I've been buying records in antique and second-hand stores, thrift shops, and Goodwills since 1965. In my town, there was a Goodwill store with a large display table, approximately six feet by four feet, piled high with hundreds of unsleeved 45 rpm records priced at two for five cents. I would go through them every few weeks searching for Beatle records, always unsuccessfully, except once when I found a new copy of Swan 4182 "Sie Liebt Dich (She Loves... Read More

The press release poop: Los Angeles, CA (May 30, 2023)‒Jazz Dispensary is proud to announce the next harvest of its offerings from the acclaimed Top Shelf series, with a triple groove of reissues featuring Jack DeJohnette’s Sorcery, Idris Muhammad’s Black Rhythm Revolution!, and Leon Spencer’s Where I’m Coming From. These reissues mark the first wide vinyl release of all three albums in over 40 years. As with every title in the Top Shelf series, which reissues the... Read More

Massive new career retrospective on Athens, GA's college rock heroes from a former local scenester

In 1970 Elektra Records founder Jac Holzman thought that the many wonderful, obscure singles by post-Beatles American rock bands should be preserved. He assigned staffer Lenny Kaye to assemble a lineup that was released in December 1972 as "Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965-1968". It didn’t sell well enough to make the charts. In 1998 Rhino’s four-CD box set—compiled with Kaye’s input—got the attention it deserved and sold... Read More

Some important products are in this video shot Sunday, the show's final day. Especially interesting was the Supatrac arm made in Chelsea, London, England as well as the Takumi turntable, made in The Netherlands, though the name sounds Japanese. High End 2023 was a fantastic show in every way. Details upcoming in the final show post. When it was over and I'd returned to my hotel room to edit video, by around 8 PM I got really hungry but there were no... Read More

At audio shows, music can all too easily be reduced to just signal –  a tool by which to evaluate equipment, or the success or failure of a gear maker to get decent room sound. All the more reason to celebrate the people bringing great, eclectic and surprising music – and great sound. Jan Omdahl spoke to some music-loving audio mavericks at Munich’s High End.

Saturday was the first of two consumer days at High End Munich 2023 and the MOC was packed from 10:00 AM opening time until just about the 6 PM close. Among Saturday's highlights was a special demo of CH Precision's new P10 two chassis phono preamp—a step up from the already outstanding P1/X1 combo that's my solid state reference. A direct comparison made clear that the P10 is even better than the P1/X1, but of course there will be a full upcoming... Read More

Friday morning at High End Munich 2023 I participated in a panel discussion speculating on the future of hi-fi hosted by Olaf Adam editor of hif.de. The other panelists were Ljubiša Miodragović editor of Serbian audio site Hi Files and Stuart Smith, editor of HiFi Pig.I began by quoting something I'd written in a Music Connection op-ed back in the mid 1980s. The editorial was so controversial the editor put at the top a disclaimer making sure readers knew this... Read More

High End 2023 day two for me began as a panel discussion participant in an event titled "Future-Fi" hosted by Olaf Adam, Chief Editor of the German hi-fi website hifi.de. The other panelists were Ljubiša Miodragović from Serbia, who writes for "Hi-Files Audio Video Magazin", and from Great Britain, Hi-Fi Pig's editor in chief, Stuart Smith from Great Britain. We were there to predict the future of audio.We had a full house for a lively... Read More

Miracles are made of this: i flew into Germany a few days early to attend Clearaudio's 45th anniversary party. A factory tour video of that will post following High End show coverage. I flew to Zurich Sunday evening the 14th and got on a short Swiss Air flight from there to Nuremberg. The plane was hit by lightening half way there so had to turn around and return to Zurich. Upon landing we were told to quickly exit and head down to the gate where the airline had... Read More

Rhino Records today announced a new "audiophile grade" limited to 5000 copies reissue series of rock and jazz classics mastered by Kevin Gray using the original master tapes, plated and pressed at Optimal in Germany and available only on the Rhino website. (However, as of the press release launch time, Friday May 19th at 9 A.M., neither of these records appears on the Rhino website).The first two titles are The Cars, the group's 1978 debut and... Read More

[Minneapolis, May 17, 2023] - We are thrilled to announce that Valerio Cora, Founder and CEO of Acora Acoustics Corporation, will be at the helm of a new independent corporation dedicated to guiding the Audio Research brand toward a future that will grow its strengths and legacy. This strategic vision and process aims to uphold the visionary and uncompromised principles laid down by the esteemed William Z. Johnson, the founding father of high-end audio and the visionary behind ARC.

Looking to get away from the same old, same old? Yearning for a new view? Perhaps you’ve got a hankering for some exotic spices that you’ve never tasted before. Well, you could zip around the internet and book a trip to a distant and far-off locale. Or, you could simply broaden your musical horizons by buying something new for your turntable that has the ability to transport you to a place - or time - that you’ve never visited. After all, what starts as simply a... Read More

I leave for Germany this evening, first attending Clearaudio's 45th anniversary celebration outside of Nuremberg, then motoring to Munich for High End 2023. A lot planned there, then taking a train to Switzerland to visit CH Precision in advance of a review of the company's new P10 phono preamplifier. Trip planning for that began in February. Now's the time to plan your trip to Seattle for Pacific Audio Fest Last year's debut show was a big... Read More

From the press release: Mitchell was joined on stage at the Newport Folk Festival by a star-studded band led by Carlile, the 9x GRAMMY®-winning singer/songwriter. Other performers included Carlile’s bandmates Phil and Tim Hanseroth, Wynonna Judd, Marcus Mumford, Celisse, Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of Lucius, Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes, and more.Mitchell delighted the audience, blending her voice with the other singers on stage on classics like “Big Yellow Taxi,” “A... Read More

Maple Grove, MN. May 10th, 2023—TrackingAngle.com Exclusive! Audio Research Corporation founded in 1970 by William Z. Johnson and most recently owned by TWS Enterprises, a company formed by former ARC employee Trent Suggs, no longer exists, but a new Audio Research Corporation has been created that will keep the company running as it has been for more than 50 years and at its current Maple Grove, MN headquarters. For all intents and purposes, customers, dealers, suppliers, employees and everyone doing business with, and loving the old Audio Research Corporation should not notice that anything has changed. The new owners will be announced Monday May 15th

Soundsmith this week announced a series of new products timed for introduction just before Munich High End 2023. After a long hiatus, the company will again participate with a sound booth in Hall 3, stand N06/P07 and show these newly developed products.The picture at the top is of two TI (transimpedance phono preamp compatible) cartridges: the Hyperion MKII ES-TI and Sussurro MKII ES-TI. They are designed got be used with Soundsmith's new MCP-5 transimpedance... Read More

VPI announced today the Titan Direct turntable. Performance and technology are claimed to exceed that of VPI's Avenger Direct Drive with "improved double stack chassis", "magnetic direct drive system", "air suspension isolation" and "additional resonance canceling technology".The new Titan Direct, capable of mounting up to three arms comes standard with Fat Boy Gimbal tonearm and VTA base. VPI expects delivery to commence... Read More