I just got the November 2011 issue of Stereophile and all you fellow Leben CS300 & RS30EQ fans out there will be pleased to know that Art Dudley reviewed the pair and really liked them. In the November issue Art writes a mini-survey that compares three nice tube integrated amps: the aforementioned Leben gear, the... Read More »

I thought you'd enjoying seeing this photo Don Garber (Fi) sent me of an integrated 300B stereo amplifier prototype that Don built "for Gideon Schwartz of Audio Arts which he's taking out to RMAF to pair with the Voxativ speakers. He has a team that's going to be producing it. How close to the original... Read More »

As most of you probably know, Jim Smith's talent for the setup and voicing of Hi-Fi rigs is legendary. Right now I'm working on writing an article about Jim's new Get Better Sound Reference 3 DVD set on Hi-Fi setup procedures and strategies to help you get a system performing at it's best for your... Read More »

My review of the New Valve Order SPA-II phono preamplifier is now live at Positive Feedback Online here. Here's a couple of snippets from the review: "It's always a pleasure for me to introduce to the readers of Positive Feedback Online a talented fine audio constructeur, this time Andreas Hadjiminas, working out of Nicosia, Cyprus.... Read More »

The review of the Sophia Electric Royal Princess 300B vacuum tube is now live in Positive Feedback Online's Issue 57 here. The Royal Princess 300B vacuum tube is a major achievement in my opinion, combining superb musicality and sonics into one package. I hope you enjoy the review, I really enjoyed writing it and providing... Read More »

I've been having a lot of fun listening to music this weekend while making a few blog posts and doing some review writing. My Hi-Fi rig is sounding really good right now, and I thought you might like to see what's making it sound so good today. First up is my EMT TSD-15 MC cartridge... Read More »

I had a revelation in musical understanding while listening to Mark Coles' Sablon Audio Panatela interconnects while writing the review for Positive Feedback Online. The musical revelation that dawned on me was the importance of timbral listening in my personal hierarchy of listening priorities. The significance of that revelation to understanding my listening preferences has... Read More »

I am a 2-wheel nut. I've been riding bicycles since I could walk, and riding & racing motorcycles on and off-road (motocross) for nearly that long. My two wheel excursions these days revolve around my more sedate vintage Honda CR450 Cafe bike, and my Trek 5000 bicycle. I did my 25 mile commute to work... Read More »

Here's a few photos from my recent trip to France, this time from our stop in Verdun to see the battlefields of World War I. The photo below looks out over the battlefields outside the Fort de Douaumont, the fog eerily rolling in as we stopped. In the battlefields of Verdun hundreds of thousands of... Read More »

Today's Fresh Catch features a number of items I've purchased from Acoustic Sounds over the last few weeks. First up is the Cat Stevens' Tea for Tillerman, which is the first pressing done at Chad's new Quality Record Pressings enterprise. Tea for the Tillerman is a great record, and sold 500,000 copies within 6 months... Read More »

I ordered a quad of EH KT90 vacuum tubes from Jim McShane a couple of days ago to try in my Leben CS660P stereo amplifier. I was thinking that I'd tried KT66, KT88, EL34, KT77, 6L6G, 5881, 6n3cE, 350B, and 6550s, so I thought I'd better add KT90s to the list. My favorites so far... Read More »

Those of you who read my book review at Positive Feedback Online of Jim Smith's Get Better Sound know that I hold Jim and his talents in the highest regard. Jim's book is a must have, and in the review I said: "I highly recommend Get Better Sound by Jim Smith, and I think it... Read More »

I just wanted to give everyone a heads up that my review of the Sablon Audio Panatela interconnect, designed by Mark Coles, has just gone live at Positive Feedback Online here. Just so you know, the Panatela is my absolute favorite interconnect in the whole world. Listening to it was an experience akin to my... Read More »

I just got home from a couple of weeks of traveling in France, and I'm still severely jet-lagged, with my body feeling about 9 hours out of sync from the clock-time here in the Pacific Northwest of the US where I live. Now I'm thinking about trying to get caught  back up on everything -... Read More »

You know how life just goes along and you think nothing is ever going to change, and then something totally unanticipated happens that resets everything? Well, this Saturday evening I had one of those precedence setting events that caught me completely by surprise, and rewrote the book about what I thought I knew about ...... Read More »

As you know, I fell in love with the Leben Hi-Fi Stereo Company and the electronics designs of Mr. Taku Hyodo, the founder of Leben Hi-Fi Stereo Company back when I first reviewed the Leben CS-600 integrated amplifier for 6Moons in 2007. I'm not the only one smitten with the Leben electronics' charms either, as... Read More »

It seemed like it took me forever to get Chapter 9 of the Acoustic Revive Chronicles published at Positive Feedback Online. After I had received the Acoustic Revive RAS-14 AC Power Conditioner and the USB-1.0SP USB Interconnect for review, the North American distributor, Joe Cohen, ceased importing the Acoustic Revive product line. There wasn't anyone... Read More »

I've just received the production version of the Sablon Audio Panatela interconnect from Mark Coles for review at Positive Feedback Online. Those who have been watching my blog know that Mark lent me a prototype version of the Panatela to listen to (Thanks Mark!) and I was really, really, impressed with it (click on photos... Read More »

Today's Fresh Catch features the NVO SPA-II vacuum tube stereo phono amplifier that is visiting from Greece. Being from Greece, the first thing that 'SPA-II' brought to mind was Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, for SPA is the acronym I use to remember their order in history, for it was Socrates who taught Plato, and Plato... Read More »

Over the years I’ve had a few folks ask me about how I got started in writing about audio, and similarly, about how a fellow Hi-Fi enthusiast might go about getting started writing about audio. For a first time audio writer, getting started is almost always by invitation from another audio writer. For example, I... Read More »

I've been thinking (always a dangerous thing ;-)) that it would be a good idea to write a series of posts about how the audio review process works, and what's involved in a 'cradle to grave' review. I think it would be really informative for a lot of enthusiasts, and would help you understand what... Read More »

Well, it's been a nice past week of music listening and Hi-Fi Tom-foolery here at Jeff's Place: vintage vinyl, new remastered vinyl, playing with Acoustic Revive accessories, listening to the prototype Sablon Audio Panatella interconnects, listening again to the Leben CS660P amplifier and Leben RS-100 (not the 'U') preamplifier, listening to a variety of 300B... Read More »

I've been listening to a prototype version of the Panatela interconnect, designed by Mark Coles for Sablon Audio, for a while now. I'll tell you what, it's a honey of an IC! The stealth-white clad prototype can be seen in the photo above plugged into my VPI Classic turntable and Auditorium 23 step-up transformer. While... Read More »