Analog Planet

07/12/2023

The jailer man and Sailor Sam are at it again. Paul McCartney & Wings will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of Band on the Run on February 2, 2024, with a 2LP edition featuring previously unreleased “Underdubbed” mixes on LP2, and a separate half-speed-mastered 1LP version of the original December 1973 release. Read on to see just what “Underdubbed” mixes entail, and if these new versions of Band on the Run

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/paul-mccartney-wings-celebrate-50th-anniversary-band-run-february-2-2024-2lp-edition

05/12/2023

So many great new products to be seen at the most recent Capital Audiofest (CAF), so little time. Well, that’s not entirely true, as our intrepid analog-centric editorial team spent quite a lot of time on the case at CAF 2023. That said, there’s some additional gear that was on display at CAF we wanted to take a deeper dive into, one of those items being DS Audio’s Grand Master EX optical cartridge. Read on to see what the impressively high-end Grand Master EX cart has to offer. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/ds-audio-grand-master-ex-optical-cartridge

04/12/2023

Welcome to another installment of analog highlights from Capital Audiofest (CAF), which was held November 10-12, 2023, at the Twinbrook Hilton in Rockville, Maryland. As we noted last week in Part 1, CAF has expanded to a reported 114 exhibit rooms across more than four floors in addition to various conference rooms throughout the hotel. Read Part 2 of Julie Mullins’ comprehensive show report to duly digest a second helping of the best analog gear CAF 2023 had to offer. . . (All photos here are also by Julie Mullins.)

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/capital-audiofest-show-report-part-2

01/12/2023

The history of the storied 1962-1966 and 1967-1970 retrospective albums by The Beatles, alternately known as the Red Album and the Blue Album, is quite fascinating — and now they’re both newly available in expanded, 50th anniversary 180g 3LP editions with a number of additional tracks not on either of the original 1973 releases, one of them being the “final” Bealtes song, “Now And Then.” Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see if either/both of the new Red and Blue 3LP sets belong in your collection and on your turntable. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/expanded-50th-anniversary-180g-3lp-sets-beatles%E2%80%99-legendary-red-and-blue-albums-offer

29/11/2023

Polish turntable and tube amp manufacturer Muarah launched their new MT-3 turntable and MY-1/9 tonearm at the recent, 25th edition of the Audio Video Show in Warsaw, so we figured they were both well worth a respective closer look. Read on to see more about the MT-3’s impressive specs and features. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/muarah-mt-3-turntable-and-my-19-tonearm

28/11/2023

Pangea Audio Distributing has just announced the soon-forthcoming Record Doctor X, a new edition of their acclaimed Record Doctor vacuum record cleaning machines that simultaneously cleans both sides of a record in order to “sav[e] time and effort over current versions” (their words). Read on to see if the all-new RDX VRCM fits your own current and/or future record cleaning needs. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/record-doctor-x-vacuum-record-cleaning-machine

27/11/2023

It was a fine time to be in the Washington, D.C. metro area for the most recent Capital Audiofest (CAF) that was held November 10-12, 2023, at the Twinbrook Hilton in Rockville, Maryland. A growing show, CAF has expanded to encompass a reported 114 exhibit rooms across more than four floors in addition to conference rooms throughout the hotel. Read Part 1 of Julie Mullins’ comprehensive show report to see a fine selection of the best analog gear CAF 2023 had to offer. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/capital-audiofest-show-report-part-1

22/11/2023

“Scandinavian design with an international twist.” So says notable Danish company Aavik Acoustics about their R-580 phono preamp, so we figured we’d take a closer look at this cool unit before we head on into the extended holiday weekend ahead. Read on to get all the R-580 specs and feature details. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/aavik-acoustics-r-580-phono-preamp

21/11/2023

If it’s the holidays and we’re talking holiday-centric vinyl, then we should also be talking about Vince Guaraldi and his indelible work for the Peanuts animation franchise. To kick off the holiday season right, LMFP is serving up the first ever vinyl edition of A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving in celebration of the TV special’s 50th anniversary. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see if the new 180g 1LP edition of A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving should be cued up alongside your turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and/or whatever else is on your festive table. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/vince-guaraldi%E2%80%99s-charlie-brown-thanksgiving-finally-gets-first-ever-serving-vinyl-special

