Michael Fremer

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Album Reviews
Peter Horsfall's Valentine's Day Gift To You
Michael Fremer  |  Jan 25, 2018  |  2 comments
The cover art for British jazz vocalist and trumpeter Peter Horsfall's recently released LP makes clear the music's moody, lonely-at-night feel. There's always hope though, embodied in his cover of pianist Barry Harris's "Paradise", which you can listen to below, transcribed via the new Technics SL-1000R turntable fitted with an Ortofon A95.

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Album Reviews
Peter, Paul and Mary's Debut Album Cut From Master Tape at 45rpm From ORG
Michael Fremer  |  Jun 28, 2014  |  18 comments
Peter, Paul and Mary brought gospel fervor to the staid folk revival of the early '60s. Though they got their live chops at Paul Colby's Bitter End, the brick wall of which serves as the cover's backdrop, it was this album that propelled them to pop music-like mainstream stardom.

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Album Reviews
Petty's Perfect Mid-Summer Treat Now On Vinyl For Christmas Season Gift Giving
Michael Fremer  |  Aug 01, 2007  |  0 comments

Note: the impeccably packaged double 180g vinyl set just out (late November, '06), while still lacking top end shimmer and air, exudes an overall clarity, transparency and three dimensionality that leaves the CD far behind. And the bottom end rocks. The vinyl gets an "8" for sound


Though it commences with “Saving Grace,” a John Lee Hooker crawlin’ king snake-riffed rocker, there’s less confrontation and more contemplation on Tom Petty’s tune-soaked new solo album. The “I Won’t Back Down” Petty of Full Moon Fever is gone, replaced by a more accepting, older observer of time and terrain passing.

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Munich 2014
Phasemation Introduces Two New (to America) MC Cartridges at Munich High End 2014
Michael Fremer  |  Jun 06, 2014  |  First Published: Jun 06, 2014  |  3 comments
Phasemation is a “pet” project of a Japanese industrialist-audiophile who uses his company’s manufacturing prowess (Kyodo Denshi Engineering Co., Ltd) to design and build high performance audio products including a three chassis phono preamp currently under review by me for Stereophile. The company’s specialty is precision measurement equipment for the IT industry.

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News
Pheenix Alpha Rises From "Death of Vinyl" Ashes
Michael Fremer  |  May 02, 2017  |  First Published: May 02, 2017  |  8 comments
Last October we reported on a Swedish newspaper article covering the return to production of the famed Alpha Toolex record press overseen by Niklas Poblenz, who worked for the original company back in the 1980s and who's father worked there in previous decades.

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News
Phil Ramone, One of the Record Producing and Engineering Greats, Dead at 79
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 30, 2013  |  5 comments
Legendary record producer and engineer Phil Ramone passed away today at age 72.
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Playback Accessory Reviews
Phoenix Engineering's Falcon PSU and Roadrunner Tachometer
Michael Fremer  |  Sep 23, 2014  |  First Published: Sep 23, 2014  |  19 comments
Phoenix Engineering’s $379 Falcon PSU is a remarkably compact but high-resolution motor controller designed to be used with A.C. synchronous motor turntables drawing 5 or fewer watts.

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Analog Gear NewsNews
Phono Box RS2 Is Pro-Ject's Newest and Most Sophisticated Phono Preamplifier
Michael Fremer  |  Dec 02, 2020  |  First Published: Dec 02, 2020  |  9 comments
Pro-Ject just announced the release of its newest and most sophisticated phono preamp, the RS2. The no op-amp, "hand made" design built in the E.U. is fully balanced and true dual mono. The RS2 features MM gain of 40,43,46 and 50dB and MC gain of 60,63,66 and 70dB with continuously variable MC input impedance from between 10 and 1000 ohms. Capacitance for MM can be set to values between 50 and 400pF.

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Can I Have My Money Back?
Phono Equalization B.S. Continues!
Michael Fremer  |  Oct 04, 2014  |  First Published: Oct 04, 2014  |  23 comments
A recently posted review of a phono preamp on a website that is not deserving of mention here once again makes the specious claim that curves other than the RIAA were used in the mastering of stereo records. This is simply not true.

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Analog Gear News
Phono Loco Coming From Sutherland Engineering
Michael Fremer  |  Mar 02, 2018  |  First Published: Mar 02, 2018  |  7 comments
The usually conservative (engineering-wise, don't know his politics) Ron Sutherland has thrown all electronic caution to the wind and will shortly introduce the Phono Loco, his first venture into what's commonly called a "current mode" phono preamplifier.

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