It's always exciting to hear from our friend Yazaki-san, and this time Yazaki-san really outdid himself! You all know how much I love my humble vintage Altec loudspeaker collection of the A5 Voice of the Theatre, Corona 832A, and the "Stokowski" Altec's. Well, our friend Yazaki-san sent me a special issue of Stereo Sound from 2006 that... Read More »

I've been wanting to write an article about the "musicality magic" of vintage Altec loudspeakers for a while now, so consider this a mini-installment towards that goal, with - I hope - much more to come. Let's start with a short Altec history lesson. Altec's origins are inextricably linked to the Western Electric movie theater loudspeaker systems... Read More »

I've really been enjoying listening to the "Stokowski" Altec's with their Duelund-Altec Project Duelund CAST Sn-Cu crossovers over the last week or so since my last update. For those who are just finding out about the Duelund-Altec Project, I thought I'd include an overview of the project for you, as well as an update for... Read More »

With all that was involved in moving to the new location of Jeff's Place at Positive Feedback, and with some other responsibilities that demanded my attention, it's been a while since I've been able to work on getting the Duelund-Altec Project up and running. That changed today! 🙂  Before I tell you about the progress... Read More »

It's time for some system maintenance, with my Classic 301 turntable off to visit Ray Clark in the UK for a little tune-up, and my vintage McIntosh MX110Z's volume pot finally died, so it's getting a new volume pot installed. So in the interim I've put together a really sweet combination of hifi gear for... Read More »

It's been a busy couple of weeks on the personal side of things, but I thought I'd report on what's going on at chez Jeff on the audio side of things at the moment, and what's coming up in the near term. Turntable Musical Chairs My Classic Turntable Company 301 (above) is on it's way... 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 »

Originally I had planned on building external crossovers for the vintage Stokowski Altec's on the beautifully made Hammond HWCHAS Series Heavy Duty Walnut Chassis With Aluminum Top (HERE). I thought the Hammond's aluminum top plate painted in Altec green like the 511-B horns would make for an attractive nod to Altec tradition. However, the large... Read More »

I really want to thank Frederik Carøe for being so generous as to indulge a resistor idea of mine, and then going way beyond what I imagined to handcraft a truly amazing resistor, which Frederik has humorously dubbed the "Jeffistor". The idea behind this resistor was a result of my listening impressions while doing trials with... Read More »

After my buddy Chad helped me move the big Stokowski Altec's into the position normally occupied by my Westminster Royal SE's last weekend (thanks Chad!), we did a fair amount of listening, mostly to a lot of classic rock (Chad's fave), but also some jazz. I was a  bit surprised how good the Stokowski Altec's... Read More »

I want to share every step of the way with you about the Duelund-Altec crossover project that Frederik and I are embarking on, so that you can come as close to possible to experiencing the project as if you were doing the project for yourself. A 32.30 kilogram parcel from Frederik (Duelund) arrived at 10:30AM... Read More »

It's almost time for the Duelund-Altec Project to get under way! Back in November 2015 my buddy Ron Barbee and I did a road trip to Seattle to audition a pair of vintage Altec loudspeakers that were for sale. These particular Altec's were custom made for conductor Leopold Stokowski by Altec for listening to music at... Read More »

There's always a lot going on here at my place, and I'm hoping you're enjoying these little updates to share it all with you. ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ Still Audio ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ I'm working on writing up the Still Audio EL84 integrated amplifier review for Positive Feedback this weekend, and with a little luck I'll be able to get... Read More »

I'm a huge fan of integrated amplifiers. In fact some of the finest amplification I've ever had the pleasure to listen to music with has come from integrated amplifiers, like the Leben CS-600 and the Spec RSA-M3 EX. I get quite a few messages from integrated amplifier owners asking me what separate components would better the... Read More »

Today's post was inspired by Georges Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,  one of my favorite pointillist impressionism paintings, showing Parisians relaxing in a park on the banks of the Seine (below). In a silly oddio variation on a theme, you get my music, film, literature, and audio impressions while I'm relaxing... Read More »

I am absolutely thrilled to be able to announce the Duelund Coherent Audio - Stokowski Altec Project for 2018! This exciting project will showcase the Duelund Coherent Audio tinned-copper components, and will be a world first for a crossover constructed of tinned-copper components. As you know, I have been extremely impressed with the prototype tinned-copper capacitors and... Read More »

Today's essay on the Art of Tone is intended to be both a practical and a thought adventure about what it means to optimize musicality in a high-fidelity music system, as opposed to the usual audiophile emphasis of optimizing the non-musical artifacts of the recording process, like imaging and sound-staging information, for example. I've realized I made... Read More »

It has been a busy audio weekend, and I'm trying to get caught back up after Jeff's Place going down due to the hacking event last week. The good news is that you've encouraged me to keep going with Jeff's Place for the foreseeable future. I was pretty discouraged after the hacking event, but with all... Read More »

Thanksgiving kicks off the Holiday Season in the States, and I want to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving! I have a lot to be thankful for, when reflecting back upon the past year, but it's also been a tough year with the passing of my Dad, and due to some health crises for my Mom,... Read More »

The 13th Annual Positive Feedback Writers' Choice Awards for 2016 are live here. There were lots of great nominees from me for this year, but only three winners! Please stop by Positive Feedback and check out all the winners from 2016, from me, and all the other Positive Feedback contributors. As always, thanks for stopping... Read More »

You'll have to wait a while before the full 13th Annual Positive Feedback Writers’ Choice Awards for 2016 appear at Positive Feedback, but I thought you'd enjoy this sneak peek into my nominees for 2016. Enjoy! The 13th Annual Positive Feedback Writers’ Choice Awards for 2016 It’s always an exciting time of year when the Positive... Read More »

It's been a great couple of days visiting with my nephew, Chris, and his daughter, Chloe, who travelled all the way from Arlington, Virginia, to visit Grandma Jaine & Uncle Jeff here in Washington State! Grandma Jaine is 91 now, soon to be 92, and loves jazz and Robert Redford movies! Grandma Jaine is Chris' Grandmother... Read More »

It sure was fun to go to Matt's and Milagros' wedding at Mount Vernon, and to visit with all the family and friends that attended. They sure are a fantastic group of people, and it makes me thankful and proud that I can call them 'family'. Now I've got a few things to tell all... Read More »