Confession: Even though I’m a longtime contributor to (and once-upon-a-time editor of) these pages, I still await each issue with the same almost childlike eagerness I had as a “civilian” reader. And having attended many ...

Aesthetix Rhea/Rhea Signature $4500/$7000 With three inputs, variable cartridge-loading—adjustable at the listening chair via remote control—and a front-panel display of gain and loading, the Rhea is the Swiss Army Knife of phonostages. Although it has ...

Odyssey Audio Khartago $795 Although the 130Wpc Odyssey Khartago solid-state stereo amp has been around for better than a decade, it was new to JV until ampconnoisseur Alon Wolf (of Magico) told him he used ...

Ortofon 2M Red $99 The swansong design of Ortofon’s former chief engineer Per Windfeld, the entry-level 2M Red uses a elliptical-tipped stylus. Though a little dry in the treble and lacking the Ortofon Black’s velvety ...

Let me begin by stating I haven’t heard the new Beatles vinyl. And that’s the point. I love vinyl. I’ve got loads of Beatles pressings–some British, American, MoFi’s, a bunch. I thought I’d be one ...

I wrapped up the review period of the new Hanss T‑60 turntable and Graham Phantom II Supreme‑44 tonearm with a clutch of new vinyl releases I’d picked up from the Newport Audio Show, which included ...

It’s not exactly a secret that over the past decade turntables have gained popularity with the young and hip—okay, they’re also popular with the not-so-young and not-so-hip— appearing in movies, fashion spreads, and newspaper articles. ...

Because it is a thing of beauty to witness and because the results make such a huge difference in the sonic presentation, I’d like to take you through the process of mounting, aligning, and optimizing ...

Listening to the superbly recorded track “Gone” from Melody Gardot’s first album Worrisome Heart [UJC] on Werner Roeschlau’s new Analog Manufaktur Germany (AMG) Viella 12 (or V12) record player, I had one of those goosebump-raising ...

A few issues back I more or less gushed over Rega’s RP3 turntable. With its freshly minted RB303 ’arm, new-ish 24-volt low-noise motor, and, most dramatically, “double- brace” plinth technology, the RP3 presented the most ...

According to a recent poll of our editors and reviewers (TAS 216), the AR XA was ranked as the most significant turntable in the history of analog playback. If you ever lived with the AR ...

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 ...