While the snarky part of my mind tends to include Transrotor turntables in the “alien spaceships from the planet chrome” category of decks, the Strato Nero turntable that showed up for review (delivered by truck, not saucer) complete with TRA-9 tonearm again confirmed that my snark is not to be trusted. What arrived instead of a spaceship was a massive, relatively traditional looking rectangular plinth, a TRA-9 tonearm already mounted, and an accompanying Konstant... Read More

To mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Arnold Schoenberg, DG's Original Source deluxe vinyl reissue series presents Herbert von Karajan's seminal survey of music by the composer and his two most famous pupils, Alban Berg and Anton Webern. Mastered and cut AAA directly from the original 4 and 8-track mastertapes by Rainer Maillard and Sidney C. Meyer at Emil Berliner Studios, this deluxe 4LP set offers the perfect opportunity to reassess how these composers played a central role in changing everything about how music was composed, listened to - and not always understood.

Zev Feldman—record producer and Jazz Detective—launches his next endeavor, the archival label Time Traveler Recordings with the label’s Muse Master Edition Series: a run of masterpiece reissues from the historic Muse Records catalog. Pre-order Muse Master Edition Series.The series begins with the October 17th release of three albums from the legendary label’s discography: drummer Roy Brooks’ seminal 1972 live album The Free Slave; pianist Kenny Barron’s 1973 work... Read More

Along with an Acoustical-Systems A*Stellar turntable to review, company founder and designer Dietrich Brakemeier brought along a remarkable sounding solo piano record his company sponsored produced and released on vinyl and CD last year, created using a purist minimal microphone technique, and Studer tape recorders. The venue was an old brewery—the Sudhaus—(which I assume translated to "suds house", the name given to my college fraternity living room), now a... Read More

(Press release): Analogue Productions is revisiting its first-ever UHQR (Ultra High Quality Record) title — The Jimi Hendrix Experience's 1967 masterpiece Axis: Bold As Love - newly remastered and available for the first time as a 45 RPM edition, in both stereo and mono pressings. Both the stereo and mono versions have been cut by noted mastering engineer Bernie Grundman from the original analog master tapes, and pressed at Acoustic Sounds' industry-leading... Read More

Sometimes, events unfold unexpectedly, forcing you to take a journey down a path you would not have considered walking. In late 2024, my analog front end was in transition when I decided to upgrade my vinyl setup by replacing my reference turntable and cartridge. Due to production delays, I was without a reference turntable for over four months. During this period, I found myself listening to streaming more critically than ever before, which led me to discover a... Read More

If you were a suburban white kid of a certain age and remember when Elvis appeared, seemingly from outer space, everything in your world changed (unless your parents were into Black music). Of course there was an Ed Sullivan, Steve Allen, and Milton Berle show "pre-reel" that you may have caught, but this person looked and sounded like no one else you'd ever seen before on television and it didn't appear to be an act. Even when Elvis goofed around... Read More

(Press Release): Frank Sinatra’s seminal 1955 Capitol Records album In The Wee Small Hours will be reissued in Blue Note’s acclaimed Tone Poet Audiophile Vinyl Series on November 14 marking the album’s 70th anniversary. Produced for release by Joe Harley, the new Tone Poet Vinyl Edition was mastered by Kevin Gray from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at Record Technology Inc. (RTI), and comes packaged in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket featuring... Read More

The lack of archival Led Zeppelin releases in recent years makes the divided 2014-15 remaster campaign, complemented with unreleased studio rarities, a treasure trove in hindsight. Scholarly knowledge of seasoned collectors on what’s presumed to exist in the archives and what’s leaked in bootleg circles makes the group a no-brainer candidate for being one of rock’s most preserved acts. Nonetheless, Jimmy Page’s itch for perfectionism has left so little released in the... Read More

September 12, 2025 – (Los Angeles, CA) – Neil Young continues his Official Release Series (ORS) with the next installment of four classic titles from the 1990s. ORS Vol 6: Discs 26, 27, 28 & 29 collects HARVEST MOON, UNPLUGGED, SLEEPS WITH ANGELS and MIRROR BALLin the ongoing reissue series and is set for release on October 24 via Reprise Records.Each disc in the limited edition, numbered box sets will contain 4 albums with the original, historically accurate... Read More

Purple Rain arrived in 1984 two years after 1999, Prince's first big critical and commercial success. With songs like "Little Red Corvette" and the title track, It was the record that established his stardom and eventually in the year 1999, it was certified quadruple Platinum. Following his passing in 2016 it again charted, peaking at #7—better than when it was originally released.Quick aside: I was in Minneapolis on April 21st, 2016, the day Prince... Read More

In the audiophile ghettos otherwise known as "hi-fi shows" Hip Hop music rarely if ever gets played. Blues? Yes. A lot of blues. Jazz? Yes a lot of jazz. Some classical too, but Hip Hop? Not that I can recall. Some say it's the coarse language. Around the time this now classic Hip Hop album was released late 1992, a Howard Stern Show character named "Stuttering John" (Melendez) stuck a microphone in Walter Cronkite's face at a press event... Read More

(Press Release) When originally released back in 1992, The Chronic was a single LP with long sides. It was a gift that vinyl even existed for the original release – CDs ruled the day. By 2001, this landmark recording was split across 4 sides which allowed for a more authentic audio listening experience to what Dr. Dre had created.The Chronic One-Step release takes Dr. Dre’s production to a whole new listening level. The original analog master tapes were completely... Read More

‘The tide is turning… everything’s gonna be alright now’ - “New Millennium”. Progressive music is rarely the most commercially viable genre for the singles charts and radio. As the 1990s gave way to the 2000s, Dream Theater avoided becoming collateral damage catering to record label demands. The pressure to write shorter material and work with outside producers/writers—the antithesis of what the band had set out to accomplish—almost to it disbanding. Earning artistic... Read More

5LP/4CD + Blu-ray Box Set Containing Landmark 1967 Album Axis: Bold As Love In Stereo, Mono, ATMOS, Plus 40 Bonus Studio & Live Tracks (28 Previously Unreleased) Out On Experience Hendrix/Legacy Recordings(Press Release): Experience Hendrix L.L.C. and Legacy Recordings, are releasing Bold As Love by the Jimi Hendrix Experience on November 7. Produced by Janie Hendrix, original Experience recording engineer Eddie Kramer, and John McDermott, this expansive... Read More

TEAC's 500 series gives both experienced audiophiles and newbies a sane financial alternative and a clear pathway out of the Bluetooth speaker desert and into the world of high quality audio.Michael Fremer, editor & creator of the Tracking Angle made it clear when he asked me if I would like to write for this site that reviews need to be focused on a single piece of gear. As you will see, this set of reviews is decidedly different and I want to thank Michael... Read More

I am working on a major loudspeaker-design project. A floorstanding 3-way (not the speaker pictured, which is a pair of late 1990's era Ed Meitner designed Meliors). The Business Model is to deliver the sound quality of a $40,000/pair loudspeaker, but charge only $30,000/pair. Of course, in the Bill of Materials, I included both deluxe crossover parts, and the cryo processing of the completed crossovers. I was told that neither was necessary, but based on... Read More

Mark Volman — a founding member of the ’60s rock band The Turtles died on September 5th at age 78 following a “brief, unexpected illness” in Nashville, Tenn. In 2020 Volman was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia.