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Re-Tales

Re-Tales #11: Business as Unusual

Julie Mullins Jul 13, 2021

Photo: John Atkinson

As the pandemic abates and reopening progresses, times are still uncertain. Industries worldwide continue to be obstructed. Parts and materials costs have risen sharply. Shipping rates, and shipping demand, have spiked. The recent Suez Canal blockage didn't help. All this has led to widespread supply-chain difficulties.

The audio business is not immune. Disruption and delays have troubled manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and customers for several months.

Music and Recording Reviews

July 2021 Classical Record Reviews

Jason Victor Serinus, Stephen Francis Vasta Jul 09, 2021

Hexagon: Les petits nerveux, Luciano Berio: Berio To Sing, Bruckner: Symphony No.3 and Ksenija Sidorova: Piazzolla Reflections.

Music and Recording Reviews

July 2021 Jazz Record Reviews

Larry Birnbaum, Thomas Conrad, Kurt Gottschalk Jul 09, 2021

Punkt.Vrt.Plastik: Somit, Ben Goldberg: Everything Happens to Be, John Patitucci, Vinnie Colaiuta, Bill Cunliffe: Trio, Enrico Morello: Cyclic Signs, Ches Smith and We All Break: Path of Seven Colors and Dan Wilson: Vessels of Wood and Earth.

Music and Recording Reviews

July 2021 Rock Record Reviews

Anne E. Johnson Jul 09, 2021

Imelda May: 11 Past the Hour

J. Gordon Holt Miscellaneous Solid State Preamp Reviews

Acoustic Research Stereo Remote Control

J. Gordon Holt Jul 08, 2021

Prologue: The context for this review is that back in the 1980s, preamplifiers and integrated amplifiers with remote controls didn't exist. In early 1985 I borrowed a sample of Acoustic Research's Stereo Remote Control, which I believe was designed by Ken Kantor (later to find fame with NHT) and set it up in my bedroom. It drove a pair of powered loudspeakers with auto turn-on, and I very quickly grew to appreciate, not just the sound quality, but the convenience of being able to control the system from the comfort of my bed. So what did JGH think of the SRC?John Atkinson

Budget Component Reviews Phono Cartridge Reviews

Sumiko Blue Point & Blue Point Special phono cartridges

Corey Greenberg Jul 07, 2021

In these waning days of Analog's Last Stand, it might seem absurd to review midpriced phono cartridges when this space could be given instead to the gear Stereophile usually coverslike $3000 OTL tube amps built by guys like that "Rainbow Man" lone nut who used to dance in the stands at Super Bowls before he took hostages in a hotel room with a .45 screaming, "MIT CAPACITORS!!! MIT CAPACITORS!!!"

Analog Corner Tonearm Reviews Turntable Reviews

Analog Corner #280: VPI Avenger Reference turntable, VPI Fatboy tonearm

Michael Fremer Jul 06, 2021

Turntable manufacturer VPI Industries is about to celebrate its 40th anniversary. Despite analog playback's ups and downs (pun time), VPI has managed not only to survive but to prosper and grow, thanks to a smart product mix that includes high-value, wet-wash/vacuum-dry record-cleaning machines that perhaps took up the revenue slack when, in the mid-1990s, interest in new turntables dippedbut the vinyl faithful still had millions of dirty records to keep clean.

Revinylization

Revinylization #19: More Cowbell (Blood, Sweat & Tears)

John Swenson Jul 02, 2021

Blood, Sweat & Tears began as Al Kooper's dream of a rock band with horns. By the time he realized the concepton the band's 1968 debut, Child Is Father to the Manit had become much more: an engaging hybrid of New York soul, Greenwich Village folk, and innovative jazz arrangements. With producer John Simon at the helm, Child was a virtual definition of the possibilities inherent in the heady musical experimentation of the late 1960s. Kooper's writing and arranging for that record (including the monumental "I'll Love You More Than You'll Ever Know," later a hit for Donny Hathaway) is one of the high points of his storied career.

Integrated Amp Reviews

Vincent SV-737 integrated amplifier

Ken Micallef Jul 01, 2021

Founded in 1995 by Uwe Bartel, Vincent Audio is owned by Sintron Distribution GmbH. Vincent launched its LS-1 preamplifier and D-150 hybrid stereo power amplifier the year the company was founded.

Vincent "offers two 'electrical concepts,'" states the Vincent website. "One side is solid state transistor products. The other is a hybrid technology featuring vacuum tubes on the input stages combined with solid state transistors in the output stage."

Gramophone Dreams Phono Cartridge Reviews Phono Preamp Reviews

Gramophone Dreams #50: Kitsuné HiFi LCR-1 MK5 phono preamplifier, Sumiko Songbird & Starling phono cartridges

Herb Reichert Jun 30, 2021

In my world, the quiet ritual of choosing a record and placing it carefully on the platter is always followed by a sequence of three rough sounds.

With the volume at listening level, I hear the bristle-by-bristle rasping of my stylus brush as it drags across the exposed tip of the cartridge cantilever. Next, as I dip the diamond in Onzow gel, I hear a little suction cup pop and feel the compliance of the cantilever's rubber-tire suspension. Finally, my brain registers that sizzle sound as the stylus contacts the grooved surface. These sounds are tattooed on my brain. They "cue up" my consciousness, preparing it for attentive listening.