Mike Mettler

It’s been just over a decade since noted specialist Japanese manufacturer Aurorasound first introduced their flagship VIDA phono preamp into the marketplace, and the current iteration, the VIDA MkII, is what’s going under the AP microscope today. Read on to get all the VIDA MkII phono preamp specs and feature details. . .

Has it really been 75 years since Columbia Records released what’s generally agreed to as being the first commercially available 12-inch long-playing record — or LP — in June 1948? Indeed it has — and a new 192-page hardcover book, titled In the Groove: The Vinyl Record and Turntable Revolution, is set to be published October 17. In the Groove covers our favorite format’s history from the first LP needle drop to the ongoing vinyl resurgence of today — and it also includes a chapter penned by a noted AnalogPlanet contributor to boot. Read on to find out more about , and how to pre-order your own copy today. . .

Praise be to the almighty press! In this case, we’re referring to the all-important process of vinyl pressing, the end-of-creative-cycle production procedure that’s become even more in demand of late and somewhat difficult to schedule in a timely fashion for many an artist as the vinyl revival continues. To that end, Onyx Record Press has just opened its doors in the Los Angeles area, with an impetus to help independent artists get their music onto vinyl at affordable rates and reasonable wait times. Read on to find out about the Onyx team’s pressing plans, and what specific machines they’ll be utilizing to do so. . .

For the very first time, Rhino has released the entirely of Talking Heads’ soundtrack to their seminal September 1984 concert film, Stop Making Sense, in a remastered 2LP set. In this all-new combo-style tag-team review, Mike Mettler and Mark Smotroff tell us exactly why this new 40th anniversary 2LP SMS set is the best-sounding edition of SMS to date. . .