We’re always on the hunt for young companies looking to make their mark in our analog-centric world, and today we put the spotlight on Kestrel Audio. A budding young British manufacturer, Kestrel Audio is now entering its second year of operation by offering up the KT-100 turntable, an upgrade on their entry-level KT-50. Read on to see what the feature set for the KT-100 entails. . .
Record Store Day just got a whole lot hipper — and that’s because The Tragically Hip, Canada’s favorite musical sons from Kingston, Ontario, a) have just been announced as the official Canadian Ambassadors for Record Store Day Canada 2024, b) will be releasing an exclusive standalone live album, Live at CBGB’s, on said Record Store Day on April 20, and c) it will be available in both the U.S. and Canada. Read on to find out what nine tracks are on the LP and how it all came together so fully, completely. . .
Table Toppers returns anew here in 2024! Recently, we asked the AP faithful to “show us your turntables!” for an all-new feature section titled Table Toppers — and now it’s time for the first series installment of the new year. Here in Take 3, we introduce you to the system of Vince, who lives in the Santa Cruz mountains in Northern California. Read on to see all the cool gear that constitutes Vince’s setup, what his favorite stereo shop to frequent is and why, how he resolved a noise issue with his table, and what his current favorite LPs to spin on it are. . .
British hi-fi stalwarts Goldring have just introduced a special edition of their vaunted Ethos moving coil (MC) cartridge, which is appropriately named the Goldring Ethos SE. Read on to find out all the upgrades, features, and specs that make the Ethos SE cart as special as its name says it is. . .
Recently, we here at AP decided to resume reviewing record cleaning machines (RCMs) on a more consistent basis — but where to start? The new Record Doctor X vacuum record cleaning machine (a.k.a. the RDX VRCM) fit the bill perfectly. It’s an RD series update that offers new features like a bi-directional turning motor that alleviates the need to turn records by hand, and it also sports a vacuum swing arm that vacuums the top surface of an LP while the bottom gets vacuumed by way of a slot under a sweeper strip. Read on to see how well the RDX VRCM cleaned both old and new records alike, and if it’s worth the notable price of admission. . .
Continuing with our mission this week to help audiophile newbies join us here in the analog-centric listening family without breaking the bank, we now turn our attention to looking at cartridge-upgrade options — and who better to do that with than Grado Labs? Read on to find out how the Brooklyn-based company’s Prestige Red3 cartridge is yet another good entry point for the budding analog-loving audiophile that also serves as a good option for the longstanding AP faithful to consider as well. . .
We get a lot of queries from audiophile newbies asking us how they should start on their turntable journey, so we’re going to address that all-important Q today by focusing on the Fluance RT81+, a new entry-point ’table from the notable Canadian manufacturer. Read on to see all the features and specs for the RT81+ and find out why it’s a good way to bring budding new critical listeners into our vinyl-centric world. . .
Time to collectively shout out a hale and hearty “Hello Hooray” for Alice Cooper’s seminal March 1973 album Billion Dollar Babies, which is officially slated to be feted by what’s being dubbed as the 180g 3LP ”Trillion Dollar” Deluxe Edition via Warner/Rhino on March 8. Read on to see what all the Billion Dollar fuss is and what the bonus material entrails — er, entails. . .
Jim Hagerman is at it again. The Hagerman Audio Labs head honcho did some soul searching recently about cartridge loading — and while doing so, he in turn came up with the Piccolo Zero MC (moving cartridge) headamp. Read on to see more about Hagerman’s lightbulb moments leading up to creation of the Piccolo Zero, and what it does. . .
The impetus for Sleater-Kinney’s powerful, personal, and punishing new LP Little Rope — out today, January 19, 2024, on Loma Vista — emerged from a devasting event experienced by one of their co-founding bandmembers. During a recent Zoom interview with AP editor Mike Mettler, Sleater-Kinney vocalist/guitarist Corin Tucker discussed why listening to test pressings remains such an important part of the band’s process, who the “bigger” audiophile in her family is and which high-end turntable proves the point, and why gauging the correct microphone distance is absolutely crucial for how her commanding vocal range is captured in the studio. . .