Intact Audio Custom SUTs - HiFi Heroin That'll Get You Hooked!
Ok, the title of the post is a bit of play on words: HiFi Heroin is a website of fine audio constructeurs, one of which is Dave Slagle of Intact Audio. Dave offers bespoke step-up transformers (SUTs) out of copper or silver with delicious nickel cores that are tailored specifically to bring out the best... Read More »
The Great Capacitor Adventure! Part Two.
The first step in our capacitor adventure was to dismantle my McIntosh MC30 monaural amplifiers and take a look inside at the very nice handiwork of Mr. Yves Beauvais. I purchased my MC30 monaural amplifiers at Yves' retail asking price through his Vintage Vacuum Audio business. Be sure to check out the accompanying links about Yves, you should know that... Read More »
Today's Fresh Catch: The SPEC AP-UD1 Analog Disc Sheet
I received the SPEC AP-UD1 Analog Disc Sheet (turntable mat) from Mr. Yazaki-san of SPEC while I was finishing up the Garrard Project 2015 article for Positive Feedback Online (and mentioned it in the article). I've been too busy to write the AP-UD1 up until now, so this is a bit of a belated 'Today's Fresh Catch'... Read More »
The Great Capacitor Adventure! The aroma of solder is in the air!
If you've read my review of the SPEC RSA-M3 EX Real Sound Amplifier in Positive Feedback Online in Issue 78, you know how interesting I found the high-fidelity adventures of Mr. Shirokazu Yazaki to be: "I learned the audio lesson that while parts choice does make an important difference in performance, it is the 'enlightened ear' of the talented... Read More »
The Vintage Beat: Western Electric WE16GA Speaker Cable
Mr. Shirokazu Yazaki of SPEC Corporation (photo below, second from left) has told me how highly he regards the performance of vintage Western Electric WE16GA wire used as speaker cable. Mr. Shirokazu Yazaki uses the Western Electric WE16GA wire as speaker cables as his personal reference both for the research & development work he does for... Read More »
The Garrard Project 2015: From Simple to Spectacular!
The Garrard Project 2015 article is now live at Positive Feedback Online here. This has been a terrific project to do, and Ray Clark at Classic Turntable Company, Christopher Thornton at Artisan Fidelity, and Thomas Schick have all been an absolute delight to work with, and the quality of their work speaks for itself -... Read More »
New Valve Order News: The ISA-2 Integrated Amplifier and the P-2 Power Amplifier
As you know, I've been extremely impressed with the New Valve Order SPA-II phono equalizer I reviewed in and Issue 57 of Positive Feedback Online (and use as my reference for a stand-alone phono equalizer), and the SPA One phono preamplifier that I reviewed in Issue 69 of Positive Feedback Online. Andreas Hadjiminas, working out of... Read More »
The Vintage Beat: A Forgotten Voice from the American Recording Studio
If you read my SPEC RSA-M3 EX Real Sound Amplifier review in Issue 78 of Positive Feedback Online, you know how impressed I am with the audio designs of Mr. Shirokazu Yazaki in Tokyo, Japan. (second from the left in the photograph below) It is my opinion that Yazaki-san is one of those rare gifted listeners/designers with an... Read More »
Today's Fresh Catch: Family Values & Louis Armstrong!
I like to have my Mom & Dad over on weekends for dinner so we can reminisce, enjoy some good food, listen to music, and just have some fun times together. Mom & Dad are in their 90s, and I'm not all that young anymore either, but we like to enjoy the time we have left.... Read More »
Follow-up: The SPEC RSP-901EX Real Sound Processors on the Duelund-Westminster Royal SE Loudspeakers
In the Issue 78 Positive Feedback Online review of the SPEC RSA-M3 EX Real Sound Amplifier and the SPEC RSP-901EX Real Sound Processors, I only reviewed the Real Sound Processors on my Harbeth Super HL5 loudspeakers. If you read the review, you know I was very impressed with what the Real Sound Processors did for my Harbeth Super HL5s:... Read More »
The SPEC 'Real Sound Amplifier' and 'Real Sound Processors' Review is Now Live at Positive Feedback Online!
The SPEC 'Real Sound Amplifier' and 'Real Sound Processors' review is now live at Positive Feedback Online, and you can read it here. As I mentioned in my earlier post, it's a long 'feature-style' article with thirty pages of text and 65 photographs. I hope you enjoy the review. The SPEC 'Real Sound Amplifier' and 'Real... Read More »
Jeff Checking In: Update on the SPEC Review & The Garrard Project 2015
I'm working hard writing the SPEC Review. I've got all my listening impressions written up for my Leben CS-600 & Harbeth Super HL5 loudspeaker based system (above), and I'm sure a lot of you are wondering how the SPEC Real Sound Amplifier compares to the Leben CS-600. I'm now working on writing up my impressions for... Read More »
Happy 90th Birthday, Mom!
