Mike Mettler

Welcome to our new weekly New Wax Wednesday column, in which we will highlight upcoming new LP releases and/or important vinyl reissues worthy of preordering and spinning again and again once they arrive in prime, direct from doorstep to turntable fashion. What better way to start off this new series than by commencing with a calling out to transit, as the saying goes — as in, sharing the news that R.E.M.’s Radio Free Europe 2025 five-track benefit EP is set for release via Craft Recordings on September 12, 2025. Read on to see what rare tracks and new mixes will appear on this limited-edition 10-inch orange-vinyl EP. . .

Our in-depth AXPONA 2025 coverage continues! In today’s installment, AP’s chief product reviewer Ken Micallef shares video footage of as many turntables that he could get on camera at the big show — plus some new tonearms and cartridges, to boot — including cool new offerings from the likes of Well Tempered Lab, TriangleArt, TW Acustic, Vertere, AVM, and many, many more. . .

Welcome back to Part 2 of our AXPONA: First Impressions series. Today, we take a look at some of the way-cool Clearaudio gear that was on display in the Quintessence Audio Ltd. vestibule area at the foot of the main escalators. . .

If there’s one product category we want to see in droves at AXPONA, it’s gotta be turntables. Luckily, we got an early look at a cool new table before heading off to the airport today — and since we promised to post a few new gear previews before we touch ground at the big show, here’s a look at SME’s forthcoming Model 8 turntable, thanks to Monarch Systems Ltd. . . .