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Album Reviews
Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & The LSO Offer Promises And Keep Them
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 29, 2021  |  26 comments
The beating heart of this remarkable collaboration between electronic musician/composer Sam Shepherd, better known as Floating Points, saxophonist Pharoah Sanders and The London Symphony Orchestra is a repeated series of ethereal drops of glistening arpeggiated sonic dew Shepherd plays on synthesizer, piano and what sounds like a harpsichord over which Pharoah Sanders delicately flutters and dances—only occasionally producing the voluminous blasts heard in his late ‘60s and early ‘70s albums.

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Analog Gear NewsNews
Gold Note Debuts Full Featured PH-1000 MM/MC Phono Preamp
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 29, 2021  |  9 comments
Italy-based Gold Note announced today its new PH-1000 phono preamplifier, which the company calls "the best phono stage we have ever created." It is among the most flexible phono preamplifiers ever, that is for sure.

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News
I Was a Guest on the Bob Lefsetz Podcast That Aired Today So Listen!
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 25, 2021  |  25 comments
Here's what Bob wrote in the email he sends to all of his readers and fans:

"Michael Fremer is the king of vinyl, he believed in its comeback when everybody else was selling their LPs. We discuss the availability of presses, demand, sound... Also, Michael is Senior Contributing Editor of "Stereophile" and thus we discuss audio equipment, what you should buy, how much you have to spend for good sound, turntable set-up... Fremer is a giant in his field, you want to listen to what he has to say".

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Analog Gear News
Audio Technica's New AT-LP60XBT-USB Fully Automatic Turntable Features Wireless and USB Connectivity
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 24, 2021  |  36 comments
Audio Technica's new AT-LP60XBT-USB (SRP: $179) is a fully automatic belt drive turntable that supports wireless Qualcomm Bluetooth aptX codec, plus USB and standard analog connectivity. It also includes an Audio-Technica cartridge and built in phono preamp.

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News
Craft Chooses Yusef Lateef's Eastern Sounds As Its Second "Small Batch" One Step Release
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 24, 2021  |  46 comments
Los Angeles, CA (March 17, 2021)—Craft Recordings is pleased to announce the second title in its one-step series, Small Batch: Yusef Lateef’s 1961 classic, Eastern Sounds. Originally released on Moodsville (an imprint of the legendary jazz label, Prestige Records), the upcoming Small Batch pressing of this groundbreaking album will be limited to 1,000 copies and released exclusively through CraftRecordings.com on April 23rd. The public pre-sale launches this Friday (March 26th) at 2:00 pm PST/5 pm EST.

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Playback Accessory Reviews
Uberlight Flex LED Task Light Is Up to the Task!
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 23, 2021  |  50 comments
A reader who manufacturers this Reliable Corporation Uberlight™ Flex Task Light sent a few for me to check out. One night he took one home and placed it next to his turntable. He found, among other things, that it let him easily read the inner groove area information on his records and he thought that perhaps I'd also find it useful.

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News
Cassette-Only Reissue Series April 30th From RecordingTheMaster and ThinkIndie Distribution
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 22, 2021  |  18 comments
Who are we to laugh? "First time ever" cassette-only release include Sturgill Simpson, Major Laser, Maren Morris, Lupe Fiasco and Kaelin Ellis and The Mavericks. The cassettes are accompanied by RecordingTheMasters' B-1000 Portable Cassette Player.

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Set-Up Accessory ReviewsSet-Up Tips
"shaknspin" Electronically Measures Turntable Speed Plus a Great Deal More
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 19, 2021  |  34 comments
While the name "shaknspin" may sound like a child's toy, the device is anything but, though it does make child's play of measuring turntable speed, calculating wow and flutter, jitter and more, graphically representing speed variations as histograms by frequency and speed distribution and even mo
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Album Reviews
Shawn Mendes’ Wonder  Swerves From Uninspired
Nathan Zeller  |  Mar 19, 2021  |  1 comments
The history of recorded music is as long as it is terrific. While that may sound wonderful, I can assure you there are strings attached.

Today’s mainstream artists face an originality problem, one which many musicians feel no desire to solve— though there are some current exceptions including Jacob Collier, Kendrick Lamar, and Vulfpeck. Few lack the passion required to create something that is truly their own, but among those who do is 22 year-old Canadian Shawn Mendes—one of five under-the-age-of-18 artists in Billboard album chart history to debut at #1. On Wonder, his latest album, Mendes chases that very passion.

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News
DÉJÀ VU : 50TH Anniversary Edition Coming May 14th From Rhino
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 19, 2021  |  25 comments
DÉJÀ VU: 50TH ANNIVERSARY DELUXE EDITION will be available from Rhino on May 14 for $99.98. Presented in a 12 x 12 hardcover book, the collection comes illustrated with rarely seen photos from the era and annotated by writer/filmmaker Cameron Crowe, whose revealing liner notes recount the making of the album through stories told by the people who were there, including David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash, and Neil Young.

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