While looking over all the great gear that was on display at last month’s Capital Audiofest (CAF), we saw quite a number of products we earmarked for looking into further after the show beyond the coverage we already had planned for our various CAF show reports. One of them, Fern & Roby’s Montrose Heirloom turntable, is today’s deep-dive subject, so read on to see what this supercool ’table manufactured in Richmond, Virginia, is all about. . .
It’s almost an impossible task trying to “review” an iconic album like Bill Evans Trio’s October 1961 live masterpiece, Sunday at the Village Vanguard, but a new 180g 1LP edition under Craft Recordings’ revival of the Original Jazz Classics series umbrella is most definitely worth a closer look — and listen. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see why this AAA edition of an all-time jazz classic belongs in your collection. . .
The jailer man and Sailor Sam are at it again. Paul McCartney & Wings will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of Band on the Run on February 2, 2024, with a 2LP edition featuring previously unreleased “Underdubbed” mixes on LP2, and a separate half-speed-mastered 1LP version of the original December 1973 release. Read on to see just what “Underdubbed” mixes entail, and if these new versions of Band on the Run
So many great new products to be seen at the most recent Capital Audiofest (CAF), so little time. Well, that’s not entirely true, as our intrepid analog-centric editorial team spent quite a lot of time on the case at CAF 2023. That said, there’s some additional gear that was on display at CAF we wanted to take a deeper dive into, one of those items being DS Audio’s Grand Master EX optical cartridge. Read on to see what the impressively high-end Grand Master EX cart has to offer. . .
Welcome to another installment of analog highlights from Capital Audiofest (CAF), which was held November 10-12, 2023, at the Twinbrook Hilton in Rockville, Maryland. As we noted last week in Part 1, CAF has expanded to a reported 114 exhibit rooms across more than four floors in addition to various conference rooms throughout the hotel. Read Part 2 of Julie Mullins’ comprehensive show report to duly digest a second helping of the best analog gear CAF 2023 had to offer. . .
The history of the storied 1962-1966 and 1967-1970 retrospective albums by The Beatles, alternately known as the Red Album and the Blue Album, is quite fascinating — and now they’re both newly available in expanded, 50th anniversary 180g 3LP editions with a number of additional tracks not on either of the original 1973 releases, one of them being the “final” Bealtes song, “Now And Then.” Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see if either/both of the new Red and Blue 3LP sets belong in your collection and on your turntable. . .
Polish turntable and tube amp manufacturer Muarah launched their new MT-3 turntable and MY-1/9 tonearm at the recent, 25th edition of the Audio Video Show in Warsaw, so we figured they were both well worth a respective closer look. Read on to see more about the MT-3’s impressive specs and features. . .
Pangea Audio has just announced the soon-forthcoming Record Doctor X, a new edition of their acclaimed Record Doctor vacuum record cleaning machines that simultaneously cleans both sides of a record in order to “sav[e] time and effort over current versions” (their words). Read on to see if the all-new RDX VRCM fits your own current and/or future record cleaning needs. . .
It was a fine time to be in the Washington, D.C. metro area for the most recent Capital Audiofest (CAF) that was held November 10-12, 2023, at the Twinbrook Hilton in Rockville, Maryland. A growing show, CAF has expanded to encompass a reported 114 exhibit rooms across more than four floors in addition to conference rooms throughout the hotel. Read Part 1 of Julie Mullins’ comprehensive show report to see a fine selection of the best analog gear CAF 2023 had to offer. . .
“Scandinavian design with an international twist.” So says notable Danish company Aavik Acoustics about their R-580 phono preamp, so we figured we’d take a closer look at this cool unit before we head on into the extended holiday weekend ahead. Read on to get all the R-580 specs and feature details. . .