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Site Mascot Passes On
Michael Fremer  |  Sep 30, 2006  |  0 comments
Making a miserable day even worse, today, September 11th, was the day we put our beloved dog Eno, and this site's mascot to sleep.

In the context of the sorrow and suffering of those who lost loved ones on this day five years ago, the loss of a pet dog is rendered insignificant but it was our dog and our loss and we feel it deeply.

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Features
Some of My Best Sounding Records Discussed In These Ken Micallef Produced and Edited Videos
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 19, 2020  |  51 comments
Stereophile reviewer Ken Micallef visited (mask on) recently to pick up a turntable for review. He asked if I'd do a video with him showing some of my best sounding records. I agreed and picked a bunch out that I show in these three videos shot during his visit.

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Features
Special Limited Offer: Jim Marshall Autographed "Publisher's Copies" of The Tracking Angle Issue 13
Michael Fremer  |  Jul 31, 2008  |  0 comments

Legendary photographer Jim Marshall recently said that of all the magazine spreads that have used his images over the years, the one appearing in The Tracking Angle issue 13 was one of a “handful” of the finest ever.

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Analog Gear NewsAnalog to Digital Converter ReviewsFeaturesVinyl Digitizing Tips
Sweet Vinyl’s SugarCube SC-1 Real Time Pop and Click Remover—Any Good?
Michael Fremer  |  Apr 09, 2018  |  60 comments
About a dozen years ago at a used record store in San Francisco I bought a “mint” original German pressing of The Beatles (“The White Album”). It was up on the store wall at $75.00. The laminated “top loader” jacket was mint, all of the head shots the poster and the black sleeves were inside looking as if none of it had been touched and the records appeared as minty as advertised.

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Features
Table Toppers, Take 1: A Truly Terrific Three-Turntable System in Portugal
Mike Mettler  |  Nov 01, 2023  |  4 comments

Back in September, we asked you, the AP faithful, to “show us your turntables!” for an all-new feature section titled Table Toppers — and did you ever respond in full. Since then, we’ve been sifting through a cavalcade of your many great submissions, and we figured what better way to kick off the month of November than with the debut installment of Table Toppers — namely, a truly terrific trio of ’tables owned by Diogo Alfaiate of Lisbon, Portugal. Read on to see a score of cool pics of Diogo’s amazing system, plus get his firsthand account of his lifelong love of vinyl. . .

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Features
Table Toppers, Take 2: A Strikingly Spectacular Subplatter Upgrade in Los Angeles
Mike Mettler  |  Dec 12, 2023  |  7 comments

Table Toppers is back in full force! As you may recall, we recently asked you, the AP faithful, to quite literally “show us your turntables!” for an all-new feature section titled Table Toppers — and ever since then, we’ve been combing through a treasure trove of your many great submissions. Here in Part 2, we introduce you to the fine, fine analog-centric system owned by Jake Juros, MD, a psychiatrist based in Los Angeles. Read on to see some cool pics of the good doctor’s fabulous setup, plus see what his favorite LPs are, gain some insight into his record-cleaning rituals, and learn the “real reason” why he loves vinyl more than streaming or CDs. . .

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Features
Table Toppers, Take 3: A Super Spyder Turntable and Its Wide Web of Intricate and Intriguing Gear Move Sonic Mountains in Santa Cruz
Mike Mettler  |  Feb 07, 2024  |  2 comments

Table Toppers returns anew here in 2024! Recently, we asked the AP faithful to “show us your turntables!” for an all-new feature section titled Table Toppers — and now it’s time for the first series installment of the new year. Here in Take 3, we introduce you to the system of Vince, who lives in the Santa Cruz mountains in Northern California. Read on to see all the cool gear that constitutes Vince’s setup, what his favorite stereo shop to frequent is and why, how he resolved a noise issue with his table, and what his current favorite LPs to spin on it are. . .

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Features
TAD's Andrew Jones Designs Surprising Sounding Budget Speakers For Pioneer (Pricing corrected)
Michael Fremer  |  Apr 24, 2013  |  24 comments
A young reader inherited a turntable and asked about a modestly priced system he could assemble around it. We know where this will lead and we can all cheer him on, mindful of the fun and fetishing to follow. And we can all sympathize with his bank account—assuming he has one!

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Features
Technics SL-1200G Versus Continuum Caliburn And SAT Arm
Michael Fremer  |  Jan 31, 2017  |  73 comments
The Sl-1200G review will post shortly. Meantime, here's a comparison between it and the Continuum Caliburn fitted with the SAT arm, both fitted with a Lyra Etna cartridge.

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Features
Ten Years Into The Digital Revolution: A Continuing Disaster in Sound
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 30, 2009  |  0 comments
Ed. note: In light of Bob Dylan's recent Rolling Stone interview in which he championed vinyl and complained both about CDs and modern recorded sound, we thought it appropriate to bring this to the home page yet again:

Back in 1994, ten years into the "digital revolution," the editor of Tower Records's "Pulse" magazine, bravely commissioned me to write an article expressing my feelings about digital sound, ten years after the introduction of the compact disc. It was published in "Pulse!" much to my delight. I thought you might find it interesting in 2005--MF

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Features
The "Audio Porn" Experiment's Details Revealed!
Michael Fremer  |  May 29, 2017  |  3 comments
On March 30th 2017 we posted a story called Audio Porn Experiment Part #1 and #2.
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Features
The 20th Annual Blues Masters at the Crossroads—Evening 1 at Blue Heaven Studios
Michael Fremer  |  Oct 29, 2017  |  2 comments
Friday night at this year's Blues Masters at the Crossroads in Chad Kassem's Blue Heaven Studios featured emcee and blues veteran Doug MacLeod and an outstanding talent lineup: Jontavious Willis, Marquise Knox, Lucky Peterson, Alabama Slim and Robert Finley.

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Features
The 25 Best Music Projects Of 2019
Malachi Lui  |  Jan 07, 2020  |  34 comments
I honestly suck at keeping up on new music. Sure, I’m shoving out another mostly negative Review Explosion every three weeks when some artist past their prime pushes out another hour of dreck (or when Earl releases a stupidly annoying, half-baked 15 minute “album”) but I still don’t feel that I spend enough time covering what actually matters. As in, what’s actually good and worth talking about. Unfortunately, one music critic with their own taste and near-daily spins of IGOR can only do so much; no matter how hard I work, there are always a dozen supposedly great albums that I’ve fallen behind on even hearing.

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Features
The 9 Year old Marantz SR8001 7.1 A/V Receiver Gets Better Over Time
Caleb Attaway  |  Jul 16, 2019  |  20 comments
Meet our newest reviewer, 17 year old Caleb Attaway. Caleb lives northwest of Atlanta, Georgia and is going into his senior year of high school at Living Science Home Studies, Inc., which is half home school and half private school. In the future Caleb will review records and new audio gear.

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Features
The Amazing Beverly "Guitar" Watson Performs at "Blues at the Crossroads" 2018
Michael Fremer  |  Oct 31, 2018  |  2 comments
79 year old Beverly "Guitar" Watkins, unknown to most in the audience, puts on a fiery, funky and fierce standing ovation hour-long performance on the first night of Chad Kassem's "Blues at the Crossroads" Blues Festival Friday October 26th.

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