Another Vintage Sunday At Jeff's Place: The McIntosh MC30 Mono Amplifiers
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 »
Today's Fresh Catch: High-Performance AC Receptacles from cruzeFIRST Audio
I just got back home from an exciting and demanding week of reviewing ... not of audio gear, but of supercomputers (the day job!). It was exciting to be part of a team reviewing a project that will produce the next generation of 100+ PFLOP supercomputers, and I was thankful for the opportunity to be... Read More »
The New Valve Order SPA 'one' Phono Equalizer Review is Now Live at Positive Feedback Online!
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 »
Today's Fresh Catch: Vintage Johnny Smith and Ray Brown in 45 RPM
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 »
Today's Fresh Catch: Old Vinyl and New Vinyl!
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 »
The Week In Review and A Look Ahead: AC, Music, Vinyl, Valves, and Duelund!
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 »
Today's Fresh Catch: Joseph Keilberth Conducts Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen on Decca / Testatment
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 »
Todays's Fresh Catch: John Coltrane's 'A Love Supreme' on 45 RPM from Analogue Productions
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 »
Today's Fresh Catch: 40th Anniversary Edition of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s Will The Circle Be Unbroken
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 »
Today's Fresh Catch: Gil Evans Orchestra's Out of the Cool 45 RPM Jazz Reissue from Analogue Productions - A must have!
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 »
Acoustic Revive Chronicles Chapter 10 is Live at Positive Feedback Online!
Chapter 10 of the Acoustic Revive Chronicles is now live at Positive Feedback Online here. Chapter 10 features the Acoustic Revive RL-30 Demagnetizer for LPs and it works great! This premium demagnetizer is both beautiful and effective, with the only downside being that it is limited to 300 units worldwide, so if you want one... Read More »
Today's Fresh Catch: Joseph Keilberth Conducts Wagner's Die Walkure - The Ring Cycle on Decca / Testatment
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 »
The Week In Review and A Look Ahead: Musical Nirvana, LPs, Chapter 10 of the Acoustic Revive Chronicles, and Upcoming Reviews
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 »
Today's Fresh Catch: High-Performance AC Receptacles from Acoustic Revive, cruzeFIRST Audio, and Oyaide
I just finished up writing Chapter 10 of The Acoustic Revive Chronicles and submitted it to the ye olde Editors Dave & David of Positive Feedback Online for publication in the very near future. I always have had fun writing about the products from Acoustic Revive, and Chapter 10 was no exception. In fact a... Read More »
The Week in Review and a Look Ahead: Vintage Gear, Chapter 10 of the Acoustic Revive Chronicles, NVO SPA one, and 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 »
Another Vintage Sunday at Jeff's Place: Crown, Marantz, McIntosh, Vacuum Tubes, and Music!
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 »
DIY: Binding Post Bypass Adapters for the McIntosh MC240
Yesterday I posted in Today's Fresh Catch about the spade terminal adapters for vintage McIntosh amplifiers with terminal strips that I found and purchased on eBay. While the price was right at slightly less than $10 USD, the performance and design of the adapters was not really up to what I wanted for use with... Read More »
Today's Fresh Catch: Spade Terminal Adapter for Vintage McIntosh Amplifiers
Since I bought my 50 year old vintage McIntosh MC240 amplifier I've been thinking about how best to connect speaker cables to it. Given that the Macs back then used terminal strips instead of binding posts, it's a bit of a challenge to attach modern speaker cables like the bi-wire Panatela for Tannoy Westminster Royal... Read More »
Today's Fresh Catch: The Philips 7027-A Vacuum Tube
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 Week In Review and A Look Ahead: Acoustic Revive, Duelund & Tannoy, and Vintage McIntosh!
