I've gotten behind on calling out some of the good vinyl I've come across lately, so here's a couple recommendations for your consideration. The first one I'd like to bring to your attention is the mono version of Gil Evans Great Jazz Standards from Pure Pleasure Records. It includes the songs, Davenport Blues, Straight No Chaser, Ballad of the Sad... Read More »

As I wrote a little while back in a blog post: "Masterpieces is a mono recording from 1950, so I used the Ortofon SPU mono CG 25 Di MkII cartridge (check out Art Dudley’s just published review of it here), which produced a fantastic musical experience together. As a point of reference, Pete stopped by and listened... Read More »

I like to have my Mom & Dad over on weekends for dinner so we can reminisce, enjoy some good food, listen to music, and just have some fun times together. Mom & Dad are in their 90s, and I'm not all that young anymore either, but we like to enjoy the time we have left.... Read More »

Today's Fresh Catch is the SPEC RSP-901EX Real Sound Processor. On my way home from the laboratory last night I picked up a parcel from the post office containing the SPEC RSP-901EX Real Sound Processor that is designed  to reduce the fluctuations of a loudspeaker’s impedance over the frequency spectrum, while absorbing the return current from the speaker... Read More »

I just bought a copy of Ken Kessler's McIntosh history book direct from McIntosh for $150 USD. It is a big, beautifully done, coffee table style book written by Ken Kessler in 2006. There's lots of good content for Mac fans including chapters about McIntosh's roots, vacuum tube designs, the use of McIntosh in live &... Read More »

Today's Fresh Catch includes the Acoustic Revive RR-888 Ultra Low-Frequency Pulse Generator, and the remarkable Acoustic Revive PC-TripleC interconnect cables. As many of you know, over the years I’ve written a lot about the innovative Acoustic Revive audio accessories manufactured by the brilliant Mr. Ken Ishiguro in Japan. In fact, I've spent more time writing about... Read More »

My foray into the mono Analogue Productions limited numbered edition Prestige mono series continues to delight me with the Bags Groove and Mobley's Second Message LPs. Miles Davis' Bags Groove was recorded in 1954 in Rudy Van Gelder's Hackensack, New Jersey, studio. The title tracks were recorded the day before Christmas, but the present of the album... Read More »

I love jazz. While I really enjoy listening to a lot of different musical styles, jazz was my first musical love, and it remains my first choice to unwind with a little music listening after a long day. So I want to offer kudos to Analogue Productions - my favorite jazz reissue record label - for... Read More »

I always get a little bit excited when I get an email from Acoustic Sounds announcing their latest vinyl arrivals, and I'm way behind on telling you about some of the great albums I've come across lately. With all the attention being paid to new vinyl releases in (re)mastering and cutting, and the advent of full... Read More »

Today's Fresh Catch is the Tony Bennett at Carnegie Hall 2-LP reissue set that was mastered by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound from the original 3-track master tapes, and pressed at Quality Record Pressings. I've been away for four day road trip to Boise, Idaho, getting my parents' house prepped for sale after they moved into assisted living... Read More »

Have you ever thought that you knew about something, then found out that you didn't know as much as you thought, and felt like a real jackass? That's what I felt like after listening to the Ellington At Newport LP by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab. You see, sometime back I had vowed to myself that... Read More »

"Wow!" was my first reaction as the music began to pour out of my loudspeakers from the Music Matters 45-RPM reissue of the Blue Note hardbop jazz album The Jazz Messengers - At The Cafe Bohemia Volume 1 that was recorded by Rudy Van Gelder, and mastered for this release by Kevin Gray and Steve Hoffman.... Read More »

Hi Everyone! Like usual, I've had way too many things going on at once so it has been hard for me to get some new posts up for you. One of the things I've been wanting to tell you about is some custom McIntosh audio cabinets that I have run across that I think look really... Read More »

After I finished up my review of the super-sweet Sophia Electric 91-03 integrated 300B amplifier for Positive Feedback Online for Issue 72, Sue asked me if I'd like to give their new Magik Box a listen (below). I told Sue that I  couldn't review the Magik Box at this time due to a combination of... Read More »

As I mentioned in my last post, I ordered up a selection of promising looking records from Acoustic Sounds, and so I've been spending an enjoyable afternoon listening to those black magic licorice disks! The first record I put on my VPI Classic & EMT TSD 15 combo out of my new batch of records was... Read More »

In this age of convenience as CDs arose to prominence, and then when MP3s emerged from the primordial digital soup for portable listening, a lot of people lost touch with their vinyl record collection ... and they forgot ... they forgot how good listening to vinyl really was. For many people music became a soundtrack... Read More »

A while back I made a post about The Soundcoat Company who has been providing specialized noise control solutions for aerospace, medical, and industrial applications since 1963. Steven Klein at Sounds of Silence had told me about how effective their GPDS damping sheets were when he applied the .070 GPDS vibration damping material to strategic locations within the chassis and external... Read More »

I was browsing through a recent Orvis catalog and I ran across these 78 RPM record coasters. The Orvis website says "During the 1950s, 78 rpm records dominated the sonic landscape. Re-live the golden age of the 78s with these repurposed vinyl record coasters. Cut from vintage 78s, laminated, and backed with felt, these are... Read More »

As I mentioned in my Sneak Peek a little while back, Frederik Carøe, the founder of Duelund Coherent Audio, was building up a set of his exotic Duelund Coherent Audio CAST Silver Capacitors for me to try in the Duelund-Westminster Royal SE High-Frequency Crossover! Well, today they arrived - talk about an exciting development! I was... Read More »

I'm currently working hard on writing the review of the Mhdt Labs Stockholm V2 vacuum tube USB DAC (below). For a digital front end I am using my iMac with the new Mavericks OS and iTunes, which I've loaded around 900 to 1000 CDs at full resolution onto. I really wanted to make sure I... Read More »

The Soundcoat Company has been providing specialized noise control solutions for aerospace, medical, and industrial applications since 1963. I first became aware of The Soundcoat Company through Steven Klein at Sounds of Silence (who imports the New Valve Order Audio electronics to North America), when he told me about the superb results he experienced through applying .070 GPDS vibration damping material... Read More »

Today's Fresh Catch is a vintage Johnny Smith Phase II LP on the Verve label that my buddy Leo picked up for me while cruising the record stores - thank you Leo! Wait until you hear it on the Westminsters, Leo, it'll blow your mind - it is an awesome album! I'm sitting here listening... Read More »

The Acoustic Sounds website says this recording of Antonio Vivaldi's Le Quattro Stagioni with Giuliano Carmignola on violin is one of the 10 best recordings of the last century, and after listening to it tonight I don't doubt it. Here's a formula for success: pick one of the 10 greatest recordings of the past century,... Read More »