20/11/2023

Last week, Capital Audiofest ruled large in the Washington, DC area, and I anointed our main product reviewer Ken Micallef to shoot as much video footage as he could of all the cool turntables and other analog-centric gear and goodies he came across at the show. CAF offered “a world of vinyl, gadgets, turntables, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and the mad audiophiles who love them,” Ken noted in a caption underneath the 16-minute video he posted for us on YouTube that you can now watch over on the AP site. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/seen-capital-audiofest-turntables-turntables-turntables-and-more

18/11/2023

Aja is the fourth (and first non-sequential) entry in Analogue Productions' comprehensive 200g 45rpm 2LP Steely Dan UHQR reissue series — and it’s possibly the most anticipated of them all. Does the UHQR edition of Aja stack up favorably with and/or sound better than the previous LP editions from the label likes of ABC, Mobile Fidelity, and Cisco? Read AP editor Mike Mettler’s in-depth review to find out if the Aja UHQR is worth every bit of those cool 1,500 dime dances it’ll run you tp pick it up (a.k.a. $150, in normal dollars parlance). . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/steely-dan%E2%80%99s-200g-45rpm-2lp-aja-pride-analogue-productions-uhqr-neighborhood

17/11/2023

RHINO just added two great titles to their ongoing AAA 180g 1LP High Fidelity series — namely, The Doobie Brothers’ March 1973 offering The Captain and Me and Herbie Hancock’s May 1972 effort, Crossings. Read on for all the AAA details. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/rhino%E2%80%99s-hi-fi-series-serves-aaa-180g-1lp-sets-pair-seventies-classics-doobie-brothers%E2%80%99

15/11/2023

Our latest Review Explosion Short Cuts serving tackles a trio of fine new LP sets thematically connected by a common love of British rock of the 1960s and ’70s. Included herein are an archival 2LP live set from The Flaming Lips circa 2003, a recent 1LP studio offering from the ever-prolific Guided By Voices, and the first official solo sojourn LP from acclaimed Irish singer/songwriter/producer Thomas Walsh. Read on to glean Mark Smotroff’s take on these wonderful LP sides that are collectively chock full of melody and imagination. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/review-explosion-short-cuts-edition-vol-11-recent-studio-and-live-lps-trio-cool-indie

15/11/2023

ARC, the ARChive of Contemporary Music, consists of the world’s largest music collection — it contains over 3 million LPs and other historical recording-related materials — but it is now looking for a new, permanent home. Read on to see ARC’s plans for the ongoing preservation and housing of this truly important collection — and how you may be able to help keep it going, if you so choose. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/arc-literal-archive-contemporary-music-looking-new-permanent-home-continue-preserving-more-3

13/11/2023

While we’re waiting to upload some first-hand reports from the intrepid AP team that attended this past weekend’s Capital Audiofest, we thought we’d take a moment to look at some new top-shelf moving magnet (MM) cartridges from Ortofon. The Danish company just announced seven additions to their vaunted 2M series — namely, seven new MM carts specifically designated as 2MR. Read on to see what’s in the feature set for the 2MR series as a whole as well as each respective SRP for Ortofon’s fine new MM cartridge array. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/ortofon-2mr-series-mm-cartridges

10/11/2023

In retrospect, Tom Waits' trajectory from singer/song writer to down-beaten jazz-fueled street person scowling at the piano in the 1970s made perfect sense. But when he came out of the gate in the early 1980s, his transformation was almost as dramatic as David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust reinvention. Five new of-era 180g 1LP reissues from Island/UMe — namely, 1983’s Swordfishtrombones, 1985’s Rain Dogs, 1987’s Franks Wild Years, 1992’s Bone Machine, and 1993’s The Black Rider — all seek to remind us of just how fertile this period was in Waits’ overall canon. Read Mark Smotroff’s Short Cuts combo review to see if any or all of these new wonderful Waits reissues belong in your collection. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/review-explosion-short-cuts-edition-vol-10-quintet-classic-darkly-beautiful-tom-waits-albums

