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Analog Corner #225: Why, in 2014, Does Vinyl Continue to Grow?

Michael Fremer advocating vinyl and analog on MTV in 1993.

Vinyl sales in America rose 30% in 2013, according to Nielsen SoundScan, which keeps a tally of recorded media sales. Because Nielsen SoundScan only skims the surface of the record retailing picture, missing considerable "nook and cranny" sales, the real number is probably far greater. The SoundScan numbers also omit sales of used vinyl, which are considerable.

By the time you read this, I will have posted on Analogplanet.com worldwide record-pressing totals, from information I've obtained direct from the pressing plants.…

Analog Corner #225: Why, in 2014, Does Vinyl Continue to Grow? Page 2

Keeping the analog flame alive? A very young Chad Kassem of Acoustic Sounds (left) and an equally young Michael Fremer at a 1997 audio show.

Having predicted it on The Today Show in the early 1990s, during a segment on how to transfer LPs to cassette (!), and having advocated vinyl and analog on MTV in 1993 (footnote 2), and on The Howard Stern Show in 2001, etc., I am not confounded by the LP's resurgence, nor do I wonder what's going on here. Thanks to reader tips, I've been monitoring the intensity of the backlash to the vinyl resurgence for years, and it seems to be directly…

Sweet Puppies Powered by Boulder: Wilson’s Legends Get a New Leash on Sound, Aided by Quintessence, Clearaudio, dCS, and Innuos

In the Renaissance Hotel’s Connection room, Quintessence Audio of Morton Grove, Illinois presented Boulder’s new 1151 power amplifiers ($48,000/pair as monoblocks, see Stereophile’s June issue), a 1110 preamp ($24,000), and a 1108 phono preamp ($24,000), all making their AXPONA debut.

They were paired with Wilson Audio’s WATT/Puppy loudspeakers ($39,500/pair); Clearaudio’s Reference Jubilee turntable ($30,000) fitted with a Hana Umami Red MC cartridge ($3950); a dCS Rossini APEX streaming DAC ($32,800) and a Rossini Master Clock ($11,500); Innuos’s ZEN Next-Gen streamer-server…

Brama Drama: Vinnie Rossi and Rockport Bring the Thunder Along With Innuos, Mola Mola, Stillpoints, and AudioQuest

It had been too long since I’d heard Vinnie Rossi’s gear, so I was pleased to encounter the brand’s Brama Gen2 preamplifier ($38,995), Brama Gen2 monoblocks ($59,995/pair), and Rossi himself. The system also featured Rockport Technologies’ new Lynx loudspeakers ($78,000/pair in Satin Titanium Metallic) and the Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC ($13,500). I was curious to hear how it all came together sonically.

I heard three tracks: one by Abdullah Ibrahim; Dominique Fils-Aimé’s “Where There Is Smoke” (mercifully birdless); and Reference Recordings’ Danse macabre by Saint-Saëns, performed…

Zesto, YG, Feickert, Tri-Planar, Ortofon, Stillpoints, and Cardas Do Justice to Billie and Rimsky

For years, my Stereophile colleagues have laid claim to Zesto Audio’s exhibits; so at this AXPONA, I was glad to cover a room where I could enjoy Zesto’s sparkling tube sound again.

On a 24-bit/192kHz file of Billie Holiday's inimitable late-career take on “A Foggy Day (In London Town),” from Songs for Distingué Lovers, the muted trumpet sounded delicious, and midbass tonalities were ideal. I loved how the combination of Zesto electronics and YG Acoustics Hailey 3 loudspeakers ($63,400/pair) projected Billie's voice upward, filling the room with her gifts.

Zesto…

Sound Organisation Unites Rega, ProAc, and Chord in a British System Showdown

Steve Daniels's Sound Organisation showcased components from Rega Research, Chord Electronics, and ProAc—renowned British manufacturers known for their competitively priced, high-quality designs—and drew attention with several debut products.

The Rega Planar 3 RS Edition turntable ($1795) features a new aluminum-skin HPL laminate, resulting in the stiffest plinth yet for the Planar 3 series. According to the Sound Organisation website, the RS Edition includes a custom-matched Neo MK2 PSU, with “each motor-vibration circuit hand-tuned to each individual motor.” The low-noise 24V…

T+A Solitaire T Bluetooth/Wired Headphones

About a dozen years ago, I found myself sitting across from a disheveled gentleman in a near-empty lounge at LAX Airport as we both waited for a delayed flight. A well-loved leather suitcase stood at his feet. To my amazement, he wore a pair of Stax SR-L700s—full-on electrostatics he powered with an unwieldy amplifier he held on his lap, a power cord snaking to the outlet near his seat. It was absurd. And magnificent. He caught me smiling, smirked, lifted one earcup, and said, "If I'm going to spend another three hours in this godforsaken place, I might as well do it with Coltrane in my skull…

T+A Solitaire T Bluetooth/Wired Headphones Page 2

The T+A team decided to leave spatial audio to the likes of Apple (AirPods Pro II, AirPods Max) and Bose (QuietComfort Ultra). I won't pout, but except for critical-listening situations, spatial audio can be a plus. It gets the sound out of your head and seemingly in front of you, like in the real world (footnote 3). T+A currently has no plans to incorporate this digital trickery even in a next-generation product. "We don't think that spatialized audio is really high end," Amft noted with a shrug. "It's nice and useful for gaming but changes the original recording too much, and that isn't our…

T+A Solitaire T Bluetooth/Wired Headphones Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Circumaural closed-back wired and wireless headphones. Bluetooth 5.1 class 2 with SBS, aptX, aptX HD, and AAC codecs. Integrated DAC and amplification for each channel. 42mm edge-dampened cellulose-diaphragm drivers. Three levels of active noise cancellation. Transparency mode. 70 hours of playback in non-HQ Bluetooth on the 1200mAh lithium-ion battery, 35 hours with HQ on. Capable of sample rates up to 96kHz via USB. Frequency range: Active mode 4Hz–22kHz; passive mode 4Hz–45kHz. THD: <0.05% (1kHz/94dB). Impedance: 64 ohms. Weight 11.5oz (326gm…

T+A Solitaire T Bluetooth/Wired Headphones Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Bluetooth sources: iPhone 14 Pro Max, LG V30, Samsung Galaxy S10e, iPad Pro (2016), 16" MacBook Pro M1.
Digital sources: Musical Fidelity V90 DAC, Auralic Vega DAC, Bluesound Node 2i streamer.
Headphones: HiFiMan HE1000se, Audeze LCD-4, Focal Bathys, Oppo PM-3.
Headphone amplifiers: LSA Hyperdrive 2, RME ADI-2 DAC FS, McIntosh MHA100.—Rogier van Bakel