The vinyl record came on the market more than sixty years ago and vinyl playback might be expected to be a “mature” technology, with only refinements and small steps ever closer to perfection the only ...

A wonderful recent documentary, Jiro Dreams of Sushi, focuses on 85-year-old master sushi chef Jiro Ono, whose restaurant is located in Tokyo’s Ginza-district subway station. Despite the fact that his 10-seat sushi bar is booked ...

I finally made the trip across the Atlantic to see the Munich high-end show for myself, and what a show it is. This annual event has gradually increased in importance over the years to the ...

It’s finally time to drop the phrase “the resurgence of analog.” The boom in LPs and the products to play them has long since passed the “resurgence” phase and is now a full-fledged, integral component ...

Like me (up until a few months ago), most of you have probably never heard of the German turntable manufacturing firm Acoustic Signature, its brilliant chief engineer and CEO Gunther Frohnhöfer, or its beautiful, massive ...

I know I’m going to be chided for what I’m about to say but I love a turntable that looks like a turntable in the classic sense. By that I mean, a single chassis design ...

Almost every time we do an Analog Buyer’s Guide we feature a picture of the AAS Gabriel/Da Vinci turntable on the “cover.” The reason should be obvious to anyone with eyes: It’s among the most ...

JR Transrotor of Germany produces a vast array of analog playback components. They run the gamut from a stable of turntables—from noble to immodest—to motors, tonearms, and various and sundry accessories. For example, there’s the ...

The original Townshend Rock Reference turntable is one of the legends of audio. Unusual and inventive in design, fabulous in sound, but never widely available, the Rock Reference is now a rare collector’s item. Its ...

For me, the analog versus digital debate is similar to one in the wine world, where “Old” versus “New” World advocates often engage in passionate arguments in defense of not only their preferred regions, but ...

II: The Cartridges (continued from Part 1) The Dynavector XV-1T The Dynavector is, sonically, like a kissing cousin to the My Sonic Labs Eminent. It has the same admixture of sonic strengths and minor shortcomings. ...

I: Eight Moving-Coil Cartridges It has been many, many a moon since this writer has taken an in-depth look at the ever-expanding field of moving-coil cartridges, now in their third generation, and in the sunset ...

With a name like Palo Santos Presentation, it’s hard to imagine anything less than a high-achieving audio component. This is Sumiko Audio’s latest flagship cartridge, and it is indeed an achievement. A low-output moving coil ...

Given that Oracle Audio Technology has been in business for thirty years it may seem odd that, before this review, I’ve never had one of its turntables in my stereo system. Haven’t had a Linn ...

Cartridges are fun and rather remarkable little things. While we know what they do, and can watch as they trace their way along a record’s groove, we can’t really see the stylus at work as ...