Michael Fremer

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Munich 2013
Thoress Phono Preamp Features Point-to-Point Wiring, Variable RIAA
Michael Fremer  |  May 11, 2013  |  2 comments
Reinhard Thöress's point-to-point wired hybrid JFET/vacuum tube powered phono preamp features five phono inputs, plus variable RIAA that allows you to adjust variances from the RIAA curve at the time constant "knees" of the curve.
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Album Reviews
Thoughtful Quartet Explores Bleak World of Today's Alienated Youth
Michael Fremer  |  May 01, 2007  |  0 comments

Despite the band’s name, there’s not much of a party going on in the lyrics of this UK quartet’s thoughtful second album. World events and how they affect today’s young people in the UK are at the core of the band’s viewpoint.

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Munich 2013
Thrax Orpheus Phono Preamplifier From Bulgaria Looks to be a Sonic Winner
Michael Fremer  |  May 23, 2013  |  1 comments
Thrax has yet to make major inroads in the American market but that will surely change as its products become better known.
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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
Three Percussion Records You Should Own
Michael Fremer  |  Jan 26, 2017  |  First Published: Jan 26, 2017  |  43 comments
Pictured are three percussion records you should own—especially if you feel like banging your head against the wall. One is an "oldie" Living Stereo novelty that's back in print, one was originally released in 1984 thanks to a grant from The National Endowment For the Arts (today an endangered species) reissued in the 1990s and one is a current release.

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Album Reviews
Three Track Masters Mixed Live to Lacquer!
Michael Fremer  |  Apr 01, 2011  |  0 comments

Analogue Productions'  The Nat King Cole Story box set, originally scheduled to be released Spring of 2010 is finally here. We reviewed the box's sound quality last March based on test pressings but the actual box didn't arrive under early 2011. What's below is that review with additional information about the box and overall presentation quality—Ed.

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AAA VinylNews
Three Triple A's From Craft For Record Store Day Black Friday
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 23, 2019  |  First Published: Nov 23, 2019  |  0 comments
Craft Records just announced three all-analog reissues cut from original tape by Kevin Gray: (Chet Baker Sings) It Could Happen to You, originally released in 1958 on Riverside, Willie Colon's Asalto Navideño a 1971 Christmas album originally released on Fania, and Buffy Sainte-Marie's Illuminations a Vanguard release from 1969 that's achieved "cult" status due to its early use of synthesizers to produce an eerie backdrop.
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NewsRecord Cleaning Tips
Throw Away Your Old AudioQuest Carbon Fiber Brush!
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 30, 2017  |  First Published: Mar 30, 2017  |  59 comments
AudioQuest's carbon fiber brush, in production for thirty five years, has been the industry "standard" dry record brush. If you have the one pictured above, please throw it out or donate it to a really needy record collector.

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Album Reviews
Throw Out Those Bootlegs! Coltrane Quartet's Half Note Performances From Original Tapes
Michael Fremer  |  Jul 01, 2006  |  0 comments

Never mind that the tape has some occasional serious dropout, never mind that the legendary performance of the title track “One Down, One Up” commences mid way through the tune during a Jimmy Garrison bass solo, never mind that these performances are station dubs from live radio broadcasts, never mind Alan Grant’s radio announcements sprinkled throughout, and never mind that this treasure trove is probably not in the same league historically as the Thelonious Monk/John Coltrane Carnegie Hall concert unearthed at the National Archives and issued by Mosaic on vinyl recently (MQ1-231).

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Record Handling and Storage Tips
Tidy Up Your IKEA Or Other Record Storage Units With Turntable Revival's Premium Backspacers
Michael Fremer  |  Sep 13, 2021  |  First Published: Sep 13, 2021  |  14 comments
I usually ignore Facebook advertising—you know, the ads that offer miracle fixes in super fast motion—but one seemed to make too much sense to ignore and that was Turntable Revival's Premium Backspacers available for IKEA KALLAX/EXPEDIT shelves as well as ones from Target and Walmart/Better Homes and Gardens. These shelving units are not made for vinyl record storage but can be used for it and therein lies the problem Turntable Revival solves.

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Album Reviews
Time Doesn't Extinguish His Flame
Michael Fremer  |  Jan 01, 2011  |  1 comments

The poet/singer Gil Scott-Heron struck a raw nerve in the early '70s  with "The Revolution Will Not be Televised," a sarcastic, simmering three minute taunt set to a flute, drum and bass soaked jazz backing track that  sounds today more like Beatnik parody than jazz.

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