After the Tokyo International Audio Show 2017 and just before heading for the airport to go home, AnalogPlanet editor Michael Fremer visited two Japanese cartridge manufacturers. The first one was DS Audio, located in the Sagami-Ono, Kanagawa Prefecture about an hour from Tokyo.

A surprise encounter with Lyra cartridge designer Jonathan Carr and Osamu Nagao began day 2. The rest of the day was spent walking through the show and observing from a distance. Between the packed rooms and the language barrier, asking questions was difficult and often led to wrong answers.

At the 2017 Tokyo International Audio Show YG Acoustics introduced a new, smaller version of its 4 piece XV speaker system first shown at CES 2017. The new XVJr. has a different name in Japan because "Jr." has a negative connotation there.

At the 2017 Tokyo International Audio Show, Technics' CTO/Chief Engineer Tetsuya (Tony) Itani talks with AnalogPlanet editor Michael Fremer about the still in the developmental stage new SP-10R Direct Drive turntable.

The 2017 Tokyo International Audio Show is a relatively small show, taking place in a rather large convention center. In that it somewhat like the Bangkok show we recently covered, but it is considerably larger and has greater industry participation.

TechDAS introduced the new Model V turntable at the Tokyo Audio Show 2017. Like the more expensive Ar Force turntables, the new compact turntable features an air bearing, vacuum hold-down platter. Unlike the more costly TechDas turntables the Model V does not feature an outboard motor, nor does it include a suspension system.

The 2017 Tokyo International Audio Show runs from Friday September 29th though Sunday October 1st. It's the first time AnalogPlanet has covered the show, so no coming attractions and no expectations.

The young jazz vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant’s arrival on the jazz scene began when she entered and won the 2010 Thelonious Monk competition, which annually spotlights a different instrument. That year was a vocal contest. Singing was not the 21 year old’s intended career choice.

The ad for the tag sale read "Former member of '60s rock group selling LP collection and vintage instruments," so of course I took the bait. I arrived early, or so I thought---there were already 30 folks ahead of me. I stayed anyway: You never can tell what sloppy seconds will yield---and perhaps they were all there for the other stuff.

Cable manufacturer Morrow Audio recently opened a used record store on a busy Florence, Kentucky highway. 30,000 cars pass the store daily.