CIKADA & Oslo Sinfonietta: Maja S. K. Ratkje's And sing… (2L Recordings 2L-124-SABD, available in various formats at https://shop.klicktrack.com/2l/475351) Are you musically adventurous? That question might seem dated in a spacy, Jimi Hendrix' first album sort of way, but it's an honest question for most music lovers. We all have strange and unique recordings in... Read More »
Johnny Hartman - Once In Every Life Reissued by Analogue Productions APJ 105 originally released in 1981 by Bee Hive Records BH 7012 A very difficult record to review! So much to say and so little room to say it. In 1995 Clint Eastwood directed and starred in The Bridges Of Madison County. In September... Read More »
If you find yourself in the Big Apple, you are likely to encounter street musicians. Of course, their quality varies: some are quite good, others not quite ready, while some shouldn't be out in public. I guess it's like that for most of our endeavors. Welcome to the New York Audio Show 2016, held at... Read More »
Ever been burned by an audio purchase? Yep, me too. Although a lifetime of short-term gratification ensures that I'll never have to worry about blowing big money on audio, I have learned on thing: While flash-in-the-pan audio baubles hog all the press, the wise money goes to companies that deliver high quality over time. For... Read More »
Audio Research Rounds out the Foundation Series with the New VT 80 Power Amplifier Audio Research is pleased to introduce the VT80 vacuum-tube power amplifier to its Foundation Series. From the same design and engineering team responsible for the award-winning Reference Series, the Foundation family of vacuum tube components has been created to provide an... Read More »
Mytek Introduces Manhattan II DAC, With Enhanced Circuitry, Parts & Performance Mytek's Extensive Pro proficiency results in their second DAC with MQA Decoding. Also designing the Pro industry's first MQA-capable ADC. Mytek Digital, the second MQA® license after Meridian to ship an Audiophile DAC with MQA technology, will be introducing their MQA-capable Manhattan II DAC.... Read More »
TAVES has been growing exponentially over the past couple of years. In fact last year, it had a growth spurt that would send any teenagers with NBA stars in his eyes, into rapture. In 2014 the show attracted around 5200 people. Last year that jumped to 6500 and this year the growth continued with the... Read More »
I've been on the road for nearly three weeks now, and that's meant an interruption to the republication of John Marks' fine contributions to the musical and audio arts. Apologies all around. In this article from The Tannhauser Gate (http://www.thetannhausergate.com), John shares an elegant and polished jazz album from the '70s, Michael Franks' Sleeping Gypsy. He's right... Read More »
No. Not the streaming media service. Turns out, there's a major high-end audio company in Germany, TIDAL Audio, which is joining the ranks of world-class audio design. In fact, TIDAL Audio, founded in 1999 by Jorn Janczk with the stated intent of building the finest audio systems on the planet, has been around years longer... Read More »
Perhaps the Astell & Kern AK70 is better suited for young people who know what the acronym ftw means. It's small, affordable, and holds a lot of music. It has all kinds of features that make it easy to use. But, the AK70 is just right for me, and I'm old. Oh, and don't worry,... Read More »
Offering a unique combination of unsurpassed comfort, state-of-the-art design, and naturally beautiful sound, AudioQuest's first headphone, NightHawk, has been lovingly featured in the pages of magazines and websites as far-reaching as Stereophile, Rolling Stone, CNET, Wired, Head-Fi, Digital Trends, The Verge, HomeTheaterReview, Sound & Vision, and many more. This is evidence of the intensifying convergence... Read More »
[By way of introduction, Greg Beron has become well known in the world of high-end tape recorders for his outstanding Phasexx series. I was extremely impressed by his Phase11S when it was here back in 2013, and used it to do some seminal test transfers of several of our reference library tapes (e.g., Opus3 Records... Read More »
Roger Skoff writes about HiFi and the Music Business Many a long year ago, when I was still in school (Frankly, I don't remember whether it was high school or college) somebody (again, I don't remember who) told me that if I wanted to get rich, I should go into business and sell either water... Read More »
Frederik Carøe in Denmark knocked me out with his amazing Duelund Coherent Audio CAST capacitors, inductors, resistors, and autoformers that I wrote about in Issue 70 and Issue 74 of Positive Feedback as part of the Duelund-Westminster Royal SE loudspeaker project, and now Frederik has done it once again with his superb Duelund Coherent Audio... Read More »
Try it now! I found a new grounding point!
