At the recent U.K. Bristol Audio Show (where the kids are sharp as a pistol when they do the Bristol Stomp), the joint was jumping with Rega Research product debuts. Let's start with the new P6RS pictured in the lead photo.The Rega Planar 6 RS Edition is constructed using the company's unique Tancast 8 foam core plinth finished with an aluminium metal skin HP laminate and matching edging. This assembly creates a highly rigid ultra-light platform, ideal for... Read More

Harvey Kubernik: I know the Beatles’ Rubber Soul made a big impression on you when first released in 1965.

Brian Wilson: “Michelle” and “All My Lovin’” are two of my favorite Paul McCartney songs. “Norwegian Wood’ completely blew my mind, and marijuana was around for Pet Sounds. Well, when I first listened to Rubber Soul, I then went to the piano and all I could see were my keys. I locked in with the keyboard and wrote [with Tony Asher] ‘God Only Knows’ in 45 minutes.”

Despite its stature today as one of the greatest and most influential records in rock history, Pet Sounds was kind of a rush job. In late 1965 Brian Wilson met jingle writer/lyricist Tony Asher at an L.A. recording studio and shortly thereafter the two began writing the songs. By April it had mostly been completed. Considering the complexity of the compositions, arrangements and production, that's an impressive feat in such a short time. It was also expensive,... Read More

A defining musical moment for me was sitting down with high school friends after hitting Blockbuster and watching Scorsese's concert epic "The Last Waltz." Of course, my favorite moment was witnessing a visibly gacked out Neil Young amble onto the stage and slide into "Helpless" and watching Danko and Robertson searching the skies for those birds flying across the sky. But when Joni appears, she is truly resplendent cradling a beautiful old... Read More

Hailing from the Great White Northern city of Toronto, Rush was one of those bands that never grandfathered themselves into one specific style. Whether it was the ‘Canadian Zeppelin’ aesthetic of their early years, crafting side-long progressive epics well into the ‘70s, or streamlining into the ‘80s with more commercial approaches, the group grew alongside their devoted audience. By 1984, the indicators of Rush’s musical evolution became more radical. Synthesizers... Read More

You license a title at 45rpm (because that's what's offered) and then the licensor releases it at 33 1/3 around the same time. These things happen. And they happen with greater frequency now. Now that vinyl has become a "thing". There was a time that the labels really didn't care much about the format and freely licensed titles to the reissue labels like Classic Records, Acoustic Sounds and the others. And they let the tapes out of the vaults.... Read More

Like its namesake, it appears that the movie "Abandoned Heights" will also be abandoned or already has been. It's been listed as being in "pre-production" on IMDB since 2022, but no matter! If Jack Bruce could write a "Theme for an Imaginary Western", it's not a problem for John McLaughlin to write an entire film score for a movie he's never seen and perhaps will never will see. Usually film scores are written to picture,... Read More

The third and final video from last month's Florida International Audio Expo 2026 covers SUPATRAC, Hana, Clearaudio, Aesthetic, Magnepan, Döhmann, Elekits, Audio Note U.K. AGD, Prodigio, Innovo, VOLTI, Border Patrol Benchmark, Altai, Grimm, Wireworld, ArgentPur, Perfect 8, Clarisys, Pink Faun, MSB, and Pass Labs. There's in-depth coverage with the people running the rooms and an interview with Border Patrol's Gary Dews. Not much in the analog world... Read More

The Florida Audio Expo 2026 traditionally marks the unofficial beginning of the new audio show season. Held each winter in Tampa, it has become something of a welcome refuge for attendees traveling from colder parts of the country to trade snow boots for sunshine while spending a few days immersed in music. After the holiday rush, the show also offers audio enthusiasts a chance to refocus and reconnect with the passion that first drew them to this hobby: the pursuit... Read More

For any readers who are pressed for time - buy this record. The only category of readers who should think twice are ‘people who do not like Autechre’, and the parallel category of ‘people who do not like acoustic guitar music’, because Autechre Guitar is precisely that, nothing more, nothing less. If you have no money right now, begin saving, otherwise, buy this now. If you have a few moments, and you would like to know why you should own this remarkable LP - read... Read More

It's been almost forty years since the late summer of 1988 release of this ethereal, ambient/experimental studio creation—the follow up to Talk Talk's two million seller The Colour of Spring—that flopped commercially but resulted in an almost cult-like following of fans who for decades have spread the word about its intense, almost hypnotically musical powers. The Colour of Spring's commercial success gave the group's leader Mark Hollis the... Read More

Even if you don’t think opera is for you, there is no doubting its important role in driving classical music through centuries of change.  It has always been at the vanguard of the avant-garde, from Monteverdi’s L'Orfeo in 1607 through Wagner’s Ring in 1876, from Richard Strauss's Salome in 1905 to Berg's Wozzeck in 1925. Now this production of Philip Glass's Akhnaten creates something entirely new for the 21st century.  It is revolutionary, riveting - and essential to talk about.

If you'd told me my original Artisan Sound mastered Pitman pressing was up on Discogs for around $700, I'd not believe you until I looked to confirm. But it is. Not that anyone will ever buy it for such a price, but still! After listening to the new KG mastered Rhino High Fidelity reissue, I have to ask "why"? Why would you pay that much for a record that sounds distant and from the wide open spaces when you could have this for $40 bucks and with... Read More

Most kids growing up in post-World War II suburban America didn’t get to hear deep bass. New suburban movie theaters didn’t deliver any and unless dad was a “hi-fi nut”, deep bass didn’t exist at home or in the car or anywhere. Big city theaters produced a different story. If you’re of a certain age you can probably recall the first time you heard low reproduced notes coming from a loudspeaker. It was memorable. If it was really good it rubbed your midsection.Bass was... Read More

Two years ago in this space, I reviewed an album by Kahil El’Zabar’s Ethnic Heritage Ensemble, Open Me, a Higher Consciousness of Sound and Spirit. It was, and is, a terrific album (I scored it 9 for music, 11 for sound) by an all-too-neglected composer-arranger-percussionist who’s been active for a half century and still having a merry, spiritually rich time of it.Now comes a follow-up of sorts, Let the Spirit Out, on the same label (Spiritmuse Records, based in... Read More

Joseph Grado (1924-2015), is renowned for his “golden ears”. He's credited with inventing the stereo moving coil cartridge and for developing the high end of the dynamic headphone market. He began in business as a fruit retailer but eventually, working at his kitchen table, he morphed it into a headphone and moving iron phono cartridge manufacturing business. The products are hand-made in Brooklyn, New York and the company has entered its third generation. Now... Read More

Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, March 11th 2026: Wilson Benesch announces the Greenwich Turntable, a new model within the GMT® Collection that will receive its first global public preview at Audio Show Deluxe (21–22 March 2026).Greenwich establishes the entry point into the Wilson Benesch GMT® analogue architecture. Built around the same ALPHA–OMEGA drive platform that underpins the Prime Meridian and GMT® One turntables, Greenwich forms the foundation of a... Read More

If you’ve bought a Morrissey ticket anytime since 2012, there’s statistically a 30% chance he will cancel the show, often with little notice. This could be for any number of reasons: he’s sick or exhausted, or the venue didn’t meet his list of demands (such as removing all meat products from the premises), or he somehow has financial difficulties getting there (even when the show has sold well), or he just doesn’t feel like performing and would rather sit at the hotel... Read More