08/11/2023

David Rawlings had a clear mission ahead of him. His dream was to release Gillian Welch’s acclaimed June 2011 alt-rural album The Harrow & The Harvest on reel-to-reel tape — but just how would he go about doing it? One word: DIY. During a recent phone interview with AP editor Mike Mettler, Rawlings discusses how The Harrow & The Harvest made its transition to tape, why making tape duplicates is a challenging process, why he also still loves cutting lacquers, and which Welch album might just make its reel-to-reel debut next. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/ap-exclusive-david-rawlings-how-he-turned-gillian-welch%E2%80%99s-acclaimed-2011-album-harrow

07/11/2023

Since we went to the upper reaches of aspirational gear with yesterday’s look at an uber-high-end phono preamp, we figured we’d swing the SRP pendulum back the other way today and eyeball a new, and quite affordable, piece of equipment from noted German manufacturer Rekkord — namely, their new F100 turntable. Read on to find out more about the budget-minded F100 ’table and its feature set. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/rekkord-f100-turntable

06/11/2023

NAGRA AUDIO is making a bold statement with their all-caps HD PHONO preamp. Read on to see all the specs of the high-end Swiss manufacturer’s flag-planting phono preamp. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/nagra-hd-phono-phono-preamp

03/11/2023

Phil Manzanera is quite the worldly musician. Lately, the guitarist/composer has been on a tear with his Roxy Music bandmate, saxophonist Andy Mackay, with three LPs en route: AM PM, Roxymphony, and Christmas — plus a fourth with Tim Finn, a limited edition 3LP set. During a recent Zoom interview with AP editor Mike Mettler, Manzanera discusses how AM PM instinctually came together, the differences between composing instrumentals as opposed to music accompanied by lyrics, and which Roxy Music album he feels is perfectly sequenced for vinyl playback. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/phil-manzanera-has-all-time-world-lps-thanks-score-new-projects-vinyl-including-roxy-music

02/11/2023

ECM Records has just expanded their vinyl reissue campaign under the new Luminessence banner, a series that purports to have accessed analog masters for these new 180g 1LP editions. Read Mark Smotroff’s Short Cuts combo review of four key Luminessence titles — from Naná Vasconcelos, Kenny Wheeler, Gary Burton, and Old and New Dreams — to see if any or all of them belong in your collection. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/review-explosion-short-cuts-edition-vol-9-ecm-mines-fine-vintage-catalog-entrants-new-analog

01/11/2023

Back in September, we asked you, the AP faithful, to “show us your turntables!” for an all-new feature section titled Table Toppers — and did you ever respond in full. Since then, we’ve been sifting through a cavalcade of your many great submissions, and we figured what better way to kick off the month of November than with the debut installment of Table Toppers — namely, a truly terrific trio of ’tables owned by Diogo Alfaiate of Lisbon, Portugal. Read on to see a score of cool pics of Diogo’s amazing system, plus get his firsthand account of his lifelong love of vinyl. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/table-toppers-take-1-truly-terrific-three-turntable-system-portugal

31/10/2023

As one of the oldest turntable manufacturers in America, SOTA Turntables has the rare vantage point of both understanding what U.S. customers want while also addressing a large international following. Their latest offering, the SOTA Quasar turntable, ups their game considerably. Read Ken Micallef’s review to find out if the Quasar immediately belongs on your own turntable-obtainment radar. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/sota-quasar-turntable

27/10/2023

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26/10/2023

The last The Beatles song, “Now And Then,” will be released worldwide om November 2. Then, on November 10, The Beatles’ 1962-1966 (‘The Red Album’) and 1967-1970 (‘The Blue Album’) collections will be released in 2023 Edition packages by Apple Corps Ltd./Capitol/UMe. Read on for all the details, shared directly from a Beatles/UMe press release. . ..

