Analog Gear News

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Mike Mettler  |  Jul 06, 2023  |  2 comments

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. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Jul 04, 2023  |  1 comments

If it’s Independence Day, it must also mean it’s independent gear news update time — and thus, we’re putting our patriotic spotlight on Hagerman Audio Labs today. To wit: The company’s fourth-generation Cornet MM phono preamp is now available. Read on to find out how the 4th-gen Cornet MM sings accordingly. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Jun 21, 2023  |  1 comments

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. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Jun 20, 2023  |  8 comments

Just ahead of an official upcoming trade show unveiling, Klaudio has duly seen fit to let us know they plan on displaying their new Magnezar turntable at the Pacific Audio Fest in Seattle, which is being held June 23-25. Read on to learn more about the Magnezar and its many specs and features accordingly. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Jun 14, 2023  |  0 comments

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. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Jun 12, 2023  |  18 comments

A few weeks ago, we reported that Metaxas & Sins’ flagship Papillon reel-to-reel tape player was finally seeing proper North American availability, thanks to a new deal with Reel Sound Distribution. Relatively speaking, we would most certainly be quite remiss if we didn’t amend that story with a closer look at two other top-tier Metaxas & Sins products that are also now seeing North American distribution debuts — namely, the Perambulator turntable and the Combobulator tonearm — and thus, that time is now. Read on to learn more about how mind-blowing both the Perambulator and Combobulator truly are. . .

Mike Mettler  |  May 31, 2023  |  3 comments

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. . .

Mike Mettler  |  May 30, 2023  |  5 comments

We continue ever onward with our extended looks at some of the coolest gear seen and heard at High End Munich 2023. Next up is the Thorens New Reference turntable, a stunning piece that’s intended to celebrate 140 years of the company’s design and performance prowess. Read on to find out more about this anniversary-inspired New Reference turntable. . .

Mike Mettler  |  May 24, 2023  |  2 comments

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. . .

Mike Mettler  |  May 22, 2023  |  9 comments

With High End Munich 2023 officially in the books, we now commence our highlighting of some of the coolest gear seen and heard at the big show. First, we’d like to take a moment and commend Rega in recognition of the company’s 50th anniversary this year — especially considering how this venerable high-end British manufacturer was celebrating that golden milestone in style at their booth in Munich by showcasing the 50th anniversary edition of their legendary Planar 3 turntable, replete with walnut finish. Read on to glean more about the full majesty of the 50th anniversary edition of Rega’s vaunted Planar 3 turntable. . .

Mike Mettler  |  May 16, 2023  |  5 comments

With High End Munich 2023 right around the corner, we’re already getting word about some of the cool new analog gear debuting at the show. One such item that’s caught our eye is Goldring’s new E4 moving magnet cartridge. Read on to see what you can expect to get with the flagship E4 MMC. . .

Mike Mettler  |  May 15, 2023  |  36 comments

Reel-to-reel tape players have been making quite the comeback of late, something we’re indeed excited to see for such a vaunted analog format. Relative to that, we’re even more pleased to note how the well-respected Metaxas & Sins brand name is making its new North American-distribution deal with Reel Sound Distribution known via a fine array of high-end gear, including the flagship model known as the Papillon reel-to-reel player. Read on to learn more about how the stunning Papillon operates in the modern age. . .

Mike Mettler  |  May 09, 2023  |  14 comments

When we saw some cool Plinius gear in the system utilized for a Kuzma demo at AXPONA 2023, it reminded us that we needed to see what’s been going on with the vaunted New Zealand-born company of late — and thus, here we are with our eye firmly planted on the Plinius Koru phono preamp. Read on to get all the Koru spec details. . .

Julie Mullins  |  May 01, 2023  |  3 comments

Welcome back for Part 2 of our AXPONA 2023 show report! Furthering what we did in Part 1, we continue to dive even deeper into our reporting on some of the truly amazing turntables and other cool analog gear we saw and heard in some of the listening rooms and expo-hall booths alike at this truly great Chicagoland event. Read on to see what our Julie Mullins found during Part 2 of her in-person AXPONA adventure. . .

Julie Mullins  |  Apr 24, 2023  |  4 comments

As we noted in our earlier video-centric post, AXPONA ruled Chicagoland large last week, and now we’re going to dive deeper into reporting on some of the truly amazing turntables and other cool analog gear we saw and heard in some of the listening rooms and expo-hall booths alike. Read on to see what our Julie Mullins found during Part 1 of her personal AXPONA adventure. . .

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