Analog Gear News

Venerable German manufacturer ELAC returned to LP-spinning form in 2016 by shoring up their turntable line with the Miracord 90 Anniversary ’table, one that ultimately garnered a well-deserved EISA Award in 2017. While the properly feted 90 Anniversary and its subsequent “regular 90” version are no longer available, the Miracord series lives on with a trio of turntables that continue to make good on the ELAC name. Read on to learn more about what’s what with the current Miracord turntable series. . .

We’ve long admired SME’s turntable-and-tonearm combos, but often wondered if/when we’d be able to get any of the Sussex, England-based manufacturer’s fine M2 Series tonearms separately here in North America. Their management and distribution teams must have been tuned into our thought patterns here, seeing how SME and Bluebird Music distribution have just announced four M2 Series tonearms are now becoming standalone product offerings on this side of the Pond. Read on to find out more about the quartet of SME M2 Series tonearms that are being offered, and what their respective SRPs are in both the U.S. and Canada. . .

Those of us needing sturdy wall-mount options for our turntables always have to look quite carefully at shelving-gear specs to ensure these products are truly capable of accommodating the weight of our favored ’tables. To that end, Pangea Audio has upped the ante with their just-announced Turntable Wall Mounted Premier SE Shelf MKII. Read on to see if the new Premier SE Shelf MKII might suit your own particular turntable-shelving needs. . .

Here’s another cool turntable and tonearm combo that caught our collective eye of late: namely, The Wand 14-5 turntable — which follows in the considerable wake of the New Zealand company’s deservedly vaunted 14-4 ’table — and The Wand Dark-Light tonearm, which follows their original, notable, and standard-named Tonearm. Both new products were shown at High End Munich 2023 back in May, and they will subsequently travel across the Pond to be shown at the upcoming Pacific Audio Fest in Seattle, which is being held June 23-25. Read on to learn why the 14-5 is likely to be a worthy successor to the 14-4 as well as why the Dark-Light is a formidable follow-up to The Wand Tonearm accordingly. . .

A few months back, we reported on the availability of Michael Fidler and Classic Audio’s latest and greatest PRO Series offering, the MM PRO phono preamp. But now, Fidler and company have duly brought forth the MC PRO phono preamp equivalent. Read on to see how the MC PRO rates in terms of your own phono-stage necessities. . .

Nope, we’re not done yet — hence, here’s another installment of our extended takes on some of the coolest gear seen and heard at High End Munich 2023. Today, we delve into all the great new Soundsmith cartridge and phono preamp offerings that were on display in the company’s always impressive booth (plus another notable item or two). Read on to find out more about the latest and greatest from the mind and hands of Soundsmith chief engineering domo Peter Ledermann and company. . .

Continuing with our highlighting of some of the coolest gear seen and heard at High End Munich 2023, we now turn our eyes and ears to Takumi’s TT Level 3.1 turntable, which was being auditioning in fine form as part of a top-shelf demo system consisting of a Moonriver Audio phono stage, Moonriver amplifiers, Aretai speakers, and Viablue cables. Read on to find out more about the new Level 3.1 turntable. . .