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/last-beatles-song-%E2%80%9Cnow-and-then%E2%80%9D-coming-november-2-beatles%E2%80%99-1962-1966-%E2%80%98-red-album%E2%80%99-and-1967

25/10/2023

The Rolling Stones have just released their first studio album of all-new material in 18 years, Hackney Diamonds. Naturally, it begs the question: Will Hackney Diamonds ultimately become a classic Stones album? We don’t know that answer for sure just yet, but read Mark Smotroff’s review to find out if the 180g 1LP vinyl edition of Hackney Diamonds and/or its litany of variants are worthy of many a repeat spin. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/first-all-original-rolling-stones-studio-lp-18-years-hackney-diamonds-delivers-goods

24/10/2023

People always like to talk about spring cleaning, but we here at AP like to do it year-round — especially when it comes to making sure our records are as clean as they can be before we put them on our turntables. CleanerVinyl has a similar philosophy, and the company’s flagship ProXL record cleaning system and UC-3360 multi-frequency ultrasonic cleaner are clearly tailor-made for this all-important LP maintenance task. Read on to see how CleanerVinyl may have the literal solution for your own regularly scheduled record cleaning needs. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/cleanervinyl-proxl-record-cleaning-system-uc-3360-multi-frequency-ultrasonic-cleaner

22/10/2023

Created with direct input from label founder Marshall Chess, VMP’s The Story of Cadet Records almost entirely AAA 180g 8LP super deluxe box set is a welcome addition to the analog fold. The eight albums offered herein — including rare titles from the likes of Muddy Waters, Etta James, and Ramsey Lewis — are a healthy cross-section snapshot of the expansive sounds Cadet was pursuing as the mid-1960s exploded both socially and musically. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see why The Story of Cadet Records is worth the investment. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/review-explosion-short-cuts-edition-vol-8-vmp%E2%80%99s-story-cadet-records-almost-entirely-aaa-180g

20/10/2023

Pro-Ject USA has staked a claim for coming up with some truly amazing Artist Collection turntables in recent years, and their latest offering under this signature series umbrella is a clear beauty: The Dark Side of the Moon limited edition turntable. Read on to see how this visually striking ’table ties in quite symmetrically with the ongoing 50th anniversary celebration of one of Pink Floyd’s most seminal albums. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/pro-ject-dark-side-moon-special-limited-edition-turntable

17/10/2023

David Bowie’s October 1973 covers album, Pin Ups, was actually somewhat of a placeholder, made with the intention to fulfill contractual requirements for his then-label, RCA Records — but it actually became a smash hit. To celebrate the album’s 50th anniversary, Parlophone is releasing a 180g 1LP half-speed-mastered edition on October 20. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see if the new Parlophone Pin Ups is a worthy addition to your LP listening queue. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/david-bowie%E2%80%99s-groundbreaking-1973-covers-lp-pin-ups-gets-new-180g-1lp-50th-anniversary-half

17/10/2023

We only got a brief sneak peek at Moonriver Audio’s cool new 505 MM/MC hybrid phono preamp in action at Munich High End 2023 back in May, but now it’s time to take a much closer look at it now that it’s on the market. Read on to see why this Swedish company’s 505 phono preamp is worthy of our attention. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/moonriver-audio-505-mmmc-hybrid-phono-preamp

13/10/2023

We’re always happy to see when new vinyl-centric record labels crop up with a clear mission, and that leads us directly to the M.O. that’s fueling Inner Groove Records. The fledgling label’s inaugural release is a 180g 1LP reissue of Lim Taylor’s long lost 1974 funk/soul gem You Hear Me Knocking, an album that initially surfaced on Ray Charles’ custom Crossover Records imprint. Read on to see how you can secure your own copy of Knocking before this strictly limited-edition LP is gone, gone, gone. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/new-label-inner-groove-records-announces-their-inaugural-180g-1lp-reissue-lim-taylor%E2%80%99s-lost

