Michael Fremer

Analog Corner #304: SAT XD1 record player
Analog CornerAudacious AudioTurntable Reviews
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 17, 2020  |  70 comments
Let's begin by discussing what SAT's XD1 Record Player System is not: It is not a Technics SP-10R in a sci-fi–inspired plinth—although the XD1's engine does begin life as the SP-10R's basic drive system, which is stripped down to a handful of essential components, reimagined, reengineered, and rebuilt to much higher mechanical standards.
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Analog Corner #293: VPI HW-40 40th Anniversary Edition turntable & FatBoy tonearm
Analog CornerTonearm ReviewsTurntable Reviews
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 12, 2020  |  First Published: Jan 01, 2020  |  17 comments
Judging by VPI's new HW-40 direct-drive turntable, middle age well suits the company that Harry and Sheila Weisfeld started 40 years ago in their Howard Beach, Long Island, basement.
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Analog Corner #292: AVM R 2.3 turntable, Miyajima Destiny phono cartridge, Sutherland Phono Loco phono preamplifier
Analog CornerPhono Cartridge ReviewsPhono Preamp ReviewsTurntable Reviews
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 09, 2020  |  First Published: Dec 01, 2019  |  4 comments
AVM Audio, which has been in business since 1986 (footnote 1), chose last year to enter the turntable market with two models that reflect the company's brushed-aluminum/blue LED visual aesthetics.

It doesn't take a forensic turntable scientist to figure out who manufactures both of those turntable models. Clearly, Pro-Ject does (footnote 2)—although some audiophiles might recognize only a few key parts. Other elements, especially the two different tonearm models, may appear unique to AVM, having been built to their specs.

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Analog Corner #287: The Charles Kirmuss Vinyl Restoration System
Analog CornerPhono Accessory Reviews
Michael Fremer  |  Nov 03, 2020  |  First Published: Jul 01, 2019  |  23 comments
Back in the 1990s, my friend Nick Despotopoulos and I published an article in The Tracking Angle titled "Zen and the Art of Record Cleaning Made Difficult," describing author Michael Wayne's record-cleaning methodology. That regimen, like the article itself, was the most comprehensive one I knew of at the time.
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Analog Corner #303: Accessorize Your Ride
Analog CornerPhono Accessory Reviews
Michael Fremer  |  Oct 27, 2020  |  17 comments
In place of my usual Wilson Alexxes, a pair of small (though very fine) two-way speakers has been in my system this past month: the Marten Oscar Duos I review elsewhere in this issue. Without my usual reference speakers in the system, I didn't feel comfortable covering anything that affects sound quality for this column, so, with the exception of one item—the first—this column covers accessories that don't require sonic evaluation.
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Marten Oscar Duo loudspeaker
Stand Loudspeaker Reviews
Michael Fremer  |  Oct 14, 2020  |  11 comments
At High End Mässan 2015—Stockholm, Sweden's big audio show—Marten planned to show off its finest loudspeaker to the hometown crowd. Marten took the hotel's largest demo room, located at the prime location at the top of the stairs, at the entry point to the 2nd floor exhibition space. There, Marten set up a super system (see photo below) featuring the Coltrane Supreme 2 loudspeaker, a towering monolith probably intended more for Asian consumption than for Swedes to bring home to their modest digs. In preshow demos, the Coltranes filled the large room with impressively transparent and effortless sound that was sure to impress show attendees.
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Analog Corner #294: TechDAS Air Force One Premium turntable & Graham Engineering Elite tonearm
Analog CornerAudacious AudioTonearm ReviewsTurntable Reviews
Michael Fremer  |  Oct 06, 2020  |  First Published: Feb 01, 2020  |  47 comments
In 2013, when I first wrote about it (footnote 1), the TechDAS Air Force One ($105,000) was that company's best and most expensive turntable; it joined the handful of products that have earned an A+ in our semiannual Recommended Components feature—a rating that remained in place for six years. But too much time has passed since the Air Force One was auditioned by a Stereophile writer, so it has now fallen from that list.
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Analog Corner #302: 25 Years and Counting
Analog Corner
Michael Fremer  |  Sep 14, 2020  |  20 comments
I was planning to ignore the big three oh oh—my 300th Analog Corner column—and go about my normal business of covering an assortment of new analog gear and accessories. There's an abundance of those today, 25 years after the publication of my first column. Back then, there was far less to write about: Vinyl was on life support and headed for the obsolete-music-format trash heap atop a pile of Elcasets and 8-track tapes.
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Bow Technologies ZZ-Eight CD player
CD Player/Transport Reviews
Michael Fremer  |  Sep 10, 2020  |  First Published: Aug 01, 1998  |  18 comments
"Something's coming, I don't know what it is, but it is gonna be great!"—Tony, West Side Story

While the Sharks and the Jets rumble in the consumer electronics playground, knife-fighting for supremacy in the next software go-round, in 1998 we're still living in the 16-bit/44.1kHz audio world, and will be doing so for the foreseeable future. Maybe your idea of audio bliss is listening to the equivalent of computing with a Commodore 64, but it's not mine.

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Analog Corner #296: Grado Epoch3, Lyra Atlas Lambda SL, Ortofon MC A Mono phono cartridges
Analog CornerPhono Cartridge Reviews
Michael Fremer  |  Sep 07, 2020  |  First Published: Apr 01, 2020  |  3 comments
We're 30 years into a cartridge design revolution, particularly at the top end of the market, where manufacturers charge upward of $10,000 for their best efforts: prices that well-off consumers have amply proved they are willing to pay. There doesn't seem to be an innovation end in sight.
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