Michael Fremer

T.H.E. Show Newport 2012
Stein Music Exhibits Analog Accessories
Michael Fremer  |  Jun 02, 2012  |  0 comments
Germany-based Stein Music exhibited a Benz-Micro based boron cantilevered MC phono cartridge featuring a a brass mounting structure encased in a sandwiched body of Mahogany and carbon fiber
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T.H.E. Show Newport 2012
Vinyl Dominates 2012 Newport Audio Show
Michael Fremer  |  Jun 01, 2012  |  7 comments
Vinyl's continuing growth and perhaps future dominance of the high performance audio scene was evident on opening day of T.H.E. Show Newport 2012.
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Features
From an Analog Corner to an Analog Planet!
Michael Fremer  |  Jun 01, 2012  |  8 comments
My feelings about CDs were expressed early and often. Here with VPI's Harry Weisfeld. It’s a nerdy question, but do you remember where you were when you heard your first Compact Disc? For me it was at a Los Angeles Audio Engineering Society convention in 1982.

I’m neither a recording engineer nor an AES member. My invitation was courtesy the head of the sound department at Walt Disney, where I was then supervising the soundtrack to the movie TRON.”

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Album Reviews
Mobile Fidelity Gives Basement Tapes Penthouse Treatment
Michael Fremer  |  May 30, 2012  |  5 comments
Youngsters will find it hard to believe there was a time when legendary music existed for most only in whispers but that’s how it was in the late 1960s. We saw what they wanted us to see and heard what they wanted us to hear.
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News
Analog Versus Digital Put to the Test!
Michael Fremer  |  May 30, 2012  |  0 comments
Me and legendary recording engineer Roy Halee (not down by the schoolyard). Last week I did a series of in-store appearances in Colorado, first at the Audio Alternative in Fort Collins, where I saw a record collection larger than mine. I was jealous! Also attending that event were AudioQuest's Joe Harley who presented a fascinating history of Blue Note Records. Joe is also a partner with Ron Rambach in Music Matters, the Blue Note reissue label
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Phono Preamp Reviews
Liberty Audio B2B-1 phono preamplifier
Michael Fremer  |  May 24, 2012  |  3 comments
The all-FET, class-A, B2B-1 phono preamplifier ($1749), made in the US by Liberty Audio, is beautifully built inside and out, and comes in a heavy-duty aluminum chassis with a baked-on crackle finish and a 3/8"-thick, black-anodized faceplate. The overall build quality and physical appearance suggest something that costs more than $3000, which is probably what it would cost were it sold through retailers and not factory direct. It comes with a two-week return policy.
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Ask Mikey
Identifying Defective Tom Waits Reissues
Michael Fremer  |  May 16, 2012  |  3 comments
I wonder if you can help me. I've ordered the updated versions of the Rhino Tom Waits titles from Music Direct - those cut by Chris Bellman from the original analogue reels.
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Ask Mikey
Mercury Living Presence Six LP box?
Michael Fremer  |  May 15, 2012  |  14 comments
Ortofon cutting system #320 at UMG's Berliner facility in Hanover, Germany.

Recently UMG reissued the Mercury Living Presence Box Set, which consists of 6 LPs. Many websites including elusivedisc.com stated the LPs were pressed in Germany by Optimal. I have pre-order one set at Amazon.com before its release in the US market, the doubt part is the box set I received is pasted with small sticker indicating that it was “Made in Czech Republic”. Another doubt issue, since UMG have a ultimate pressing facility in Hanover, why they pressed this set title at Optimal ?

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Album Reviews
Graceland At Twenty Five
Michael Fremer  |  May 10, 2012  |  20 comments

Twenty five years later, it’s easy to forget that Graceland, the album many consider to be Paul Simon’s finest musical achievement, was mired in controversy because of the continuing disgraceland that was apartheid South Africa. Nelson Mandela was still jailed and protests erupted on college campuses and in the halls of government around the world.

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News
Legacy Announced Record Store Day Offerings.
Michael Fremer  |  Apr 01, 2012  |  0 comments
Legacy's Limited Edition Record Store Day Exclusives Include Releases From Ozzy Osbourne, Willie Nelson, Paul Simon, Janis Joplin, Uncle Tupelo, 311, Lou Reed, Miles Davis, The Clash, Patti Smith, Shuggie Otis, Iggy & the Stooges, and Tedeschi Trucks Band.
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