Mike Mettler

AXPONA 2025
AXPONA 2025 Show Report, First Impressions Edition, Part 1: Grimm Audio and Revox
Mike Mettler  |  Apr 14, 2025  |  First Published: Apr 14, 2025  |  0 comments

It seems like only yesterday we were at AXPONA 2025 — well, actually, it was exactly yesterday, April 13, 2025, that we spent our last day at AXPONA, and what a deeply fulfilling show it was overall. To commence our recap of the show, the first installment of our AXPONA 2025 first impressions post features gear seen and heard from Grimm Audio and Revox. . .

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AXPONA 2025
AXPONA 2025 Preview: SME Model 8 Turntable
Mike Mettler  |  Apr 10, 2025  |  First Published: Apr 10, 2025  |  7 comments

If there’s one product category we want to see in droves at AXPONA, it’s gotta be turntables. Luckily, we got an early look at a cool new table before heading off to the airport today — and since we promised to post a few new gear previews before we touch ground at the big show, here’s a look at SME’s forthcoming Model 8 turntable, thanks to Monarch Systems Ltd. . . .

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AXPONA 2025
AXPONA 2025 Preview: Vinnie Rossi Second-Gen Brama Preamp
Mike Mettler  |  Apr 09, 2025  |  First Published: Apr 09, 2025  |  0 comments

We’re a day away from wheels-up to AXPONA, but as I noted in yesterday’s show primer, I wanted to share a few cool new gear previews before heading off to the big event. Here’s one of them — namely, the second-gen Vinnie Rossi Brama preamp. . .

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AXPONA 2025
Top Things to See, Hear & Do at AXPONA
Mike Mettler  |  Apr 09, 2025  |  First Published: Apr 09, 2025  |  1 comments

As we get ready to head off to AXPONA in just a day’s time, we wanted to post a macro-level primer that sets the broader table for what we expect to see and hear at the show before we dial deeper into analog-centric minutiae in our firsthand show reports, so read on for all the fine AXPONA FAQ. . .

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Features
Lirpa Labs John Cage 4'33" Silent Turntable: Yet Another AnalogPlanet Exclusive!!!
Mike Mettler  |  Apr 01, 2025  |  First Published: Apr 01, 2025  |  4 comments

I thought I was safe this time, but I should have known better.

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Analog Gear News
Nagra Compact Phono Preamp
Mike Mettler  |  Mar 31, 2025  |  First Published: Mar 31, 2025  |  5 comments

Nagra knows all about recording — and Nagra knows phono too. The venerable Swiss manufacturer, initially known for making top-shelf portable audio recorders as far back as 1951, have just announced the introduction of their latest hi-fi product, the Compact Phono preamp. Read on to see all the specs and features of the Nagra Compact Phono. . .

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Interviews
Alex Lifeson on the Ever-Adventurous Aural Rewards That Await by Listening to Envy of None, Victor, and That Little Ol’ Canadian Trio Known as Rush on Vinyl
Mike Mettler  |  Mar 29, 2025  |  First Published: Mar 29, 2025  |  0 comments

Progressive thinking, thy name is Alex Lifeson. The once and forever Rush guitarist recently found new creative life within his current four-person band Envy of None, and he couldn’t be happier. In an exclusive, wide-ranging interview with AP editor Mike Mettler, Lifeson discusses how he remastered his 1996 solo album Victor specifically for a 2024 2LP vinyl reissue, his album-sequencing philosophy for Envy of None’s powerful new LP Stij(ē)ən Wāvs, what the first LP and first 45 he ever bought were, and what he hopes Rush’s enduring legacy will be. . .

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Analog Gear News
Vertere DG X Turntable
Mike Mettler  |  Mar 25, 2025  |  First Published: Mar 25, 2025  |  3 comments

We haven’t looked in on Vertere for a while since we saw their RG-1 and MG-1 MKII turntables firsthand at the most recent trade shows in Toronto and Munich, respectively, so we’re happy to report on what’s what with their latest offering, the DG X turntable. Read on to see all the cool specs and features of the DG X. . .

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Analog Gear NewsFeaturesSet-Up Accessory Reviews
Reliable’s UberLight Frame Is Uber Eye-Opening
Mike Mettler  |  Mar 20, 2025  |  First Published: Mar 20, 2025  |  22 comments

How many times do we just “make do” in the moment when it comes to handling some of the finer points and little details as we’re tweaking our LP playback systems? More often than not, we default to using flashlights or other inferior light sources whenever we’re calibrating and/or tweaking our turntables. Canadian manufacturer Reliable has a much, much smarter LED task-light solution for doing all that — namely, their new UberLight Frame, which was specifically designed with the audiophile in mind. Read on to see how the UberLight Frame has helped us shine a brighter light upon our detail-oriented table-adjustment proclivities. . .

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Interviews
Remembering Jesse Colin Young, a Gifted Singer & Songwriter Who Taught Us All How to Get Together and Overcome Darkness, Darkness
Mike Mettler  |  Mar 18, 2025  |  First Published: Mar 18, 2025  |  3 comments

Singer, songwriter, and folk-centric multi-instrumentalist Jesse Colin Young passed away at age 83 at his home in Aiken, South Carolina, on March 16, 2025. Young’s artistic legacy remains quite vibrant and most especially fruitful on vinyl, whether it be from The Youngbloods era on Sundazed’s 2010 reissue of 1967’s Earth Music and Impex’s 2023 180g LP reissue of 1969’s Elephant Mountain, or Young’s 2019 2LP solo album Dreamers. In this mega-expanded interview, Young and AP editor Mike Mettler discuss how The Youngbloods’ perennial favorite “Get Together” beat the odds to become an indelible hit, why he felt “Darkness, Darkness” is among his best-loved — and most covered — songs, and why his 2019 studio album Dreamers absolutely had to appear on 2LPs, and not just one. . .

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