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To paraphrase Lawrence Welk: there are more new turntables than ever to choose from, good and bad, and this is certainly one of them. That's actually how a lot of reviews seem to go these days, and who can blame the poor writers? With seemingly every audio (and audio-adjacent) brand either getting into the turntable... Read More »

Ten-plus years have passed since I reviewed Audio-Technica's AT150MLx cartridge (HERE), a flagship moving magnet model without the flagship price: just $485 at the time. It featured a gold-plated boron cantilever tipped with a MicroLine stylus, a heavy metal body, MuMetal shielding between the channels and a ceramic mounting base to combat resonance. It was... Read More »

"I've got a big one for ya." So said the UPS guy the day this bruiser of an integrated amp showed up. Not too long ago, it would've been considered "full-featured," and heaven knows it's certainly full-figured. Pictures don't quite do it justice. For anyone used to Naim or Rega or Arcam or the like,... Read More »

Audio-Technica's least expensive moving magnet cartridge, the AT-VM95C, is a thoroughly entertaining product. While far from the last word in anything, it's a cartridge I've enjoyed on turntable and tonearm combos costing more than 100 times its price. For just $39, it tracks well and resolves in big, bold strokes that makes it just as... Read More »

I'm all for unburdening oneself of unwanted crap. As George Carlin said, if you didn't have so much goddamn stuff, you wouldn't need a house, which is really just a pile of stuff with a cover on it. Of course, that doesn't mean stuff is inherently bad. I, for one, enjoy sleeping in a bed.... Read More »

Speaker isolators…for a turntable? Yes, according to the folks at IsoAcoustics, or at least their surprisingly comprehensive online product selector tool. I wasn't expecting to find my audiophile-unapproved, direct drive turntables in the drop-down box, but there they were. And at the top of their list showing recommended vibration control devices were the GAIA-III screw-on... Read More »

Would it be damning this cartridge with faint praise to simply call it nice? I hope not, because that's precisely what the entry-level model from Mobile Fidelity Electronics is. That's not to say inoffensive, as in competent but not particularly inspiring. The StudioTracker is, in fact, fairly sophisticated and affable for such an inexpensive example... Read More »

Until recently, I'd discourage turntable shoppers on tight budgets from buying new. It was too easy to pick up a very competent, built-like-a-tank Japanese direct drive, or something more modest like a classic Dual CS-505, for short money. They last for decades and easily compete with new models in the $500 range. However, hipster types,... Read More »

If you've never heard one of the new, wood-bodied Grado cartridges, you may be under the same misconceptions I was. Maybe because they look so pipe-and-slippers, I'd assumed they'd sound commensurately warm, cozy, syrupy-sweet, homemade, and comforting. Or maybe it's because my first experience with a Grado cartridge—a whopping two decades ago—left me with the... Read More »

This is too much streaming player and not enough at the same time. It feels like something only a forty-something could love, which I am, and I do. I love that it's a very good DAC, especially since my Rega Apollo will likely be my last CD player; when it dies, I'll just wade into... Read More »

Did high output moving coil cartridges morph into some kind of oddball niche product when I wasn't paying attention? Despite the considerable press attention paid to the relatively new line of Hana cartridges, nearly all of it has focused on the low-output versions. The precious few reviews mentioning the high-output versions treated them as, at... Read More »

Reboots are everywhere these days, and it's easy to understand why. Capitalizing on existing goodwill and warm nostalgia is a surefire strategy for attracting an instant audience. My generation especially is eating it up. I mean, come on, who isn't binge watching those over-the-hill karate kids Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence still trading kicks in... Read More »

This is one of the best, most fun-sounding headphones I've ever heard, at any price. It comes from an unlikely source, and I probably would have never discovered it at all had I not totally revamped my office system this year to transition from physical media to streaming. I'm confident it's as good as I... Read More »

The AT-VM95C is a cheap cartridge. Not merely affordable, not budget-friendly, but downright cheap. It's $34. I took two people to Starbucks the other day and did more damage. A replacement stylus is $21. What else can you call something priced less than fast food? And, more importantly, should you take it seriously? Of course... Read More »

The only thing "entry level" about Audio-Technica's new AT-LP1240-USB is the price. MSRP is $530, and the street price is closer to $450. It's easily competitive with any source I can think of for that money—analog or digital—and it runs rings around some of them. Sorry if that's vague, but I wanted to let you know upfront that this... Read More »

The plan was to assemble an inexpensive, two-channel home theater for my rec room. Nothing fancy, just a cheap receiver and Blu-Ray player with some hideaway speakers that blend in above the fireplace. There's no shortage of options. Polk Audio has always been a reliable choice, and I liked the sleek looks of the first... Read More »