gray...
Hardware Reviews
Quicky: Block Audio's New C-Lock Power Connection Guard
(Tw)eek! It’s a Useful Product: The Block Audio C-Lock! Block audio is new to me, but if websites are worth a thousand words, then this audio...
Meze 99 Classics Headphones
A little over a year ago I was making my way through the headphone hall at AXPONA 2019, and spotted the Meze Audio booth. I wasn't familiar with Meze,...
icOn4 Autoformer Based Passive Preamplifier
I am sure I do not speak for everyone, but personally, I rarely find myself turning up the volume on any of my preamplifiers past 50%. I also find that...
Cardas Clear Beyond: What's In A Name?
When I first relocated to NYC from Chicago in 1994, I was deep in the boil of my audio obsession. The timing of my move couldn't have been better. I...
Audience Hidden Treasure HDAC Outlet
Garbage in, garbage out—health-conscious individuals focused on nutrition will nod their heads knowingly. This same aphorism applies to high-end...
A Pair of Tweaks from Nordost QVIBE and QKOIL
By far, the cheapest items in Nordost's line of QRT Audio Enhancers are the QVIBE2 AC Line Harmonizer (MSRP $349.99) and QKOIL1 AC Enhancer (MSRP...
WyWires Platinum RCA Interconnects
As I sit back, listening to Melody Gardot on my Hifiman HE1000SE, things just sound right. While my system has always sounded great, and I have an...
The IntegrityHiFi Tru-Glider Pendulum Tonearm with Nasotec Swing...
I have been a audiophile for some 50 years now. In that time I have seen a lot of changes. Tubes gave way to solid state, only to see tubes come back...
RSX Power8™ AC Power Box
After reviewing the RSX Beyond AC Power Cables and Phono Cables which are designed and priced for the audiophile purist, I was stunned by Roger...
Schiit Audio Freya S Preamplifier
Schiit is a name that many in the audiophile community know and love. My first tube amp was actually the Schiit Vahalla, and I have owned the Asgard,...
Schiit Audio Bifrost 2 DAC
In an industry with speakers that cost three times the median house price in the United States, ($280,000, per zillow.com on May 16, 2020) good value...
Valve Amplification Corporation (VAC) Signature Mk IIa SE Line...
I have this thing for combining tube preamplifiers and solid state Class A amplifiers. Some might think that there is just too much chocolate in the...
Viva Italiano! Gold Note PA-10 Amplifiers Combine Elegance with...
Like the biblical hero depicted in Florence, Italy's famous David statue by Michelangelo, the diminutive PA-10 is angular and elegant, but capable of...
AudioNec Evo 2 Loudspeakers
These speakers will not be for everyone, and not for every amplifier. Review By Dr. Matthew Clott With this article, Positive Feedback continues its...
The Leben HiFi Stereo Company CS-600X Integrated Amplifier –...
I've had my Leben HiFi Company CS-600 integrated amplifier for over a decade now. I purchased it after the review, and I have enjoyed every minute with...
The D.BOB Digital BreakOut Box: SACD Lives!
You don't have to be an economist to appreciate that much of Western Civilization is the result of the perennial tug-of-war between progress and...
Moon 680D Streaming DAC by Simaudio
Simaudio recently introduced a new streaming digital to analog converter to their Moon product line. The $9000 680D streaming DAC slots in somewhere...
Moon Audio Black Dragon Cables
Finding True Value in the Audiophile world If you look back at my history as a reviewer for Positive Feedback, you will quickly see that I have...
Nordost QBASE Power Distributor
Well, isn't that just what we need, another nice looking power strip boasting star grounding? Like, how many others are already on the market? A...
The Bricasti M15 Power Amplified and Sweet Love Remembered: The...
It may surprise many that much of the high-end audio industry is, despite the pandemic, keeping its nose above water. Some dealers and manufacturers...
Meze Audio Rai Penta In-Ear Monitors
Worth The Wait: Meze delivers an artful and meticulously crafted masterpiece. Review By Dave Hanson With this article, Positive Feedback continues...
Synergistic Research UEF Record Weight – Aspired to Inspire
One great satisfaction as a reviewer and eternal romantic is when one discovers something new that significantly enhances the emotional connection to...
Danacable Lazuli Reference Headphone Cable
Danacables is a relatively new cable company and the brainchild of long-time electrical engineer Dana Robbins. Since retirement, Robbins has used his...