October has arrived and for many audio fans on the West Coast that means it's time for the annual Rocky Mountain Audio Fest also known as RMAF. This year's edition of RMAF (Rocky Mountain Audio Fest) was held, as in the past, at the Marriott Tech Center Hotel in Denver, Colorado. RMAF has several advantages... Read More »
The Detroit manufacturer's flagship audio product is coming. Detroit luxury goods manufacturer Shinola has revealed plans for its first-ever turntable. Known as the Runwell Turntable, Shinola's latest foray into music serves as the premier product of the new Shinola Audio line and campaign. The blueprint for the Runwell Turntable comes to us courtesy of Shinola... Read More »
An issue or two back, I wrote enthusiastically about the grounding units from Entreq (HERE), and how these passive grounding boxes allowed me to hear way more into the music. Yeah, they work as advertised and for sure, they should be seen as a requisite addition to anyone who is serious about audio and their... Read More »
Dover Quartet Plays Mozart Quartets K.589 and K.550; and Quintet K.406. Cedille CDR 90000 167. Listening to new recordings of Mozart is often difficult for reviewers because we are always looking for differences—something we can peg a review on. Something new to say. It is rare to come upon a Mozart recording and be surprised...... Read More »
Will the real DragonFly® please stand up! It has recently come to light that a counterfeit version of the guts of DragonFly v1.2 is inside multiple brands of Made In China small USB DACs. It is important to note the authentic versions of all DragonFlys, as with all of the new AudioQuest “Digital Critters,” are... Read More »
Best Product in Show Okay, I didn't actually see it in the show, only afterward, but it was in there somewhere. Kenetek is making a direct replacement for the optical attenuator module in the LA-3A compressors. Yeah, they have been making it for a couple years now but it was new to me and it's... Read More »
The Audio Engineering Society puts on a convention in the US every year, and what makes it most interesting is that traditionally it has been both a trade show and a scientific conference with formal papers, both in the same building at the same time. This makes it more interesting than other trade shows, because... Read More »
The 12.5-Inch Woody SPU Tonearm™ from Pete Riggle Audio Engineering. If Gustav Stickley (1853 – 1942), the renowned figure of the Arts & Crafts movement in America, were to have made a tonearm to complement his American Craftsman style of furniture, what would it have looked like? I like to imagine that if Stickley had... Read More »
Mytek's Extensive Pro proficiency results in their second DAC with MQA Decoding. Also designing the Pro industry's first MQA-capable ADC. 2016 RMAF, October 7th, 2016 - Mytek Digital, the second MQA® license after Meridian to ship an Audiophile DAC with MQA technology, will be introducing their MQA-capable Manhattan II DAC. But the new Manhattan II... Read More »
Rush Paul is an audio friend of mine, who happens to share my passionate love for LPs and Lloyd Walker's wonderful Walker Audio Proscenium Turntable, arguably one of the very best reference turntables on this humble rock. He's deeply into getting the best out of his albums. Rush recently sent me his notes summarizing his... Read More »
Every October for the past 13 years I have looked forward to RMAF (Rocky Mountain Audio Fest). It is my favorite audio show because I can just walk around, see the sights, and reconnect with old friends I only get to see a few times a year. For a while I was glad, because I'd... Read More »
Movements are too big for ANY one website, online publication, forum, show/convention, person, or group. A movement is about the power of the many (or the few) that make up that community: The people whose ideas and passions are so aligned their power is gained together, organically over-time.
GoldenEar Technology is very pleased to announce that we have been awarded a patent by the US Patent Office (US 9,462,391 B2) on our unique Dual-Plane Inertially-Balanced Technology, as incorporated in our new, award winning SuperSub™ Series of powered subwoofers, the SuperSub X ($1249/ea) and SuperSub XXL (S1999/ea). This force-cancelling inertial-balancing preserves, conserves and focuses... Read More »
Many know Talk Talk's first three albums, which had hits like "It's My Life" and "Life's What You Make It." But Talk Talk made five albums, each one better than the last, and then quit at the top of their art. Surprisingly few know the band's last two albums: The Spirit of Eden and Laughing... Read More »
John Marks' Stereo System (as of fall 2016) The essential sound of this system is determined first by the loudspeakers, prototypes called Esperanto Parolantos. That's something of a pun, in that it means "Esperanto Speakers." (Esperanto, from the audio company I started after leaving Stereophile magazine.) Mike Zisserson designed the Esperanto Parolanto loudspeaker while taking... Read More »
Hamilton Leithauser, I Had a Dream That You Were Mine (GlassNote GLS021001) 2 LPs, $19.98, purchased at The Sound Garden, Syracuse NY Hamilton Leithauser is a bit of a throwback. As a singer he's got one of those big voices, the type of voice that automatically pulls a guy to the front edge of the stage... Read More »
YG Acoustics™ (www.ygacoustics.com), the leading ultrahighend speakermanufacturer, is proud to announce a new, breakthrough tweeter technology BilletDome™. A short video illustrating BilletDome™ can be found at: Highres: http://youtu.be/8IqkHMPrX2AMidres: http://youtu.be/Xw9QEmt8ts4 The brand new, patentpending BilletDome™ tweeter is YG Acoustics™’ most complex mechanical invention to date: a resonancefree soft dome is supported by a stiff, light airframe... Read More »
Vandersteens at RMAF 2016. Musical Surroundings and The Audio Alternative were together with Vandersteen Model Seven MkII and a new subwoofer. Two turntables were shown, an AMG V12 Turbo, and Clearaudio Performance DC wood. Electronics were Audio Research, cables by AudioQuest, and racks by Harmonic Resolution Systems. Richard Vandersteen. As usual, Philip O'Hanlon's On a Higher... Read More »
Margules. All the way from Mexico for RMAF 2016. Andrew Jones from ELAC, what a joy to hear him talk! Standout Room Winner. ELAC, new integrated amplifier. The integrated can calibrate any speaker and subwoofer for a seamless integration. ELAC, Audio Alchemy. Aaudio Imports showed Wilson Benesch A.C.T. One Evolution P1 'Ettore' loudspeakers, Finite Elemente... Read More »
MQA showing the difference at RMAF 2016. Aurender had two rooms. The source was the Aurender A10 Server with MQA DAC, 4TB storage. Loudspeakers were Revel Salon 2, amplifier was Mark Levinson No534 2-channel, and cables by Audioquest. Audio Engine. Gavin Fish of Audio Engine having a moment with Carol. ListenUp also had a room... Read More »
Lines were long at registration on Friday for RMAF 2016, that's a good sign! Everyone seemed ready to enjoy the show! Even with all the distractions with the hotel's remodeling, this show went rather smoothly and many, many rooms were producing excellent sound. Much appreciation goes to Marjorie and her team for putting on another... Read More »
[Here's a hot flash update (if such things exist in the world of classical music!) from John Marks of The Tannhauser Gate (http://www.thetannhausergate.com). This is a fine new recording from the Parker Quartet, a young and refreshing ensemble. The samples that John provided are quite moving, showing both great verve and boldness, as well as a touching... Read More »
