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The musical bounty of 1975 necessitated hard choices. The 15 above were judged most essential. But there are certainly more that merit consideration. What follows is a list of well-deserved contenders from the same year that some would also deem classic, depending on their taste.

Steely Dan: Katy Lied; Little Feat: The Last Record Album; Led Zeppelin: Physical Graffiti; Bob Dylan and The Band: The Basement Tapes; Donald Byrd: Places and Spaces; Archie Shepp: There's Trumpet in My Soul; Louis Jordan: The Best of Louis Jordan; Tom Waits: Nighthawks at the…

Victor Kung of VK Music in Canada offers Japanese-made tube amplifier kits that cater to DIY enthusiasts. The amps that VK Music distributes are also available fully assembled—but where’s the fun in that?

At the Florida International Audio Expo, Kung showcased his gear with a VPI turntable and Stenheim speakers. In Chicago, he exhibited solo, but his static display still stood out. VK Music’s products at AXPONA included the Elekit TU-8800 monoblocks (kit $2750/pair, assembled $4500/pair).

Also shown were components from Sunvalley, another Japanese manufacturer VK Music…

Following the success of his LC1 loudspeaker, Chesky’s has launched LC2 Reference Monitor ($997/ea.), which resembles the LC1 but expands its dimensions and onboard components. Each LC2 employs one "dual-chamber, aperiodic low-distortion” tweeter, one "high-definition cast-basket bass/midrange driver," and "dual inertially balanced,…

Francis Albert Sinatra's milestone album In the Wee Small Hours was recorded and released in 1955 by Capitol Records. Now, in 2025, this never-out-of-print record has been remastered by Blue Note Records as part of their Tone Poet audiophile vinyl series. November 14 marks the 70th anniversary of the album's release on 12" LP.

The new Tone Poet vinyl edition is produced by Joe Harley and was…

This month, I am writing about what could be the ultimate analog topic circa 2025: A prominent vinyl-only record club is going totally offline. Is it a marketing gimmick? Sure it is, but read on.

I am a former Vinyl Me, Please (VMP) member. In the spring, my membership…

In room 849, the US debut was the Luphonic H2 turntable ($4995), which was running a Hana ML cartridge ($1200). The Hana was helped by an SPL Phonos phono stage ($2500). On the digital source side was an XACT S1 EVO music server ($18,500).

Further downstream were an SPL Director Mk2 preamp with DAC ($4700) and an SPL Performer s900 stereo amplifier ($5500), the s900 powered another US debut, the gorgeous Basel Acoustics Concept…

Sossa presented the US debuts of the Merason DAC2 ($12,500) and Qln Prestige 3 G2 loudspeakers ($12,500/pair). Also in the system was an XACT S1 EVO Music Server ($18,600), an Audio Hungary Qualiton 300B Integrated Amplifier ($11,000), and a GigaWatt PC-4 power conditioner ($16,000). Cables from Kubala-Sosna…

The "equipment list from source to ear" did exactly that, laying out the system in detail: Infigo Audio IS-1 Octacore Cryogen ($7000) and Altec Lansing Simbolo ($7000) streamers; an Infigo Audio Method 4 DAC ($35,000); an Infigo Audio Method 7 preamplifier ($20,000); and Infigo Audio Method 3 monoblock amps ($55,000/pair). Those amplifiers drove the new Altec Lansing speakers, called Ribbonacci Reference ($89,000/pair). These were assisted by two Altec Lansing Ripole Subwoofers with 1000W DSP…

Buckeye Eigentakt 1ET9040BA monoblock amplifier
($2390/pair; reviewed by Kalman Rubinson in Vol.48 Nos.1 & 6, January & June 2025 review)

Hana SL MkII phono cartridge
($850; reviewed by Herb Reichert in Vol.47 No.11, November 2024 review)

Schiit Audio Stjarna phono preamplifier
($1699; reviewed by Herb Reichert in Vol.48 Nos.8 & 9, August & September 2025 review)

FINALISTS (in alphabetical order)

Cambridge Audio EXN-100 D/A processor
($1799; reviewed by Tom Fine in…