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From an Editor's Notebook, Very Briefly: More on Gold Note…the XS-85 Reference Loudspeaker


Dr. David contemplating the mysteries of Life. Happy Valley, OR, 2018 (Photograph by John Robinson; image processing by Ye Olde Editor) Last month's reflection upon the good things happening at Gold Note in Italy concentrated on some of their key people, as profiled on their YouTube channel. It was good stuff, people being the most... Read More »


The Audeze CRBN Headphones, Part Two: The Measurements


Sensitivity First, I measured the sensitivity of the Audeze CRBN, comparing it to the Stax 007. My headphone measurement instrument is the Mini DSP "Ears," which is far from a standard. However, using my ACO Pacific SPL calibrator, I was able to calibrate the Mini DSP for SPL at 1kHz within about a dB, I... Read More »


From an Editor's Notebook:  A Trip to Montreal and Kronos Audio, a Photo Essay


E-in-C Robinson photographing at the Kronos factory, Montreal, 2022 (photograph by Bill Parish; image processing by Robinson) If you've been following my comments since last February, you're well aware of the fact that I have been repeatedly stating my extremely pleased astonishment at Louis Desjardins' Discovery Turntable System. So have others in our creative community.... Read More »


Snake Oil and Voodoo: Roger Skoff Writes About the Stranger Aspects of Our Hobby


As you probably know, I'm not just a writer and a long-time audiophile (I and my friends call ourselves "HiFi Crazies"), but a manufacturer of High-End audio cables, originally XLO, now RSX. As such, to some of our HiFi brethren, that automatically makes me and anything I might say suspect. They insist—often based more on... Read More »


What's a Journalist For?


At the 18th High Fidelity Anniversary In the past, before I started to work as a journalist, I heard several times from one of the audio distributors that audio magazines were "leeches" and "parasites." He said it deadly serious and pissed off. Which did not prevent him from partying, having fun, laughing and joking with... Read More »


From the Copper Mine: Audio Art in NYC – Devon Turnbull's Listening Exhibition


Written by Tom Methans While browsing around Steve Guttenberg's The Audiophiliac channel on YouTube, I came across several videos featuring Devon Turnbull, a multi-talented audio engineer and former clothing and graphic designer and graffiti artist, who now runs a small audio company in Brooklyn called Ojas (Devon's original graffiti pen name pronounced with the same "j" as in jazz... Read More »


From the Copper Mine: A Loudspeaker Company Grows in Brooklyn - DeVore Fidelity


As a reminder to Positive Feedback readers, PF has some very fine content-sharing relationships with a handful of fine audiophile publications. Among this fraternity of online magazines is Copper Magazine, the journal of PS Audio, Paul McGowan's audiophile company. Frank Doris is the current Editor there, and is a good friend, respected due to his many years in... Read More »


Audioquest Niagara at CS Mastering: A Review with Download Links


Dirk Sommer, Birgit Hammer (photography). This review is quite unusual: Audioquest's "LowZ/Noise-Dissipation" mains power technology, implemented in cables and power conditioners, which has recently received the Statement in High Fidelity award, has to show in the CSM mastering studio whether it has there just as positive an influence on the sound as in a HiFi... Read More »


Impressions – A Study in Synergy, Part the First:  Dohmann Audio Helix Two Mk2 Turntable, Schröder CB-11 Tonearm, Phasemation PP-2000 MC cartridge, & the Gold Note PH-1000 Phono Stage with PSU-1250 Power Supply


  Ye Olde Editor, 2022: a portrait in Ink Outline (photograph by John Robinson; image processing by Ye Olde himself). A Study in Synergy There's that word again. As defined online by Oxford Languages, synergy is "the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater... Read More »


Audio Note (UK) Meishu Phono Silver Tonmeister 300B SET Integrated Amplifier: The Mighty Master of Tone!


