Zinamp valve phono stage MM/MC edition

Zinamp valve phono stage MM/MC edition The Zinamp phono stage is designed for vinyl enthusiasts of both traditional varieties. The ‘I have one and that’s fine for me’, and the ‘I like tweaking so have three turntables and five cartridges and four arms which I like to mix and match’ camp. There seems to be […]

opera-consonance-wax-engine-turntable

OK. So turntables are still the ‘new kid on the block’ after all this time, and still the debates rage regarding whether they should be suspended, rigidly mounted, plinth or no plinth, belt, idler or direct drive… But let’s face it, as with speaker types, or your preferred music to listen to, it’s whether a […]

Let me start with what I believe is a full disclosure statement. I was the very happy owner of a MkI version of this cartridge for several years after I joined the sales staff of a UK retailer back in 2009. It was bought on the strong recommendation of the store manager who described it […]


Vertere MG 1 Magic Groove Record Player Black 2 Blue Mystic

My first review of the Vertere Acoustics MG-1 MkII turntable was published here in The Ear back on 8 October 2019. It was awarded a well-deserved 5 Stars by our esteemed editor and I subsequently nominated it as one of my products of the year. So why, a reasonable person might ask, do we need […]

Klimax-LP12-main

I have been involved in reviewing hi-fi equipment for some time now, but only occasionally have I been genuinely excited but also nervous about receiving a piece of equipment to audition. When the editor told me that his request to Linn Audio for a review sample of their range-topping LP12 had been approved, I actually […]

VPI-Prime-main

Almost a year ago The Ear published my review of the VPI Prime Signature turntable, which you can find here. In summary, I found it to be an excellent machine, with fine build quality and excellent sonics. Here we are, an eventful 12 months later, and I have had another VPI machine in my system, this time […]


rega-aphelion-2-main

One of the first notes I made after installing the Aphelion 2 in a Rega P10 was: it’s not going to do anyone’s vinyl habit any good. Three months and several hundred tracks later I realise that not only does this cartridge make you want to listen to more vinyl but if that vinyl is […]

MFA-SUTV2_main

Where would we be without vinyl? Whether you love it or hate it, it’s been a major element of home music replay for many decades from its earliest beginnings in the heady days of acoustic shellac discs to the refined electronics and modern pressings we can enjoy today.  Not that it’s without its foibles. Talk […]

rega-ania-pro-main

For a company that only made moving magnet cartridges in the first three decades of its existence Rega has thrown itself into moving coils with gusto. It started with the original Apheta in 2005 which became the Apheta 2 nine years later and was joined by the Aphelion a year after that, then in 2017 […]


Hana-ML-main

There are a few cartridge companies that have mastered their microscopic art so well that they not only produce moving coils and moving magnet designs under their own name but do so for other brands as well. This so-called OEM (original equipment manufacturer) model exists elsewhere in hi-fi of course but rarely does it apply […]

Ethos-01

Cartridge design has changed very little over the years. There have been some differences in the generator unit itself, but most still revolve around the ‘wiggle a magnet inside an electrical coil’ (or vice versa) principle. As with anything, exotic materials can be employed, and in some cases the magnetic field is created using field […]

Rega Aura main

Vinyl record sales are at their highest since the eighties, the era when CD started to gain a foothold with its claims of perfect sound forever and the much vaunted but ultimately empty claim that they were immune to abuse. The irony is that the most mangled piece of vinyl can be played, it won’t […]