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A Stellar Show Debut For Florida Audio Expo
Florida Audio Expo 2019
Michael Fremer  |  Feb 11, 2019  |  5 comments
Suppose a group of exposition amateurs produced an audio show. What do you think would happen? The crew that created last week's Florida Audio Expo had no show producing experience and did not know what to expect when they went into this dicey venture. They succeeded beyond what must have been their most optimistic projections. From left to right in the photo are Bart Andeer (President of the Suncoast Audiophile Society and of Resolution Acoustics), Ammar "A J" Jadusingh (owner of Soundfield Audio), AnalogPlanet editor Michael Fremer, Mike Bovaird (proprietor of Suncoast Audio, a Sarasota high end store) and John Chait (a longtime DIY audiophile and member of both the Suncoast and Sarasota audio clubs).

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Anthony Wilson's "Songs and Photographs" Takes Listeners (and Viewers) to a Protected Space
Album Reviews
Michael Fremer  |  Feb 11, 2019  |  9 comments
One of the Anthony Wilson-shot photographs in the coffee table quality photobook housed within Songs and Photographs’s handsome, textured paper slipcase— along with the jacketed 180 gram LP (Goat Hill Recordings GHR-005)—is of a church’s red brick back wall, in front of which are three gravestones. The late afternoon sun casts against the wall three long offset shadows.

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Analog Corner #110
Analog Corner
Michael Fremer  |  Feb 10, 2019  |  First Published: Sep 01, 2004  |  3 comments
Reviewed this month: Kuzma's Stabi Reference turntable

A young reader who's been a Stereophile subscriber since junior high, and an "Analog Corner" fan for nearly eight years, sent me a copy of "A Vinyl Farewell," by David Browne, which appeared in the October 4, 1991 issue of Entertainment Weekly. In the article, Browne kisses the LP goodbye, lovingly, nostalgically, and not at all dismissively. Accompanying the article is a photo, perhaps unintentionally suggestive, of an unusually large stylus floating above a record and about to make contact with a hairball of dust. The caption reads, "Playing an LP suddenly feels as foreign as a druidic ceremony."

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Florida Audio Expo 2019 Show Coverage Begins Tomorrow!
Florida Audio Expo 2019
Michael Fremer  |  Feb 07, 2019  |  5 comments
The Florida Audio Expo here in Tampa, Florida is on course to be a successful left coast of Florida show that has the potential to become an annual event—judging by the manufacturer and retail participation. Eight floors of exhibitors have been setting up all day. According to the show publicists, Saturday's attendance will "blow your mind", based on ticket pre-sales and social media interest. Bring it on! That's all there is to report for now.
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"Lachesis/Clotho/Atropos" Spells Mind Blowing Musical Pleasure
Album Reviews
Michael Fremer  |  Feb 06, 2019  |  5 comments
You know those records that “got away”? The ones you saw in the bins when they first were released that you mean to buy but somehow didn’t? One for me was Peter Walker’s Rainy Day Raga on Vanguard. I’ll pick up a copy eventually (I said that before, back in the ‘60s, but this time I mean it!) but for now there’s this old-time/modern psych-drone fest with the recently resurfaced Walker, now in his 80s, collaborating with Harmony Rockets (better known as Mercury Rev along with Wilco’s Nels Cline, Sonic Youth’s Steve Shelley and Martin Keith.

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Malachi’s First MC Cartridge: Ortofon’s Quintet Black S
Cartridge Reviews
Malachi Lui  |  Feb 04, 2019  |  43 comments
“The next piece you need to upgrade is your cartridge,” my editor repeatedly reminded me for months. After receiving my Rega Planar 3 from a generous AnalogPlanet reader, I felt perfectly content with the pre-mounted Rega Elys 2 MM cartridge, as my new system (complete with AudioQuest speaker cables) was already a large improvement from my Audio-Technica LP120 turntable connected to a Panasonic home theater system. However, I researched cartridge upgrades nonetheless and came up with three potential moving coil choices ranging from $524 to $795, but I eventually settled on the $999 Ortofon Quintet Black S.

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AV Options ULTRA-HBL 6 Outlet Power Strip with 6 Foot AVO Deep Cryo Cord
Features
Michael Fremer  |  Feb 03, 2019  |  13 comments
In a modern high-performance audio system running out of A.C. jacks is easy, especially if you have only a single-ganged wall jack. But even with a dual jack you’ve only got four-plug A.C. access. So, what’s the solution? If you believe in power conditioning (which is hardly controversial since every recording studio in the world does, though some audio fools don’t), you can add additional jacks with one of those.

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Analog Corner #109
Analog Corner
Michael Fremer  |  Feb 03, 2019  |  First Published: Aug 01, 2004  |  0 comments
Not quite a meeting of the minds at Home Entertainment 2004: Michael Fremer (right) explains to Ken Kessler (left) why LPs sound better than CDs. (Photo: John Atkinson)

It wasn't exactly heroic or even particularly daring, but has anyone ever attempted to install a phono cartridge while facing a room full of audiophiles at a hi-fi show, as I did during my "Analog Clinic" at Home Entertainment 2004 in May? Not that I know of.

Despite the Clinic's being scheduled at 2:30 Sunday afternoon, the butt end of the Show, the seats were filled.

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AnalogPlanet Spins Vinyl at Next Week's Florida Audio Expo
News
Michael Fremer  |  Feb 01, 2019  |  4 comments
At next week's Florida Audio Expo in Tampa, Florida (Thursday-Sunday, February 8-10th), AnalogPlanet editor Michael Fremer will spin records and play 96/24 files from vinyl in the VAC/The Audio Company/Von Schweikert Audio Kilgore Suite located on the second floor of the Embassy Suites by Hilton at Tampa Airport Westshore located five minutes from the airport.

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AnalogPlanet Visits Manley Laboratories
Features
Michael Fremer  |  Jan 31, 2019  |  8 comments
In late December AnalogPlanet paid a long overdue visit to Manley Labs' Chino, California headquarters. "Long overdue" because the last visit was at least fifteen years ago—before you could record a factory tour in high-definition.

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