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 »

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 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 »

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 »

My The Pass Labs XP-12 Line-Level Preamplifier: A Musical Masterpiece! article is now live on Positive Feedback (HERE).  The Pass Labs XP-12 line-level preamplifier is a sweetheart of a preamp! As always, thanks for stopping by, and may the tone be with you!

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 »

My local FedEx driver just dropped of an exciting parcel from Pass Labs, the XP-17 phono preamplifier!  Here's what the Pass Labs website says about the XP-17: "XP-17 uses the new-shielded low noise toroid and input filter module, like the XP-12. The power supply has an extra stage of RC filtering.  We have lower radiated... 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 »

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 »

It is one of those time periods where I am in the midst of shuffling equipment around between systems in  preparation for upcoming reviews. As you are no doubt aware, the performance of a component is greatly dependent upon the associated equipment in a given system, and the room it is installed in. I've found... Read More »

I just finished up the feature review of the Leben HiFi Stereo Company CS-600X vacuum tube integrated amplifier for Positive Feedback, which you can read HERE.  Like the CS-600 integrated amp that preceded it, the CS-600X is a terrific moderately powerful integrated amplifier, with 32W from 6L6GC output tubes, and 28W from EL34 output tubes. ... Read More »

Due to the rapidly increasing threat of the wave of the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping over Washington State where I live, I started home-isolation on March 13th in an attempt to stay safe from the virus. Today is April 10th, and I'm in my 28th day of home-isolation due to COVID-19.  Even being extremely careful, and... 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 »

In my most recent Today's Fresh Catch post (HERE) I told you about the arrival of  the much anticipated Pass Labs XP-12 preamplifier. This Saturday morning I installed the Pass Labs XP-12 preamplifier ($5800 USD) into my vintage Altec 832A Corona loudspeakers based bedroom system to get some run-in time on it, along with the Pass Labs... 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 »

2019 has been an outstanding audio and music year for me, and I thought a retrospective of its high points would be fun to reflect back upon and share with you, as 2020 is already knocking on the door and demanding attention. In 2019 there were all those little adventures and discoveries I wrote about... 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 »

My feature article about the Pass Labs XA25 Class A push-pull stereo power amplifier is now live at Positive Feedback, and you can read it HERE.  As always, thanks for stopping by, and may the tone be with you!