Where to start here? They still can't spell the late Doug Sax's name correctly so let's start there. It's not "Sachs". They made a mistach on the original, understood. If they repeated it to preserve the jacket's "authenticity", then why add the additional credits? But more to the point, why take a wonderful, magical recording, with depth, space, transparency, transient purity, shimmer, delicacy, three-dimensionality and... Read More

Here are notes on a selection from my favorite books on the history of recording technology, the history of the record business, and the interactions between recording technology, the record business, and the art of music. One example of what I mean by all that is, in the late 1920s, piezoelectric “crystal” microphones supplanted carbon microphones for radio broadcasting. Crystal microphones had a better signal-to-noise ratio than carbon microphones. Therefore, the... Read More

Buffalo, NY, July 11, 2023 -- Bluebird Music, North American distributor for SME is pleased to announce SME M2 Series tonearms are now available for sale. Previously SME tonearms were only available with SME turntables.M2 Series tonearms are precision instruments that feature well-tried SME principles and the design and engineering excellence for which SME is renowned worldwide. By providing a superior platform for your favorite phono cartridges M2 tonearms contribute... Read More

You’ll have to decide for yourself whether DS Audio President Tetsuaki “Aki” Aoyagi’s smarter move was instigating a 21st century version of the ‘70’s era optical phono cartridge or creating an open playing field upon which other companies could develop their own versions of the particular equalizer/preamplifier required to make the cartridge work.Aoyagi, an accountant by training with a family background in high-tech laser optics could probably have fashioned a... Read More

When I opened the package that contained this album, I rolled my eyes and said, “Just what the world needs, another audiophile reissue of Waltz for Debby.” But on a few seconds’ reflection, I dropped my cynicism. The previous reissues, on vinyl anyway, were either out-of-print or available only as part of an enormous, expensive 11-album boxed set, so, yes, this is at least one of the things we can welcome to the world with joy. Waltz is the best album in Bill Evans’... Read More

After dominating the UK music scene in 2021 with her epic, bombastic LP “Sometimes I Might Be Introvert”, Little Simz (real name Simbi Ajikawo) wasted no time in returning with another magnificent expression of her partnership with producer Inflo. While her latest LP “No Thank You” was released on streaming services in December 2022, the physical formats, including a range of vinyl variants, finally surfaced in mid-June 2023.Before turning to the exceptional Little... Read More

Michael Johnson's third and final video report from Pacific Audio Festival 2023 in Seattle, WA June 23-25th. Read More

Barbra Streisand has garnered virtually every accolade, tribute, award, and honor it’s possible for a great popular artist to get: ten Grammys, nine Golden Globes, five Emmys, two Oscars, and a Tony, not to mention four Peabody Awards, the American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Medal of Arts, and France’s Légion d'honneur. Her albums have been reshuffled, remastered, and reconfigured with almost... Read More

I did not line up for Record Store Day this year. I’d respond in disbelief if you told me that five years ago, but it’s true: RSD, once a tactic to lure customers into record shops during the iTunes era, has now become a full-scale shitshow in an already booming vinyl market. In 2023, you don’t need to remind the kids to go to record shops; a new Taylor Swift release does the trick.

1971 was a mammoth year for the Alice Cooper group (not to be confused with the group’s frontman who would eventually go solo). After delving into Los Angeles-tinged psychedelic freakouts with their first two albums, Pretties for You and Easy Action, the group relocated to the Metro Detroit city of Pontiac, Michigan. Within the area that embraced the harder driving sounds of The Stooges and MC5, the band was able to hone in on a straightforward hard rock sound. This... Read More

What do you get when you combine acoustic singer-songwriter qualities with the electronic and infectious beat of the dancefloor? You might find something similar to the German duo of childhood friends, Clemens Rehbein and Phillipp Dausch who go by the moniker Milky Chance. This review may be your introduction to the band—if so, then Willkommen!—but Milky Chance have existed for about a decade and have just released their seventh full-length, Living in a Haze on their... Read More

The oldest and most respected of all classical music record companies, Deutsche Grammophon, has turned to analogue and vinyl technology to remaster gems from its 1970s catalogue. In the process it has redefined its sonic history and legacy, and pointed the way forward for the other classical music majors like Decca, Warner-EMI, and Sony-Columbia to do justice to the incomparable gems in their back catalogues. We examine how Deutsche Grammophon tackled this challenging project, and review the first four records in what will be an ongoing series of releases in the months ahead.

Here are notes on a selection from my favorite books on the history of recording technology, the history of the record business, and the interactions between recording technology, the record business, and the art of music.

At the Pacific Audio Festival, Michael Trochalakis gets a video scoop for Tracking Angle at the Kirmuss Audio booth. First Michael describes his experience getting a prized record restored by Charles Kirmuss and then Kirmuss turns the microphone over to Ari Crane, Heritage Auctions' Director of Vinyl Acquisitions. If you'd like to contact Mr. Crane, here's his email address: AriC@HA.com. You'll want to watch this video for sure! Read More

Michael Johnson returns with Pacific Audio Fest day two coverage. Lead photo is J. Sikora Reference turntable. YouTube "thumbnail" image is of Origin Live Sovereign. Read More