October 16th, 2024
darTZeel's Hervé Delétraz Responds to Rumors of the Company's Demise the future admittedly is dicey but the company soldiers on and those who know will continue to love the unique productsBy: Michael Fremer
darTZeel founder and brand creator Hervé Delétraz, responds here to a YouTube video posted by an equipment churner posing as a legit "audio reviewer" (whose understanding of journalistic ethics is null and void), based upon a rumor that Swiss specialty electronics manufacturer darTZeel has gone "out of business?" (the YouTuber added the question mark thinking it legitimized his pathetic rumor-mongering and makes hilarious his claim to be a "primary source" for audio information), spread by someone who really should know better since he is an industry veteran and his significant other is a publicist for a competing company has sparked a brouhaha second only to the ridiculous post on the Consequence of Sound website claiming "Vinyl Sales Plummet 33% in 2024", when of course 2024 is hardly over and the big Xmas season is ahead so how can he even suggest such a ridiculous headline, and the COS writer hasn't the professional chops to cite the source, which was a Billboard story that was also malignantly uninformed about Laminate's statistical modeling change that resulted in serious underreporting in the first half of 2024 and yes this is a run on sentence but so what, because as my source who knows what's really going on told me when I asked him before choosing to not publish a story based on the Bullboard story, when 2024's sales totals are calculated vinyl sales will be up by approximately 11%, which is very good considering how big the growth was in 2023 and yes I own darTZeel preamplifier and amplifiers and a phono pre-amp manufactured by the other company and the two companies, the individuals at both companies and their products work and play well together and now on with the show....
Read MoreOctober 16th, 2024
Pro-Ject Launches Flagship Signature 12.2 Turntable claims it's "A Serious Assertion of High-End Sound & Build"By: Tracking Angle
Mistelbach, Austria – October 14th, 2024 – Pro-Ject Audio Systems is immeasurably excited to announce the release of their latest Flagship turntable, the Signature 12.2. Over 80 lbs. of mass and 100+ high-precision CNC-machined parts comprise this masterpiece. All manufacturing is done in-house at the Pro-Ject factory, keeping costs down and passing savings along to serious vinyl enthusiasts. The 12” tonearm with removable headshell will keep cartridge lovers busy for... Read More
October 16th, 2024
With The New B-77 MKIII Revox Returns to Reel-to-Reel Tape Recorder Manufacturing! For reel, er real!By: Tracking Angle
Villingen Oct. 16th, 2024:NEW! Revox B77 MK III - a new highlight in analog audio technologyThe Revox B77 is a true icon in the audio world. Famous and awarded for its outstanding sound reproduction and high-quality, sustainable construction, it sets the standard for analog audiophile excellence. As a Revox product, it reproduces music exactly as the artists recorded it in the studio.With the new B77 MK III Stereo Tape Recorder, the Revox development team has now... Read More
October 11th, 2024
Qobuz Launches DSD and DXD Download Platform DSD64 "Thriller" for example, costs $24.09By: Tracking Angle
Paris, October 10th, 2024 - Qobuz, the music lovers’ high-quality music streaming and download platform, has announced the launch of Direct Stream Digital (DSD) and Digital eXtreme Definition (DXD) audio formats on its high-fidelity download store. Since it launched in France in 2007, and in the US in 2019, Qobuz has consistently led the field in terms of the highest-quality music files, and its introduction of DSD/DXD continues that commitment.Beginning today,... Read More
October 11th, 2024
Cartridge Manufacturer Goldring Re-Enters the Turntable Market "Developed in collaboration with a renowned British hi-fi manufacturer"By: Tracking Angle
Goldring's GR3 turntable is the company's first turntable in twenty years. Developed in collaboration with a renowned British hi-fi manufacturer, GR3 is equipped with the multiple award-winning Goldring E3 moving magnet cartridge and features a built-in phono pre-amplifier. It also comes with a choice of high-quality interconnects from "sister brand" QED.Per the pleasingly spec complete press release for the $999 turntable/cartridge/phono... Read More
September 25th, 2024
Pro-Ject Introduces T1-EVO Series Turntables Into Highly Competitive Market priced from $449-$599By: Tracking Angle
Mistelbach, Austria – September 24th, 2024 – Pro-Ject Audio Systems just announced the latest edition to the T Series of turntables, the T1 EVO, T1 EVO Phono & T1 EVO BT. Improvements include the Ortofon OM10 MM phono cartridge, a larger Debut-sized sub-platter as well as electronic speed change for all 3 models. The precision-machined chassis remains free of resonant hollow spaces. The high-mass tempered glass record platter is anti-resonant & great for... Read More
September 18th, 2024
Technics Live-Demos New SL-1300G Turntable and New SC-CX700 Wireless Powered Loudspeaker everything you wanted to know about the SL-1300GBy: Michael Fremer
At an event Technics hosted at parent company Panasonic's Newark, New Jersey headquarters September 17th, Technics Business Development Manager Bill Voss walked me through all of the new $3299 SL-1300G turntable's features and mechanical and physical attributes, comparing it to the $2199 SL-1200GR2 below and the $4299 SL-1200G above. This video should clear up any and all confusion about what stepping up from the 1200GR2 gets you and what stepping down from... Read More
September 15th, 2024
New Little Fwend Tonearm Lifter Mount for Rega P8/P10 Turntables the best end of record tonearm lifts? Yes!By: Tracking Angle
Press release Oslo, Norway. September 2024 New Little Fwend P8/P10Mount for Rega turntables. No mass, no problem. Our Low model has always been very popular among the Rega-crowd since we started Little Fwend in 2016. When Roy Gandy decided to follow his “less (mass) is more”-philosophy even more aggressively on the P8, P10 and the new Naia and simply just replace less mass with nothing at all - fans of Little Fwend had a problem. We got countless emails from fwends... Read More
September 8th, 2024
Technics' New $3300 SL-1300G Turntable Combines SL-1200GR2's ΔΣ Drive With $4300 1200G's Platter And Motor! produces a "happy in between place" in the Technics turntable lineupBy: Michael Fremer
The Technics turntable line-up can be confusing. Lots of models, lots of numbers and superficially they can look identical but they are not! A few days ago at IFA in Berlin, the company launched a variety of products including this new SL-1300G turntable. While it may appear to be a helping of "number salad", it's actually very significant product launch.Simply put, the new $3300 1300G combines the highly evolved ΔΣ Drive motor drive system introduced... Read More
September 2nd, 2024
Musical Surroundings Introduces MKII Versions of the Popular Hana S Series Cartridges SL, SH SL MonoBy: Tracking Angle
Musical Surroundings today announced a MK II upgrade to its world-wide best selling Hana S cartridge series. The Mk II upgrade enhances both the line's musical performance and value. Master cartridge designer Masao Okada implements a new tapered Aluminum cantilever with increased rigidity, resulting in a remarkable improvement transferring groove modulation from vinyl record to the cartridge generator. The S Series Mk II features higher specified parts, advanced... Read More
August 16th, 2024
"Quick Drop" Doors "L.A. Woman" 33 1/3 UHQR From Analogue Productions limited to 4500 copies, packaged in new style box + die cut direct to board jacketBy: Tracking Angle
Kind of a "surprise drop" from Analogue Productions. Bernie Grundman mastered from original analog tape at 33 1/3, AAA all the way, pressed on 200g UHQR Clarity vinyl. New packaging, plus die-cut direct to board jacket duplicates the original. One of the best Doors albums and possibly the best sounding as well. Read More
August 11th, 2024
dCS Launches Varèse Music System the present day Vivaldi Apex refuses to dieBy: Michael Fremer
On August 7th dCS launched its Varèse Music System, characterizing it as a product that embodies "our boldest ideas, realized" and naming it for the French experimental composer who invented the term "organized sound" and who famously said "What is music but organized noises?" The late Frank Zappa was among his most ardent Baby Boomer generation fans and promoters.The new Varèse Music System consists of a multiple task pre-DAC Core that... Read More
August 9th, 2024
At Its New Soho Technica House, Audio Technica Debuts the new AT-ART1000x "Direct Power" Phono Cartridge replaces the original AT-ART1000By: Michael Fremer
At Audio Technica's new SoHo-based Technica House, described by the company as "a shared space of collaboration and inspiration, celebrating the Japanese aesthetic and Audio-Technica's analog philosophy" Audio Technica's chief engineer for cartridge design, Yosuke Koizumi explained the changes made to the original AT-ART1000 "Direct Power" moving coil cartridge introduced in 2016 and designed by company veteran and even back then... Read More
July 2nd, 2024
McIntosh Releases an AAA Jazz Album by The Peter Erskine Quartet McIntosh SESSIONS Volume 1 two record set will cost you $150By: Tracking Angle
BINGHAMTON, NY – July 1, 2024 – McIntosh Laboratory, Inc., the premier name in audio excellence, proudly announces the release of SESSIONS Volume 1, a jazz album featuring eight original compositions by The Peter Erskine Quartet. Produced with iconic mastering studio Sterling Sound, this unique collaboration results in an album worthy of the world’s most discerning listeners – McIntosh customers – with the goal of creating the best sounding record possible, while... Read More
June 26th, 2024
VANA Ltd. Offers EAT (European Audio Team) Fortissimo S Turntable to Dealers and Customers variants often seen at Munich High End, now available in the U.S.By: Tracking Angle
Nesconset, NY, June 25, 2024 -- EAT (European Audio Team), the company whose high-performance products are designed to bring listeners as close as possible to the meaning and spirit of the original performance, offers the flagship Fortissimo S turntable in North America via VANA Ltd., its NY-based distribution partner. The Fortissimo S (SRP: $8,000, minus tonearm) is a significant step up from the company’s popular Forte S turntable, with a massive 50 lb., 15.75”... Read More
June 18th, 2024
Have Stereo Consoles Returned? Wrensilva Thinks So in the late 50's/early '60s every Mad Man home had oneBy: Michael Fremer
Handmade in San Diego California, Wrensilva's eye-catching custom cabinetry houses a modernized version of a 50's/60's era console stereo. Revered among the attaché case carrying corporate climbers of the late '50s and early '60s, the form factor lost its hipness as the JFK era gave way to assassination, war and chaos, bringing with it a more austere, raw component esthetic.Wrensilva is one of a few companies riding the vinyl revival wave,... Read More
June 5th, 2024
Wilson Watt/Puppy 50th Anniversary Launch June 5th at Innovative Audio NYCBy: Jacob Heilbrunn
There was something comforting about espying the large black banner with white lettering proudly waving “Innovative Audio” on Manhattan’s East 58th street, just down the block from the big boys of high end retail like Bergdorf Goodman. At a moment when hifi stores can seem like an endangered species, Innovative, as it’s known, represents a welcome success story. Run by audio veteran Elliot Fishkin, its elegantly spartan showrooms can be quickly reached by taking an... Read More