Mike Mettler

Interviews
Tony Levin on Getting Down to His Signature Low-End Business on Stunning New 2LP Solo Set Bringing It Down to the Bass, Plus Revisiting 1980s King Crimson With the Four-Man BEAT Collective
Mike Mettler  |  Jan 16, 2025  |  First Published: Jan 16, 2025  |  2 comments

For many of the interesting, innovative, and forward-thinking, progressive-leaning recordings of the past half-century-plus that we live for and love on vinyl, Tony Levin has been both their heartbeat and anchor. Whether it’s with King Crimson, Peter Gabriel, Paula Cole, ABWH, Stick Men, or scores of other artists’ albums that number well into the 500s, Levin’s signature bass tones immediately let you know, “Now, this is going to be a rewarding listening experience.” In a recent Zoom interview with AP editor Mike Mettler, Levin discusses the ongoing wonderment that comes with flipping over LP sides, what his first vinyl recording session was in the 1950s, and the “complicated” decision behind when to sing, or when not to sing. . .

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Analog Gear News
Denon DP-3000NE Turntable
Mike Mettler  |  Jan 14, 2025  |  First Published: Jan 14, 2025  |  11 comments

After our recent in-depth review of Denon’s DL-103o moving coil cartridge, we here at AP thought we’d look into one of their other core, analog-centric product categories — turntables, of course! — to see what else the stalwart company currently offers, and the flagship DP-3000NE table caught our eye. Read on to see all the cool specs and features of the DP-3000NE. . .

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Analog Gear News
Seen at CES 2025: Fuse Audio Vertical Turntables
Mike Mettler  |  Jan 13, 2025  |  First Published: Jan 13, 2025  |  2 comments

Let’s get vertical! We didn’t want to let our CES 2025 coverage pass without mentioning Fuse Audio and their admittedly visually intriguing line of vertical turntables. Read on to see what’s up with their brand new GLD vertical table, which the company expects to be shipping soon here in January 2025. . .

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AAA VinylALBUM RELEASE NEWS
Rhino’s Rightly Acclaimed High Fidelity Series Continues Today, January 10, With a Pair of AAA 180g 1LP Releases, Television’s Adventure and Faces’ Ooh La La
Mike Mettler  |  Jan 10, 2025  |  First Published: Jan 10, 2025  |  4 comments

The listening glory is all ours with the latest pair of top-shelf releases from Rhino’s High Fidelity (Hi-Fi) series. Television’s potent April 1978 sophomore effort Adventure and Faces’ March 1973 swan song Ooh La La both get the patented AAA Hi-Fi 180g 1LP treatment and are being released today, January 10, 2025. Read Mike Mettler’s combo review to see why you need both of these fine Hi-Fi LP reissues ASAP. . .

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Analog Gear News
Seen at CES 2025: Victrola Automatic, Wave, Stream Onyx, Harmony, and Journey Glow Turntables
Mike Mettler  |  Jan 07, 2025  |  First Published: Jan 07, 2025  |  0 comments

Today, we continue onward with our survey of the analog-centric gear being shown at CES 2025 — and who better to focus our eyes and ears on than perennial CES stalwarts Victrola? Read on to see what differentiates their new Automatic, Wave, Stream Onyx, Harmony, and Journey Glow turntable offerings. . .

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AAA VinylALBUM RELEASE NEWS
Steely Dan’s 1975 Masterpiece Katy Lied Getting Full 200g 45rpm 2LP UHQR Treatment on January 31
Mike Mettler  |  Jan 06, 2025  |  First Published: Jan 06, 2025  |  9 comments

You can see it in their eyes, but is it really any surprise to learn that we are finally getting the much-anticipated 200g 45rpm 2LP UHQR edition of Steely Dan’s rightly acclaimed March 1975 album Katy Lied on January 31, 2025? Read on to see all the UHQR tech/spec details, plus news regarding the companion 180g 1LP edition. . .

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Analog Gear News
Seen at CES 2025: Lenco LBT-215BK, LBTA-165BK/165WD, and LS-570WA Turntables & TTA-080SI Record Stabilizer
Mike Mettler  |  Jan 06, 2025  |  First Published: Jan 06, 2025  |  4 comments

While there isn’t as much analog gear on display at CES 2025 as there used to be, some companies are showing new audio gear of note at the show this year — and the long-respected Swiss manufacturer Lenco is one of them. Read on to see what’s what with their trio of new turntable options and cool light-effect record stabilizer. . .

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Analog Gear News
Musical Fidelity M6xTT Turntable
Mike Mettler  |  Jan 02, 2025  |  First Published: Jan 02, 2025  |  2 comments

We here at AP hope everyone had a safe, happy, healthy, and fun holiday season, replete with as much vinyl-spinning as your ears, turntables, and systems could handle! To kick the new year off right, we’re going to look at a cool new piece of equipment that caught our collective eye — namely, the Musical Fidelity M6xTT turntable. Read on to see all that the mighty M6xTT has to offer. . .

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FeaturesThe Gruvy Awards
The Gruvy Awards: AnalogPlanet Selects the Best Reviewed Products of 2024
Mike Mettler  |  Dec 23, 2024  |  First Published: Dec 23, 2024  |  0 comments

The Gruvy Awards are back yet again! An annual event, The Gruvys are given to the best products AnalogPlanet reviewed in the most recent calendar year. This time around, the Gruvys honor the gear we tested in 2024 and subsequently found to possess a combination of high build quality, exceptional sonics, and in the case of less expensive gear, provide great value for the money. Read on to see what products made the 2024 AP Gruvy Awards cut, plus which ones gained Honorable Mentions. . .

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AAA VinylAlbum ReviewsFeatures
AnalogPlanet’s Top LPs of 2024
Mike Mettler,  |  Dec 20, 2024  |  First Published: Dec 20, 2024  |  11 comments

Another year of LP acquiring, cleaning, listening, archiving, and spinning, and archiving has come and gone — and not necessarily always in that order, either! — so, naturally, before the big holiday week takes hold of our respective calendars, we here at AP feel it’s the exact right time to determine the best of what we’ve heard on vinyl during the past 12 months. Between the two of us — i.e., 1) Mike Mettler, your intrepid AP editor, and 2) chief LP reviewer, Mark Smotroff — we have listened to multiple-hundreds’ worth of albums on vinyl in 2024 apiece, so read on to see what our 20-plus favorite reissues and new LPs of the year are. . .

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