Product lines are generally drawn straight. But not always. That is, as you move up from the least expensive to the most expensive, quality usually improves—in terms of materials, construction consistency and performance, whether you're talking about cars, cameras or high performance audio. Phono cartridge lines are sometimes crookedly drawn. Spending more money on one doesn't guarantee that in the critical cantilever/stylus interface you'll be getting... Read More

The Chadster introduces the final 10 Atlantic 75th Anniversary reissues in the video below and you can read them in the image above. A quartet of Arethas covering the full span of her Atlantic days, a Ray, an Otis, a Billy Cobham solo fusion debut and two Boomer classics: one from Graham Nash and the other Stephen Stills' somewhat overlooked but notable solo debut album previously reissued by Classic Records decades ago. The big surprise, Death Cab For... Read More

12-CD, DIGITAL AND AUDIOPHILE 18-PIECE VINYL BOX SETS INCLUDING: 

HEATHEN, REALITY, A REALITY TOUR, THE NEXT DAY, THE NEXT DAY EXTRA, ★ (BLACKSTAR), PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED 31-TRACK LIVE SET FROM THE MONTREUX JAZZ FESTIVAL AND RE:CALL 6 FEATURING 41 RARE NON-ALBUM TRACKS NEW KILLER STAR (SESSIONS @ AOL LIVER VERSION, 23/09/03) AVAILABLE NOW AS A DIGITAL SINGLE

LISTEN HERE

PRE-ORDER DAVID BOWIE 6. I CAN’T GIVE EVERYTHING AWAY (2002 – 2016) PRE-ORDER HERE

CHINO, CA – July 10, 2025 — Manley Laboratories Inc., the California-based manufacturer of world-renowned analog tube audio gear, is proud to announce its acquisition by audio entrepreneur and industry veteran Dirk Ulrich. The all-cash transaction includes all operating assets of the company. Co-founder and longtime president EveAnna Manley is stepping aside from her active duties effective immediately, but will support a smooth transition for customers, employees and... Read More

Readers of this website might look to me as an authority on classical recordings, but one thing that continuously humbles me is just how vast and rich the history of this field is. This is especially true for the middle of the 20th century, where there are untold riches of performance and sound. By now, hopefully readers here are familiar with names like Kenneth Wilkinson, Lewis Layton and Robert Fine, but learning the history of recorded classical music is to... Read More

11 July 2025, Cambridgeshire, UK: AVID, the British founder-owned-and-run analogue hi-fi manufacturer, announces the launch of Relveo, its first all-new turntable in 12 years (£6,900). The new ground-up-design Relveo is the brainchild of AVID’s founder/owner Conrad Mas. Designed, engineered and handmade in England, the new Relveo marks a significant evolution for the company, blending AVID’s acclaimed engineering pedigree with a new suspension system, reimagined... Read More

The Surrounding Green is Fred Hersch’s first piano-trio album in seven years—a fact that surprised me when I looked it up, since, in Hersch’s 40-year recording career, nearly half of his albums up until then were trio dates, befitting of his classic-jazz style and repertoire. The six albums between 2017’s Live in Europe (with bassist John Hébert and drummer Eric McPherson) and his latest (with Drew Gress and Joey Baron) have been an eclectic bunch—solos, duets, a... Read More

RCA RECORDS & LEGACY RECORDINGS ANNOUNCE ‘SUNSET BOULEVARD’ — AN UNPRECEDENTED LOOK INTO ELVIS PRESLEY’S LOS ANGELES STUDIO SESSIONS (1970–1975), OUT AUGUST 1: 89 TRACKS OF RARITIES + NEW AND NEVER-HEARD MIXES TO BE RELEASED IN 5-CD AND DIGITAL FORMATS, ALONGSIDE A 2-LP ‘HIGHLIGHTS’ EDITIONLISTEN TO “BURNING LOVE – TAKE 2” — A RARE GLIMPSE INTO ELVIS’ FINAL TOP TEN HIT: SPECIAL ‘SUNSET BOULEVARD’ LISTENING EVENT SET FOR AUGUST 13 AT GRACELAND, AS PART OF ELVIS... Read More

