Michael Fremer

College Point, NY (Queens, L.I.) based Miracle Audio demoed its Phonatic phono preamp priced from $4500 for the MM version to $6200 for the "xr" version featuring 70dB gain, an enhanced power supply, Vishay Z-foil R's and Clarity MR caps.

In the Magnolia Ballroom at Capital Audiofest 2013, along with a great selection of used vinyl, Bob Ratcliff, the inventor of the Ultrasonic V-8 ultrasonic record cleaning machine demonstrated how it works. The device consists of a square stainless steel vat filled with heated distilled water, some isopropyl alcohol and a few drops of Photoflo, which acts as a surfactant into which is placed an ultrasonic element associated with a 7 micron filtered circulation pump.

Veteran manufacturers and rookie enthusiasts fueled increased industry participation at the fourth annual Capital Audio Fest held this past weekend, July 26th-28th at the the Silver Spring, Maryland Sheraton Hotel.

Back in 1995 in The Tracking Angle's second issue I wrote of acoustic folk/blues artist Doug MacLeod's performances on his Audioquest LP Come to Find (AQ 1027): "You'll hear a lifetime's accumulation of feelings, experiences and influences in his fingers, in his voice and in his songs...."

MacLeod was 46 at the time. Eighteen years or so later MacLeod is still at it, as he's been since he picked up bass and guitar as a child. He's issued 19 studio albums some live ones and even an instructional DVD. The years have only enhanced and enriched MacLeod's technical and communicative abilities. He's an even more fluid and nuanced guitarist and singer than he was back in 1995.