Mike Mettler

Mike Mettler  |  Jan 17, 2024  |  First Published: Jan 17, 2024  |  3 comments

The Starman takes to the skies yet again — or rather, he’s taking another spin (or three) on our turntables. To that end, Parlophone has just announced the release of David Bowie’s Waiting in the Sky (Before the Starman Came to Earth) as a Record Store Day LP exclusive on April 20. Read on to find out about the source material and to see how the Waiting tracklisting differs from that of Bowie’s seminal 1972 The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and The Spiders From Mars album. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Jan 16, 2024  |  First Published: Jan 16, 2024  |  8 comments

Some of our favorite turntable masters are back at it again — and MoFi Electronics latest offering, the MasterDeck turntable, is the proof. Read on to see all the specs and features of the latest and greatest ’table designed by MoFi Electronics maestro Allen Perkins. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Jan 11, 2024  |  First Published: Jan 11, 2024  |  2 comments

Craft Recordings and Acoustic Sounds have just announced the latest entries in their rightly acclaimed Contemporary Records Acoustic Sounds series. An even-dozen AAA 180g 1LP titles will be released all throughout 2024, starting on February 23. Read on to see which titles will be in this rightfully acclaimed AAA LP reissue series, and when they’re coming. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Jan 10, 2024  |  First Published: Jan 10, 2024  |  0 comments

While CES 2024 rolls on, we wanted to take some time to tip our collective analog hat to Music Hall — the brainchild of noted product designer Roy Hall — a company that has been making sweet music, er, sweet gear for us all since 1998. Back in December 2023, the company announced a change in ownership — a new venture named Turntable USA, who plan to uphold Music Hall’s reputation for making high-quality products. Read on to see how we honor the company’s 25-year-plus legacy and what’s to come with our look at what Music Hall’s penultimate MMF-9.3 SE turntable has to offer right here, right now. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Jan 09, 2024  |  First Published: Jan 09, 2024  |  8 comments

As CES 2024 continues ever onward, we wanted to take a moment to highlight quite the cool turntable that perfectly reflects the M.O. and core identity of the company that makes it. Meet the Transparent Turntable from the same-named Swedish company initially known for making (you guessed it) Transparent Speakers. Read on to see all the specs and features for the duly and quite accurately labeled Transparent Turntable. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Jan 08, 2024  |  First Published: Jan 08, 2024  |  3 comments

The press day for CES 2024 is officially underway, and one of the first analog-centric product announcements comes from Victrola, who are officially unveiling their new Stream Sapphire turntable. Read on to see all the specs are features for the storied company’s latest vintage-styled and streaming-capable model, and when it will be available. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Jan 04, 2024  |  First Published: Jan 04, 2024  |  6 comments

Happy 2024, everyone! We here at AnalogPlanet central hope you all had a great holiday season, and are ready to tackle a new year ahead that is sure to be met with many great gear and LP options for us all to peruse, review, discuss, and share together. In the meantime, I want to look into something that was mentioned briefly in passing in a story we posted back in December — Groovetracer subplatters. Read on to see more about Groovetracer’s way-cool subplatter options, as well as their other accessories of interest. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Jan 03, 2024  |  First Published: Jan 03, 2024  |  2 comments

The Gruvy Awards are back yet again! An annual event, The Gruvys are given to the best products AnalogPlanet reviewed in the most recent calendar year. This time around, the Gruvys honor the gear we tested in 2023 and subsequently found to possess a combination of high build quality, exceptional sonics, and in the case of less expensive gear, provide great value for the money. Read on to see what products made the 2023 AP Gruvy Awards cut. . .

Mike Mettler,  |  Dec 30, 2023  |  First Published: Dec 30, 2023  |  14 comments

Looks like another year has gone by with a seemingly endless release-cycle parade consisting of scores of brand-new LPs from both known artists and untested newcomers alike, along with a myriad of archival vinyl reissues and overstuffed box sets galore — a good number of them presented in the much-preferred AAA form to boot. With the calendar set to turn over to 2024 any day now, that means it’s high time to assess the best of what we’ve heard on wax during the past 12 months. Read on to see AP editor Mike Mettler and chief LP reviewer Mark Smotroff’s respective lists of the top archival and new LP releases of 2023. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Dec 26, 2023  |  First Published: Dec 26, 2023  |  4 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. . .

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