Warsaw, Poland's Audio Video Show has grown almost exponentially over the past 20 or so years. Today it's Europe's second biggest show (after Munich) and this year it expects to attract over 15,000 visitors in three venues: the Radisson Sobieski, the Golden Tulip and the skyboxes at the enormous Stadion Narodowy.
Like the LP itself, the dream of a turntable that could read grooves with a laser beam would not die. The Finial Technology laser turntable has been resurrected as the ELP Laser Turntable by the ELP Corporation of Japan. ELP is headed by Sanju Chiba, an analog true believer and ELP, which has been building and selling the Laser Turntable since 1997, recently announced three LT models with improved sonic performance and user interfaces, including CD-like programmability and remote control.
A New Zealand-based reader recently emailed asking if Mobile Fidelity's double 45rpm monophonic Bob Dylan reissues were "worth the money". He added that he was a big Bob Dylan fan.
Hosted by AnalogPlanet editor Michael Fremer and featuring Chad Kassem (Acoustic Sounds/Analogue Productions/Quality Record Pressing), Josh Bizar (Music Direct/Mobile Fidelity), Cameron Schaefer (Vinyl Me, Please) and Jay Millar (Sundazed), this lively panel discussion features vinyl industry pioneers specializing in high quality all-analog reissues, a newcomer who built a successful subscription service and a spokesperson for an eclectic label that began reissuing on vinyl at a time when the industry declared the format dead "oddball" and obscure artists along with many well known ones.
At last month's "Making Vinyl" conference in Detroit Keynote speaker Steven Van Zandt chose not to present a formal address. Instead, he sat down with music journalist Gary Graff to talk about his relationship with vinyl records and especially his TeachRock (teachrock.org) organization that provides to schools free of charge music educational resources.
Over the past 70 years, the world has been treated to Christmas songs recorded by Bing Crosby, the Vince Guaraldi Trio, Nat “King” Cole, and many others. These classics evoke the wonderful feelings of the holiday season among listeners of all ages. Happy Xmas is Eric Clapton’s attempt to create his own seasonal classic. With a “slight blues tinge” to holiday favorites, he falls painfully short with an amazingly boring, emotionless, and by-the-numbers album.
AnalogPlanet editor Michael Fremer appears at Ovation A/V Indianapolis on Friday evening November 9th starting at 6PM as part of the two-day 31st Anniversary event. The store's website calls Fremer a 'sell-out', but that's okay. He'll show up anyway. Ovation's site promises big 31st A
This is the 100th "Analog Corner" I've written for Stereophile. Thanks to all for reading the column, and for taking the time to send me and the magazine so many letters, complimentary and otherwise, over the eight years and four months it's taken to reach 100 installments. In that time we've witnessed one of the greatest resurrections since...well, I don't want to get into John Lennon's trap, so let's just say the unlikely survival and rebirth of analog in the age of digital everything has been one of the most gratifying phenomena I've witnessed in my life as an audiophile. If I've played some small part in that, all of the hard work has been worthwhile...