About a year has passed since publication of the KLAUDIO ultrasonic cleaning machine review so now's a good time to tell you how it's been working and how well it cleans records. Also, this is a good time to again cover some basics because there's so much online nonsense and misinformation, though it's also true that well-informed opinions sometimes differ.This machine has had, as you can imagine, a great deal of use. Daily use. Not... Read More

This comparison was more for entertainment value than anything especially since the cartridges mounted in each arm were different! Let's start there. The comparison was between a $4395 cartridge and one costing $14,295 and an arm costing around $3700 versus one costing around $60,000. The phono preamp was the the $28,995 van den Hul The Grail SX (review will shortly be published). I could not use the CH Precision P10 because it is across the way installed for use... Read More

On June 27th, 1982 electric bass genius Jaco Pastorius and the Word of Mouth Big Band featuring special guest Toots Thielemans performed at New York City's Avery Fisher Hall as part of George Wein's Kool Jazz Festival. The performance was recorded to 24 track analog tape using the Record Plant's mobile truck and mixed to two track analog tape, but this Deluxe, triple LP, 45rpm 200g edition is the first release cut using a direct copy of the original... Read More

Los Angeles, CA (March 1, 2024)–Acclaimed archival label Light in the Attic (LITA)proudly announces The Power of the Heart: A Tribute to Lou Reed. The star-studded album celebrates the pioneering singer-songwriter’s enduring influence‒as well as the timeless appeal of his songs‒through performances by Reed’s closest friends and biggest fans, including Keith Richards, Rosanne Cash, Lucinda Williams, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, The Afghan Whigs, Bobby Rush, Maxim Ludwig & Angel Olsen, Mary Gauthier, and Automatic. Blending generation-defining hits (including “I’m Waiting for the Man,” “Walk on the Wild Side,” and “Perfect Day”) with lesser-known gems, the collection spans the artist’s five-decade-long career: from his earliest days with The Velvet Underground to his groundbreaking solo work.

Los Angeles, CA (February 6, 2024)—Craft Recordings proudly announces the launch of Bluesville Records—a new reissue series that celebrates America’s bedrock music genre, as well as the trailblazing musicians that contributed to its rich traditions. Inspired by the original Bluesville imprint (launched by Prestige Records in 1959 to preserve the hallowed genre and capture its most important living figures), the series is intended to appeal to blues enthusiasts of all... Read More

Here's coverage of days 2 and 3 of the Florida International Audio Expo. This truly was an international Expo as you'll see. Products were on display from everywhere from Latvia to the U.K. to France, Canada, Finland, Austria, Czech Republic, Vietnam and Denmark.Product prices were equally wide-ranging. There was something for everyone at the show, though there was less analog and vinyl than hoped for.Loudspeakers were as usual an important part of the show... Read More

As reported in our previous RSD listing, this year's Record Store Day will be filled with many worthwhile treasures covering every genre. Best of all for some of us, Record Store Day, April 20th this year, does not conflict with AXPONA, which this year is April 12th-14th. The above hyperlinked article lists the Chet Baker/Jack Sheldon release below, and references another pair of Zev Feldman Cannonball Addlerley releases not included, for one reason or another,... Read More

John Marks comes clean about his former indifference to the music of Gustav Mahler!

Press release: In the trio format he’s favored throughout his career, the guitarist and composer Bill Frisell has always projected an orchestral scope through his remarkably complete sense of harmony, a unique gift for melodies that remain with you long after a performance, and a keen feel for how dynamic range can be used to convey emotion. But on his new double album Orchestras, which comes out April 19 on Blue Note Records, he makes those symphonic evocations a... Read More

Romanel, Switzerland – 23 February 2024—The Swiss company announces the introduction of a new turntable. The Reference turntable joins the limited edition Reference Anniversary turntable in Nagra’s flagship Reference line of products. Nagra Reference turntable highlights are:· Massive 25lb. Swiss made CNC machined, dual decoupled, super-cap motor drive system· Spheroidal graphite iron shaft/bearing housing · Maintenance free sintered bronze, high temp/pressure oil... Read More

After some constructive feedback, Tracking Angle is excited to implement a new reader comments formatting system. Our comments section now supports Markdown, an incredibly easy markup language that anyone can quickly learn. With this formatting system, your multi-paragraph comments section essays might help draw an audience, rather than being a massive wall of text that elicits the response of “too long; didn’t read.” Here’s a simple guide to using Markdown when writing comments:

"The sourcing for the vinyl was mastered digital files. This was necessary as this release was a compilation of masters from various album releases. The Sources for the creation of the files were the original analog masters, where the recordings were analog, and Digital masters, where the original recordings were digitally recorded. The remastering was done by Bob Ludwig at Gateway mastering, with some additional mastering done by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman mastering. Chris also did the disc cutting. The vinyl is being pressed on 180g at GZ/Memphis."

Twenty three Verve/Impulse series titles coming this year from Acoustic Sounds. Some of these have previously been issued by Analogue Productions as double 45s (and decades ago by Classic Records at 33 1/3) but others, like the Kenny Burrell and Gerry Muliigan are new. An altogether great year's worth of releases

Last weekend's Florida Audio Expo was another successful show. Attendance was substantial—aided by heavy weekend rains, which is always good for hi-fi shows—and good industry participation, which was a combination of regional dealers and the smaller "indie" manufacturers, many of which also participate in the Capital Audio Fest and its Seattle cousin. However, also participating were some major, well-established and/or up and coming manufacturers. In... Read More

Girls DO count. If you were able to plaster one of those hip Instagram filters over the titanic lore that hovers around Joy Division, you might just be able to make out another side of the Factory Records story. In fact a fair, full spectrum reading of the label that launched that iconic band would more accurately render it as a true indie success story - one built on a semi-fanatical vision in a semi-derelict city that imploded in a semi-brilliant fashion.Now Audrey... Read More

Opened just the other month, Technics' new café in downtown Kyoto is a minimalist space dedicated to the pleasure of listening to records on the company's latest and greatest equipment. Join us for a quick tour.

As expected right about now, the Record Store Day 2024 list is officially out. Amidst the usual gimmicks and barrel-scraping—the 371st reissue of Rumours, 3” Beatles records, or zoetrope picture discs of George Harrison, Blur, T. Rex, and Dio—is a solid smattering of releases sure to lure the RSD-jaded back into the Saturday morning line. This year it’s on April 20; I plan to line up for the first time since 2020. It'll be interesting to see if any specific... Read More

Continuing our coverage of this marvelous box set which gathers together a little piece of recording history, when conductor John Mauceri revived the legendary Hollywood Bowl Orchestra for a series of releases highlighting film music and musical theatre from Broadway, Hollywood, and beyond.  This was an important chapter in the ongoing push to give film music and the American musical the respect and exposure they deserved in the catalogue, but didn’t always receive.  In Part 2 I review in more detail the discs contained in this timely reissue. (You can read Part 1 here, where I delve into the history of re-recordings of this often neglected repertoire on vinyl and CD, placing Mauceri’s recordings in context).

This marvelous box set gathers together a little piece of recording history, when conductor John Mauceri revived the legendary Hollywood Bowl Orchestra for a series of releases highlighting film music and musical theatre from Broadway, Hollywood, and beyond.  This was an important chapter in the ongoing push to give film music and the American musical the respect and exposure they deserved in the catalogue, but didn’t always receive.  In Part 1 I delve into the history of re-recordings of this often neglected repertoire on vinyl and CD, placing Mauceri’s recordings in context.  In Part 2, I review the contents of this timely reissue.