'The Vintage McIntosh Experience' is now live at Positive Feedback Online! You can read it here. In the text below I added a couple of additional comments that didn't appear in the original article at Positive Feedback Online. I tried to make the additions clearly visible so you don't have to look too hard for them. The Vintage... Read More »

I thought I would start mirroring the reviews I write for Positive Feedback Online here at Jeff's Place. The tradeoff is that my reviews will appear in print earlier at PFO, so if you want the latest reviews you'll want to tune in there. On the other hand, here at Jeff's Place I can include... Read More »

In my last post I talked about my growing awe for the Duelund Silver CAST 6.8uF capacitors, and my first reaction after a quick listen to the NOS RCA 6LCGC Black Plates (below right) that my buddy Leo brought over and the GE 6L6GC Grey Plates (below left) that came in my McIntosh MC30 mono amplifiers that I bought... Read More »

Last Sunday George, Leo, Ron, and myself had a blast listening to music, drinking some fine wines, and munching down on pizza. I mentioned how impressed we were with Ron's pristine vintage H.H. Scott stereomaster integrated vacuum tube amplifier on the big Tannoy Westminster Royal SEs ... ...  but something I hadn't mentioned, and wanted to... Read More »

It was another fine vintage Sunday at Jeff's Place with Ron bringing over his beautiful example of the H.H. Scott stereomaster vacuum tube integrated amplifier from his vintage collection. Ron, Leo, George and I had a ball listening to music as usual! Food, good wine, good music, and friends makes for a great Sunday of... Read More »

Most of you remember me writing about Panikos Kontemeniotis, the music lover & hi-fi aficionado - a man of superb taste in many things - who happens to be the exporter of the New Valve Order designs of talented fine audio constructeur, Andreas Hadjiminas, working out of Nicosia, Cyprus. Panicos sent me a note telling me... Read More »

On Sunday afternoon Ron (center) and Leo (left) joined me for a fine day of hi-fi fun and games, and as usual we had a ball! (Sorry for the blurry photo. Note to self: remember to use the correct camera setting next time!) After a lunch of a combo pizza and a few glasses of... Read More »

It's always a lot of fun to gather together with friends for a little Hi-Fi listening, and Leo, Ron, and myself had a blast visiting George's Place for a little Hi-Fi fun and games. That's George's system below, with Leo, George, and Ron, left to right. Here's a description of George's system starting with the... Read More »

This has been quite an eventful week (and weekend!). Yesterday the the restored vintage mint+ McIntosh MX110Z tuner-preamplifier that I purchased from vintage vacuum-tube specialists Tom Manley & Terry DeWick in Knoxville, Tennessee, arrived. The MX110Z was in pristine condition (mint+ actually) and needed hardly any restoration, with only a few internal components needing to be... Read More »

Today's Fresh Catch is the restored vintage mint+ McIntosh MX110Z tuner-preamplifier that I purchased from vintage vacuum-tube specialist Tom Manley at McIntosh Audio, and was restored by Terry DeWick in Knoxville, Tennessee. The MX110Z is a beauty for sure! Here's a left side view: Here's the other side ... Here's a top-front view ... I haven't... Read More »

FedEx delivered the set of my 'new' restored vintage McIntosh MC30s mono amplifiers today that I purchased from Yves Beauvais at Vintage Vacuum Audio after hearing my friend Leo's MC30s that impressed me so much.  I unpacked the Mac's and set them up in the system with my Westminster Royal Duelund Special Edition loudspeakers, and put... Read More »

It was another mighty fine Vintage Sunday at Jeff's Place, with Ron (back), Pete (middle), and Leo (front) stopping by. The reason Leo has such a big smile is because he just bought a pair of beautifully restored vintage McIntosh MC30 mono amplifiers from Yves Beauvais at Vintage Vacuum Audio and they were sounding absolutely stunning on the... Read More »

The New Valve Order SPA one phono equalizer review is now live at Positive Feedback Online here! A few snippets from the review: "Back in Issue 57 I introduced you to a talented fine audio constructeur, Andreas Hadjiminas, working out of Nicosia, Cyprus. Andreas is one of the brightest new lights in the firmament of vacuum tube... Read More »

It was an awesome Sunday of fun and games listening to vintage Hi-Fi gear here at Jeff's Place. On the menu was a fine selection of vintage vacuum tubes for a little tube rolling in the McIntosh MC240, a Crown 800 professional portable reel-to-reel deck, a beautiful Marantz 8 stereo amplifier, and some mighty fine... Read More »

While I was shopping for a vintage McIntosh MC240 amplifier, I asked Jim McShane for some 6L6GC tube recommendations, and Jim told me that his all-time favorite 6L6GC vacuum tube is "the JAN Philips 7581A - a remarkable tube!" Jim also went on to tell me there are a lot of really good current production... Read More »

The last time Ron stopped by it was a real treat to listen to his vintage Harmon-Kardon Citation II and Citation V amplifiers, as well as his beautiful deHavilland 50A mono amps (new at the time). Man what a day we had listening to those fine amps! It was a Hi-Fi celebration! Harmon-Kardon Citation II... Read More »

As most of you know, the Sophia Electric 91-01 300B mono amplifiers that I reviewed for Positive Feedback Online back in January of 2011 reignited my interest in SET amplification, because they made incredibly beautiful music with my Tannoy Westminster Royal Special Edition loudspeakers. Richard Wugang, the President of Sophia Electric, just sent me a... Read More »

As I mentioned in my last post on upcoming reviews, the Fab Four of Mhdt Labs: Mouse, Horse, Dog, and Tiger, sent me their Stockholm V2 USB DAC to review for Positive Feedback Online. As you know, I've reviewed both the Mhdt Labs Paradisea+ and Havana for Positive Feedback Online, and I've really liked what I've heard. You... Read More »

A while back, fellow audio enthusiast Pete Riggle of VTAF fame brought over a one-off deHavilland / Chaffee Engineering Model 222 tape-head amplifier that Kara Chaffee had added a phono section to specially for Pete. Here's Pete's description of it during a little phono stage shootout he did: "The first of these phono stages is the... Read More »

I've been busy reviewing Hi-Fi gear of late, and I'm entering into an even busier time on the review front in the coming months. As I schedule my reviews out into the future I do it on the basis of the order I receive things in, so the list below could change a little for... Read More »

My Sophia Electric 91-01 300B mono amplifiers are sounding like a vintage dream this morning: rich, warm, colorful, and extremely musical while listening to the Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto Getz/Gilberto album reissued on 45 by Analogue Productions. Certainly a great part of the splendor I'm hearing is contributed by the Sophia Electric Royal Princess... Read More »

Sue at Sophia Electric mentioned that she thought the Princess™ Carbon Plate 300B Vacuum Tube ($600 USD per matched pair) would really complement the coaxial drivers in my Tannoy Westminster Royal SE loudspeakers, and asked if I would like to borrow a pair to listen to. You bet I would - thanks Sue! 🙂 It also... Read More »

When I reviewed the Sophia Electric Model 91-01 300B mono amplifiers for Positive Feedback Online back in January 2011 - which I purchased after the review - they came with NOS vintage Chinese JAN grade 5Z3PA rectifiers (which you can generally substitute for 5U4G and 274B rectifiers). I am just now realizing how good these rectifiers are... Read More »