11/10/2023

The new Geffen/UMe 1LP edition of Steely Dan’s seminal September 1977 album, Aja, sounds pretty darn good, all things considered, given that it bears a key difference from the other entries in this reissue series to date. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see what that difference is, and if this new edition of Aja is right for you either way. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/ume%E2%80%99s-new-1lp-reissue-steely-dan%E2%80%99s-seminal-hit-1977-album-aja-indeed-has-merit-those-seeking

09/10/2023

Cyrus Audio has decided to kick off the celebration of their 40th anniversary in 2024 somewhat on the early side by announcing the late-October availability of their new TTP turntable — but we don’t mind that kind of advance fanfare in the least. Read on to find out more about the well-respected British company’s flagship turntable offering. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/cyrus-audio-ttp-turntable

06/10/2023

Trevor Rabin Music is a truly cinematic artist — and we don’t just say that because he joined a band called Cinema that soon enough brought its name back around to YES (official) before they released November 1983’s 90125. In the interim, Rabin has scored over 50 films and television shows, continued to work on and off with various Yesmates (hello, ARW), and he’s also released a number of wide-ranging solo albums to boot. His latest effort, Rio, is being released today in various 2LP configurations via InsideOut Music. During a recent Zoom interview with AP editor Mike Mettler, Rabin discusses the vinyl-centric impetus of Rio, why it’s important for him to personally attend as many mastering sessions as he can, and why he feels Bob Ludwig’s mastering “saved” 90125. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/trevor-rabin-gives-hale-and-hearty-yes-doing-double-180g-vinyl-new-solo-album-rio-and

05/10/2023

We’re always excited when the next round of Record Store Day titles is announced, and this week has already seen a flurry of notices about a slew of great Black Friday RSD Exclusive and RSD First titles that will be available at participating Record Store Day shops on November 24. Read on to find out what some of our early RSD Black Friday favorites are, what their respective limited-edition pressings are capped at, and if they’re being offered on black or color vinyl. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/record-store-day-black-friday-edition-offers-wide-variety-rsd-exclusive-and-rsd-first-titles

04/10/2023

It looks like the old Who’s Next. It feels like the old Who’s Next. But the new 180g 1LP half-speed-mastered 50th anniversary edition of The Who’s seminal August 1971 masterpiece Who’s Next sounds arguably bigger and better than any commonly available version of the original mix of Who’s Next that we’ve heard to date on vinyl. Read Mark Smotroff’s review to see why this new Abbey Road half-speed-mastered, Plangent Processes-restored 180g 1LP Who’s Next belongs on your turntable, pronto. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/meet-new-lp-boss-aka-abbey-road-half-speed-mastered-plangent-processes-restored-180g-1lp

02/10/2023

In honor of Audiophile Day, we here at AP thought we’d put the spotlight on a new turntable that gets our high-end hi-fi juices flowing — and the Reed Muse 3A ’table fits that bill to a T. Read on to glean more about this noted Lithuanian company’s latest turntable endeavor. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/reed-muse-3a-turntable

30/09/2023

Our seventh Short Cuts installment of Review Explosion is all about Pharoah Sanders — namely, the rare 1977 spiritual jazz album Pharoah that’s now a part of a new 2LP Luaka Bop box set that also includes a separate Harvest Time Live 1977 LP, plus a look at the fine 180g 1LP Third Man-Pressed Verve by Request reissue of 1972’s Black Unity. Read on to get Mark Smotroff’s take on both of these quite worthwhile reissues. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/review-explosion-short-cuts-edition-vol-7-rare-1977-pharoah-sanders-spiritual-jazz-album

28/09/2023

The hunt for Rocktober vinyl is officially underway. RHINO is once again set to commence their annual Rocktober vinyl campaign, this time with a full slate of 27 limited edition LPs that will be spread across each Friday of the month ahead, starting on October 6. Read on to find out what comprises the complete Rocktober 2023 slate, which Friday each of those 27LPs will be coming out on respectively, if they’re coming in black and/or color LP options, and for how much apiece. . .

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/rhino-set-kick-official-rocktober-2023-vinyl-festivities-october-6-slate-27-limited-edition