This Saturday morning I was up at 4:30 AM getting ready to start the review process for the ASR Basis Exclusive phono equalizer. Now that’s dedication! Reviewing is a long process of equipment setup, comparative listening to other components, listening for enjoyment, shooting photos, and writing (and re-writing) articles. I repeat the process until I [...]

I’m gearing up to start the Positive Feedback Online review of the ASR Basis Exclusive phono equalizer over the weekend, but just for kicks tonight I installed my Fi 300B mono amps, Leben RS-100U line stage, and the New Valve Order SPA one phono equalizer for a little vacuum tube listening session. What a sweet [...]

There’s nothing quite as luxurious for me as getting up on a day off, fixing a nice cup of coffee, and then settling in for a little listening session of some good LPs playing over the Westminster Royal SE loudspeakers. Today was particularly nice with Dr. Friedrich Schaefer’s hand-crafted ASR Basis Exclusive phono stage and Emitter II [...]

The Kingdom Royal review (something new) is now complete and is with the very cool Editors Dave and David at Positive Feedback Online for publication in the November issue, which will go live this coming week. The Kingdom Royals have officially become my favorite dynamic loudspeakers, with a luxurious and sophisticated way of presenting the [...]

Today’s Fresh Catch is the ASR Audio Systems Basis Exclusive Phono Stage designed by Dr. Friedrich Schaefer. which I’ll be reviewing for Positive Feedback Online. The Basis Exclusive was supposed to arrive at the same time as the Emitter II but a FedEx shipping game of ‘hide & seek’ took place that had Dr. Schaefer, Zed (US [...]

If you’ve read the Sablon Audio Panatela Special Edition Component Speaker Cable review at Positive Feedback Online you know how much I’ve been enjoying listening to music on the combination of an EMT TSD-15 phono cartridge, VPI Classic ‘table, New Valve Order SPA-II phono stage, Sablon Audio Panatela interconnects & speaker cables, ASR Audiosysteme Emitter II Exclusive Version [...]

It’s Sunday morning here at Jeff’s Place, with the morning sun streaming in through the East windows, while I’m drinking a fine cup of coffee, and listening to an old Analogue Productions test pressing of Bill Evan’s Waltz for Debbie that is just blowing my mind. Those Analogue Productions test pressings are freaky good, and [...]

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, [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]