Vertere founder and chief designer Touraj Moghaddam recently introduced two new cartridges that he says represent "significant improvements" over their predecessors, which will still be available and are priced below the two new ones.The $6499 XtraX MC (pictured at the top) explained in the press release bullets:The body is precision CNC machined from solid aluminium alloy and hard anodised.Threaded body to accept the supplied stainless steel thumb screws... Read More

The three new Pick it models are the MC3, the MC9 and the Pick it Pro Balanced—a unique "True Balanced" MM design. Parts are sourced in Japan with the cartridges built in Europe. The MC9 uses a Pro-Ject specific "Special Elliptical" stylus and a cryogenically treated cantilever plus a "Telar 57 pure iron square cross coil around which is wound 6N linear crystal copper wire. Output is .35mV, with 1.8g optimal tracking. The body is black... Read More

Analog Solutions SL, Fuerteventura, Spain, October 16, 2023- Analog Solutions SL (formerly Swedish Analog Technologies AB) is thrilled to announce it has chosen MIBS Distro NA to manage all aspects of SAT's distribution, marketing and brand management in North America, effective immediately.SAT is among audio's most coveted and exclusive brands. Since the introduction of its original Pickup Arm in 2015, SAT has cemented its place at the pinnacle of the audio... Read More

Clint J. Holley III's Well Made Music mastering studio opened in Cleveland, Ohio in 2010 and began cutting lacquers. In 2021 the company moved from the birthplace of Rock 'n' Roll and home of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, to Bristol, Virginia, known as "the Birthplace of Country Music". The studio currently cuts on two restored Neumann VMS-70 lathes (the number refers to the year of manufacture). Both have been in service since the early 1970s. One was obtained in 2009 from somewhere in New Jersey. The second was shipped over in 2013 from The Netherlands.

Schiit Audio's new $399 Skoll MM/MC phono preamp features fully discrete, differential Class A zero feedback gain stages and a fully passive RIAA network. No op-amps are in the circuit. Skoll’s gain stage is a compound JFET-BJT pair running on "massive" 64V rails for enhanced linearity and freedom from overload. The result is over 100dB signal to noise ratio for 40dB of gain, and up to 70dB of gain available.Additional features are relay switched inputs... Read More

Here's the press release: FORT LAUDERDALE, FL — Wireworld Cable Technology, a long-standing leader in the audiophile and professional A/V cable industry, recently announced the release of four new cables for turntables with RCA plug connections. These four cables, named Solstice 8, Eclipse 8, Silver Eclipse 8 and Platinum Eclipse 8, feature Wireworld’s patented DNA Helix conductor geometry and Silver Tube RCA plugs, along with ultraquiet COMPOSILEX 3 insulation... Read More

At a hotel adjacent to company headquarters, Bill Voss, Technics' American Business Development Manager, introduced the new $2199 "next gen" SL1200GR turntable featuring a revolutionary new Delta Sigma drive control technique said to produce smooth, accurate rotational stability and a new power supply similar to the one used in the top of the line SL-1000R, said to produce an exceptionally low noise floor. Based on the informal listening session... Read More

Technics just unveiled its "next gen" direct drive turntable, the SL-1200GR2 (silver) and the SL01210GR2 (black). According to the press release, the new turntable "...features a revolutionary new drive control technique for smooth, accurate rotational stability and a new power supply for an exceptionally low noise floor. "The newly upgraded turntable is equipped with standout audio and design features, including: · A new Delta-Sigma-Drive and a... Read More

This press release lists prices in Euros only so not sure if this launch is simultaneously in Europe and the USA but it's newsworthy nonetheless. At Munich High End 2023 Pro-Ject Audio Systems launched an extensive "EVO" line of new tonearms in both standard and premium versions that occupied a rather large sized wall. This photo shows only some of the arms on that wall.Pro-Ject EVO arms at Munich High End 2023The lineup includes 9",10" and... Read More

(Photo credit: Sarah Beastman Hamilton [Lebeast Photography of Vancouver, BC, Canada])Greece-based Agnew Analog, recently introduced the Agnew Analog Reference Instrument Type 612, a brand new disk mastering lathe, now available to order. It's the first new "from the ground up" lacquer cutting lathe to be introduced in since 1966 which is when Neumann introduced its VMS 66 (L.J. Scully began making them in the 1930s for 78rpm record manufacturing). The... Read More

Online used record seller AudioPhileUSA offers a few accessories on its website including Mobile Fidelity Original Master Sleeve, but until now, the company, which was founded in the U.K. decades ago by online record selling pioneer John Turton, who brought it to America before selling it to the current owner Mark Hoover, didn't offer record cleaning accessories. That's now changed with the introduction of the GrooveWasher record cleaner line.While the basic... Read More

Montreal – July 26, 2023 – Focal Naim North America is excited to announce the addition of the highly reputable brand AVIDHIFI to its North America distribution network. With the incorporation of AVIDHIFI, Focal Naim North America adds a lineup of high-end turntables made in England to its current audio partners. “Focal Naim North America is proud to distribute AVIDHIFI with its exceptional build quality and outstanding sonic performance,” said Roman Vet, VP Marketing... Read More

During the past decade, consumer demand for vinyl outpaced pressing capacity, resulting in delays of as much as 10 months. But that changed in the past year when existing players on both sides of the Atlantic dramatically expanded volume capabilities by adding machinery, and new plants became operational. Moderator Eric Astor, whose Furnace Record Pressing recently sold a majority ownership stake to Metallica, discusses the topic with pressing newcomer Connie Comeau, COO of The ADS Group/Copycats Media, and two indie label execs jazz specialist Zev Feldman, and Andrew Rossiter, of reissue label Org Music.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 13, 2023Audio ResearchFrom the Office of Our CEO: A Message from Valerio CoraMaple Grove, MN: Audio Research gains ground as new ownership makes strides towardaddressing customer questions about what, if anything, will be changing at ARC.First, existing and future customers should be aware that all Audio Research warranties – past,present, and future – remain intact and will be honored.Second, Audio Research has a stable and abundant supply... Read More

Hagerman Audio Labs recently announced aesthetic upgrades to a number of its most popular and popularly priced products including the $589 Cornet MM vacuum tube phono preamplifier pictured above, now upgraded into a metal chassis with optional available wood side panels.Hagerman Cornet "sporting wood"The circuit topology features common cathode class-A gain stages with no feedback, passive equalization, and cathode follower output buffers with constant... Read More