Siedy checking in from the Netherlands: The SPEC RSA-M99!
It's always a pleasure to hear from my friend, Siedy, and fellow Westminster Royal SE enthusiast in the Netherlands. Siedy's been having fun listening to the new SPEC RSA-M99, and shared his thoughts with me about it. I asked Siedy if it would be ok if I shared what he told me with you, and... Read More »
The Duelund-Altec Project: First listen to the completed crossovers!
Yesterday when I signed off, I had just finished connecting the Duelund CAST tinned-copper crossover in the right "Stokowski" Altec loudspeaker, and did a little listening to compare it to the Altec N-500-D crossover in the left loudspeaker. The "Stokowski" Altec's actually sounded really good with their original Altec N-500-D crossovers, so I wasn't sure... Read More »
The Duelund-Altec Project: First Listen to a Duelund CAST Sn-Cu Crossover!
With all that was involved in moving to the new location of Jeff's Place at Positive Feedback, and with some other responsibilities that demanded my attention, it's been a while since I've been able to work on getting the Duelund-Altec Project up and running. That changed today! 🙂 Before I tell you about the progress... Read More »
High Fidelity: Is hifi system voicing a matter of taste? Part 3.
In Part 1 and Part 2 of my musings about “high fidelity” in audio I explored how high fidelity is considered to be a measure of how close a stereo system or recording comes to reproducing the live musical event. I broadly defined two aspects of high fidelity in audio, the first being (in Part... Read More »
High Fidelity: Is hifi system voicing a matter of taste? Part 2.
In Part 1 I spent some time musing about what high-fidelity means in relation to musicality, and now in Part 2 I’ll explore some ideas about what high-fidelity means in terms of non-musical audiophile-style sonics that many audiophiles cherish. As a recap, in Part 1 I described audiophile-style sonics as how a stereo system performs... Read More »
High Fidelity: Is hifi system voicing a matter of taste? Part 1.
When I say “HiFi system voicing” you might wonder what I’m referring to. Basically, I’m referring to what any given hifi system sounds like in terms of its particular blend of musicality and audiophile-style sonics, or its overall sound quality. The musicality aspect of hifi performance is referring to performance on the basic elements of music in... Read More »
The Duelund Coherent Audio RCA Connectors!
As you know, I’m a huge fan of the Duelund DCA series of tinned-copper tone wire for building interconnects (the DCA20GA and DCA16GA). In fact, one high-profile industry insider with impeccable credentials and taste told me that his Duelund DCA20GA interconnects terminated with Duelund RCA’s are the best sounding interconnects he’s heard at any price.... Read More »
Live at Positive Feedback: The Acoustic Revive Chronicles, Chapter 14: The Absolute Power Cables, The RCA Absolute FM Interconnects, and the PC-TripleC/EX Headshell Leads Review
I finished up "The Acoustic Revive Chronicles, Chapter 14: The Absolute Power Cables, The RCA Absolute FM Interconnects, and the PC-TripleC/EX Headshell Leads" while my old Jeff's Place site was down, so I never got the chance to let you know that it was published at Positive Feedback. You can read it HERE. For those of you who... Read More »
A look through the crystal ball at what's coming to Jeff's Place in 2019!
It sure is delight to be up and running here on Jeff's Place at Positive Feedback for 2019, and I'm "sharpening up my pencil" now to do a little writing about music, hifi, and other stuff for you! I'm in the process of vetting review inquiries sent to me, and sending out review inquiries of my... Read More »
Welcome to Jeff's Place!
Greetings music lovers, and welcome to Jeff's Place at Positive Feedback! I really appreciate Editors Dave & David offering me a spot here on Positive Feedback, and I'm really glad to be here. 🙂 You'll see that all the great content at Jeff's Place has been preserved, which is fantastic. You will notice a couple of... Read More »
Today's Fresh Catch: Woodsong Audio TD-124 Platter Adapter - OMG!
If you don't yet know about Chris Harban's artisanal audio works at Woodsong Audio, where Chris restores & hot-rods Linn Sondek LP12, Garrard 301/401, Thorens TD-124, and Technics SP10 turntables, and builds stunning wood plinths for them - the "wood" in "Woodsong Audio" - you should really check out Chris' web page (HERE). I saw... Read More »
First Listen: The New Acoustic Revive Absolute PC-Triple C/EX Lead Wires! Update.
First let me start by repeating a few excerpts from my introductory post (HERE) about the new Acoustic Revive Absolute PC-Triple C/EX Lead Wires to give you an idea about what these exotic and ultra expensive cartridge leads are all about ($1075 USD for a set). The new PC-Triple C/EX conductor is a unique affair, and in very simplistic... Read More »
Jeff checking in ... fun with Altec's, Duelund, Artisan Fidelity Thorens, Spec, and Acoustic Revive!