The Parasound Halo JC 1+ Mono Amplifier: Slayer of Giants?
From The Beginning… If you are unfamiliar with the name John Curl, you clearly haven't been around the audio industry long. As one of the most...
Ensemble Dalvivo Power Cord: A Power Cord That Doesn't Break The...
To quote that famous Bronx born comedian Robert Klein, "It's hard to believe, I know it is." Yes, it's hard to believe that twelve years have passed...
Wireworld Platinum Eclipse Cables
Wireworld Platinum Eclipse 8 My first high end aftermarket cable was the Wireworld Nano Eclipse headphone cable. It was reasonably priced, had a unique...
Audience adeptResponse aR2p-T4 Power Conditioner
It was Lord Acton (John Emerick Dalberg-Acton - 1834 - 1902) who famously wrote "Power Tends to Corrupt." While I am quite certain that Lord Acton was...
Nordost Blue Heaven Tonearm Cable
File this one under "Cables Matter." Fair warning, if you're someone who believes cable design, composition, and build quality have no impact on sonic...
IntegrityHiFi Tru-Lift, Tru-Kleen, and Tru-Sweep Plus a Little...
IntegrityHiFi - The Steel Trinity! Tru-Lift, Tru-Sweep, and Tru-Kleen. They say good things and bad things come in threes. What is it about that...
ampsandaound Bigger Ben Amplifier
The Bigger Ben has 5 impedance outputs Let's get one thing out of the way before we begin this review, I am a big fan of ampsandsound. I have owned, or...
Interviews
Trond Gjellum Brings Prog To Electronica
Electrond, photo by Trond Gjellum. Used with permission Trond Gjellum is a Norwegian multi-instrumentalist best known for his work as the leader and...
Music - SuperSonic Recordings
Top 500 SuperSonic List - Part 20
This is an ongoing project by Claude Lemaire of Soundevaluations 136. Sonny Rollins, The Bridge. RCA – LSP-2527 (1962), Classic Records –...
Top 500 SuperSonic List - Part 19
In this Covid 19 pandemic, where many have suggested songs with either soothing or suggestive lyrics to wade through this difficult period, I chose...
Music Reviews
Notes of an Amateur: Music@Menlo, Haydn Concertos, Vivaldi Cello...
Music@Menlo Live, 2019 (available at https://musicatmenlo.org/live/) Year in, year out the Music@Menlo music education program issues its Music@Menlo...
Between the Buried and Me - 20th Anniversary Remix/Remaster
Formed in 2000 from the remnants of a handful of Raleigh, North Carolina bands, Between the Buried and Me was principally the brainchild of guitarist...
Weserbergland's Am Ende Der Welt
Am Ende der Welt. Photo by Per-Einar Einarsen - Used with permission Weserbergland is a project led by Norwegian composer Ketil Vestrum Einarsen. He's...
"Brahms for Two?" - Hungarian Dances
BRAHMS: Hungarian Dances, WoO 1; Waltzes, Op. 39. Marco Schiavo and Sergio Marchegiani, pianists. Decca 481 7812. TT: 71.20. Downloads:...
O Brother, "HERE" Art Thou
O Brother, Where Art Thou. A twenty-year old movie soundtrack, with music written a century ago, is once again relevant today. What a World It is gray...
New Old Stock - Articles from Our Days in Print
The Von Schweikert Research VR-4 Loudspeakers
From Positive Feedback magazine in print, Vol. 5, No. 6, Summer, 1995 The prospect of doing the first review of a new loudspeaker from the hands of...
Cary Audio 306/200 CD Player
This article, as reviewed by Ed Morawski and Dave Clark originally ran in Issue 2, August/September 2002, so while we call this section "New Old Stock...
Our Friends at HIFI Statement
Ayon Audio S 10 ii Streamer
Ayon S 10 – didn’t we talk about it already? Right – and at that time this equipment had thrilled me completely, but meanwhile that was already.... . . Read More »
Our Friends at High Fidelity
First Press CD - Or How to Find the Best Sounding CD Pressing
"First Press" ("1st Press") is a term used to describe LP releases. It is used to describe the earliest editions of a given title. This is a difficult...
Show Reports
Florida Audio Expo 2020: Better the Second Time Around, Part 2
Vaughn Loudspeaker's Zinfandel 9-0 Compact Line Array, with their bespoke plasma tweeters and line array mid-bass driver configuration, sounded...
