Michael Fremer

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Analog Corner
Analog Corner #49
Michael Fremer  |  Oct 25, 2013  |  3 comments
Funny thing about Consumer Electronics Shows—consumers aren't allowed to attend. That's what's great about Stereophile's annual HI-FI Show. The place is packed with real people—excited, paying customers—eager to see and hear the latest in hi-fi and home-theater gear. At least, that's what one hopes for.

Some in the industry hesitated about showing in Chicago. As far as turnout was concerned, the city and surrounding 'burbs were unknown quantities; the grand but aged Palmer House Hilton, with its boxy rooms and ancient wiring, was potentially tricky; and the strong union presence meant that moving a parcel across the hall could prove lethal to an exhibitor's checkbook.

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News
Producer/Musician John Simon Interview Coming Soon!
Michael Fremer  |  Oct 26, 2013  |  4 comments
Among the many iconic records John Simon has produced: Leonard Cohen's Columbia Records debut Songs of Leonard Cohen, Blood Sweat & Tears debut album Child is Father to the Man and of course Music From Big Pink and The Band
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News
Chris Bellman Not Cutting "Tommy" Reissue
Michael Fremer  |  Oct 27, 2013  |  4 comments
Contrary to what at least one vinyl vendor's website claims, Chris Bellman is not involved in the new Tommy vinyl reissue.

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News
Lou Reed Dead at 71: A Not Very Perfect Day
Michael Fremer  |  Oct 27, 2013  |  13 comments
Lou Reed died today. Not a good day.
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News
Best Spam Yet!
Michael Fremer  |  Oct 30, 2013  |  4 comments
Analogplanet has been wiping away the spam and by far so far, this is the funniest spam message yet!
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Features
Analogplanet.com Visits VPI Industries Part 1
Michael Fremer  |  Oct 30, 2013  |  12 comments
The editor visited VPI Industries today. The original purpose was to tour the factory and pick up a new VPI Direct Drive turntable for review.
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Features
Analogplanet.com Visits VPI Industries Part 2
Michael Fremer  |  Oct 31, 2013  |  10 comments
In Part 2 of our VPI Industries factory tour we see, among other things, the inner workings of VPI's radical new direct drive motor.
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Features
Analogplanet.com Visits VPI Industries Part 3
Michael Fremer  |  Oct 31, 2013  |  15 comments
Harry Weisfeld has "ring around the collar".
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Analog Corner
Analog Corner #50
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 01, 2013  |  2 comments
After I saw my MP3 e-mail exchange with the editor of the "Circuits" section of the New York Times in the February Stereophile, I began to think that publishing it hadn't been such a great idea. If the exchange had burned my bridge to the Times, publishing it in this column had probably NATO-bombed it.

But eventually I made peace with my decision and forgot about it. Mikey vs the Times was a dead issue no matter what I did or didn't do, and at least Stereophile subscribers got to read what happened. Some of you thought it made the Times look bad, some of you thought it made me look like a hothead.

So, after all that, after explaining to the "Circuits" editor that, whatever benefits MP3 offers, "CD-quality" sound isn't among them, guess what appeared on the front page of the "Circuits" section of Thursday, June 17? An article titled "The Beat Goes on Line, and Sometimes It's Legal," by David Kushner, the lead sentence of which read "If there is a 'Phantom Menace' of the Internet, it's MP3, the compression software that enables CD-quality music to be sent on line. Like the film, MP3 comes with a considerable amount of hyperbole, promise and, alas, science fiction."

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Interviews
Analogplanet Interviews Producer/Arranger/Musician John Simon (Corrected Introduction)
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 03, 2013  |  5 comments
I drove to record producer and musician John Simon’s Catskill mountaintop home on a gorgeous, unusually mild November 1st day. Simon is best known for producing Songs of Leonard Cohen, BS&T’s Child is Father to the Man, Big Brother and the Holding Company’s Cheap Thrills and of course The Band albums Music From Big Pink, The Band and The Last Waltz
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