November 25th, 2023
Technics' New SL-1200GR2 Could Be the Lineup's "Sweetest Spot" smooth sailing and detail too!By: Michael Fremer
Can you name an audio product that for more than fifty years has been manufactured and sold unchanged? Technics iconic SL-1200 isn’t one of them. Yes, today’s SL-1200 turntable series looks like the original SL-1200 introduced back in 1972 but looks can be deceiving. Nonetheless, YouTube comments confirm that many SL-1200 enthusiasts continue to believe that what they bought in 1972 is equal to or better than what Technics produces today, partly because most current... Read More
October 5th, 2023
U-Turn Orbit Special Lowers the Price of Great Turntable Performance electronic speed control, Magnesium one piece arm & more for $549By: Michael Fremer
U-Turn Audio made a bold move last year, introducing the Orbit Theory turntable fitted with its new 220mm effective length OA3 gimbaled bearing tonearm, featuring a one piece molded, tapered magnesium armtube. The research and development costs of the made in USA arm must have been relatively high, yet the Theory sells for a very reasonable $999. Now the company has introduced a full line of turntables featuring a variant of that arm, with prices starting at $249.... Read More
July 28th, 2023
Michell Gyro SE Turntable—A Classic Revisited you must believe in springsBy: Michael Fremer
The last time I checked in on a Michell turntable was back in 2000 with a review of the GyroDec SE. It's time for another review don't you think? This time it's the Gyro SE. The basic design strategy remains the same (though the original's Pabst A.C. motor has been replaced with a D.C. motor), so the big questions are: has the company maintained the high quality of the one reviewed twenty three years ago? And does the performance still hold up when... Read More
A $7900 turntable featuring an air bearing tangential tracking tonearm and an air bearing platter? Sounds too good to be true, and if it is true, what’s the catch? There must be a catch. I first spotted the manufactured in Slovenia Holbo at Munich High End 2022 and it sure caught my attention. It’s featured in a YouTube video I shot at that show, but with no American importer then, a review didn’t make sense. Now there is one: Metavoxaudio so now’s the time for a... Read More
April 28th, 2023
Rekkord Audio F 400 Automatic Turntable Does the Light Lifting agreeable sonic performance, reasonably priced, extremely well madeBy: Michael Fremer
"No serious vinyl fan wants an automatic turntable", or so they say. Whoever "they" are. Why is that? Back in "the day" whenever that was, many serious vinyl fans owned serious automatics from storied companies like Dual, Miracord, P-E and even Garrard, which for a while took an auto backseat to the superior German designs. You could ignore the stacking feature and simply play one at a time knowing that in your zonked out condition, at... Read More
April 8th, 2023
Oracle Audio Delphi Mk VII Turntable— A Piece Of Art Or A Record Player? the latest update to the Legend of Delphi, the MK VII offers reference-quality sonics.By: Dave McNair
Yes. The Oracle Audio Delphi Reference Mk VII turntable is both a work of art and a record player. With an MSRP of $14,000, I wouldn’t think it strange for a non-audiophile who is an art and music lover to purchase an Oracle simply for its beauty and to play records. The Delphi Mk VII, however, is much more than a pretty face. As gorgeous as the Delphi (of any version) looks, its primary raison d’etre is to extract information. It's a precision instrument helping... Read More
January 6th, 2023
Technics SL-100C Is a Grand Bargain a "Premium Class" 1200 variant for $1000By: Michael Fremer
Technics couldn’t have better timed its 2015 re-entry into the audio enthusiast turntable market. Interest in vinyl took off that year, growing 30% from around 9 million sold in 2014 to 12 million in 2015. Skeptics and naysayers credited Adele and Taylor Swift for that year’s boost but each year since, and without a “big” record, sales continued growing until in 2021, unit sales, not just dollar sales surpassed those of CDs. Vinyl was victorious. Sales grew 22% in the... Read More
December 9th, 2022
McIntosh "Green Lights" MT2 Turntable low profile, high performanceBy: Michael Fremer
Since its founding in 1949 by Frank McIntosh the company that bears his name has flirted with non-electronic analog gear, but only rarely did it produce any, though of course for decades records and to a lesser degree pre-recorded tapes were the primary sources of music. McIntosh produced its first AM-FM tuner, the MR55 in 1957 and later became well known for its MR67, MR71, MR77 and MR78 tuners, the latter two designed by Richard Modafferi, who was a Senior Engineer... Read More
October 3rd, 2022
U-Turn’s Orbit “Theory” Turntable Executes Well In Practice A substantial upgrade for this decade old companyBy: Michael Fremer
U-Turn’s most ambitious and sophisticated turntable yet offers an impressive package of performance-enhancing features starting with a new one piece molded tapered magnesium 220 millimeter effective length, gimbal-bearing tonearm fitted with a pre-installed and aligned nude elliptical stylus Ortofon 2M Blue MM cartridge. The Theory adds electronic speed control that at the turn of a knob lets you change from 33 1/3 to 45rpm . More important than the convenience of it,... Read More
September 21st, 2022
Pro-Ject's Evolution X8 Turntable Throws A Monkeywrench Into the Marketplace So much turntable for such an agreeable price (video review on TA YouTube channel)By: Michael Fremer
A rough definition of “economies of scale” is the cost advantages produced by increased production. The more you produce, the lower the cost per unit, measured by the amount of output per unit of time. Usually this results in either the same product costing less, or a better product for the same cost as a not as good previous one.It's not clear how long it takes to assemble, box and package Pro-Ject’s new X8 Evolution turntable, or how economies of scale work at... Read More