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News
Fire at Pallas Pressing Plant Destroys CD/DVD Duplication Facility
Michael Fremer  |  Apr 01, 2013  |  First Published: Dec 31, 1969  |  7 comments
This is no April Fool's Day trick: a fire last night destroyed the Pallas Pressing Plant's CD/DVD duplication facility. Fortunately there were no injuries.

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News
Marantz Launches NA-11S1 Reference Class Network Audio Player and USB DAC
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 31, 2013  |  First Published: Dec 31, 1969  |  2 comments
What's a story like this doing in an analog space? While it's a news item covering a new digital product, I was honored to be the only American audio writer invited to the launch so while the piece will be published in Stereophile, I decided to post it here as well. I hope you find at least the history of Marantz interesting, but also the concept of downloading DSD files from the Internet and playing them back from a computer. In any case, I think of music services like Spotify and Pandora the "Evatone sheets" of our digital era. You can use them to audition new music before dropping your hard earned cash on the vinyl version.—Ed.

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News
Phil Ramone, One of the Record Producing and Engineering Greats, Dead at 79
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 30, 2013  |  First Published: Dec 31, 1969  |  5 comments
Legendary record producer and engineer Phil Ramone passed away today at age 72.
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News
Omnivore's Record Store Day Vinyl Collectibles Include Big Star Documentary Soundtrack Album
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 29, 2013  |  First Published: Dec 31, 1969  |  0 comments
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Omnivore Recordings will release limited-pressing vinyl collectibles that are musts: The soundtrack to the long-awaited feature-length Big Star film documentary "Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me" will be available in a special, limited edition (4,000 worldwide) 180-gram, two-LP translucent yellow vinyl pressing ahead of its standard release configurations
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Analog Corner
Analog Corner #33
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 26, 2013  |  First Published: Dec 31, 1969  |  3 comments
One of Mikey's best sounds at CES: the Hales Transcendence 5 speakers powered by Balanced Audio Technology amplification. All photos by John Atkinson

Call it a convention, call it a trade exhibition, call it CES, call it "Bernie''—no matter how you laser-slice it, it's a show. And for a show to succeed, it needs an audience. For an audience to show up, it needs stars, it needs a good book, and it needs some decent tunes or compelling drama.

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News
VPI Debuts New "3D Printer" One Piece JMW Memorial Tonearm and New Direct Drive Turntable Motor
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 25, 2013  |  First Published: Dec 31, 1969  |  11 comments
VPI's Harry Weisfeld demonstrated a new one piece "3D printer" version of the long-running JMW Memorial Tonearm last Saturday, March 23rd at an open house attended by member of The New York Audio Society.
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Album Reviews
Patsy Cline's Greatest Hits
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 24, 2013  |  12 comments
Decca Records and air travel did not get along well. Imagine in a four year span losing both Buddy Holly and label mate Patsy Cline.
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News
Sony/Legacy Announces Record Store Day Vinyl Bounty
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 22, 2013  |  First Published: Dec 31, 1969  |  9 comments
Legacy announced a full slate of vinyl for this April 20th's Record Store Day. Titles include newly mastered from the original tapes 180 gram versions of Aerosmith, Get Your Wings and Toys In the Attic, a double 180 gram of Cypress Hill's Black Sunday and three Miles Davis monos: Round About Midnight, Milestones and Someday My Prince Will Come.
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Analog Corner
Analog Corner #32
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 22, 2013  |  First Published: Dec 31, 1969  |  2 comments
I don't know whether it was Mrs. Nachman or Mr. Nachman, but back in the late '80s one of them took a dump on Joe Grado's head, and it wasn't pretty. But it was expected, for the Nachmans were my pet birds, and that's what birds do when they perch on shiny domes.

The Nachmans have since gone to that great birdcage in the sky, and I bet if I'd asked Joe Grado back then where he thought the cartridge business would be in 1998, he'd have said in the same general neighborhood—along with Betamax (still better, and I still use it), Elcaset, RCA Selectavision, and the rest.

But I didn't ask Joe Grado about the future back then because the present was about his $200 8MZ cartridge, which I'd reviewed and found to have a lump in the midbass. Joe came over to convince me it didn't, and that what I'd heard was due to my setup. After moving speakers and subwoofers around, and after Joe had been anointed by one of the Nachbirds, the lump remained. We called it a (messy) day.

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Album Reviews
Jimi Hendrix Mono Mixes Focus The Action
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 21, 2013  |  37 comments
Phil "back to mono" Spector would be happy. Not about his upcoming HBO biopic starring Al Pacino but about the mono craze sweeping the record business if not the country. True its a single bristle sweep, but it's better than no brush at all.
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