It's time for some system maintenance, with my Classic 301 turntable off to visit Ray Clark in the UK for a little tune-up, and my vintage McIntosh MX110Z's volume pot finally died, so it's getting a new volume pot installed. So in the interim I've put together a really sweet combination of hifi gear for... Read More »
Adventures in Real Sound with Yazaki-san: Alan-san’s GEC PX25 monaural SET’s - Part 2!
With pleasure I offer Yazaki-san's Alan-san’s GEC PX25A Monaural SET's Part 2 for your reading enjoyment! A huge thank you to Yazaki-san and Alan-san for sharing their Adventures In Real Sound with us! ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ About “Anzai-san’s” GEC PX25A single-ended tube amplifier, I expressed it in my last article that I was strongly impressed with its very beautiful... Read More »
Jeff checking in ... turntables, the Duelund-Altec Project, Acoustic Revive, and Yazaki-san!
It's been a busy couple of weeks on the personal side of things, but I thought I'd report on what's going on at chez Jeff on the audio side of things at the moment, and what's coming up in the near term. Turntable Musical Chairs My Classic Turntable Company 301 (above) is on it's way... Read More »
The Soundsmith MMP3 Mk II Phono Preamplifier Review is Now Live at Positive Feedback!
My Soundsmith MMP3 Mk II Phono Preamplifier review is now live at Positive Feedback! You can read it HERE. It has been a real pleasure writing this three part series about the Soundsmith Carmen Mk II (HERE), Soundsmith Zephyr Mk III (HERE), and the Soundsmith MMP3 Mk II Phono Preamplifier. Seldom do I run across... Read More »
Sneak Peek: The Soundsmith MMP3 Mk II Phono Preamplifier Review for Positive Feedback!
I enjoy giving you a "sneak peek" into my Positive Feedback reviews before the full review gets published by ye ol' editors Dave and David. I am in the process of writing up the final listening impressions of the Soundsmith MMP3 Mk II phono preamplifier review now, and I hope to have the full article... Read More »
Preview: Yazaki-san will be telling us all about his experiences hot-rodding the Marantz Model 7 Replica for Roy-san! Update: Listening impressions from Roy-san!
It's always fun to hear from Yazaki-san, and he is staying as busy as ever with audio adventures! In an email I just received from Yazaki-san he told me about how nicely a hot-rodded version of the Marantz Model 7 Replica turned out for Roy-san, and to complement his series "A Guest Article from Mr. Shirokazu... Read More »
First listen: Duelund 600V DCA12GA tinned-copper tone wire!
I couldn't stand it. As I looked up from playing my guitar and saw that lovely spool of the new 600V Duelund DCA12GA PolyCAST tinned-copper tone wire, I just had to do something! I decided I really needed to cut a set of 2.5 meter speaker cables off the spool, and then try them as speaker... Read More »
Adventures in Real Sound with Yazaki-san: Alan-san's GEC PX25 monaural SET's!
In a special mid-week treat for you, it is with great delight that I welcome back Shirokazu Yazaki to the pages of Jeff's Place to tell us about his latest adventure in Real Sound with his good friend Alan-san! Welcome back Yazaki-san, and thank you for sharing your latest adventure in Real Sound with us - I loved reading about... Read More »
Today's Fresh Catch: Duelund 600V DCA12GA Tinned-Copper Tone Wire!
I know a lot of you have been looking forward to the day when the 600V Duelund DCA12GA tinned-copper tone wire becomes available so you can use it to make DIY power cords, and that day is now here! Woo hoo! Today a spool of 600V Duelund DCA12GA tinned-copper wire arrived from Frederik, and it... Read More »
Preview of my 2018 Writer's Choice Awards for Positive Feedback!
2018 Writer's Choice Awards for Positive Feedback! I've turned in my Writer's Choice Awards for 2018 to Dave and David at Positive Feedback, so you'll be hearing more about that shortly as they're published. Here's a little preview excerpt: "When I receive the message from Editors Dave and David that it is once again time for Positive... Read More »
Jeff checking in ... the Duelund-Altec Project and other stuff!
First of all I want to thank you for being patient with me. As some of you know, my Mom, almost 94 years of age now, has been going through some rough times health-wise. Getting her to and from doctors, hospitals, trying to help her out generally, and spending quality time with her has been... Read More »
The Duelund-Altec Project: Breadboarding the Duelund CAST Sn-Cu Crossovers!
