On April 13, Record Store Day is back for its 12th year with over 500 releases only available at independent record stores. This year’s list is arguably the best one since I’ve been attending RSD starting in 2014 (at age 8!), with fewer picture disc and colored vinyl re-hashings of common material and seemingly more unique items. Here are some highlights from the list:

AnalogPlanet editor Michael Fremer is not a classical music authority. If you didn't know that before watching this frantic, somewhat shallow video, you will after!

CEDIA's annual late-summer Expo, held this year (as in most) in Indianapolis, came just in time for me this year. I hate the excruciating noise at the Custom Electronics Design and Installation Association's gathering, but I get the same charge from high-resolution video as I get from great audio, and the Expo is all about the highest-quality images. Audio? If it's loud, surrounds you, and goes deep enough to massages your innards, it seems to be good enough for most home theater aficionados—and if the source of it can be hidden in the walls or ceiling, so much the better.

Here's a double dose for AnalogPlanet readers (and YouTube viewers) who like "unboxing videos": AnalogPlanet editor Michael Fremer unboxes the not yet released Analogue Productions UHQR Clarity Vinyl mono issue of Jimi Hendrix's classic "Axis: Bold As Love" and the second edition of the deluxe "Blue Note Review" box #2"—this one a tribute to jazz drummers, particularly Art Blakey.

Call it “P8” or “Planar 8” but do not call this new Rega turntable “RP8”. That was the previous 8. Despite the obvious superficial Rega similarities the new Planar 8 differs greatly from its predecessor.

An AnalogPlanet reader let us know about a new source for Per Madsen's "Rackit" record storage units (Per retired). Portland Oregon based woodworker Ryan Tinsel manufactures the record storage racks in his "one-man shop".

Talk Talk's Mark Hollis (center in photo) has died at age 64 after a "short illness". Readers unfamiliar with the group's astonishing later albums and who lump the group in with late '70s synth bands might not understand why this is news but those who know Hollis's later Talk Talk albums Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock surely do. Hollis later released a self-titled solo album recorded with two microphones that ends with two minutes of tape hiss.

An Amazon search for “phono preamp for turntable” (the last two words theirs) will yield approximately 395 results, and above most affordable Pro-Ject, Cambridge Audio, U-Turn, and Music Hall phono preamps are those of Pyle, a company that makes most every kind of easily affordable product; hifi and A/V components, pro audio products, fitness trackers, subwoofers for boats, kitchen appliances, pest controlling devices, and even security systems! Pyle makes several budget phono preamps with the same specifications, including the $18.99 (MSRP) PP444. Two of Pyle’s preamps have well over 1,000 reviews on Amazon (mostly from real humans as far as I can tell), so quite a few people are buying these for their audio setups. Pyle’s audio products haven’t gotten much coverage, so I gave the PP444 a try.

Manufacturers of audio accessories are an odd bunch: they show up at your door, pucks, cones, platforms, or balls in hand, eager to demonstrate the enormous sonic effects their products will have on your system. After inserting their isolators, energy drains, or what have you, they sit down for a listen.

But do they even hear the $40,000/pair loudspeakers you're reviewing? Your $15,000 turntable and $4500 cartridge? Your $7000 phono preamp or $30k worth of other electronics?

No.

22 February, 2019: Louisville, Colorado—Boulder Amplifiers announces the immediate release and shipment of its reference level phono preamplifier, the 2108, which is a substantially updated and "re-visited" version of the 2008 that shook up the phono preamplifier market with its versatility, high performance, and high cost.