By Juan C. Ayllon The near coup at Washington D.C. courtesy of Trump and extremists; 4,000 dead in the U.S. yesterday courtesy of COVID-19, making it the highest death toll in one day; struggling businesses and families with the economic turmoil created by this pandemic; and people of all ages struggling with increased isolation -- these are crazy times. And, so, we process, then turn to our comforting distractions which, for many of us, has a large dose of audio indulgence. For me, as an educator, the Winter holidays provided me plenty of opportunity to research, tinker and tweak and, as a result, two of my reviews hit the pages of Positive Feedback this last week. The first is on the Torus Power AVR2 ELITE20 Isolation Transformer (you can read that HERE) and the second is a comparison of the Linlai E-300B and the Psvane ACME 300B tubes (you can read that HERE). Additionally, some more interesting opportunities and reviews are coming up, as well. For example, I will be listening to a friend's DENAFRIPS Terminator DAC this weekend to hear what all the commotion is all about. Word is that their house sound is very analog up and down their DAC offerings, so I thought I'd hear for myself. I am slated to be wrapping up my review of the wonderful Pass Labs X250.8 amplifier in the next several weeks, only to be replaced by the Pass Labs X150.8, in turn, for long term review (Belle's not happy with large equipment lying out in front of the equipment rack in our family room (i.e., my man cave), and the X150.8 should fit conveniently on the bottom shelf). It also appears that I may be auditioning the Schiit Yggdrasil Analog 2 soon and, quite possibly, reviewing the Ayre Q9 DSD Twenty DAC upgrade in the near term. Then, of course, I will be working on reviews of the Pass Labs XP-12 preamplifier and XP-17 phonostage.
Tack that onto a schedule where I'll be working on STEM/Computer Science endorsement program and a Spanish for educator's class on top of work, and it will be a busy time! But, you know what? It's nice to be busy. It's great to have sustenance, to have a job and opportunities. And it's nice to have people and community to share our life experiences even if they don't always give us a free pass to do whatever we wish. Anyways, I need to run. Please, stay safe, be blessed and happy listening!
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Juan C. AyllonA writer, artist, educator and owner of Prairie Audio Man Cave, he lives with his wife, Isabel (AKA Belle), and their Goldendoodle, Liam, enjoys listening to high fidelity music and all things hi-fi at their home in the greater Chicagoland area.. Archives
March 2024
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