There’s an important foreword to my love story with the Lab12 Integre4 integrated amplifier. A few years ago, shortly after I joined the PTA team and started work on my first issue of The Occasional […]
Welcome to the Best Turntables section of the Part-Time Audiophile Buyers Guide for Summer 2022. The Guide is more than “We heartily endorse this [fill in the blank].” This collection represents our enthusiasm. Every product […]
Welcome to the Best Turntables section of the Part-Time Audiophile Buyers Guide for 2022. The Guide is more than “We heartily endorse this [fill in the blank ].” This collection represents our enthusiasm. Every product […]
The Best Turntables [Editor’s note: Welcome to the Part-Time Audiophile Buyers Guide for Summer 2021! These are the best turntables that we, the PTA team, have heard.] Fluance Reference FT-85 (from $499 USD) This Canadian […]
I do have a couple of my patented old audio guy stories about George Merrill, the legendary turntable designer who now makes the GEM Dandy PolyTable Signature turntable. (Website here.) The first isn’t really a […]
The Best Turntables [Editor’s note: Welcome to the Part-Time Audiophile Buyers Guide for 2021! This year we decided to mix it up a little by breaking up the Buyers Guide into sections, which makes it […]
I originally intended to include this review of the Fern and Roby Maverick phono preamplifier as part of my testing of their Montrose turntable and tonearm. Things changed during the review process, however—what was once […]
Whenever I see a pair of two-way monitors with a high price tag such as the Stenheim Alumine 2 loudspeakers from Switzerland, I’m immediately intrigued and I immediately want to sit down and listen to […]
Having a Jeff Rowland Design Group product in my reference system reminds me, in a roundabout way, of one of the greatest hi-fi systems I’ve heard. This happened nearly a decade ago, at the […]
The Fluance RT85 Reference turntable retails for $500. That’s very important to me from a historical standpoint, so allow me to elaborate. I came up with the $500 Rule for turntables back in 1998, during […]
This is the final entry borne from that magical In Living Stereo room at last year’s Rocky Mountain Audio Fest. I started with the precious, jewel-like Mactone MH-120 power amplifier and XX-7000 preamplifier, continued with […]
My first experience with Hana cartridges of Japan came at the 2016 Newport Show when I had organized my Down Under Audio exhibit rooms for Colleen Cardas Imports. My idea was this—after visiting Australia in […]
My Mactone (website) adventure started last year at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, when I went to visit my good friend Bob Clarke of Profundo. He brought a pair of Trenner & Friedl Osiris loudspeakers, […]
After arranging to review the PS Audio Stellar phono preamplifier, I realized that the first time and only time I’ve reviewed a PS Audio product was way back in 2008, when the GCPH phono stage […]
Back when I reviewed Rasmus Kjaer‘s stunning LP Turist, I mentioned that three electronica albums showed up on my front porch within a few days of each other. Orqid’s Tenderness was actually the first slab […]
The Lab12 Melto2 phono preamplifier reminded me of how I sometimes get really excited about trying new outboard phono stages—and this is from a guy whose first article about phono preamps was dismissively titled “Little […]
If you’ve been reading my stuff for a while, especially the original Vinyl Anachronist column for Perfect Sound Forever, you probably know of my fondness for Gene Rubin of Gene Rubin Audio in Ventura, California. […]
I’ve known the folks at Fidelis Music Systems in Nashua, New Hampshire for many years. Not only were they one of my top dealers when I was a distributor but they also distribute, in turn, […]
Okay, seriously. Is there anyone out there who isn’t a Harbeth fan? And if so, what’s wrong with you? Seriously. You’ve got issues. Gene Rubin was on hand at Newport this year with a new […]
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