Greetings friends, I hope you are doing well!  I've been doing well, except for the Summer cold I caught a few weeks back. Knocked me down for about a week, but all better now.  Summer is definitely here, and the temperatures are soaring, with yesterday hitting 104F! I actually went out for a bicycle ride... Read More »

The full article about the First Watt F8 is now available at Positive Feedback to read HERE. Enjoy! As is my custom, I like to show you a "sneak peek" of upcoming articles for Positive Feedback.  In this sneak peek you'll see a preview of my upcoming The New First Watt F8 Stereo Amplifier from Nelson Pass: Time... Read More »

With 2020 in the rearview mirror, I had hoped 2021 would usher in a reprieve from our troubled world, but it was not to be. Locally, we've had weeks of 100F+ weather, smoke from wildfires filling the air, and the delta variant of the coronavirus is filling the local hospitals to overflow with unvaccinated (mostly)... Read More »

It was a pleasure writing about the Audio Note (UK) Io I MC phono cartridge, AN-S4 step-up transformer, AN-V silver interconnects, and AN-SPe silver loudspeaker cables for Positive Feedback ... ... as well as sharing some of my long term impressions about the Audio Note (UK) Oto Phono SE Signature integrated amplifier and Audio Note... Read More »

My friend, David Gitlen, who is one heck of a great jazz guitarist, has been teaching me jazz guitar once a week. David is amazingly knowledgable about everything related to music, jazz, and guitars, and I sure have been learning a lot from David since I started taking lessons from him. David has been bringing... 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 »

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 »

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 »

I thought it was time for me to check in and tell you what's going on here at Jeff's Place, what is upcoming at Positive Feedback, and about a few other things that are rattling around inside my noggin at the moment. First off, we are now in the fourth quarter of 2020, and 2020 is going fast,... Read More »

First I listened to the Pass Labs XP-12 line-level preamplifier paired with the First Watt SIT-3 stereo amplifier (review HERE), utilizing the very musical Audio Note (UK) CD 2.1x/II Level Two Red Book CD player as a source HERE), and then I did some more listening with my CTC Garrard 301 turntable as a source (HERE). ... Read More »

The new First Watt F8 amplifier will be on its way here for a listen in the not too distant future. In my usual fashion I'll be blogging about it as I get familiar with it here at Jeff's Place, and then will be writing a feature article about it for Positive Feedback. Nelson has just released the... Read More »

I'm in the midst of writing up the Pass Labs XP-12 line-level preamplifier feature review for Positive Feedback, so I've been doing a lot of listening with the XP-12 of late, as you would expect. At the moment, I'm listening to the First Watt SIT-3 (review HERE) in combination with the Pass Labs XP-12 line-level... Read More »

Lately I've had to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming, as I've had the enormously good fortune to listen to a variety of audio equipment that so very closely matches my personal preferences for high-performance audio in terms of musicality and visuospatial attributes.  A rather amazing thing to me, is that for old-timer... Read More »

I think most of you know that my usual way of getting an adequate amount of run-in time on a component  is to put it in either my vintage Altec 832A loudspeakers based bedroom system or in my vintage Altec A5 Voice of the Theatre based audio-visual system and let it accumulate hours until I... Read More »

I've been on a semi-pilgrimage to build a "near replica" of the 1964 Telecaster of the late Canadian jazz guitarist, Ed Bickert, who is definitely one of my favorite jazz guitarists. Many thanks to Roman Pokorny for sharing his photos with me of his visit with Ed and of Ed's Telecaster. You might notice I... Read More »

Today's Fresh Catch is the Pass Labs XP-12 preamplifier ($5800 USD). I am rather excited about the arrival of the Pass Labs XP-12 preamplifier, not only because of the positive buzz it has created in the review community since its introduction in 2018, but also because now I get try it with the Pass Labs... Read More »

It is Thanksgiving week here in the States, and its a good time to reflect upon what we are thankful for. I'm looking forward to spending Thanksgiving Day with my 94 year old Mom, and hanging out with my friends Chad, Leo, Ron, and Santos for a little hifi fun & games and some general... Read More »

The Duelund-Altec Project is really something special, a lot of fun, and it's definitely not your typical audio project or review, but rather is intended to be more of a "dream" article that is decidedly outside of the usual audio mainstream, one that involves a story about the marriage of the historically important vintage Altec... Read More »

First of all I want to thank you for being patient with me. As some of you know, my Mom, almost 94 years of age now, has been going through some rough times health-wise. Getting her to and from doctors, hospitals, trying to help her out generally, and spending quality time with her has been... Read More »

I'm working on Part 2 of my Soundsmith review series for Positive Feedback right now, the Zephyr Mk III phonograph cartridge, and hope to have it published in the next few weeks. In my Part 1 Soundsmith review for Positive Feedback I reviewed the Soundsmith Carmen Mk II phonograph cartridge (HERE). I found the Carmen Mk II to... Read More »

My review of the First Watt SIT-3 is now live at Positive Feedback HERE. Within its areas of strengths (and power limitations) the First Watt SIT-3 is one of the best, if not the best, amplifier I’ve ever heard. If you think you might want a First Watt SIT-3 of your own don’t wait too... Read More »

I am hard at work writing up my listening impressions for the First Watt SIT-3 stereo power amplifier review for Positive Feedback, which I hope to have completed in the next few weeks or so. Until the review is published, I thought you would enjoy a "sneak peek" into the upcoming review - enjoy! ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪... Read More »

A couple of memorable Pass Labs moments in my life came to mind as I have been listening to Nelson Pass' new First Watt SIT-3 stereo power amplifier over the last two weeks, a design which Nelson is very pleased with, I am told (and which I will be interviewing him about for the Positive... Read More »