Of all the groups from the Detroit music scene in the early 2000s, The White Stripes were a group shrouded in enigma. Jack and Meg White played into their mythology, portraying themselves as siblings to distance their reality as ex-spouses in a child-like uniform of red, white, and black regalia. Working within strict limitations couldn’t contain the duo’s explosive sound, which embodied the brash garage rock influence from the Motor City, yet was soaked in bluesy... Read More

(July 11, 2025 - Los Angeles, CA) On the 50th anniversary of its original release, the self-titled album has been certified 9x platinum by the RIAA. In celebration, Rhino announces two new premium audio editions of Fleetwood Mac, the 1975 album that ushered in a new era for the band. On August 8, the album will debut in Dolby Atmos and arrive on vinyl as part of the Rhino High Fidelity series of high-end reissues. The Blu-ray Audio edition features a new Dolby ATMOS... Read More

Analogue Productions and Acoustic Sounds founder Chad Kassem was recently interviewed by Marc Maron for his WTF podcast. This was a particularly good Kassem appearance because Maron is a serious record collector/audiophile enthusiast.In case you missed the news, you can listen to Marc and Chad chat here. Read More

Erhard Audio located in beautiful Ennis, Montana is the exclusive American Lundahl transformer distributor—(along with offering a variety of custom built, limited supply tube-based electronics) . It's basically a one couple operation with Holger doing the designing and building of a wide range of products and his wife Kelly doing the books—at least that's what I gleaned from the website. This review is way late and to the couple I apologize. Erhard supplied... Read More

Charles Lloyd is still out there making vital music at 87 but consider alto saxophonist Marshall Allen! He recently turned 101. The Sun Ra Arkestra leader since 1995 founded Marshall Allen's Ghost Horizon ensemble in 2022 featuring Arkestra guitarist DMHOTEP along with an ever changing roster of guest musicians from the worlds of jazz and rock including Immanuel Wilkins, The War on Drugs' drummer Charlie Hall, "divine" saxophonist James Brandon... Read More

Last night, 75,000 people in Cardiff got a big surprise: Oasis actually went on stage and played a full, two-hour gig.

Sure, that’s what was supposed to happen according to the tickets we all paid too much for (mine was £200 for the back left corner of the middle bowl), but there wasn’t much evidence that it’d seriously come to fruition. Liam and Noel Gallagher uncharacteristically did zero press, and only a couple photo shoots from which most of the results look composited. They’ve barely spent any time in the same room with each other. Announcing a reunion tour doesn’t mean that they’ve mended their relationship, and I half-expected to fly across the ocean and find that the notoriously combustible brothers had broken up again.

To peer through the lens of one of Elliott Smith’s key influences for a moment: everyone knows when an artist has made their Rubber Soul, White Album, or Let It Be. Rubber Souls are transitional — exotic, quixotic dispatches from early creative growth spurts. White Albums are post-genre, post-everything info dumps — essentially kits that dare you to build your own record. As for a band’s eventual demise, Let It Bes show the writing on the wall. And then there’s Sgt.... Read More

Los Angeles, CA (June 25, 2025) – Craft Recordings announces the latest titles in its acclaimed Original Jazz Classics series, which revisits celebrated, seminal and rare jazz albums. Upcoming reissues include Kenny Burrell’s Kenny Burrell; Kenny Drew’s Kenny Drew Trio; Frank Wess, John Coltrane, Paul Quinichette, Mal Waldron, Doug Watkins and Arthur Taylor’s Wheelin’ and Dealin’ and Sonny Criss’ Sonny’s Dream. Lacquers were cut AAA from the original tapes by Kevin... Read More

This riveting psychodrama in music remains one of Mahler’s most compelling and challenging creations, demanding the ultimate from performers and engineers alike. Joining the ranks of two previous Mahler outings from the Original Source (Karajan’s traversals of Symphonies 5 and 6), how does Abbado’s “Resurrection” fare?

Canadian saxophonist Cory Weeds first came to my attention as the reissue producer of a remarkable Charles Tolliver Music Inc double LP, Live at the Captain's Cabin (Reel to Real RTRLP 014) a limited to 500 edition released for last Fall's Record Store Day "Black Friday".Cohearent Audio's Kevin Gray had mastered several Reel to Real releases for Weeds (but for an "s" that could sound transactional) but until his granddaughter Amber... Read More