A friend who sells high-end audio gear once pointed out that people who shop for separate tonearms are very different from those interested in phono cartridges or turntables in general. If you think about it, this makes sense. Almost everyone buying a new turntable needs a cartridge to go with it, and most turntables come equipped with a tonearm. Tonearm shoppers are more avid enthusiasts than general consumers.

It wasn't always that way. In earlier days of high fidelity, 60 or more years ago, people putting together a cutting-edge phono playback system would typically buy what was known as a motor unit: a Thorens TD 124, Garrard 301, or a few years later the Garrard 401 or Technics SP-10. They would match it up with a tonearm from a company like SME or Ortofon.

Chad Kassem knows what it takes to make an immortal blues record. "Somebody who lived down in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, the South. They lived through it. Their story is real, and their voice is real."

The founder/owner of Analogue Productions and longtime blues true believer, Kassem's record label, mail-order warehouse, and vinyl plating and pressing plant—all headquartered in Salina, Kansas—were recently profiled in The New York Times ("The Wizard of Vinyl is in Kansas," March 5, 2025). Among his many business ventures, Kassem is part of the new Craft Recordings vinyl-reissue series of titles drawn from the Bluesville catalog, which is owned by Craft's parent company, Concord Records.

Focal has just announced the Diva Mezza Utopia, a larger and more powerful sibling to the Diva Utopia active wireless speaker system it debuted last year. The new addition maintains the Diva Utopia form factor and aesthetic while upping the size of the four woofers from 6.5" to 8" and power from 400W to 500W per speaker. The result is a speaker system Focal states will "effortlessly fill" rooms up to 1076 sq ft. in size with sound.

The large Balboa II room at T.H.E. Show in SoCal demo'd a system designed around a pair of Clarisys Audio Studio Plus speakers ($69,000/pair) driven by two pairs of WestminsterLab Rei monoblock class-A amplifiers ($37,900/pair) run in bridged mode, ahead of which was a WestminsterLab Quest balanced preamplifier ($27,900).

Back when gasoline had lead in it and amplifiers came with circuit diagrams in the back of the manual, there was an unspoken understanding that power meant weight. A professional camera was a Graflex Speed Graphic or a Hasselblad 1000F, built like a small battleship and nearly as heavy. Powerful car engines were cast-iron V8s with cylinders you could stick a fist in. And of course, serious amps had transformers that could double as boat anchors.

These days, amplifier design often emphasizes efficiency. Class-D amps in particular have come a long way. Many are terrific, and they're undeniably practical. But there's still something uniquely satisfying about a design that prioritizes timeless expression over economy of electricity or space.

The Pathos InPoL Legacy, a class-A design, is unapologetically massive and so gloriously overbuilt that moving it requires a tactical plan and a chiropractor.