Ken Micallef

Last week, AXPONA ruled large in Chicagoland, and we tasked our main product reviewer Ken Micallef to shoot as much video footage as he could of all the cool turntables he came across at the show. Check out the videoclip that’s embedded within this story to see a cavalcade of great turntables, as well as some interesting cleaning products in action, a few new cartridges and tonearms — and some choice vinyl too. . .

We’re always on the lookout for good — if not certainly great — phono preamps to get our hands on to review here for the AnalogPlanet faithful, and Pathos’ In The Groove MM/MC phono preamp certainly fits the bill. Read Ken Micallef’s detailed review to see if this well-crafted solid-state phono stage is right for you. . .

Some turntables can be true objects of art. Regardless of any turntable’s looks, bells, and whistles, at the end of the day, it all comes down to solid and experienced engineering. This is where Acoustic Signature’s Maximus NEO turntable comes into the picture. Read Ken Micallef’s review to find out how something that looks this classy actually performs as a top-notch turntable. . .

When we first previewed U-Turn’s Orbit Theory turntable back in late August, we had high expectations about its performance. Read on to find out if the Orbit Theory delivered the goods in terms of clarity, layering, punch, transients, physical dynamics, and more . . .