Ken Micallef

Features
AP Exclusive Video: Record Store Day Preview With Zev Feldman at All Blues Listening Bar
Ken Micallef  |  Apr 06, 2025  |  First Published: Apr 06, 2025  |  0 comments

Manhattan’s All Blues played host to Zev Feldman’s traveling Record Store Day (RSD) cavalcade this past Wednesday, April 2, 2025. Joined by jazz journalist, Jazz and Coffee’s Syd Schwartz, Feldman gave the backstories and played selections from his upcoming RSD 2025 releases. These six RSD releases followed Feldman’s typical Jazz Detective approach, mining tapes from radio stations, performance venues, and collector’s vaults, pressed to virgin vinyl. The accompanying video, shot by our resident jazz expert Ken Micallef, gives you a deeper taste of what the night looked and sounded like. . .

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Turntable Reviews
Dr. Feickert Analogue Volare 25 Turntable
Ken Micallef  |  Apr 02, 2025  |  First Published: Apr 02, 2025  |  5 comments

The Dr. Feickert Analogue Volare 25 25th Anniversary Limited Edition turntable — a.k.a. the Volare 25 — was designed and manufactured in Germany by Dr. Christian Feickert and crew. It builds upon the company’s original Volare model with a significant tonearm upgrade, a new low-friction bearing, a second motor, and more. Read Ken Micallef’s review to see how the Volare 25 stacks up. . .

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Features
Inside My Other Life as a Jazz Vinyl DJ at Tokyo Record Bar in New York City
Ken Micallef  |  Mar 24, 2025  |  First Published: Mar 24, 2025  |  5 comments

Jazz-listening bars have been popping up across New York City and many other U.S. cities seeking to replicate Japan’s jazz kissa culture, where listening is sacred and talking is verboten. Our resident jazz fanatic Ken Micallef recently commenced a semi-regular gig as a jazz DJ at Tokyo Record Bar in New York City, and here’s his firsthand report on how he got ready for it, how he tweaked their in-house system, and how the gig is going. . .

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Show Reports
Turntables Galore & More at Florida International Audio Expo 2025!
Mike Mettler,  |  Feb 25, 2025  |  First Published: Feb 25, 2025  |  0 comments

Live from this past weekend’s Florida International Audio Expo 2025, Ken Micallef shows us turntables, reel-to-reel players, and more from the likes of Audio Note, Benny Audio, Clearaudio, Bergmann, J.Sikora, and Studer — plus, he has a bonus interview with VPI’s Mat Weisfeld, who walks us through all the ins and outs about the way-cool VPI Avenger Statement turntable. . .

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
The 200g 45rpm 2LP UHQR Edition of Steely Dan’s Katy Lied Sounds As Good As Any Vinyl World That It’s Welcome To
Mike Mettler, ,  |  Feb 20, 2025  |  6 comments

Who are these children / Who scheme and run wild. . . No, that’s not a comment on the youth of today, but rather a piercing lyrical couplet of sorts that can only mean one thing — it’s time for us to dive deep into the just-released 200g 45rpm 2LP UHQR edition of Steely Dan’s March 1975 treasure of an LP, Katy Lied. Read Mike Mettler, Mark Smotroff, and Ken Micallef’s combo review to see if the UHQR version of Katy Lied meets and/or exceeds the standards set by its companion SD releases in this all-important reissue series. . .

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Tonearm Reviews
Korf TA-SF9R 9-Inch Tonearm
Ken Micallef  |  Feb 04, 2025  |  First Published: Feb 04, 2025  |  10 comments

At High End Munich 2024, we were immediately enamored with Korf’s TA-SF9R 9-inch tonearm, so we just had to review it as soon as we could get one in hand — along with its companion HS-A02 ceramic headshell in tow. Read Ken Micallef’s review of the TA-SF9R arm to see if it performs on par with, or even surpasses, a classic, comparable Jelco arm. . .

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Turntable Reviews
Cambridge Audio Alva TT V2 Turntable
Ken Micallef  |  Jan 21, 2025  |  First Published: Jan 21, 2025  |  10 comments

Legacy British company Cambridge Audio fully embraces vinyl playback with their latest offering, the Alva TT V2 turntable. Read Ken Micallef’s review to see how the Alva TT V2 table tracks in terms of how it handles detailed resolution, dramatic impact, and performance nuances alike. . .

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AAA VinylAlbum Reviews
Miles Davis’ Birth of the Blue 180g 1LP Set From Analogue Productions Is an Astounding-Sounding Companion to His Seminal 1959 LP, Kind of Blue
Ken Micallef  |  Jan 17, 2025  |  7 comments

As noted in our coverage of the press event that happened in NYC back in December 2024, Miles Davis’ Birth of the Blue assembles, “in a single release, music recorded in 1958, one year prior to the landmark Kind of Blue.” Read Ken Micallef’s review to see if this AAA 180g 1LP release from Analogue Productions lives up to its advance billing. . .

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Cartridge Reviews
Rega Nd3 & Nd5 Moving Magnet Cartridges
Ken Micallef  |  Dec 30, 2024  |  First Published: Dec 30, 2024  |  7 comments

When the UK’s largest turntable manufacturer releases new moving magnet (MM) cartridges, analog geeks like us here at AP can’t wait to hear them. Read Ken Micallef’s review to see why Rega’s new Nd3 and Nd5 MM cartridges are both budget bargains worthy of your immediate attention. . .

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Album Reviews
Jazz Vocal Phenomenon Samara Joy Continues to Impress With Her Latest LP, Portrait
Ken Micallef  |  Dec 26, 2024  |  1 comments

Samara Joy, a mere 25 years old, has ascended to extraordinary heights in the jazz world — and rightly so. Raised in a family of gospel singers but nurtured on a diet of contemporary pop and jazz, Joy’s vocal prowess is astonishing. Her contralto-to-soprano range — soaring from hushed whispers to clarion calls — is as breathtaking as a hummingbird darting from flower to flower. Read Ken Micallef’s review to see how Portrait, her second LP on Verve, showcases her singular vocal talent on vinyl. . .

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