While it might not be intuitive to the music listener enjoying their favorite albums at home, from the very first recording that was ever made circa 1860 until now, every single recording of music has had equalization applied to it to produce a unique document of a recorded musical event. Sometimes the applied equalization was... Read More »

For those of you who have been reading my scribbling about music and audio over the last decade or so, you know from time-to-time I've discussed the various subgroups of audio enthusiasts who each have a particular view on what audio is all about, and who have developed a particular vocabulary emphases based on their interests... Read More »

The last few months have been quite tumultuous, but deep breath ... now life is starting to resume a more normal tempo, and I am once again turning my attention to telling you about what is going on - and coming up - in my music and audio life here at Jeff's Place and Positive Feedback.  2021... Read More »

I've really enjoyed my time with the Pass Labs XP-17 phono preamplifier, and the Positive Feedback article about it just went live for your reading pleasure. "The Pass Labs XP-17 phono preamplifier possesses exemplary sound quality and musicality, has an excellent build quality, was non-fussy in interfacing with the various audio system equipment combinations I tried,... Read More »

"My audio system sucks, what should I do?"   I think you would be astonished to see the amount of emails asking that question that I receive from my fellow audio and music enthusiasts on an ongoing basis.    There's a lot of music listeners out there that are unhappy with the performance of their... Read More »

I've been listening to the Pass Labs XP-17 phono preamp in various system configurations for a while now to get a feel for its overall performance, and its versatility in combining with other equipment, so I thought I'd provide an update as I work towards the XP-17's feature review for Positive Feedback.  To quote the Pass Labs... Read More »

Many thanks to Richard Wugang of Sophia Electric for taking time to write about the history of the 45 vacuum tube for us here at Jeff's Place in this Part 1 post. There will be more to come from Richard specifically about the design of his Sophia Electric 45 mesh plate tubes in Part 2. As... Read More »

I've got a lot of really interesting hifi things to tell you about, but it may take me a little longer than usual to fill you in on all the details, as the last few weeks have been difficult on the home front, and it is likely to be that way for a while longer. ... Read More »

In my introductory post on the topic of high-fidelity audio, I told you about the discussions that Peter Qvortrup (Audio Note (UK)) and I have been having about the state of contemporary audio – an audio state of the union, so to speak – and it turns out we have a rather significant Venn overlap... Read More »

I've had the good fortune to listen to audio components of late that have become my new performance benchmarks in ways I couldn't have imagined even a few short years ago. For music lovers, the good news is that these components have an extraordinary ability to play the wide swath of recordings that spans our... Read More »

Many thanks to Sue and Richard at Sophia Electric for sending Today's Fresh Catch, a pair of the Sophia Electric 45 Mesh Plate power tubes, and a Sophia Electric Aqua 274B rectifier.  The beautiful 2 watt Triode Lab 45 EVO SET integrated amplifier will be the fortunate recipient of these vacuum tubes from Sophia Electric, and I... Read More »

Happy Holiday Season to you all! I hope you are well, safe, and are enjoying listening to music with your hifi rigs!  Next up for review at Positive Feedback is the Pass Labs XP-17 phono preamplifier, designed by Pass Labs' Wayne Colburn. I'll be writing about the XP-17 in combination with the First Watt SIT-3 amplifier (review... Read More »

Today's Fresh Catch are the Audio Note (UK) AN-SPe silver loudspeaker cables, and a set of CDs of performances by Russian conductor Nikolay Golovanov that were sourced from 1940s tapes that were remastered by Anatoly Markovich Likhnitsky.  While I have found all of the Audio Note (UK) components I have tried to be excellent matches... Read More »

Welcome to a new series of informal essays that are meditations about what high-fidelity is, or perhaps could be, in enthusiast audio. There are a lot of dimensions to exploring high-fidelity in enthusiast audio, but the first question one might ask is, “What does high-fidelity mean in enthusiast audio?” One possible definition of many is... Read More »

I've had the Audio Note (UK) AN-S4/L step-up transformer here for about six weeks now, and have been listening to it in combination with my Ortofon SPU Classic phono cartridge. The "L" version of the AN-S4 SUT has a 3 Ohm input impedance, and is primarily designed for use with the Audio Note (UK) IO... Read More »

It certainly has been illuminating and fun telling you about the Audio Note (UK) Oto Phono SE Signature integrated amplifier (review HERE), and the Audio Note (UK) CD 2.1xII Level II Red Book CD player (review HERE), whose virtues have been a new high point in enjoying music for me. Now, to add to the... Read More »

In my last The 78 Experience -Feeling the Music post (HERE) I told you about the IM Lab record label CD from the former USSR, titled Treasures from the Musical Archives of St. Petersburg, featuring Valeria Barsova, soprano; from the Orchestra of the USSR Bolshoi Theatre, Samuil Samosud, Vassily Nebolsin, Alexander Melick-Pashayev, and Maximilian Steinberg conductors; and The... Read More »

For those in the USA, let me wish you a happy Thanksgiving holiday, and for those around the world, allow me to wish that you have many things to be thankful for this holiday season! While 2020 has been a bit of a rough year for me and my family, there's still a lot to... Read More »

I just wrapped up the review for Peter Qvortrup's Audio Note (UK) CD 2.1x/II Level Two Red Book CD player this morning, and submitted it to Positive Feedback Editors Dave and David for their consideration and editing, and it was just published (HERE).      I can tell you this: the CD 2.1x/II is one... Read More »

Thankfully, a lot of important music from the earliest recording eras have been archived by the nations where the recordings were made, or by individual collectors. This album from the IM Lab record label is an example of a commercial Red Book CD from the former USSR, and is titled Treasures from the Musical Archives... Read More »

As is my custom, I wanted to share a "sneak peek" into my next feature review for Positive Feedback "The Audio Note (UK) CD 2.1x/II Level Two Red Book CD Player: A CD Player that Reveals the Soul of the Music!" My purpose for doing this is twofold, first it gives you a chance, dear... Read More »

It is always a pleasure to hear from our good friend, Yazaki-san, and this time he is back to tell us about his continuing adventures with his vintage Marantz Model 7 preamplifier from the Golden Age of audio, and the discoveries he's made during those adventures. If you are just getting started reading Yazaki-san's articles,... Read More »

Today's Fresh Catch is the beautiful Triode Lab 45 EVO SET integrated amplifier finished in Ferrari red (Rosso Fiorano)!  The Triode Lab 45 EVO SET integrated amplifier puts out a robust 2 Watts of power, enough to easily drive my highly-sensitive Duelund-Altec Project vintage "Stokowski" Altec loudspeakers to live-like levels with the "gas pedal" only... Read More »