Mike Mettler

While it is indeed Labor Day, we here at AP have decided to recast the day under the “Labor of Love” banner so that we can take a look at some of the analog offerings from companies we didn’t get to spend much time with back at High End Munich 2024. One of those companies is Taiwanese manufacturer Zorin Audio, known for their fine lines of turntables, tonearms, and ION-generator static eliminators. Today, we’ve decided to zero in on their TP-S5 turntable. Whether you’re still laboring or totally relaxing today, read on to see specs and features of the updated TP-S5. . .

Lou Reed was — and still is, really — one of rock & roll’s most transformative and influential songwriters and performers. Before he made an indelible mark with The Velvet Underground and then as a solo artist over his five-decade career, Reed honed his craft by penning many a song for other artists as a staff writer for a legendary label during the early rock era. To celebrate that important early chapter of Reed’s history, Light in the Attic, in cooperation with Laurie Anderson and the Lou Reed Archive, has just announced a new 2LP set covering that era, Why Don’t You Smile Now: Lou Reed at Pickwick Records 1964-65, will be released on October 4, 2024. Read on to see all the tracks written by Reed that are included on this important release. . .

We loved seeing DS Audio’s top-tier Grand Master EX optical cartridge deployed in a number of system demos at both High End Munich 2024 and AXPONA 2024 — and we’re equally pleased to see the recent emergence of a third-generation model, the DS-E3. Read on to see all the features and specs of the new DS-E3 cartridge, and its companion EQ/phono preamp. . .

The official National Calendar says today, August 12, is National Vinyl Record Day, so I cued up a few of my favorite new vinyl offerings — including the latest 2LP studio set from a longtime favorite, a 4LP box set with an album I’ve been waiting decades to get on vinyl, and a brand-new-to-2024 throwback 45 — to celebrate the theme of the day. Read on to see what they are, and feel free to chime in about your own favorite LPs you were spinning on your own turntable on this most hallowed of days. . .