LATEST ADDITIONS

In recent years, Capital Audiofest has continued expanding to encompass exhibit rooms across more than four floors in addition to dozens of other exhibitors in conference rooms and halls throughout the hotel — 125 rooms, and 50 booths in all — including vinyl and accessories sellers in the atrium. We here at AP figured we’d approach things a bit differently this year and post multiple, short-form analog-centric highlights from the show across several brief installments — so, without further preamble, here’s Part 1 of Julie Mullins’ show report, featuring gear from Belleson, Rega, Linear Tube Audio, and Anticables. . .

There are landmark LPs, and then there is Kind of Blue, Miles Davis’ indisputable August 1959 masterpiece on Columbia. As much as we truly love and can’t live without that historical album, we are beyond thrilled to hear that Analogue Productions is set to release Birth of the Blue — a 180g 1LP collection documenting the transformative first session held in 1958 by the same band that would go on to record Kind of Blue the following year — on December 13, 2024. Read on to see more about the new BotB LP and when/where you may be able to hear it firsthand before its official release. . .

Last week, Capital Audiofest ruled large in the Washington, DC area from November 8-10, 2024 — and, as always, I anointed our main product reviewer Ken Micallef to shoot as much video footage as he could of all the cool turntables and other analog-centric gear and goodies he came across at the show. CAF offers “a world of vinyl, gadgets, turntables, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and the mad audiophiles who love them,” as Ken has noted about the show in recent years, and CAF 2024 once again delivered on that promise in full. You too can see what Ken saw at the show in the 9-minute video we’ve just posted on our YouTube channel that you can also now watch in the story below. . .

The phrase “auspicious debut” is often overused when discussing many an upstart band’s first album — but when it comes to Talking Heads, it’s a phrase that certainly fits the bill whenever you’re both discussing and listening to the fledgling punk/new wave NYC quartet’s first LP, September 1977’s Talking Heads: 77. And now, this important debut album gets its full box set due today, November 8, 2024, with Rhino’s 4LP + 4 7-inch singles-comprised Talking Heads: 77 – Super Deluxe Edition box set, with the original album therein remastered AAA all the way. Read AP editor Mike Mettler’s review to see why 77 is another vital vinyl box set to add to your collection — plus see his suggestion for the official, more affordable alternate option of half the box’s contents if your bankbook is currently lacking. . .