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Aidas AG-CU series Malachite Silver: $7025
Aidas CU-series Durawood: $5700
These hand-built, low-output moving coil cartridges from Lithuania use the same basic generator, boron cantilever, AlNiCo5 magnet, and nude MicroLine stylus, but differ in the wire used to wind the coils and the material used for the cartridge body. The Durawood uses copper wire and a body made from multilayered wood; the Malachite uses silver-plated copper wire and a heavier, green, Tru-Stone body. The first thing that struck MT about the Durawood was how quietly this…

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CH Precision P1 Phono Stage: from $31,000. As reviewed, $48,500 ★
Built with a sleek aluminum-alloy case with no screws visible on any of its surfaces, the Swiss-made CH Precision P1 is no less sophisticated inside. This solid state phono preamplifier offers multiple inputs, two of which address current-amplification circuits—an approach that, according to MF, produces “the best signal/noise ratios” and does not require cartridge loading to achieve flat response. For use with its voltage-amplification inputs, the P1 offers a menu…

Garrard 301 Advanced: $65,000 with SME VA-12 tonearm
MT described this turntable, a painstakingly restored original Garrard 301 from the 1960s mounted in a heavy plinth made from advanced polymer resin (APR) and partnered with a 12" tonearm from SME (not sold separately), in June 2025, but it turned out that the review sample had suffered damage in shipping. He auditioned a better-packed sample in Spin Doctor #31, fitted with Lyra Atlas λ Lambda and Audio Technica AT-ART1000X cartridges. MT found that, as well as offering superb measured performance, the 301 Advanced excelled at…

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Antipodes Oladra server/streamer: $29,000
This expensive server/streamer/reclocker from New Zealand is designed for precise clocking, low noise, and high bandwidth. The Oladra can serve as a Roon Core and can be operated with Roon or with another player app like HQPlayer, MPD with MinimServer, or with "Squeeze," Antipodes' own customized version of the Logitech Media Server. The Oladra can access audio files stored remotely on a NAS and stream music from Qobuz, Tidal, and other streaming services. Users can also add up to 24TB of internal storage—…

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Acoustic Signature TA-7000 NEO: $20,999 for 12" Silver, $18,999 for 9" Silver ★
The TA-7000 uses 4N silver internal wiring, a gimbaled ball/race bearing system, and a carbon-fiber armtube with an internal lattice structure that adds stiffness and damping. It is available with SME or Rega-type mounts and in 9" and 12" versions. The model reviewed was the 9", which conforms to the standard Rega geometry. It pays to be cautious when adjusting arm height, MF advised, as the pillar goes, in a hair-turn of the grub screw, “from rock-solid secure to dropping like a…

AcousTech The Big Record Brush: $36.95
With grounding wire: $52.99
This large-handled brush has soft bristles of both natural hairs and conductive synthetic fibers, and makes dusting LPs nearly foolproof. The 5.5"-wide bristle area easily spans the width of any LP's grooved area. Version with ground wire ($52.99) does "a pretty effective job of dissipating static electricity," Mikey said. (Vol.31 No.9)

Acoustic Signature Load S record weight: $949
The Load S is made from aluminum alloy, weighs 1.6lb (715gm), and uses five of Acoustic…

AC Nexus Advanced Power Distribution & Ground Enhancement System: $20,000 ★
Steve McCormack, once the proprietor of The Mod Squad, is the man who introduced the concept of accessory isolation feet—his Tiptoes were aluminum cones with flat tops and sharply pointed feet. Now he's brought to market this passive AC-power filter, whose Panzerholz enclosure contains two fist-sized silver-conductor capacitors from Duelund. The IEC AC inlet is a Bocchino Audio Marriner10 and the AC outlets are four Furutech Nano Crystal Formula duplexes. Four Cardas ground…