It's Memorial Day here in the States, which is about remembering soldiers who have died during military service, and was enacted after the American Civil War (1861-1865). This morning I've been working on my review for Positive Feedback Online of the Acoustic Revive speaker cables, RCA interconnects, and RCI-3 cable insulators. Coincidentally, I just ordered... Read More »

I feel a certain affinity for Hendrix, with him having been a fellow Washington State resident, and wanted to get back in touch with his music. So a few weeks back I ordered a batch of records from Acoustic Sounds that included Jimi Hendrix's Electric Ladyland. The version I ordered was the new special edition... Read More »

I've been very pleased to read how various Stereophile writers (Stephen Mejias, John Atkinson, Robert Deutsch, John Marks, and Art Dudley, if I remember correctly) have praised the Leben CS300 and CS600 integrated amplifier based Hi-Fi systems featured at the Salon and Image Show in Toronto over the last few years. The common thread in... Read More »

I signed up for the Seattle stop of Leica's North American Road Show so I could get a look at all the Leica lenses, the new Noctilux in particular, and learn some tips from the pros that would be there, Justin Staley and Chris Weeks. Below is a view of the city of Seattle with... Read More »

I love to read, much in the same way I love music. I’ve been reading through one of the classics of ancient China, The Analects of Confucius. There's lots of versions of these writings, and I bought a copy of The Analects of Confucius - A Philosophical Translation by Roger T. Ames and Henry Rosemont... Read More »

The North Cascade Highway (SR 20) from the Skagit Valley to the village of Winthrop in the North Cascade Mountains of Washington State is considered to be one of the most scenic drives in the USA. SR 20 is usually closed from November to April due to heavy snowfall, but I was able to do... Read More »

Quite a few years ago I bought an Acoustic Sounds test pressing of You Get More Bounce With Curtis Counce and I have really enjoyed it. The test pressings used to be offered cheaper than the regular versions of the LP because they didn't have any cover art, so I bought them whenever I could... Read More »

I'm writing The Acoustic Revive Chronicles – Chapter 8 for Positive Feedback Online right now. In Chapter 8 I'll be covering the Acoustic Revive Single Core speaker cables, RCA interconnects, and the RCI-3 Cable Insulators. For those who are not familiar with The Acoustic Revive Chronicles let me explain what this series of articles is... Read More »

In the Stereophile website coverage of the 2009 Salon and Image Show there were also some nice comments about the Leben CS600 integrated amplifier. Stephen Mejias of Stereophile awarded the Leben CS-600 integrated and RS-30EQ phono stage, in combination with the DeVore Fidelity Gibbon Nine loudspeakers and a Clearaudio Champion Wood turntable, his "Best Music... Read More »

John Atkinson made a nice post about the Leben CS600 at the Stereophile website coverage of the 2008 Festival Son and Image Show in Montreal, saying in part, "In some ways—particularly the overall balance and the sheer accessibility of the music—this was the best I heard at the Show despite the system's affordable price." The... Read More »

After reading John Marks' review of the Leben CS600 in the June 2010 issue of Stereophile, it reminded me of past Stereophile mentions of Leben integrated amplifiers at various Hi-Fi shows, so I thought I'd post them so you could go check them out. The first one is Robert Deutsch's mention of the Leben CS600... Read More »

For all of you Leben fans out there (count me as one), I thought I'd let you know that John Marks did a very nice review of the Leben CS600 integrated amplifier in his The Fifth Element column for the June 2010 issue of Stereophile. It's really nice to see Leben get some visibility in... Read More »

FedEx just dropped off a box of LPs from Acoustic Sounds that I ordered a few days ago, so I'll be reporting on those LPs as I listen to them. First up is the Cowboy Junkies' The Trinity Session , named for the Church of the Holy Trinity in Toronto, Canada, where they recorded the... Read More »

My Tannoy Westminster Royal Special Edition article just went live in the May/June 2010 edition of Positive Feedback Online. You can read it here.