Chapter 10 of the Acoustic Revive Chronicles This weekend I am hard at work writing Chapter 10 of the Acoustic Revive Chronicles. As many of you know, I really love the Acoustic Revive audio accessories that are designed and manufactured by Mr. Ken Ishiguro in Japan. If you’ve looked closely at the photos in my... Read More »
Chad's 'Seattle Through The Back Door' Bicycle Tour
Those of you who are familiar with Rick Steves' Europe Through The Back Door probably picked up on my little play on words. Rick's place is located just a little North of Seattle in Edmonds, and I've really enjoyed my trips with Rick Steves' tours. Over the 4th of July weekend I spent three days... Read More »
Today's Fresh Catch: The McIntosh MC240 Stereo Power Amplifier, My 'New' Vintage Reference
I just got home from a terrific bicycle tour of the Seattle area led by my friend Chad (below). We covered over a hundred miles and saw lots of amazing sites, drank some awesome microbrew beers, and ate some incredible food. (A travel post shall follow shortly) Waiting for me when I got home was... Read More »
Now Live at Positive Feedback Online! Survey of the Sablon Audio Corona Family of Power Cables
My survey article of the Sablon Audio Corona family of power cables, designed by Mark Coles, is now live in the new issue of Positive Feedback Online, Issue 68, here. Here's a few snippets from the article: "I think its pretty cool that Mark practices the philosophy of continuous improvement for his cable products. You... Read More »
Frank Checking In From Canada: The Duelund-WRSE Project
The Duelund-WRSE Project has been truly exciting, both in working through developing the external Duelund crossovers, and also hearing from those of you who are working on your own projects. Frank just finished up his Duelund-WRSE Project, took some great photos, and wrote it all up to share with all of us. Thank you Frank!... Read More »
New Valve Order News: SPA-II Phono Equalizer Featured in July 2013 Issue of Stereophile and More!
I just got home from a 26 mile bicycle ride and walked down to my mailbox, and there waiting for me was the July 2013 issue of Stereophile. As I thumbed through the issue I was delighted to see that Michael Fremer wrote about the New Valve Order SPA-II phono equalizer that is being imported to... Read More »
Coming Reviews and Other Stuff
Here’s what’s in my current review queue and what you can expect to see reviewed at Positive Feedback Online in the future. The last reviews to be finished up were of the wonderful ASR Basis Exclusive phono equalizer and ASR Emitter II Exclusive Version Blue amplifier (above). I'm still in withdrawal after their departure - wonderful... Read More »
The Duelund-WRSE Project: Sablon Audio Panatela WRSE Internal Wiring – Part 2
As I mentioned in Part 1 of this post, I got back from Idaho yesterday afternoon where I had joined with my family to celebrate my Dad's 90th birthday! It was awesome! After getting home I unboxed the Panatela WRSE internal wiring set that Mark Coles had sent for the Duelund-WRSE Project. This project has... Read More »
Happy 90th Birthday Dad!
I got in late afternoon from travel yesterday, where I'd been off visiting my Dad in Idaho for his 90th birthday! Happy Birthday Dad! Cheers! My awesome sister-in-law, JoAnne, and my equally awesome nephews, Matt and Chris, made the journey to Idaho from around the US to help wish Dad (Grandpa Jack) a Happy 90th... Read More »
The Duelund-WRSE Project: Sablon Audio Panatela WRSE Internal Wiring - Part 1
I was excited to the see the package arrive from Mark Coles containing the custom internal Westminster Royal SE Sablon Audio Panatela wiring harness that Mark made for the Duelund-WRSE Project. These are the exact same custom Panatela Special Edition Component Speaker Cables that Mark optimized for the WRSEs with Paul Mills' input that I reviewed in... Read More »
The Duelund - WRSE Project: The Crossover Isolation Stands are Finished!
As I mentioned in my last progress report about the Duelund - Westminster Royal SE Project, my buddy Dave and I made some real progress putting the isolation bases together that the Duelund crossovers are mounted on. Dave brought in the finished frames to the office yesterday, I gave their newly lacquered finish time to... Read More »
It Was a Fine Vintage Amplifier Day Here at Jeff's Place
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 »
Today's Fresh Catch: The Sablon Audio Quantum Gran Corona Power Cord
Mark Coles of Sablon Audio fame has developed a new power cord in his Corona product line: the Quantum Gran Corona. Here's what Mark told me about the Quantum Gran Corona: With the quantum power cord, I have thrown every tweak I know at the existing Gran Corona design to create an ultimate statement cord.... Read More »
The Duelund - Westminster Royal SE Project: Progress!
Over the last couple of weekends I have made quite a bit of progress on the Duelund-WRSE Project. Last weekend my buddy Dave and I worked on the final chassis design for the outboard Duelund crossovers, and we went into Dave's woodworking shop to get the chassis started and made a lot of progress. As I... Read More »
The Music Scene: This one's for Mike!
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 »
Panicos Checking in from Cyprus: New Valve Order News!
It's no secret that I really like the New Valve Order SPA-II phono equalizer and have been using it as my reference, and as I posted earlier, I have the new entry level SPA One in for review (below), and from what I'm hearing it promises to be something special as well. Panicos told me... Read More »
10-Year Anniversary Writing About Hi-Fi!
Today I added a Review Archives page to Jeff's Place in the top navigation bar as a resource for finding different articles I had written over the years. As I was putting together a list of links for the article archive I realized that it’s my 10 Year Anniversary writing about Hi-Fi! I started writing about Hi-Fi... Read More »
