October 29th, 2024
Warsaw Audio Video Show 2024 Takeaway lots of records, little vinyl playback By: Michael FremerLast weekend's Warsaw Audio Video Show was a great success: well-attended by the industry and consumers alike. There was a lot to see, hear, and if you were there to shop for records, so much to buy at very reasonable prices. Big international brands displayed at the sports stadium, smaller Polish and other nationality brands unfamiliar to American audiophiles showed at the Radisson Sobieski Blue Hotel, while a few of the larger, more established brands were... Read More
Comments: 0October 29th, 2024
Next Two Rhino High Fidelity Titles Promise Good Rocking Tonight (and every night) here's the press release By: Tracking Angle(October 24, 2024 - Los Angeles, CA) Rhino High Fidelity (Rhino Hi-Fi) continues its series of acclaimed limited-edition, high-end vinyl reissues by going punk rock! New Rhino Hi-Fi versions of The Stooges’ self-titled debut LP The Stooges and The Ramones’ seminal fourth full-length album Road To Ruin will be available on November 1, 2024, exclusively at Rhino.com and internationally at select WMG stores. Each release will be limited to 5,000 individually numbered... Read More
Comments: 0October 26th, 2024
VPI Introduces New Model One Turntable—Part of a New, Upgradeable "Forever Series" includes a new tonearm and suspension system By: Michael FremerAt a press event held at the VPI House in Old Bridge New Jersey, on Friday October 25th, VPI Industries introduced with the new Model One, a new upgradeable "Forever Series" turntable featuring a new gimbaled bearing "S" tone arm, a new 300 RPM motor and platter module and a new 3 point floating suspension. The new turntable, available with a hinged dustcover and blank armboard, includes a 10 year warranty. (I am at the Warsaw Audio Fair so was... Read More
Comments: 20October 24th, 2024
Piano-Palooza Virtuosic performances on the keyboard from Maurizio Pollini and Friedrich Gulda By: Michael JohnsonThe music of Polish composer Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) has, for most of my musical career, more or less eluded me. It may be because of his lack of non-piano output, or perhaps because his two piano concertos, while containing inspiring piano writing, didn’t really pass on that inspiration to the orchestral parts. I remember many rehearsals of boredom counting rests while listening to the brilliant melodic lines that Chopin gifted to the piano, but not us!My... Read More
Comments: 18October 23rd, 2024
Ruudy 6 Records Signs New Distribution Deal for Patrick Leonard's "It All Comes Down to Mood" Acoustic Sounds will now handle worldwide distribution By: Tracking AnglePatrick Leonard's acclaimed album It All Comes Down to Mood will now be distributed by Acoustic Sounds. Record retailers who tried to re-order the record from the previous distributor were told 'we're out" rather than "there's a new distributor," which only compounded the issues that lead to the distribution change.The album has so far received rave reviews in Goldmine and Germany's MINT Magazine, plus another in the next issue... Read More
Comments: 2October 23rd, 2024
Matthew Sweet Suffers Debilitating Stroke While On Tour Intervention Records Team reaches out to fans for support By: Tracking Angle
Just in from Intervention Records:
It is with a heavy heart that we share the devastating news that our longtime friend and musical inspiration, Matthew Sweet, suffered a debilitating stroke this past week while on tour in Toronto. What was meant to be a national celebration of his music has been tragically interrupted by this unforeseen event, forcing Matthew off the road and into a long and uncertain path to recovery.
Read More Comments: 10October 16th, 2024
darTZeel's Hervé Delétraz Responds to Rumors of the Company's Demise the future admittedly is dicey but the company soldiers on and those who know will continue to love the unique products By: Michael Fremer
darTZeel founder and brand creator Hervé Delétraz, responds here to a YouTube video posted by an equipment churner posing as a legit "audio reviewer" (whose understanding of journalistic ethics is null and void), based upon a rumor that Swiss specialty electronics manufacturer darTZeel has gone "out of business?" (the YouTuber added the question mark thinking it legitimized his pathetic rumor-mongering and makes hilarious his claim to be a "primary source" for audio information), spread by someone who really should know better since he is an industry veteran and his significant other is a publicist for a competing company has sparked a brouhaha second only to the ridiculous post on the Consequence of Sound website claiming "Vinyl Sales Plummet 33% in 2024", when of course 2024 is hardly over and the big Xmas season is ahead so how can he even suggest such a ridiculous headline, and the COS writer hasn't the professional chops to cite the source, which was a Billboard story that was also malignantly uninformed about Laminate's statistical modeling change that resulted in serious underreporting in the first half of 2024 and yes this is a run on sentence but so what, because as my source who knows what's really going on told me when I asked him before choosing to not publish a story based on the Bullboard story, when 2024's sales totals are calculated vinyl sales will be up by approximately 11%, which is very good considering how big the growth was in 2023 and yes I own darTZeel preamplifier and amplifiers and a phono pre-amp manufactured by the other company and the two companies, the individuals at both companies and their products work and play well together and now on with the show....
