The countdown is on! Rush will celebrate the 40th anniversary of their ninth studio album Signals with a smattering of special releases, including a Super Deluxe box set with 180g 1LP black vinyl and four 7-inch singles, along with a separate 180g 1LP picture disc, on April 28. Read on to find out what each version entails, and how you can channel your own Signals obtainment desires accordingly. . .
Hana is helping to kick off the month of March in the exact right way by announcing their new Umami Blue cartridge, which follows in the fine moving-coil footsteps (so to speak) of their vaunted Umami cartridge series. Read on to see just what the new Umami Blue MC cartridge can do for you and your turntable. . .
Audio-Technica has been duly celebrating their 60th anniversary for the balance of the past year, and we would be remiss if we let another week go by without highlighting one of the fine limited-edition products they’ve introduced in celebration of that milestone — namely, the AT-LP2022 belt-drive turntable that sports quite the striking transparent clear-acrylic chassis. Read on to see what else the AT-LP2022 has to offer. . .
Michael Fidler and Classic Audio are synonymous with making quality phono preamps — a.k.a. phono stages, depending on your nomenclature preferences — as the company’s respective PRO and Spartan series can readily attest. Fidler’s latest offering, the MM PRO, is ready for system-integration duty regardless of which side of the Pond you reside, so read on to find out if it fits your own phono-stage needs. . .
The Legend continues. The Marley Family, Tuff Gong, and UMe are set to commemorate the late, great Bob Marley’s 78th birthday with 12 limited-edition Bob Marley LPs, each of them numbered and pressed exclusively at Tuff Gong International headquarters in Kingston, Jamaica, and set for release on March 24. Read on to find out all the core titles involved, as well as the related pressing stats for each album that’s been culled from the masterful Marley canon. . .
It’s time for us to show some love to AMG (Analog Manufaktur Germany), who make Großartig (great, that is) turntables and tonearms. The recently upgraded Giro MK II turntable is the focus of our current affection, so read on to see what’s to love about it and its fine spinning capabilities. . .
Can we call it Countdown to Excellence? To wit: Does Countdown to Ecstasy, the second entry in Analogue Productions' comprehensive all-analog 200g 2LP Steely Dan UHQR series, up the ante on the standard they’ve already set with last fall’s inaugural release, Can’t Buy A Thrill? Read Mike Mettler’s in-depth, 2,500-word review to find out. . .
The more we listen to our vinyl, the more we notice how much our LPs need regular cleaning, regardless of whether they’re new or used copies. Record cleaning devices range widely in terms of performance and options, of course, and we will be reviewing a number of them in the coming months here on AP. In the meantime, one such device that caught our eye recently is one that’s now being offered by noted German manufacturer Rekkord, who are set to serve up the appropriately named RCM recording cleaning machine later in February. Read on to find out more about this well-acronymed RCM. . .
“It’s nice to talk analog. You’re speaking my language.” That’s Janis Ian, iconoclast singer/songwriter who’s made a lifetime-slash-career out of breaking barriers and forging new paths when it comes to making music that is equal parts folk, country, rock, and all points in between. And she’s very much speaking our language too, of course. Read on to see what Ian and AP editor Mike Mettler discussed when they got on the phone recently to delve into the making of Light, the importance of evaluating test pressings, and how she applies analog-oriented principles to catalog reissues regardless of the format. . .
You can have the best gear in the world in your system ready to play all those new and/or vintage LPs in your collection, but if any piece of equipment in the playback chain is not properly stabilized — especially when it comes to fortifying your turntable and/or amplifier(s), for example — then you’re just asking for unnecessary noise-related complications. With that in mind, the E1X Isolation Base from HRS might make for quite the good, stable option. Read on to get all the E1X base details. . .