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 »

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 »

I started my listening this evening with the 45 RPM version of the Shelly Manne & Bill Evans album Empathy from Analogue Productions and I've just been blown away. Certainly a lot of the credit goes to this wonderful album, Empathy, which I've reported on before, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention... 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 »

As I promised in my last post, I have some vintage LP treasures to tell you about, the first of which is The Guitar World of Johnny Smith on Roost Records (Roost SLP 2254). I think that Johnny Smith was one of the greatest jazz guitarists that ever lived, and you should go out to Wikipedia... Read More »

John La Chapelle was a legendary jazz guitarist here in the Pacific Northwest, and also taught many students the art of playing the guitar over the years. John passed away at the age of 91 in March of this year, and is greatly missed by all of us who knew him. Below is a photo... Read More »

High Performance Audio Starts With The In-Wall AC In Chapter 10 of the Acoustic Revive Chronicles I wrote about a high-performance in-wall Acoustic Revive AC interface that consisted of the combination of the CB-1DB receptacle base plate, the CFRP-1F carbon fiber outlet plate, and the Acoustic Revive modified Oyaide R-1 receptacle. I was impressed during... Read More »

A couple of Fresh Catch's ago I told you how my friend Leo left his Wagner Die Walkure box set from the Ring Cycle with me to listen to while he went on vacation. I was so impressed with the Decca / Testament Die Walkure box set I decided to buy the full Ring Cycle box... Read More »

John Coltrane's 'A Love Supreme' on 45 RPM from Analogue Productions is another classic jazz album that you'll want to add to your music library. It's another of the top 25 Impulse albums that Analogue Productions selected to remaster on 45 RPM, is considered as one of the top jazz albums of all time, and... Read More »

I've been hard at work over the weekend writing up my review of the superb New Valve Order SPA one phono equalizer ($4250 USD). The SPA one is a honey of a phono equalizer that'll make you want to go out and buy more albums - a good thing for sure! I'll tell you what,... Read More »

I've been going nuts buying records lately because my system is in one of those cherished states where it makes the music come alive in an almost supernatural manner. A case in point is the Analogue Productions 45 RPM reissue of The Gil Evans Orchestra's Out Of The Cool (above).  Out Of The Cool is one... Read More »

My friend Leo went off on vacation and left his copy of the Testament box set of the Decca, Joseph Keilberth, Wagner Die Walkure from The Ring Cycle, with me to listen to. All I can say is "Wow!". Now, I'm not normally a Wagner sort of guy, but I have to admit this Testament box... Read More »

I have achieved a level of musical nirvana over the last week that I haven't experienced since the departure of the wonderful ASR Emitter II Exclusive Version Blue amplifier designed by the talented Friedrich Schaefer in Germany. In fact, my system is performing at a level quite a ways above even what I was experiencing when that... Read More »

Hi everyone! I hope you're having a nice weekend! I was out of commission part of this week as a victim of a stomach bug that's been going around, so you could say this week is ending a lot better than it started. Last weekend was an awesome vintage weekend of listening to Ron’s quad of... Read More »

Thanks to everyone for the well wishes on my 1oth anniversary as an audio writer! I appreciate Mike's encouragement to write a little more about recordings too, because that's something I always intend to do, but the software scene seems to get away from me when I'm trying to keep up with the hardware scene!... Read More »

This Saturday morning I was up at 4:30 AM getting ready to start the review process for the ASR Basis Exclusive phono equalizer. Now that's dedication! Reviewing is a long process of equipment setup, comparative listening to other components, listening for enjoyment, shooting photos, and writing (and re-writing) articles. I repeat the process until I... Read More »

I'm gearing up to start the Positive Feedback Online review of the ASR Basis Exclusive phono equalizer over the weekend, but just for kicks tonight I installed my Fi 300B mono amps, Leben RS-100U line stage, and the New Valve Order SPA one phono equalizer for a little vacuum tube listening session. What a sweet... Read More »

There's nothing quite as luxurious for me as getting up on a day off, fixing a nice cup of coffee, and then settling in for a little listening session of some good LPs playing over the Westminster Royal SE loudspeakers. Today was particularly nice with Dr. Friedrich Schaefer's hand-crafted ASR Basis Exclusive phono stage and Emitter II... Read More »

The Kingdom Royal review (something new) is now complete and is with the very cool Editors Dave and David at Positive Feedback Online for publication in the November issue, which will go live this coming week. The Kingdom Royals have officially become my favorite dynamic loudspeakers, with a luxurious and sophisticated way of presenting the... Read More »

Today's Fresh Catch is the ASR Audio Systems Basis Exclusive Phono Stage designed by Dr. Friedrich Schaefer. which I'll be reviewing for Positive Feedback Online. The Basis Exclusive was supposed to arrive at the same time as the Emitter II but a FedEx shipping game of 'hide & seek' took place that had Dr. Schaefer, Zed (US... Read More »

If you've read the Sablon Audio Panatela Special Edition Component Speaker Cable review at Positive Feedback Online you know how much I've been enjoying listening to music on the combination of an EMT TSD-15 phono cartridge, VPI Classic 'table, New Valve Order SPA-II phono stage, Sablon Audio Panatela interconnects & speaker cables, ASR Audiosysteme Emitter II Exclusive Version... Read More »

It's Sunday morning here at Jeff's Place, with the morning sun streaming in through the East windows, while I'm drinking a fine cup of coffee, and listening to an old Analogue Productions test pressing of Bill Evan's Waltz for Debbie that is just blowing my mind. Those Analogue Productions test pressings are freaky good, and... Read More »