Ken Micallef

The world of record cleaning brushes spans decades and price points, from minimalist designs to maximalist engineering. Of late, we’ve been intrigued by the line of fine record brushes being offered by German manufacturer Ramar, so we wanted to test the model that’s been duly dubbed Record Brush Joni. Read Ken Micallef’s review to see if the Joni is as stardust-golden as its name indicates. . .

In the world of high-end audio, turntable design is defined by strict minimalists, creative maximalists, and those who refuse the confines of traditional geometry altogether. The late Tom Fletcher was one such man. Fletcher’s table designs debuted in the 1970s at Nottingham Analogue, and, eventually, at his own company, Fletcher Audio — and his design wisdom is very much in evidence in the way Pear Audio Analogue constructed their all-new Captain John Handy turntable. Read Ken Micallef’s review to see if the Pear Audio Blue Captain John Handy table meets or exceeds Fletcher’s design aesthetics. . .

Many analog-centric capital gains took place at Capital Audiofest at the Hilton in Rockville, Maryland, last weekend, November 14-16, 2025, and our turntable expert Ken Micallef was duly entrenched at CAF to find all the turntable spins, tonearm sights, and cartridge sounds firsthand. . .

A new design aimed squarely at the sub-$1,000 turntable market, the Technics SL-50C turntable is a little marvel of a vinyl spinning machine. Read Ken Micallef’s review to see if the SL-50C direct drive table delivers all the goods at its quite affordable price point. . .