Features

We’re back onsite at Toronto Audiofest, which was held during the weekend of October 18-20, 2024. Read Part 2 of Shanon McKellar’s TAF show report to see her firsthand experience with the turntable setups from two stellar companies, Oracle Audio Technologies and Stable 33.33. . .

Cassette tapes are in the midst of enjoying a major comeback — and perhaps it has been a somewhat unexpected development, at least to some. Read Leslie Shapiro’s insightful feature on the history of the longtime leading cassette manufacturer Maxell, the true origins of the infamous Blown-Away Guy, and the bigger-picture reasons for why the cassette format lives on (and on). . .

Many of us use platter mats to dampen resonances and minimize other vibrations whenever we play our LPs. For those not entirely in the know, these mats are typically “waffer-thin,” to borrow the enunciation of a quite specific Monty Python bit, and they go directly underneath the LP that’s spinning and in turn reside right on top of the turntable platter beneath it. Seeing how I’ve been getting, shall we say, a bit restless with my current mat rotation, I wanted to take a fresh look at and listen to something new, and that led me to the Mat Chakra Limited — a cool, current platter mat from the Italian manufacturer Sublima Audio Research. Read on to find out more about company founder Alessandro “Alex” Cereda’s philosophy behind the design of the Mat Chakra Limited, and how this platter mat just might work for enhancing the performance of your own LPs. . .

Who doesn’t love a great boutique vinyl shop that doesn’t break your cratedigging wallet’s heart? This is a story about Diggers Factory, an online record store that offers so much more than “standard” LPs — things like exclusive releases, color vinyl, merch, accessories, and, yes, even good old-fashioned cassettes. Read Shanon McKellar’s in-depth feature to learn more about how Diggers Factory do what they do, and check out her hands-on reviews on three top-tier current DF vinyl offerings. . .

The official National Calendar says today, August 12, is National Vinyl Record Day, so I cued up a few of my favorite new vinyl offerings — including the latest 2LP studio set from a longtime favorite, a 4LP box set with an album I’ve been waiting decades to get on vinyl, and a brand-new-to-2024 throwback 45 — to celebrate the theme of the day. Read on to see what they are, and feel free to chime in about your own favorite LPs you were spinning on your own turntable on this most hallowed of days. . .

You have to hand it to Jack White. The multi-talented, multi-hyphenate producer/vocalist/guitarist has successfully created a personal brand of stylistic flair alongside his own multifaceted music and musical tastes — and he’s also known as the force behind Third Man Records, which he co-founded with Ben Blackwell and Ben Swank in 2001. Read on to see everything our Julie Mullins came across during her recent onsite visit to the Third Man Records record store locale in Nashville. . .

What better way to enter the impending summer season than with the second 2024 installment of our ongoing Table Toppers series? Back in late 2023, we posed a simple question to you, the AP faithful — in short, quote, “show us your turntables!” And hence, the almighty Table Toppers section was born, and we’re more than happy to continue on with this popular series as we approach the midpoint of the year. Read on to see how Dave Millon of Royal Oak, Michigan recovered from a devastating gear loss and wound up centering his system around a coolly restored Thorens TD 124 turntable — along with some VPI TNT tables to boot. . .