LATEST ADDITIONS

News
Dr. Amar Bose Dead at 83
Michael Fremer  |  Jul 13, 2013  |  First Published: Dec 31, 1969  |  94 comments
Don't speak ill of the dead is commonly accepted wisdom to which I almost always subscribe. However, an Amar Bose obituary in today's New York Times by Glenn Rifkin that read more like an advertisement than an obit forces my hand.

The obit writer claims the Bose Corporation "..became synonymous with high quality audio systems..." and that "His speakers, though expensive, earned a reputation for bringing concert-hall quality audio into the home." Really?

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Sweepstakes
Matt G and the Ortofon Black
Ariel Bitran  |  Jul 13, 2013  |  First Published: Dec 31, 1969  |  4 comments
"It sounds awesome," says Matt G, the winner of the Ortofon 2M Black Phono Cartridge Sweepstakes from Music Direct. Another audiophile from North Carolina, the state which has dominated these Home Tech Network Sweepstakes.
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Sweepstakes
Ortofon DS-1 Stylus Force Gauge from Needle Doctor Sweepstakes
Jon Iverson  |  Jul 11, 2013  |  First Published: Dec 31, 1969  |  184 comments
Register to win a Ortofon DS-1 Stylus Force Gauge from Needle Doctor (MSRP $159.00) we are giving away.

According to the company:

The DS-1 is manufactured in Japan, and is among the most accurate stylus force gauges available today.  Offering a reading up to 0.1, the DS-1 allows the user to carefully dial in the designated tracking force for any phono cartridge.  Safe to use with either MM or MC type cartridges, the DS-1 is as versatile as it comes.

[This Sweepstakes is now closed.]

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Turntable Reviews
VPI Traveler Plants American Flag on Mid-Entry Level Turntable Territory
Michael Fremer  |  Jul 10, 2013  |  First Published: Dec 31, 1969  |  39 comments
Imports crowd the $1500 turntable price-point with entries from Rega, Pro-Ject, Music Hall, Clearaudio, JA Michell, Marantz (made by Clearaudio), Acoustic Signature and some others.

Until VPI surprised the turntable world last year with the Traveler, the only American-made ‘table manufactured at this price that I can think of is the SOTA Comet, which comes with an OEM Rega tonearm.

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News
Major Analog Vinyl/Turntable/Cartridge Survey Underway!
Michael Fremer  |  Jul 09, 2013  |  First Published: Dec 31, 1969  |  30 comments
Most of us are convinced that the media regularly underreports record sales. It seems that Nielsen/Soundscan's numbers can't possible be correct, nor does it seem likely they have the ability to dig deeply into the sales portals where much of the vinyl activity occurs.
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Sweepstakes
Jasper and her Spin-Clean
Ariel Bitran  |  Jul 09, 2013  |  First Published: Dec 31, 1969  |  3 comments
Raising your kids right requires teaching them good habits at a young age. On their path to adulthood, they learn the importance of routine and instill those good habits that just grazed over their heads in their younger years. It seems John R. Comstock of Loxley, Alabama is doing it right.
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Album Reviews
"The Dave Brubeck Quartet At Carnegie Hall" Issued on Double 180g Vinyl
Michael Fremer  |  Jul 08, 2013  |  4 comments
By the time the "classic" Dave Brubeck Quartet arrived at Carnegie Hall on February 22nd, 1963 it had "practiced, practiced, practiced" as the old joke goes. The quartet of Brubeck, drummer Joe Morello, bassist Eugene Wright and alto saxophonist Paul Desmond was a well-oiled music making machine.

It was also the world's most popular and well-known jazz ensemble, having toured the world for the State Department and released numerous big selling albums such as Time Out, which sold well in excess of a million copies.

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Analog Corner
Analog Corner #41
Michael Fremer  |  Jul 05, 2013  |  First Published: Dec 31, 1969  |  6 comments
It was 9am as the plane touched down at Heathrow, but my brain screamed "4am! Go back to sleep!''—as if the eight hours of slouched-over dozing interrupted by cattle-prodding flight attendants could be called "sleep." Yes, the red-eye is considered by many travelers to be the most efficient way to jet to London, and Virgin tries hard to please, even in the cramped steerage section—but wedged into a middle seat and being a naturally fidgety sort, I found the transoceanic flight a form of water torture I can live without.
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News
ORG Announces Two Roy Orbison Double 45rpm Reissues
Michael Fremer  |  Jul 02, 2013  |  First Published: Dec 31, 1969  |  13 comments
ORG today announced a Roy Orbison reissue project that will bring to the 45rpm format Lonely and Blue and In Dreams, two of Roy's early Monument albums.
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Album Reviews
"Thank You Les, A Tribute to Les Paul" Issued on 180g AAA Vinyl!
Michael Fremer  |  Jul 01, 2013  |  7 comments
This loving tribute to Les Paul featuring longtime trio cohort Lou Pallo and others with whom Les played at Fat Tuesdays and the Iridium is musically fabulous assuming you like the timeless "old school" style. And if not, why not? If it's good enough for Keith Richards, Steve Miller, Billy F. Gibbons and Slash, among others who perform here in that style, well hell, then it's good enough for you!

No doubt Les's playing and his technological innovations with guitar and multi-tracked overdubbing affected all of them. But surely his playing hit them more squarely in their young guitarist wheelhouse.

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