In audio the word “neutral” can cover a multitude of virtues—or a multitude of sins. It all depends on who’s doing the talking—and the listening. Take the innovative, somewhat controversial, now- discontinued, $4500 Ortofon MC ...

When I played him Rapsodie espagnole from a test pressing of Chad Kassem’s soon-to-be-released (October 8), 200-gram Analogue Productions’ reissue of RCA LSC-2183 The Reiner Sound, my buddy and TAS Music Editor Mark Lehman, whose ...

Several decades ago before the high end acquired both its name and its status, moving-magnet pickups reigned supreme among audiophiles. They were relatively easy to build, neutral in tonal balance, flat in frequency response, low ...

New York, NY, March 20, 2013 – A dozen renowned experts will share their high performance audio expertise in clinics, seminars and panel discussions at the New York Audio Show, April 12 – 14, 2013 ...

For a vendor, an audio show is an expensive thing. There’s several thousand dollars they put out for the demo space, there’s the shipping and handling, the room and board, and the opportunity costs associated ...

I read too much, I think that’s fairly clear. Which might explain why, when a fire alarm goes off in a crowded hotel anywhere near Chicago, my first thought isn’t “grease fire over at Gibsons”. ...

Not since 1994, when the Summer CES stopped camping out yearly along Michigan Avenue and Lake Shore Drive, has the Windy City played annual host to a large high-end audio show. That situation will certainly ...

Like almost everybody else who grew up in the sixties, I can honestly say that rock ’n’ roll changed my life. In particular, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band changed my life. That girl doll ...

Last year’s CES brought us a slew of new turntables, many of them priced below $3000. Although there were some moderately priced turntables and cartridges introduced at this year’s show, CES 2013 was notable for ...

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 ...

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 ...

December 19, 2012 - Beauty Of Sound, a new high-end shop located just outside of Albany, has become the exclusive U.S. Distributor for Ikeda Sound Labs analog products. We are happy to announce the release ...

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 ...

I got cool new stuff! Yeah, even after all these years a codger like me still gets fi fever now and again. In this instance, my temperature began to rise when I reviewed the marvelous ...