LATEST ADDITIONS

Mark Smotroff  |  Apr 07, 2023  |  3 comments

These days, a new Depeche Mode album is cause for celebration, and the band’s just released 180g 2LP set, Memento Mori, is worthy of deep listening and devoted examination. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see if Memento Mori stands tall with other classic entries in Depeche Mode’s storied vinyl catalog. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Apr 06, 2023  |  23 comments

We’re very much looking forward to all the new analog gear expected to be shown at this year’s AXPONA in Schaumburg, Illinois from April 14-16, and Luxman has already given us an advance taste by letting us know they’ll be introducing their brand-new flagship PD-191A turntable at the big show. Read on to get all the respective specs, features, and stats about this cool, vintage-looking new ’table. . .

Mark Smotroff  |  Apr 05, 2023  |  11 comments

Two fascinating and enlightening new, concurrent Frank Zappa live albums come from the spring of 1980, an underexplored period of his career when he toured with a somewhat stripped-down reinvention of his touring group. The 2LP Zappa ’80 Mudd Club set was recorded near the start of the tour on Zappa’s beloved Nagra reel-to-reel analog portable in the storied, tiny New York club, while the 3LP Zappa ’80 Munich release is Frank’s very first all-digital live recording of the same band at the end of the tour, as captured in a huge German arena. Read on to see how Mark Smotroff feels both recordings stack up in the ever-expanding Zappa-on-vinyl catalog. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Apr 03, 2023  |  3 comments

I don’t know about you, but I still quite enjoy seeing tubes on full display when it comes to the design philosophy behind certain types of analog gear. Case in point: the simply tube-ariffic look of Marchand’s LN112 tube phono preamp, which is available in both MM and MC versions. Read on to find out more about Marchand’s fine phono preamp options. . .

Analog Planet Staff  |  Mar 31, 2023  |  45 comments
Register to win a Cleer Audio SCENE Water Resistant Bluetooth Speaker (value $99.99) we are giving away.

"The SCENE Water Resistant Bluetooth speaker is portable and supports up to 12hrs of playback. IPX7 waterproof rated, giving you a high-quality music experience for any adventure. Scene features a digital amplifier, dual 48mm drivers and passive radiators bring the beats."

[This Sweepstakes is now closed.]

Mike Mettler  |  Mar 30, 2023  |  4 comments

There’s a special intuitive connection certain musicians share that cannot be qualified in technical terms, but can instead be described as being both magical and mysterious. Case in point: the 60-years-and-counting musical mindmeld between lead vocalist Colin Blunstone and keyboardist/vocalist Rod Argent, the twin driving forces behind British invasion stalwarts The Zombies. Still going strong today, The Zombies are on the precipice of the imminent release of their seventh studio album, Different Game, which comes out in fine 1LP form on March 31 via Cooking Vinyl. In a recent Zoom interview with AP editor Mike Mettler, Zombies vocalist Colin Blunstone discussed the connective sonic tissue between Different Game and their 1968 masterpiece Odessey and Oracle, why he prefers hearing songs like “Time of the Season” in mono, and why the Odessey album benefitted from some things The Beatles left behind in EMI Studios while they were recording their legendary June 1967 Sgt. Pepper album. Read on to glean all the properly seasoned details. . .

Mark Smotroff  |  Mar 29, 2023  |  6 comments

While we haven’t followed every twist and turn of the career of Miley Cyrus, we have kept open ears and open minds regarding her evolution as an adult and bona-fide recording artist, someone not to be dismissed outright because of preconceived notions about who she is and where she comes from. To that end, AP editor Mike Mettler asked Mark Smotroff to check out her hit new LP Endless Summer Vacation, and here’s what he discovered. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Mar 28, 2023  |  13 comments

For the love of music. It’s a statement of purpose we can all identify with — and it also happens to be the tagline for Michell, the iconic UK audio brand founded back in the mid-1960s long known for their high-quality reference turntables, tonearms, cartridges, and accessories. Of late, we’ve been enamored with the rebranded and duly updated Michell Gyro SE turntable — which, we might add, can also be properly paired with the company’s TecnoArm 2 tonearm. Read on to find out more about this quite cool ’table and tonearm combo. . .

Mark Smotroff  |  Mar 24, 2023  |  3 comments

A new 180g 2LP edition of Elton John’s classic January 1972’s Honky Château album has just been released, and it includes two sides comprising solely of unreleased session demos. Mark Smotroff gives us his take on the expanded edition one of the Rocket Man’s most hailed early LPs, the one that kicked off an incredible chart runs of six consecutive No. 1 albums. . .

Mike Mettler  |  Mar 24, 2023  |  17 comments

Blood, Sweat & Tears were on top of the world — and then, suddenly, they weren’t. A new documentary titled What the Hell Happened to Blood, Sweat & Tears? seeks to set the record straight. Read on to see what BS&T co-founding drummer Bobby Colomby and AP editor Mike Mettler discussed when they got on Zoom together earlier this week to talk about the impetus for the documentary, the secrets contained within the runout grooves of certain records he produced, and his view of what the best-sounding Blood, Sweat & Tears track on vinyl is, and why. . .

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