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Analog Corner
Analog Corner #74
Michael Fremer  |  Feb 09, 2018  |  First Published: Sep 01, 2001  |  5 comments
In their "Noah's Ark" TV commercial, what DaimlerChrysler seems to consider worth hauling up the Ark's gangplank is a pair of Mercedes Benz E-Class sedans. There's also a guy schlepping an iMac (what else?), and another carrying recorded music—not CDs but a stack of LPs, the top one appearing to be an original of Miles Davis' Birth of the Cool. (Other recent analog sightings: a full-frame Clearaudio Reference turntable in Tomb Raider, and a Rega Planar 2 or 3 'table in Sex and the City.)

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Turntable Reviews
The EAT B-Sharp Is An Attractive, Well-Performing Plug'n'Play Turntable
Michael Fremer  |  Feb 08, 2018  |  11 comments
The European Audio Team’s entry into the under $2000 turntable market includes for $1595 a factory-installed Ortofon 2M Blue moving magnet phono cartridge that alone costs around $240. Something like the $100 2M Red is more often found packaged at this price point.

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News
Sonus Faber Unveils New Aida at Evolution Home Theater, February 15th
Michael Fremer  |  Feb 08, 2018  |  5 comments
Atlanta, Georgia's Evolution Home Theater unveils Sonus Faber's new flagship Aida loudspeaker at a Thursday, February 15th event beginning at 7PM, featuring Sonus Faber CEO Fillipo Fanton who's flying in from Italy for the event. Also on hand will be Sonus Faber's Will Kline, McIntosh Group's Woody Compton, Clarus Cables' Joe Perfito and Merging NADAC's David Laikind.

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
Jefferson Airplane's "Volunteers" At 45rpm From Mobile Fidelity Still Revolting!
Michael Fremer  |  Feb 06, 2018  |  20 comments
If you are too young to remember but want to experience the turmoil and dread that marked the end of the tumultuous 1960's and you want to view it through west coast music that veers from bucolic to anarchistic, from sublime to self-indulgent with a force and power rarely heard in today's noodling rock, here it is.

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Playback Accessory Reviews
Say Hello to My "Little Fwend" Automatic Tone Arm Lifter
Michael Fremer  |  Feb 06, 2018  |  12 comments
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Analog Corner
Analog Corner #73
Michael Fremer  |  Feb 05, 2018  |  First Published: Aug 01, 2001  |  0 comments
"Corned beef and pastrami aren't exactly health foods, but when did clogging your own arteries become a crime?" I asked myself as I approached the corner of 7th Avenue and 53rd. But my first Carnegie Deli triple-decker in years would have to wait: yellow crime-scene tape encircled the entire block, making it look like a movie-set. Unfortunately, this production, teeming with police, ambulances, television news crews, and spectators, was real.

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Analog Gear NewsTonearm ReviewsTurntable Reviews
Exclusive: One Week With Technics' New SL-1000R Direct Drive Turntable (See update posted 2/21/18)
Michael Fremer  |  Jan 30, 2018  |  139 comments
Shortly after the conclusion of the 2018 International Consumer Electronics Show, Technics CTO/Chief Engineer Tetsuya (Tony) Itan, Yoshiyuki Sumida, Assistant Manager Technics Team, and Technics Business Development Manager Bill Voss brought over and installed the new Technics SL-1000R turntable and tone arm for a week's stay. While this was a pre-production sample and not suitable for a full review, I thought you would be interested in first impressions that is not a review.

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Album Reviews
Robert Plant's "Carry Fire" Simmers But Still Provokes And Produces Plenty of Heat
Michael Fremer  |  Jan 29, 2018  |  15 comments
Howard Stern is probably today's best interviewer still standing now that Charlie Rose is sidelined, though his recent Robert Plant sit-down was among his least effective. Stern was so looking forward to having Plant in the studio that he sort of forgot why Plant agreed to visit in the first place. Plus his usually crack research team dropped the ball.

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Analog Gear NewsPlayback Accessory Reviews
DS Audio's ST-50 Stylus Cleaner Adds Elegance to "Drop In" Stylus Cleaning
Michael Fremer  |  Jan 29, 2018  |  22 comments
At CES 2018 optical cartridge maker DS Audio introduced the ST-50 an elegant-looking "pad" type stylus cleaner that uses a transparent urethane pad developed for semi-conductor "clean room" air scrubbing.

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Analog Corner
Analog Corner #72
Michael Fremer  |  Jan 29, 2018  |  First Published: Jul 01, 2001  |  6 comments
A few issues ago, Sam Tellig gently mocked me with a comment about mobile record players. For those of you too young to remember, or who thought he was kidding, here's a photo of the late, great Lawrence Welk enjoying "Highway Hi-Fi" in his 1956 DeSoto convertible. The players, made by CBS-Columbia for Chrysler, featured a new 7" format record, the XLP, which provided up to 45 minutes per side thanks to its 162/3rpm speed and its pitch of 550 grooves per inch—twice the density of a standard LP. Playback required a special 0.25-mil stylus tracking at 2.5gm—about half a gram less pressure than, say, a $7600 Clearaudio Insider needs to track a regular LP in your living room! A flywheeled motor (there's nothing new under the sun) kept the 'table's speed stable under impossible conditions, and an ingenious arm design supposedly kept the stylus in the groove even around hairpin turns.

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