LATEST ADDITIONS

Nagra knows all about recording — and Nagra knows phono too. The venerable Swiss manufacturer, initially known for making top-shelf portable audio recorders as far back as 1951, have just announced the introduction of their latest hi-fi product, the Compact Phono preamp. Read on to see all the specs and features of the Nagra Compact Phono. . .

In September 1997, an album of inspired Cuban music, Buena Vista Social Club, was released to near universal acclaim, inspiring music fans and musicians around the world. Produced by legendary guitarist and world-music champion Ry Cooder, Buena Vista Social Club was a smash hit in the CD era, but Analogue Productions’ new, super-deluxe 180g 45rpm 4LP vinyl reissue of Buena Vista Social Club may very well be the best-sounding version of it to date. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see why he (and we!) feel the new 4LP edition of Buena Vista Social Club is a clear winner. . .

Jazz-listening bars have been popping up across New York City and many other U.S. cities seeking to replicate Japan’s jazz kissa culture, where listening is sacred and talking is verboten. Our resident jazz fanatic Ken Micallef recently commenced a semi-regular gig as a jazz DJ at Tokyo Record Bar in New York City, and here’s his firsthand report on how he got ready for it, how he tweaked their in-house system, and how the gig is going. . .

How many times do we just “make do” in the moment when it comes to handling some of the finer points and little details as we’re tweaking our LP playback systems? More often than not, we default to using flashlights or other inferior light sources whenever we’re calibrating and/or tweaking our turntables. Canadian manufacturer Reliable has a much, much smarter LED task-light solution for doing all that — namely, their new UberLight Frame, which was specifically designed with the audiophile in mind. Read on to see how the UberLight Frame has helped us shine a brighter light upon our detail-oriented table-adjustment proclivities. . .