Michael Fremer

Analog Gear NewsNews
Phono Box RS2 Is Pro-Ject's Newest and Most Sophisticated Phono Preamplifier
Michael Fremer  |  Dec 02, 2020  |  First Published: Dec 02, 2020  |  9 comments
Pro-Ject just announced the release of its newest and most sophisticated phono preamp, the RS2. The no op-amp, "hand made" design built in the E.U. is fully balanced and true dual mono. The RS2 features MM gain of 40,43,46 and 50dB and MC gain of 60,63,66 and 70dB with continuously variable MC input impedance from between 10 and 1000 ohms. Capacitance for MM can be set to values between 50 and 400pF.

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AAA VinylNews
VMP's The Story of the Grateful Dead  Anthology Is Worth Considering
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 29, 2020  |  First Published: Nov 29, 2020  |  31 comments
I was asked to write a short item for a U.K. business about the high prices of today's new records. I ended up thinking they are not all that high. The Sam Goody's ad from 1973 at the top is for the Led Zeppelin catalog, that at the time consisted of five LPs. The list price was $4.98. The sale price (if you brought in the advertisement) was $3.49. Sounds cheap, no? Well, no.

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Features
Some of My Best Sounding Records Discussed In These Ken Micallef Produced and Edited Videos
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 19, 2020  |  First Published: Nov 19, 2020  |  51 comments
Stereophile reviewer Ken Micallef visited (mask on) recently to pick up a turntable for review. He asked if I'd do a video with him showing some of my best sounding records. I agreed and picked a bunch out that I show in these three videos shot during his visit.

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Analog Gear News
SME Introduces New Model 6 Turntable With M2-9 Arm
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 19, 2020  |  First Published: Nov 19, 2020  |  21 comments
From the press release:

"The Model 6 brings the legendary SME engineering excellence and craftsmanship to a wider audience than ever before. The turntable chassis is CNC-machined from a high density polymer resin, providing high mass with a small footprint; the result is superb resonance absorption and the musical, dynamic sound quality for which SME is famous.

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
Smetana's "Má Vlast" Direct-to-Disc Produces A Sonic and Musical Spectacular
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 17, 2020  |  16 comments
“I have to admit that this (D2D) recording technique was completely unknown to me before. When I ultimately realized what it entailed, I had mixed feelings at first.” So admitted Jakub Hrusa, the Bamberg Symphony’s 39 year old Czech-born conductor, who joined the orchestra in 2016. Based on the stunning musical and sonic results it was well worth whatever trepidation resulted from the decision to proceed with the recording of Czech-born Bedrich Smetana, which took place July 2th/26th, 2019 in Bamberg, Germany’s Joseph-Keilberth-Saal concert hall. (please forgive the lack of proper accents over the names).

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News
High End Munich Moves Show Dates To September 2021
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 17, 2020  |  First Published: Nov 17, 2020  |  5 comments
High End Press Release:

Good news for the HIGH END 2021: the audio show, which was planned to take place in mid-May, has now been moved to the late summer, namely from 9th to 12th September 2021. By choosing these later dates, the organiser of the event, the HIGH END SOCIETY SERVICE GmbH, is taking a huge step towards a successful relaunch of the trade show and also increasing planning reliability for all parties involved.

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Features
“The New Orleans Collection”— Newvelle’s Crescent City Excellent Adventure
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 15, 2020  |  First Published: Nov 15, 2020  |  7 comments
In mid-January, 2020—just as the Covid-19 pandemic began its stealthy American death grip— the subscription based vinyl-only Newvelle Records embarked on an ambitious four LP New Orleans recording project at spacious Esplanade Studios, formerly the Third Presbyterian Church in the Treme neighborhood, destroyed in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina.

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
A Coltrane Review "Two-Fer"— Verve's New A Love Supreme and Ballads
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 12, 2020  |  17 comments
One ferocious and one mellow, these two John Coltrane albums dropped last month by Verve in association with Acoustic Sounds serve as both a great intro for the unfamiliar and as possibly the best sounding versions of both and of course affordable too.

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News
Thorens Introduces New TD124DD SPU Turntable
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 10, 2020  |  First Published: Nov 10, 2020  |  29 comments
Using what it calls "modern approaches", Thorens just introduced a new limited edition TD124DD SPU turntable that has the look of the original classic but the company says has been "massively improved upon", beginning with a switch from the original's friction wheel and belt to a new "High Precision" Direct Drive motor.

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News
A "Live From Van Gelder Studio" Concert November 14th You Can "Attend"!
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 06, 2020  |  First Published: Nov 06, 2020  |  3 comments
Live From Van Gelder Studio presents a Hank Mobley tribute concert Saturday November 14th at 9PM EST starring Ron Carter, Joe Lovano, Isaiah Thompson and Kenny Washington.

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