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News
With 2019 Releases Record Store Day Outdoes Itself
Malachi Lui  |  Mar 18, 2019  |  24 comments
On April 13, Record Store Day is back for its 12th year with over 500 releases only available at independent record stores. This year’s list is arguably the best one since I’ve been attending RSD starting in 2014 (at age 8!), with fewer picture disc and colored vinyl re-hashings of common material and seemingly more unique items. Here are some highlights from the list:

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Album Reviews
Which Beethoven?
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 13, 2019  |  54 comments
AnalogPlanet editor Michael Fremer is not a classical music authority. If you didn't know that before watching this frantic, somewhat shallow video, you will after!

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Analog Corner
Analog Corner #113
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 11, 2019  |  First Published: Dec 01, 2004  |  4 comments
Richard Vandersteen at the 2004 THE Show in Indianapolis, where Audio Research demmed their MP-1 six-channel preamplifier and 150M multichannel power amp with a Vandersteen speaker system. (Photo: John Atkinson)

CEDIA's annual late-summer Expo, held this year (as in most) in Indianapolis, came just in time for me this year. I hate the excruciating noise at the Custom Electronics Design and Installation Association's gathering, but I get the same charge from high-resolution video as I get from great audio, and the Expo is all about the highest-quality images. Audio? If it's loud, surrounds you, and goes deep enough to massages your innards, it seems to be good enough for most home theater aficionados—and if the source of it can be hidden in the walls or ceiling, so much the better.

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Features
Double "Unboxing": Analogue Productions UHQR "Axis: Bold As Love" MONO & Blue Note Review #2
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 08, 2019  |  22 comments
Here's a double dose for AnalogPlanet readers (and YouTube viewers) who like "unboxing videos": AnalogPlanet editor Michael Fremer unboxes the not yet released Analogue Productions UHQR Clarity Vinyl mono issue of Jimi Hendrix's classic "Axis: Bold As Love" and the second edition of the deluxe "Blue Note Review" box #2"—this one a tribute to jazz drummers, particularly Art Blakey.

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Turntable Reviews
Rega Research’s Less Is Much More Planar 8 (Plus Exclusive Interview)
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 06, 2019  |  45 comments
Call it “P8” or “Planar 8” but do not call this new Rega turntable “RP8”. That was the previous 8. Despite the obvious superficial Rega similarities the new Planar 8 differs greatly from its predecessor.

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NewsRecord Handling and Storage Tips
In Portland, Oregon A New Source For Per Madsen's "Rackit" Record Racks
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 02, 2019  |  21 comments
An AnalogPlanet reader let us know about a new source for Per Madsen's "Rackit" record storage units (Per retired). Portland Oregon based woodworker Ryan Tinsel manufactures the record storage racks in his "one-man shop".

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News
Talk Talk's Mark Hollis RIP
Michael Fremer  |  Feb 26, 2019  |  12 comments
Talk Talk's Mark Hollis (center in photo) has died at age 64 after a "short illness". Readers unfamiliar with the group's astonishing later albums and who lump the group in with late '70s synth bands might not understand why this is news but those who know Hollis's later Talk Talk albums Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock surely do. Hollis later released a self-titled solo album recorded with two microphones that ends with two minutes of tape hiss.

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Phono Preamp Reviews
This $19 Pyle Phono Preamp Is Anything But Crap
Malachi Lui  |  Feb 25, 2019  |  27 comments
An Amazon search for “phono preamp for turntable” (the last two words theirs) will yield approximately 395 results, and above most affordable Pro-Ject, Cambridge Audio, U-Turn, and Music Hall phono preamps are those of Pyle, a company that makes most every kind of easily affordable product; hifi and A/V components, pro audio products, fitness trackers, subwoofers for boats, kitchen appliances, pest controlling devices, and even security systems! Pyle makes several budget phono preamps with the same specifications, including the $18.99 (MSRP) PP444. Two of Pyle’s preamps have well over 1,000 reviews on Amazon (mostly from real humans as far as I can tell), so quite a few people are buying these for their audio setups. Pyle’s audio products haven’t gotten much coverage, so I gave the PP444 a try.

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Analog Corner
Analog Corner #112
Michael Fremer  |  Feb 25, 2019  |  First Published: Nov 01, 2004  |  2 comments
Reviewed this month: the T+A G 10 turntable from Germany

Manufacturers of audio accessories are an odd bunch: they show up at your door, pucks, cones, platforms, or balls in hand, eager to demonstrate the enormous sonic effects their products will have on your system. After inserting their isolators, energy drains, or what have you, they sit down for a listen.

But do they even hear the $40,000/pair loudspeakers you're reviewing? Your $15,000 turntable and $4500 cartridge? Your $7000 phono preamp or $30k worth of other electronics?

No.

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News
Boulder Releases, Ships 2108 Phono Preamplifier
Michael Fremer  |  Feb 24, 2019  |  7 comments
22 February, 2019: Louisville, Colorado—Boulder Amplifiers announces the immediate release and shipment of its reference level phono preamplifier, the 2108, which is a substantially updated and "re-visited" version of the 2008 that shook up the phono preamplifier market with its versatility, high performance, and high cost.

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