LATEST ADDITIONS

When TALK Electronics talks, we listen. (Or something like that.) To that end, the UK manufacturer has duly alerted us that one of the brands under their umbrella has just released something worthy of our attention, so our ears have officially perked up. Meet the Edwards Audio MC6 phono preamp, which is hand-built in the UK and features an internal low-noise linear power supply, dedicated MM and MC stages, and an RIAA EQ circuit using passive treble and active bass topology. Read on to see more features and specs for the MC6. . .

One objection that vinyl playback naysayers often bring up is having to get up to flip the record or change tracks, or to repeat a favorite one. Not so with the forthcoming CoolGeek TS-01 turntable, as you can control this record player from your listening position via a remote controller. Read Julie Mullins’ report to see all the features and specs of the TS-01 are purported to be. . .

At the tail end of last year, we reviewed the inaugural release in UMe’s most excellent new Vinylphyle reissue series — The Velvet Underground & Nico’s 1967 self-titled debut LP — and this week, we’re going to dig into two more offerings from this most excellent series’ first run of releases: a) Bob Marley & The Wailers’ June 1977 global breakthrough LP Exodus, and b) The Band’s underappreciated yet iconic November 1975 original-lineup studio swan song, Northern Lights – Southern Cross. Read Mark Smotroff’s two-fer review to see why both of these Vinylphyle LPs deserve your immediate attention. . .

Upon the first listen to the opening notes of The Smashing Pumpkins’ debut single “I Am One” in mid-1990, we were immediately hooked on the four-piece Chicagoland band’s conjoined drive hard but also play dreamy dynamic — which was even more in evidence on the next song, “Siva,” which sported not one but two low-volume vocal/noodly guitar breaks before the band chaos returned to take the track back by storm. The ensuing album those tracks appeared on, May 1991’s Gish, further cemented our love of SP’s inventive explosiveness. To celebrate the impending 35th anniversary of Gish, multiple 180g 1LP vinyl variants via Martha’s Music/Virgin/UMe will mark the occasion on May 29, 2026, literally 35 years and a day after the album’s original release. Read AP editor Mike Mettler’s report to see why Gish endures, and why you need to hear it anew on vinyl. . .