The Redbook CD standard of 44.1kHz/16-bit is not a deficient scheme, although a much more robust standard would’ve transpired our audio experience much sooner. While the engineers in the 80’s determined a digital medium with 44.1kHz of sampling rate at 16-bit of resolution would be adequate to contain all audible information for even the most […]

Introduction In 1992, Brian Ackerman left Boston (MA) and came to California with $500 in his pocket; but he already had everything that he needed to pursue his dream: determination and experience. A 17-year-old Brian Ackerman studied at the Navy’s culinary school in San Diego, Ca, after which he enlisted in a 4-year active duty […]

Long before I had heard of Pierre Sprey and his Mapleshade Audio products, I built a TNT Flexy-rack for my components with Maple shelves. The TNT recipe calls for MDF shelves, and at first that was what I used. But upon setting my CD player on the rack for the first time, the sound went […]

“I was trying to set the carbon fiber cabinet on fire…” That was the excuse I handed the officer when I was arrested for playing my system in excess of the posted decibels. My fine was $375.00 and 21 days of silence. I chose to pay the fine rather than run the risk of having […]

Intro I have no problem telling my non-audiophile family & friends about how such things as AC outlets or room treatments have a clear effect on the output and the enjoyment of my stereo—it’s informational to them. But cables? I won’t go there; AC outlets and room treatments are affordable, and I don’t feel ashamed […]

Competent digital-to-analog converter designs of nowadays are far easier to accomplish than any point in the audio industry’s history, primarily because of the level of perfection that comes from decades of collective and progressive exercise in refinements. Furthermore, the modern world’s continuous drift toward higher levels of communications and information-sharing is taking us to the […]

It was Father’s day seven years ago; Becky, my then 17 year old son Michael, and myself had just moved from Georgia to the San Francisco Bay Area. We hadn’t found a house yet, but I knew one of the first things I wanted do. I wanted to go to Yoshi’s. To make it even […]

The clear, blue sky of that summer day felt like a blessing to people of all walks of life everywhere on Earth, and for one particular Seattle man in his sixties, who had long grown accustomed to the bustling international inquiries and ordering activities to his business, the dependable peacefulness of the blue sky would […]

Introduction Benchmarks are a good thing. Students are given standardized tests to ensure they’re on par with their classmates, and CPAs are given re-certification exams to ensure the tax returns they prepare are properly construed. Audiophiles are no different: we typically use (or should use) live music as the benchmark to which our home stereos […]

Experience Matters Sometimes I envy full-time reviewers who can dedicate all their time to the wide world of high-end audio. They listen to such a large numbers of products that they can develop a perspective about the “best” products over time. On the other hand, reviewers like me may hear 3 or 4 excellent models […]

Intro While I like all the audio equipment I own, I must say that the item that’d be the toughest to part with is a Kenwood KT-8300 tuner that I have modified extensively. When fully stock, the tuner sounded a little dry & thin, but still was superior in performance to my McIntosh MR-67 tuner […]

When I first laid eyes on it, I thought, “A CDP with heat sinks? Now that’s radical!” The Rega Saturn is something different, not due to its slightly unconventional looks, but rather its unconventional technology and, dare I say radically unconventional sound. The term “radical” seems a bit strong for the British outfit that has […]

Rick Schultz is the president of the Canadian high-end audio cable company, Virtual Dynamics, and he is also a dynamic hub of information on audio cable designs. Having spoken to him at Shows and on the phone numerously over the course of last four years, I found him to be a humble man, also possessing […]

The Company Just like I asked in the review of the UltraVerve preamp: why would anyone write another review of the deHavilland 845-G’s? My answer, is that often when a product has been out for a while, we forget about them. If you are considering amps in the $8,000 to $20,000 price range and you […]

Description The Audience adept Response aR12 twelve-outlet power conditioner has to be one of the most positively reviewed power conditioners ever. I have not read a review of the aR12 that didn’t say it was simply unbelievable. The only problem was that it cost nearly $4,000 dollars. Along comes the aR1p, at only $495. It […]

The Mk3 version of the German Accustic Arts’ Preamp I represents the highest level of design convergence ever from the company in functionality and performance; and yet it retails for only $5,500 in the U.S. The Preamp I MK3 is an op-amp-based design, utilizing two of Burr Brown®’s more advanced chipsets, namely the OPA627 and […]

