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Ye Olde Editor at Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, Denver, CO, 2019 (photograph by Scot Hull of Part-Time Audiophile; image processing by David W. Robinson) I haven't been doing much traveling over the past couple of years. No news here:  COVID-19/Delta, you see. And thus, no audio shows. But just recently I did get an opportunity... Read More »

Ye Olde Editor in a tobacco moment (photograph by John Robinson) These thoughts are short and to the point. High-end audio is filled with reviews (many of those should read "reviews"), arguments, and endless debates about reference standards, ratings, lists, best-ofs, and so on…endlessly. There are über, no-holds-barred components/systems, at (usually) astronomical prices. Then again,... Read More »

An important announcement! The energetic and brilliant Charles Kirmuss has no grass growing under his feet as he announces changes in usage of his superb KA-RC-1 Ultrasonic Record Restoration System and newly developed and very high value speaker cables for audiophile systems. I inquired about the cleaning process since there is so much buzz associated... Read More »

Roger Skoff writes about the best way to approach improving your system Just in case you'd forgotten, Roger Skoff is the former Owner/Designer of XLO Cables, and currently occupies the same position with his new company, RSX Technologies. Just about everybody knows the old saying about a chain being no stronger than its weakest link.... Read More »

Mike Moffat still photo sourced from Schiit Audio video VALENCIA, CA—Mike Moffat, 73, is co-founder of the wildly successful Schiit Audio, which turned home audio on its ear with its affordable direct sales model. With manufacturing plants in California and Corpus Christi, TX, Schiit makes electronics ranging from $100 Digital to Analog Converters (DACs) and... Read More »

David W. Robinson, a portrait in late August of 2021. (Photograph by John Robinson.) "We will serve no wine before its time." – Carlo Rossi It's time. I have a set of brief impressions about some of the audio gear that's made its way over here to Positive Feedback in 2021. The second year of... Read More »

Roger Skoff writes about the stuff our stuff is made of... Many years ago, Goldmund, one of Europe's leading manufacturers of reference-quality audio products, offered individual "Cube" amplifiers to plug into and directly power each of the sections of its then US$80,000 (more like US$500K, today) Apologue speaker system. Among the talking points for these... Read More »

Whether musing about the greater understanding the Belle II particle physics experiment at KEK may bring to questions around Standard Model predictions, dark matter, and the asymmetry of matter and antimatter in the universe, or the exciting themes of parallel universes, the multiverse, and time travel that we see imaginatively explored in science fiction, physics... Read More »

Norman Varney of AV RoomService Ltd. has joined Positive Feedback as a Senior Technical Editor as of Issue 113. His expertise in his field of audio acoustics and experience in the field makes him a helpful voice in our creative community for the audio arts. As has been our wont from the beginning of PF,... Read More »

Something in my father came from somewhere else. Not knowing what it was or where it came from, I just watched and marveled. I really wanted to hang out with him, but he was the minister of a large church and I always had to wait my turn. He was usually busy caring for others... Read More »

There's been a vast amount written about what an audiophile is. (Personally, I and my friends have always preferred the term "HiFi Crazies," which, at least to us, seems more accurate and less pretentious.) Audiophiles—depending on who's writing, where, and when—have been described as everything or every combination of things from music lovers to equipment... Read More »

My highlight of 2019 was visiting with Peter Qvortrup (below) and the Audio Note (UK) 'family' in Brighton, England. Meeting Peter Qvortrup, Daniel Qvortrup (Peter's son, below), Andy Grove, and Darko Greguras was a real treat. Peter and Daniel walked me through the Audio Note (UK) operation, and told me about some of the exciting... Read More »

Roger Skoff is the former CEO and Lead Designer of XLO, and the current Chief Honcho and Lead Designer of RSX Technologies. Full disclosure = no conflict of interest, eh? The views expressed here are Roger's own...but they happen to be ones that I would agree with. You might, too, eh? And if not, la... Read More »

As I said before, besides being conscious that I was a separate entity, I learned that I was also a mobile unit. I could walk around, touching many interesting things. My fingers were amazing appendages. They were instruments of discovery. I was continually surprised by all the wonderful things I could do with my hands,... Read More »

Dan Zimmerman, an artist with Positive Feedback, has been developing a new book on creativity and the inner, spiritual life of the artist. The subtitle of PF, you may recall, is "A Creative Forum for the Audio Arts." Music and the audio arts are only domains within this larger world of creative work. Therefore I... Read More »

I know, I know…I promised y'all I was gonna present Part III of the Grant Green story to you from last issue. But there's something I just gotta tell you about, and it can't wait. Reason is, it's a timely issue—one of the legends is hanging up his spurs, and this is my tribute to... Read More »

Part 2: RECORDINGS In the 1990s, the music industry moved from reel-to-reel recorders, both analog and digital, to DAW recording systems, i.e. computer workstations. The Alesis Electronics ADAT digital multi-track tape recorders represent a turning point in this history. DIGITAL SOUND RECORDING  – an audio preservation method in which the audio signals are converted into... Read More »

Roger Skoff writes about one of High-End audio's truly basic questions. Full disclosure:  Roger Skoff is the former founder and CEO of XLO Cables, and is now the same for RSX Cables. His writing in this essay focuses on the notion of high-end power cables having an effect on turntables, his surprise at that possibility,... Read More »

Ye Olde Editor: a portrait. Happy Valley, OR, 2020. (Photograph by David C. Robinson; image processing by David W. Robinson) It takes time for good things to happen. A child in the womb. A person growing to maturity. Creating art. Composing music. Writing. Fine photography. The aging of wine, whiskey, bourbon, tobacco. All are the... Read More »