Happy 90th Birthday, Mom! We (Dad, Mom, and me) had a terrific 90th birthday celebration for Mom yesterday here at Jeff's Place. For dinner I played chef and cooked mesquite grilled filet mignon, Beurre Monté lobster tails, baked potatoes with trimmings, carrots, and champagne to drink. Birthday cake and Portland's Stumptown fresh roasted coffee for dessert.... Read More »
Review: The SPEC RSA-M3 EX 'Real Sound Amplifier'
The SPEC RSA-M3 EX Real Sound Amplifier from Japan By Jeff Day Most regular readers of Positive Feedback Online know of my long-time passion for vacuum tube electronics. I’ve enjoyed the musical prowess and sonic chops of contemporary artisan-designed single-ended amplifiers with various output tubes, like the EL84, 45, 2A3, 300B, F2a, and... Read More »
Siedy Checking In From The Netherlands: Chaos!
It's always a pleasure to hear from Siedy in the Netherlands. If you've been following along the conversations here at Jeff's Place you'll recognize Siedy as the gentleman responsible for me becoming aware of the powerful and musical ASR Emitter II Exclusive Version Blue amplifier that was developed by Mr.Friedrich Schaefer in Germany. Siedy used the... Read More »
Update on the Garrard Project 2015: It's almost ready!
Christopher Thornton at Artisan Fidelity has just finished fitting all the components to the plinth he created for the Garrard Project 2015, and sent me some photos of it to drool over - it's a beauty! (you can click on each of the photos for a larger view) That's Christopher's Macassar Ebony plinth with Stillpoints Ultra... Read More »
Today's Fresh Catch: The SPEC RSP-901EX 'Real Sound Processor'
Today's Fresh Catch is the SPEC RSP-901EX Real Sound Processor. On my way home from the laboratory last night I picked up a parcel from the post office containing the SPEC RSP-901EX Real Sound Processor that is designed to reduce the fluctuations of a loudspeaker’s impedance over the frequency spectrum, while absorbing the return current from the speaker... Read More »
Today's Fresh Catch: The SPEC RSA-M3 EX Real Sound Amplifier from Japan!
Today's Fresh Catch is the SPEC RSA-M3 EX Real Sound Amplifier from Japan - it is a beauty! I picked up the SPEC RSA-M3 EX Real Sound Amplifier from FedEx on my way home from the laboratory last night, and was immediately impressed upon unpacking it. For one thing, the packaging was absolutely superb, being nicely... Read More »
A jazzy Sunday morning at Jeff's Place: Peterson and Ellington
Weekends are when I catch up on Jeff's Place, do a little hi-fi writing, and get in a little more music listening than I can on weekdays. This Sunday morning it's a jazz fix of Oscar Peterson and Duke Ellington, along with some fresh coffee and Eggs Benedict for breakfast. (By the way, nearly all of... Read More »
'The Vintage McIntosh Experience' is Live at Positive Feedback Online
'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 »
Jeff Checking In: Music, McIntosh, The Garrard Project 2015
It's been a crazy & busy holiday season for me, but now things are starting to settle down a bit. Yours truly came down with the flu this week, so while nursing myself back to health I've had plenty of time to think about all things hi-fi, and wanted to give you a little bit... Read More »
Positive Feedback Online Writers Choice Awards for 2014!
The complete Positive Feedback Online Writers Choice Awards for 2014 just went live a little bit ago here. My contributions to the awards are below. Jeff Day's Awards for 2014 It is always an exciting time of year when the Annual Positive Feedback Online's Writers' Choice Awards roll around, because I get to tell you about... Read More »
Today's Fresh Catch: McIntosh by Ken Kessler
I just bought a copy of Ken Kessler's McIntosh history book direct from McIntosh for $150 USD. It is a big, beautifully done, coffee table style book written by Ken Kessler in 2006. There's lots of good content for Mac fans including chapters about McIntosh's roots, vacuum tube designs, the use of McIntosh in live &... Read More »
The Acoustic Revive Chronicles: The Eleventh House!
Yoshi San had some late breaking information to share with me about some advanced materials that are incorporated into the PC-TripleC interconnects for noise suppression, that I wasn't able to include in the article for Positive Feedback Online, but I have included below. Enjoy! The Acoustic Revive Chronicles: The Eleventh House! By Jeff Day As... Read More »
Frank Rodgers Checking In: State of the Duelund-WRSE System Report
It's always a treat to hear from Frank, and Frank's system is looking awesome! Hi Jeff, The Tannoy/Duelund story has been quiet so I thought it was time to bring you my new and perhaps final musical experience resting place. A few weeks ago you reported on “Howard Checking in from the U.K.” about his Tannoy/Duelund... Read More »
