Analog Gear News

The Tone Tool Sprocket turntable was up and running on set-up day but the complex tangential tracker was still in the box.

Pro-Ject recently announced the availability of the George Harrison turntable shown at the recent C.E.S..

As usual Pro-Ject introduced many new analog products at The Consumer Electronics Show, including the wall-mountable turntables shown in the photo. There's one for right handed vinyl fans and one of "lefties".

The longevity of Denon's 103 cartridge series, first introduced in the 1960's and still in production speaks to the design's enduring popularity. The design's weak point is its flimsy mounting system. As my colleague Art Dudley put it in the December 2007 issue of Stereophile: "The most common complaint about the DL-103 is also the truest: Its good motor is compromised by a too-flimsy mounting arrangement, with open-edge bolt channels that prevent the cartridge from being rigidly fastened to a head shell."

Nishikawasan explains the significant upgrades to his Air Force One turntable that resulted in a new "Premium" version costing approximately $40,000 more than the standard $100,000 Air Force One (shown with SAT tone arm).