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 ...

Harry Weisfeld, the manufacturer of VIP turntables, stared at me excitedly. “How much better can it be than the Kleos?” he said. “We’re all wondering.” Weisfeld was visiting the annual Capital Audio Fest in the ...

Frankly I was concerned how well RMAF would fare this year in the face of west coast competition like the high energy T.H.E. Show in Newport Beach but exhibitors tell me that RMAF continues to ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Whenever I’m reviewing phono pickups, one of the first recordings I reach for is Doris Day’s Hooray for Hollywood, a Columbia album from the early days of stereo. An extraordinary number of pickups, even very ...

Just a couple of issues ago I reviewed the AAS Gabriel/DaVinci turntable with DaVinci’s Grandezza tonearm (which, out of pure sloth, I’ve been persistently misspel-ling as “Grandeeza”). Part of that package included the moving-coil cartridge ...

The “S” Series of Benz Micro cartridges made its debut in 2008. Its innovations are embodied in revamped versions of the Wood Body, Glider, ACE, as well as a new version of the LP and ...