Analog Gear News

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Michael Fremer  |  Jul 16, 2016  |  9 comments
During my visit to Audio-Technica in Machida City, Tokyo, Japan, I was I given a tour of the factory, which mostly produces microphones along with some headphone components. Other than the new ART1000, all of the cartridge manufacturing and assembly takes place either at another factory in Fukui, Japan or at an Audio-Technica owned factory in China.

Mike Mettler  |  Jan 31, 2023  |  5 comments

You can have the best gear in the world in your system ready to play all those new and/or vintage LPs in your collection, but if any piece of equipment in the playback chain is not properly stabilized — especially when it comes to fortifying your turntable and/or amplifier(s), for example — then you’re just asking for unnecessary noise-related complications. With that in mind, the E1X Isolation Base from HRS might make for quite the good, stable option. Read on to get all the E1X base details. . .

Michael Fremer  |  Feb 17, 2017  |  18 comments
I have a +1 invitation to the grand opening party at Third Man Records' Detroit pressing plant for Friday February 24th at 8 PM. Want to join me?

Michael Fremer  |  Sep 20, 2013  |  4 comments
VPI just announced a new record cleaning machine, the MW-1 Cyclone. The new $1000 record cleaning machine shares the 16.5's shape but is of aluminum and has a removable lid rather than one that's hinged. Its bi-directional platter functions with the vacuum off or on.

Mike Mettler  |  Oct 12, 2022  |  4 comments

Yesterday, I spoke at length on the phone with Robert Hagemann of Acoustic Signature, the notable German manufacturer of top-tier turntables, tonearms, cartridges, phono preamps, record clamps, and other related accessories. Read on to learn more about the ins and outs regarding the scope of and philosophy behind all the NEO series entries in Acoustic Signature’s turntable and tonearm product offerings, and which of the company’s ’tables we’re likely to review next. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Dec 14, 2022  |  7 comments

It’s a constant internal struggle we analog audiophiles face on a daily basis in terms of balancing our lofty hi-fi listening goals, system performance expectations, and overall playback aspirations with our concurrent desires to bring as many new converts into the analog fold as we can. Often, we find it downright difficult to manage these proclivities when it comes to separating the ideal from the real without giving off an air of superiority that leads us to appear to others as, well, a bit too exclusionary — all the more reason why a burgeoning new company like Dum Audio has arrived at the exact right place at the exact right time to help bridge that gap for us. Read on to find out how Dum Audio seeks to do just that with what they quite austerely call The Turntable and The System. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Nov 28, 2022  |  18 comments

Who doesn’t like German design and manufacturing when it comes to turntables? It’s certainly hard to argue with the pedigree behind Rekkord turntables, which have been handcrafted in the company’s factory/facility in the Black Forest for close to a half-century. Read on to find out more about the company’s all-new North American distribution deal with VANA, and then check out all the specs you’d want to know about Rekkord’s reasonably affordable lines of automatic and manual turntables alike. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Nov 08, 2022  |  4 comments

Who’d want to stream vinyl playback to other rooms? Well, if you’re in a living situation where multiple listeners are constantly involved in the decisions behind what’s being played and where, it’s something you have to consider, regardless of your own individual sweet-spot-only listening proclivities. Juke Audio understands the inclusionary inclinations for modern multiple-member household scenarios, which is why the burgeoning company is now offering the Juke-6, a multiroom streaming amplifier as a possible gateway device to get other listeners involved, and interested, in what we analog lovers listen to. We peek under the hood of Juke Audio’s philosophy to find out if the Juke-6 is something you can apply to your own home listening setup in order to get and/or entice other household listeners into enjoying the benefits of our preferred aural playback choices. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Dec 06, 2022  |  5 comments

I don’t know about you, but I am constantly running out of room to shelve all the new LPs and vinyl box sets I purchase at my local record shops, not to mention what arrives in the mail on a seemingly daily basis (Sundays included). I’m constantly re-prioritizing what gets shelved in my designated A-level wall-to-wall shelving units, so I could sure do with some more vinyl shelving options placed nearby my main listening room and home office area to handle all the new arrivals. With an eye on practical holiday shopping ideas for the AP faithful, I’m pleased to report Pangea Audio offers a new Vulcan LP storage rack, as well as a new Vulcan three-shelf audio gear rack to boot. Read on to see if Pangea Audio’s new Vulcan offerings are just what you might be looking for. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Oct 24, 2022  |  6 comments

When it comes to making elite MMCs, Ortofon knows a thing or two about coming up with an elite thing or two. To wit: the company’s new Concorde Elite is a premium moving-magnet cartridge based on the legacy of the well-respected Ortofon Concorde MkII series — and the Concorde Elite sports an SRP of $439 to boot. Read on to find out more about the Concorde Elite MMC and what it can do for you and your turntable. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Jan 04, 2023  |  5 comments

What better way to kick off the first week of 2023 than to think about getting a new turntable? That’s where EAT and C-Dur come into the picture. To wit: The C-Dur turntable by EAT — the acronym for noted Austrian manufacturer European Audio Team — is here, and it’s being distributed in North America by VANA, the distributor that recently brought noted German handmade Rekkord turntables to our shores. Read on to find out more about how you too can EAT well with this finely crafted platter-player, if you so choose. . .

 |  Feb 14, 2013  |  5 comments
Analog expert Jim Hagerman's (Hagtech.com) new second generation Bugle2 MM/MC phono preamplifier is a Kickstarter project. That means you put up the money now to support the project and if enough people contribute to fund it, you get yours. If it fails to attract the requisite number—in this case $16,000 total—you get your money back. The Kickstarter URL
Mike Mettler  |  Dec 26, 2023  |  3 comments

There’s nothing like looking at aspirational gear during the holidays, and we just came upon a cool new prototype turntable that’s sure to turn some heads — and maybe (well, eventually) even some ears too. Said cool piece of gear is the RYTM turntable, courtesy of industrial designer Jorge Paez. Read on to see what Paez has come up with for the minimalist but quite sleek RYTM ’table. . .

Michael Fremer  |  Nov 10, 2015  |  7 comments
Kate Koeppel Design in collaboration with GDS Cloth Goods has just introduced The Record Tote— an LP bag Taylor Swift and every style conscious vinyl fanatic will want be seen with.

Mike Mettler  |  Oct 16, 2024  |  5 comments

The O.G. has returned to the fold — or rather, to the spindle. In conjunction with BBC engineers in London in the late 1960s, Keith Monks developed the first commercially produced electric device to clean records in order to meet the “exacting standards” of FM radio broadcasting — and thus, what we now refer to as a record cleaning machine (RCM) was essentially born. Fast-forward to the modern era, where the late company founder’s son Jonathan Monks has just seen fit to introduce the company’s latest RCM model, the ReduxTwo. Read on to see all the features and specs for the ReduxTwo RCM, and when it will hit the marketplace. . .

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