Mike Mettler

Luxman has just announced a pair of new products that we find very much of interest — and we think you will too. To wit, the PD-151 MkII turntable offers an upgraded tonearm, while the L-507Z Class AB integrated amplifier is the flagship entry in the company’s new Z series. Read on to find out more about both pieces of intriguing gear. . .

If you love Lyra MC phono cartridges like we do, then you’ll relish the following: Lyra has selected MIBS Distro to be its official U.S. and Canadian distributor. Read on to see what cartridges will be available, and at what price levels. . .

Last week, I told you about strawberry fields, where — sorry, wrong Beatles reference. One, two, three, four (cough) — last week, I told you how it will be on October 28, when Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe will be releasing The Beatles seminal August 1966 album Revolver in a 180g 4LP/1EP Special Edition Super Deluxe box set. This week, I talk exclusively with producer Giles Martin about mixing and de-mixing Revolver, the “analog vs. digital” question, what Paul McCartney told him when they both listened to the new and original Revolver mixes together, and who ultimately makes the final calls on anything he mixes for The Beatles. Read on to find out just what he said, he said. . .

British guitar iconoclast Steve Hackett, a key member of Genesis during their 1970s heyday, has since forged a formidable solo career after he left that progressive-leaning group 45 years ago. In Part I of this interview series, Hackett tells AnalogPlanet exclusively about the aural differences between his new 4LP/2CD release Genesis Revisited: Seconds Out & More and Genesis’ original October 1977 Seconds Out 2LP set, which guitar solo of his he considers to be the most well-known Genesis guitar moment, and the challenges Genesis faced in the 1970s when they pushed the boundaries of just how much music could fit on one side of an LP. Read on to find out why the vinyl path is clear. . .