Greetings friends, I hope you are doing well! Today's article is about the new Audio Note (UK) Meishu Phono Silver Tonmeister 300B single-ended-triode (SET) integrated amplifier (MSRP $19,300.00 USD, website link HERE). Long time readers know I have a special fondness for high-performance integrated amplifiers, as they represent what I consider to be the value... Read More »


A Hierarchy of Reel-to-Reel Tape Categories:  Notes from a Tape Archivist


By Harold Tichenor Harold Tichenor:  a portrait. (Photograph by Matt Tichenor.) I encountered Harold Tichenor recently, while looking for a particular box set of the complete Solti Wagner Ring on Decca [recorded in 1958-1959] and issued in 1970, over at discogs.com. Since that time, we have gotten to know each other a bit, and I... Read More »


Notes from an Editor's Notebook: More on Gold Note…Meet the People!


David W. Robinson making the photograph "Departure." Happy Valley, OR, 2022 (Photograph by John Robinson; image processing by Ye Olde Editor) Pushing ahead with my brief notes on Gold Note from last month, and progressing onwards in my discovery of their company, this month I'll share a couple of very brief videos that they've produced... Read More »


Impressions:  A Brief BLAST about the Xtreme Projectors Hot-Rodded Apple TV (TVX) 4K Video Streamer


Dr. David W. Robinson: a moment. Vancouver, WA, 2022. (Photograph by Colt Milton; image processing by Robinson) Every now and then in a blue moon it happens. A quick blast about a design that really rocks me, and is reasonably straightforward to bring to your attention. (That's rare; most require a lot of work to... Read More »


People Used to Ski with Barrel Staves:  Roger Skoff Writes About Getting Started


I'm not a skier. It's not that I don't know how—I've actually taken a total of three "dry land" ski courses so, if I were to try, I might not crash too often before I actually got the hang of it. I've never tried, though. The cost in time, money, on-site instruction, and unlikely-but-possible injury... Read More »


From an Editor's Notebook: My YouTube comments on the Kronos Discovery Turntable with Discovery RS Tonearm


Dr. David enjoying a fine cigar on the deck of Louis Desjardins' home in Montreal, Canada, 2022. (Photograph by Bill Parish; image processing by Robinson) Just last weekend I returned from a three-day trip to Montreal, Canada. I was there to visit Louis Desjardins of Kronos, creator of the extraordinary Discovery Turntable system. This included... Read More »


Brief Notes from an Editor's Notebook: More on Gold Note…the PH-1000 Phono Stage


Ye Olde Editor, a moment. Happy Valley, OR, 2018 (Photograph by John Robinson; image processing by YOE) Continuing my brief notes on Gold Note from last month, and progressing onwards in their designs, here's the June installment of what's up with this impressive audio company. Combining audio-technical achievements with a fine sense of design aesthetics,... Read More »


An Industry of Improvers: Roger Skoff Takes a Different Look at the History and Future of Our Industry


It used to be that great things were invented by one great man. Edison, Morse, Tesla, Bell, McCormick, Whitney, Fulton, and countless others all—at least until they became established—worked alone, or with just an assistant or two, to bring their wonders to the world. In most fields, that no longer seems possible. Maybe it's because,... Read More »


From an Editor's Notebook: The launch of the Association of International Audiophile Publications (AIAP)


Ye Olde Editor, contemplating on a high deck in Tiberias, Sea of Galilee, Israel, 2022. (Portrait by John Robinson; image processing by Ye Olde Etc.) Just yesterday Positive Feedback posted notice of the launch of an audiophile standards group: the Association of International Audiophile Publications. The formation of this new high-end audio association took most of... Read More »


Hand Book of a Hidden Man, Part 6: I Learn to Fight


I was on the sidewalk in front of our house in San Luis Obispo. In 1952 it must've been a very quiet place, otherwise it's hard for me now, looking back, to understand why my mother let me go out by myself. I was only four. But she was very pregnant at the time, and... Read More »


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