For those of you who have been keeping score, you know I've been really impressed with the New Valve Order SPA-II (Stereo Phono Amplifier-II) that I reviewed for Positive Feedback Online in Issue 57, and it has become my reference for the state-of-art in a phono equalizer. The SPA-II was created by the talented fine audio constructeur,... Read More »

Analogue Productions has given the Grateful Dead's Reckoning album the deluxe remastering treatment. Reckoning was cut from the original analog master tapes at Analogue Productions' Quality Record Pressings on 200g vinyl by Kevin Gray. I'm listening to it right now and it is ridiculously well done live music with remastering to die for! If you... Read More »

By far, one of my favorite folk musicians is Townes Van Zandt. His songwriting, guitar playing, and vocals were remarkable. His recorded legacy isn't as good or as even as it deserved to be. His life was tragic and predictable: a bipolar disorder, a drug addiction, and alcoholism haunted him, but the beauty of his music shone through... Read More »

I just got home from traveling in Holland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, and France for three weeks, which is why I've been a little thin on posts lately. As you would expect, by the time I got home from travel I was in great need of a vinyl fix, so I ordered up a batch... Read More »

I've been doing a late-night listening session to Barclay's Chet Baker Quartet after reading Jeroen De Valk's biography of Chet Baker, which reads like a harrowing murder mystery. Chet Baker was a brilliant jazz trumpet player that played by ear and couldn't read music, was a heroin addict, and in many ways, he was an innocent... Read More »

I continue to be impressed with the new releases from Speakers Corner Records. They sound like I want my Hi-Fi gear to sound: warm, a little bit dark, detailed & dimensional, with analogue ease & liquidity in full display, and with a high degree of emotional involvement & musical impact. The way the musical content... Read More »

In last year's 7th Annual Positive Feedback Online's Writers' Choice Awards for 2010 I managed to squeeze in an extra Award for a total of four: My first choice was a no-brainer, and it went to my all-time favorite loudspeaker, the incredible Tannoy Westminster Royal Special Edition. The Westminster is so good that I still... Read More »

I had forgotten to mention it earlier, but in the October 2011 'Recommended Components' issue of Stereophile there's a couple of notable mentions: The EMT TSD 15 moving coil phono cartridge landed in 'Class A' by virtue of Art Dudley's earlier review of it. I have become increasingly impressed with my own EMT TSD 15... Read More »

I've been having a lot of fun listening to music this weekend while making a few blog posts and doing some review writing. My Hi-Fi rig is sounding really good right now, and I thought you might like to see what's making it sound so good today. First up is my EMT TSD-15 MC cartridge... Read More »

Today's Fresh Catch features a number of items I've purchased from Acoustic Sounds over the last few weeks. First up is the Cat Stevens' Tea for Tillerman, which is the first pressing done at Chad's new Quality Record Pressings enterprise. Tea for the Tillerman is a great record, and sold 500,000 copies within 6 months... Read More »

Well, it's been a nice past week of music listening and Hi-Fi Tom-foolery here at Jeff's Place: vintage vinyl, new remastered vinyl, playing with Acoustic Revive accessories, listening to the prototype Sablon Audio Panatella interconnects, listening again to the Leben CS660P amplifier and Leben RS-100 (not the 'U') preamplifier, listening to a variety of 300B... Read More »

It's been storming with incredibly intense thunder showers here on the East Side of Washington State in the Pacific Northwest of the US, which makes it a perfect morning for staying inside, listening to music, and getting caught up on a little writing. On this rainy Sunday morning I'm drinking some fine Peet's Sulawesi-Kalosi coffee,... Read More »

I just bought a couple of new records that I thought you might be interested in, the first one being Sam Cooke's Night Beat. Born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, in 1931, Sam Cooke was the son of a Baptist minister and grew up singing and playing gospel music in church. Cooke was a talented vocalist and... Read More »

Nothing beats a little good music along with my Peet's coffee on a Saturday morning, and this morning with the sun breaking through the Pacific Northwest rain clouds I'm almost giddy about the music I'm listening to right now, the Miles Davis Quintet - Great Prestige Recordings 45 RPM box set that Chad Kassem did... Read More »

It's a chilly (-5 degrees Fahrenheit with windchill) but sunny Saturday morning here in Washington State in the Pacific Northwest of the US, so it's a great time to catch up on posts and listen to some music. By the way, I try to stay up on all the comments, so if I miss one... Read More »

My buddy Ron stopped by with three amplifiers from his collection for an afternoon of listening fun & games. The first one we listened to was Ron's vintage Harmon-Kardon Citation II that he fully restored - but not 'hot-rodded' - using Jim McShane's parts offerings. The vintage Harmon-Kardon Citation II sounded warm, rich, eminently musical,... Read More »

I've been getting a number of inquiries about the new 'Woody' tonearm from Pete Riggle Engineering, so I thought I'd post this e-mail with photos (note the cool vintage Garrard 301 and Thorens TD124 turntables - drool) from Pete telling about his new String-Theory Woody Tonearm. I haven't yet seen or heard Pete's new tonearm... Read More »

It is my opinion that the finest records in the history of the world are being made right now by Analogue Productions as part of their 45 RPM series. The records have both superb musicality and superb sonics, and include some of the most important recordings ever laid down on tape, at least for us... Read More »

It's Memorial Day here in the States, which is about remembering soldiers who have died during military service, and was enacted after the American Civil War (1861-1865). This morning I've been working on my review for Positive Feedback Online of the Acoustic Revive speaker cables, RCA interconnects, and RCI-3 cable insulators. Coincidentally, I just ordered... Read More »

I feel a certain affinity for Hendrix, with him having been a fellow Washington State resident, and wanted to get back in touch with his music. So a few weeks back I ordered a batch of records from Acoustic Sounds that included Jimi Hendrix's Electric Ladyland. The version I ordered was the new special edition... Read More »

I've been very pleased to read how various Stereophile writers (Stephen Mejias, John Atkinson, Robert Deutsch, John Marks, and Art Dudley, if I remember correctly) have praised the Leben CS300 and CS600 integrated amplifier based Hi-Fi systems featured at the Salon and Image Show in Toronto over the last few years. The common thread in... Read More »

Quite a few years ago I bought an Acoustic Sounds test pressing of You Get More Bounce With Curtis Counce and I have really enjoyed it. The test pressings used to be offered cheaper than the regular versions of the LP because they didn't have any cover art, so I bought them whenever I could... Read More »

FedEx just dropped off a box of LPs from Acoustic Sounds that I ordered a few days ago, so I'll be reporting on those LPs as I listen to them. First up is the Cowboy Junkies' The Trinity Session , named for the Church of the Holy Trinity in Toronto, Canada, where they recorded the... Read More »