Read More Comments: 32October 16th, 2024
Pro-Ject Launches Flagship Signature 12.2 Turntable claims it's "A Serious Assertion of High-End Sound & Build" By: Tracking AngleMistelbach, Austria – October 14th, 2024 – Pro-Ject Audio Systems is immeasurably excited to announce the release of their latest Flagship turntable, the Signature 12.2. Over 80 lbs. of mass and 100+ high-precision CNC-machined parts comprise this masterpiece. All manufacturing is done in-house at the Pro-Ject factory, keeping costs down and passing savings along to serious vinyl enthusiasts. The 12” tonearm with removable headshell will keep cartridge lovers busy for... Read More
Comments: 1October 16th, 2024
With The New B-77 MKIII Revox Returns to Reel-to-Reel Tape Recorder Manufacturing! For reel, er real! By: Tracking AngleVillingen Oct. 16th, 2024:NEW! Revox B77 MK III - a new highlight in analog audio technologyThe Revox B77 is a true icon in the audio world. Famous and awarded for its outstanding sound reproduction and high-quality, sustainable construction, it sets the standard for analog audiophile excellence. As a Revox product, it reproduces music exactly as the artists recorded it in the studio.With the new B77 MK III Stereo Tape Recorder, the Revox development team has now... Read More
Comments: 7October 15th, 2024
Pro-Ject AS and CA Manufacturer's Comment Pro-Ject CEO Heinz Lichtenegger and an engineer respond to the reviews By: Tracking AngleMr. Lichtenegger's comment:"You mentioned that you were able to hear some resonances on the armtube. The AS version's aluminum tube design has typical aluminium resonance behaviour. Actually, the more sophisticated arm is the CA version of the premium series— the one piece carbon version)."This one is a carbon/aluminum design and so is way better damped than either a solely aluminum or solely carbon fiber. This construction and conical shape... Read More
Comments: 12October 14th, 2024
"Hollywood Dream: The Thunderclap Newman Story" by Mark Ian Wilkerson—Published By Third Man Books “We were the best worst band. We died but we died in style.” —Speedy Keen, Thunderclap Newman By: JoE SilvaIt’s sweet to think of a stoned Pete Townshend following Andy Newman along the high street, ducking behind cars and trying to get a look at the eccentric pianist who had recently turned up at his college to play an impromptu set. But that’s the level of fascination that The Who’s guitarist held for the man who would soon be dubbed “Thunderclap,” and eventually go on to be part of the trio who would record one indelible single, and a beloved long player before... Read More
Comments: 0October 12th, 2024
"Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision" More Hendrix From Experience Hendrix and Sony/Legacy sorry this is late--was traveling By: Michael FremerFriday, October 4 – Today marks the release of "Electric Lady Studios: A Jimi Hendrix Vision" by Experience Hendrix, L.L.C. in partnership with Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment. This deluxe box set available on 3CD/1 Blu-ray, or 5LP/1 Blu-ray includes the feature-length documentary of the same name, plus 39 tracks (38 previously unreleased) that were recorded by the new-look Jimi Hendrix Experience (Billy Cox on bass, Mitch... Read More
Comments: 11October 11th, 2024
Qobuz Launches DSD and DXD Download Platform DSD64 "Thriller" for example, costs $24.09 By: Tracking AngleParis, October 10th, 2024 - Qobuz, the music lovers’ high-quality music streaming and download platform, has announced the launch of Direct Stream Digital (DSD) and Digital eXtreme Definition (DXD) audio formats on its high-fidelity download store. Since it launched in France in 2007, and in the US in 2019, Qobuz has consistently led the field in terms of the highest-quality music files, and its introduction of DSD/DXD continues that commitment.Beginning today,... Read More
Comments: 17October 11th, 2024
Solid Hardwood Vinyl Storage From Tomfoolery Wood Co. If your IKEA shelves wont survive another move, it may be time for an upgrade By: Michael JohnsonRecently, members of my family expressed the desire for a vinyl record shelf that was “furniture grade”, aka something that was more suited for display in the main floor of a house than the bog-standard workhorse that is the Ikea Kallax. Not to knock the longstanding budget favorite of record collectors everywhere, but it doesn’t always fit into more finely-appointed environments.Thus, the search was on for a furniture piece to house some of the records kept at my... Read More
Comments: 23