Author Archives: Jeff Day

World News

The Mactone XX-440 Line Preamplifier and MH-120 Stereo Amplifier: Adventures in Max-tone!

Posted on by Jeff Day

Founded in 1964, and for 59 years now, Mactone has continuously manufactured high-fidelity vacuum tube audio components, longer than any other company in Japan. Steve Mishoe (In Living Stereo) started importing Mactone audio components to North America in late 2018, after visiting the Matsumoto family—who owns and operates Mactone—in Japan. Steve recently contacted me and… Read More »

The post The Mactone XX-440 Line Preamplifier and MH-120 Stereo Amplifier: Adventures in Max-tone! appeared first on Positive Feedback.

World News

The Audio Note (UK) AN-K/SPe Loudspeakers: The Life and Emotion of Music!

Posted on by Jeff Day

Greeting friends, I hope you are doing well, and Happy Holidays to you! Today’s article is about the Audio Note (UK) AN-K/SPe compact high-performance stand-mounted loudspeakers ($5665 USD per pair HERE), along with their intended AN-K stands ($936 USD per pair HERE). The Audio Note (UK) AN-K/SPe Loudspeakers The Audio Note (UK) AN-K/SPe loudspeakers are… Read More »

The post The Audio Note (UK) AN-K/SPe Loudspeakers: The Life and Emotion of Music! appeared first on Positive Feedback.

World News

Book Alert: The Perfect Sound: A Memoir in Stereo by Garrett Hongo

Posted on by Jeff Day

Did you happen to know that one of Planet Earth’s great writers, Garrett Hongo is also a music lover and audiophile?  That’s right, Garrett Hongo is one of us. Garrett has written over thirty works in over seventy publications, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in poetry in 1988 for The River of Heaven,… Read More »

The post Book Alert: The Perfect Sound: A Memoir in Stereo by Garrett Hongo appeared first on Positive Feedback.

World News

Audio Note (UK) Meishu Phono Silver Tonmeister 300B SET Integrated Amplifier: The Mighty Master of Tone!

Posted on by Jeff Day

Greetings friends, I hope you are doing well! Today’s article is about the new Audio Note (UK) Meishu Phono Silver Tonmeister 300B single-ended-triode (SET) integrated amplifier (MSRP $19,300.00 USD, website link HERE). Long time readers know I have a special fondness for high-performance integrated amplifiers, as they represent what I consider to be the value… Read More »

The post Audio Note (UK) Meishu Phono Silver Tonmeister 300B SET Integrated Amplifier: The Mighty Master of Tone! appeared first on Positive Feedback.

World News

The Audio Note (UK) CD 4.1x ‘Level Three’ Red Book CD Player: Digital Transcendence!

Posted on by Jeff Day

Greetings friends, I hope life is treating you well in 2022. Today I have an impressive Red Book CD player to tell you about, the Audio Note (UK) CD 4.1x Red Book CD player (MSRP $14,331 USD). The Audio Note (UK) CD 4.1x CD player is an expensive high-fidelity Red Book CD player with a… Read More »

The post The Audio Note (UK) CD 4.1x 'Level Three' Red Book CD Player: Digital Transcendence! appeared first on Positive Feedback.

World News

The New First Watt F8 Stereo Amplifier from Nelson Pass: Time Travel In a Black Box!

Posted on by Jeff Day

Whether musing about the greater understanding the Belle II particle physics experiment at KEK may bring to questions around Standard Model predictions, dark matter, and the asymmetry of matter and antimatter in the universe, or the exciting themes of parallel universes, the multiverse, and time travel that we see imaginatively explored in science fiction, physics… Read More »

The post The New First Watt F8 Stereo Amplifier from Nelson Pass: Time Travel In a Black Box! appeared first on Positive Feedback.

World News

The Audio Note (UK) Io I MC Phono Cartridge, AN-S4 Step-Up Transformer, AN-V Silver Interconnects, and AN-SPe Silver Loudspeaker Cables: An ‘Out of this World’ Listening Experience!

Posted on by Jeff Day

My highlight of 2019 was visiting with Peter Qvortrup (below) and the Audio Note (UK) ‘family’ in Brighton, England. Meeting Peter Qvortrup, Daniel Qvortrup (Peter’s son, below), Andy Grove, and Darko Greguras was a real treat. Peter and Daniel walked me through the Audio Note (UK) operation, and told me about some of the exciting… Read More »

The post The Audio Note (UK) Io I MC Phono Cartridge, AN-S4 Step-Up Transformer, AN-V Silver Interconnects, and AN-SPe Silver Loudspeaker Cables: An 'Out of this World' Listening Experience! appeared first on Positive Feedback.

World News

The Triode Lab 45 EVO Single-Ended-Triode Integrated Amplifier: The Evolution of the First Watt!

Posted on by Jeff Day

Back in October of 2020 I did a straw poll among readers of Jeff’s Place and Positive Feedback to find out what audio products they would be most interested in having me write about. The most popular and intriguing request among readers was the artisanal and custom-made Triode Lab 2A3 EVO single-ended-triode integrated amplifier from… Read More »

The post The Triode Lab 45 EVO Single-Ended-Triode Integrated Amplifier: The Evolution of the First Watt! appeared first on Positive Feedback.

World News

The Art of Vacuum Tubes: Sophia Electric 45 Mesh Plate Triodes and Aqua 274B Rectifier

Posted on by Jeff Day

A friend of mine was looking at these Sophia Electric vacuum tubes, and she told me “They’re so pretty, they look like works of art.”  These Sophia Electric vacuum tubes really are works of vacuum tube art. The Sophia Electric 45 mesh plate triode (above) and Aqua 274B rectifier (below) vacuum tubes are not only… Read More »

The post The Art of Vacuum Tubes: Sophia Electric 45 Mesh Plate Triodes and Aqua 274B Rectifier appeared first on Positive Feedback.

World News

The Pass Labs XP-17 Phono Preamplifier: Wayne’s World!

Posted on by Jeff Day

I was really impressed by the Pass Labs XP-12 line-level preamplifier that I wrote about in Positive Feedback Issue 111 (HERE), and I have been looking forward to telling you about my time with its intended phono preamplifier partner, the Pass Labs XP-17. Given that Nelson Pass and Wayne Colburn both use Tannoy 15-inch dual… Read More »

The post The Pass Labs XP-17 Phono Preamplifier: Wayne’s World! appeared first on Positive Feedback.