Originally I had planned on building external crossovers for the vintage Stokowski Altec's on the beautifully made Hammond HWCHAS Series Heavy Duty Walnut Chassis With Aluminum Top (HERE). I thought the Hammond's aluminum top plate painted in Altec green like the 511-B horns would make for an attractive nod to Altec tradition. However, the large... Read More »
The Duelund CAST Carbon/Sn-Cu Resistor: The "Jeffistor" makes its debut!
I really want to thank Frederik Carøe for being so generous as to indulge a resistor idea of mine, and then going way beyond what I imagined to handcraft a truly amazing resistor, which Frederik has humorously dubbed the "Jeffistor". The idea behind this resistor was a result of my listening impressions while doing trials with... Read More »
The Duelund CAST Sn-Cu Capacitor: The World’s Finest Capacitor!
The Duelund-Altec Project is a world’s first for crossovers built exclusively using the new Duelund CAST tinned-copper (Sn-Cu) components (below), and these particular crossovers are currently the only crossovers of their kind in existence, at least for a while, until others start building their own crossovers with the new Duelund CAST Sn-Cu components. In the... Read More »
The Duelund CAST Sn-Cu Air Core Inductor: A Breath of Fresh Air for Low Frequencies!
I thought I'd follow the same basic progression for introducing the Duelund-Altec Project to you as I did for the Duelund-Westminster Project, where I discussed each Duelund CAST component in detail, then detailed each step as I breadboarded the crossovers, modified the loudspeakers, and then constructed the final version of the crossovers, followed by updates... Read More »
New Duelund 600V DCA20GA tinned-copper tone wire now available at Parts Connexion!
I wanted to give you a heads up that the new Duelund 600V DCA20GA tinned-copper tone wire is now available at Parts Connexion. The price of the 600V Duelund DCA20GA is $5.99 USD per meter, but is on sale now for an introductory period for $3.99 USD per meter. The 600V DCA20GA tinned-copper tone wire... Read More »
Jeff checking in ... Stokowski Altec's, Duelund CAST Sn-Cu, Acoustic Revive, and more!
After my buddy Chad helped me move the big Stokowski Altec's into the position normally occupied by my Westminster Royal SE's last weekend (thanks Chad!), we did a fair amount of listening, mostly to a lot of classic rock (Chad's fave), but also some jazz. I was a bit surprised how good the Stokowski Altec's... Read More »
The Duelund CAST tinned-copper capacitors, inductors, and resistors have arrived!
I want to share every step of the way with you about the Duelund-Altec crossover project that Frederik and I are embarking on, so that you can come as close to possible to experiencing the project as if you were doing the project for yourself. A 32.30 kilogram parcel from Frederik (Duelund) arrived at 10:30AM... Read More »
The Duelund-Altec Project is about to get under way - the adventure begins!
It's almost time for the Duelund-Altec Project to get under way! Back in November 2015 my buddy Ron Barbee and I did a road trip to Seattle to audition a pair of vintage Altec loudspeakers that were for sale. These particular Altec's were custom made for conductor Leopold Stokowski by Altec for listening to music at... Read More »
The Still Audio EL84 integrated amplifier review is now live at Positive Feedback!
The Still Audio EL84 integrated amplifier review is now live at Positive Feedback HERE. The Still Audio EL84 integrated amplifier is a honey of an amp! Enjoy! As always, thanks for stopping by, and may the tone be with you!
Sneak Peek: The Still Audio EL84 Integrated Amplifier Review for Positive Feedback!
I'm in the last stages of finishing up my review of the Still Audio EL84 integrated amplifier for Positive Feedback. As is my custom I thought I'd give you a sneak peek into the review before it is published at Positive Feedback, and I hope you enjoy it! This is a very special little amplifier... Read More »
A couple of things ... Still Audio, Duelund, Fender, and music on vinyl!
There's always a lot going on here at my place, and I'm hoping you're enjoying these little updates to share it all with you. ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ Still Audio ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ I'm working on writing up the Still Audio EL84 integrated amplifier review for Positive Feedback this weekend, and with a little luck I'll be able to get... Read More »
Today's Fresh Catch: Baby!
One of my goals as a new retiree is to become a decent guitarist. I've loved guitars for as long as I can remember, and mostly have always had one around to tinker with, but I've never learned to play as well as I'd like, as it seems that some sort of life situation always... Read More »
Jeff checking in ... Acoustic Revive, Belden 8402, Collings, Fender, Soundsmith, Spec, Still Audio, and Waterloo!
I had lunch with my good friend, Santos Ortega, on Friday. It's always a pleasure to get together with Santos, who is one of the most interesting, insightful, and decent guys I've ever had the pleasure to meet, not to mention that he has impeccably good taste in all things! I've known Santos for nearly... Read More »