A direct-coupled, active-loaded, parallel-feed output SE 45 amplifier. -Design by John Tucker, with contributions by Mike LaFevre, John Camille, and Kim Jenkins http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue1/single.htm “Actually the lineage of that amp goes back to a lunch at some crummy Chinese restaurant in Vegas in 1997, during CES. JT and I had been looking over some of the […]

Audiophiles could fill the world with arguments over the merits of aftermarket cabling, and there are plenty of skeptics regarding the benefits of paying a pricey premium for a power cord. I should know, I was one of them. There was a time when I would have been solidly on the side of those who […]

September 2007: updated with industry comment from Stan Ricker of Stan Ricker Mastering Is it possible for one cartridge to do the job of playing all your records? Can one cartridge play back original mono pressings (usually with plenty of wear and tear) and modern audiophile reissues with equal fidelity? Well, first, you should ask […]

Bösendorfer (bûr-z&n-‘do-f&r) VC7 Auditioning of the Bösendorfer VC 7 loudspeakers took place amidst the presence of amplifications as typified by the 100lb+, $79k Audio Note Ongaku integrated amplifier, the 3-chassis, $64k M10 preamplifier and a single-chassis, $34k M8 preamplifier. Combak’s $24k, Harmonix Reimyo PAT-777 300B stereo amplifier, Nagra’s $11k Pyramid Monoblock Amplifiers and Linn’s $9k […]

The Company According to the importer’s website, Auditorium 23 was not “founded”, in the common sense of the word. Rather, it just sort of came into being through their enjoyment of music in the early 80s. They started with a journey into the past where they learned much about what they were looking for in […]

John Watkinson is the author of the book, The Art of Digital Audio. In the July/August 2002 edition of Resolution, a new audio magazine from the UK, John wrote an article entitled The cable snake in a regular column feature known as “slaying dragons”. In that article, he said “…On the other hand, if the […]

I’ll never forget the day I saw a picture of a “pocket poodle*.” How small can a dog get? It amazed me how far miniaturization has been taken. No less amazing is how tiny electronics have become. I remember very well my father’s Heathkit separates which he lovingly built and how the preamp/tuner and amp […]

Sounding Ultralock Just what is this “UltraLock” feature, the DAC1’s claim to fame? I conducted an informal online interview with John Siau, Director of Engineering at Benchmark Media, who happens to use the first hand-built prototype of the DAC1 in his home system. He summarized: “UltraLock is a clock isolation system. The incoming digital audio […]

Introduction If I told my family that I spent part of a Saturday afternoon writing a review on how different power cables sound, they’d think I’ve gone batty. Power cords? Come on! But it’s true, it’s crazy but true. And while I am a full-monty audiophile, I’m also trying to keep my audio habit (sounds […]

The purpose for starting this column was to share with you what its like to be a reviewer. So with this year’s “Home Entertainment” show in New York this May, I thought it would be a good time to talk about Audio Shows. I had been to a few shows over the years, and I […]

YG Acoustics first made its presence known in the high-end audio community in CES 2006, occupying two rooms for demonstration on a consumer model and a professional model, both featuring all-aluminum cabinets. The consumer model, dubbed Anat Reference Professional, retailing for $92,000 per pair, had won the top industry accolades from Hong Kong and Japan, […]

Midrange At the beginning of my audiophile adventure, I used Quad and Acoustat electrostatic drivers for the midrange frequency band in my hybrid speakers using my own design of subwoofers and ribbon super tweeters. Later, I used ribbon midrange panels in my quest for transparency. Although these planar drivers sound quite good in many respects, […]

Reviewer Anxiety When Constantine Soo asked me to review the Music Hall Maverick SACD Player, I accepted with just a bit of apprehension. Paradoxically, this apprehension originated out of two very different and somewhat contradictory concerns. First, I own an expensive high-end redbook transport/DAC combo, and I have periodically wondered whether SACD technology will make […]

Cables have to be the most underappreciated component. I chose the word “component” carefully, since I fully intend to convey that cables are a component in today’s high-end audio. Proof of this is found in the exquisite lengths (pun indented) cable manufacturers are going to producing conduits which will convey all the proper information. A […]