Rega Planar 3 RS Edition turntable, arm & cartridge The turntable market is pretty well supplied with offerings at almost all price points, so why did Rega feel the need to create the Planar 3 RS Edition? I presume it’s because there is a pretty wide gap between the price of the standard Planar 3 […]
The Ear’s reviewers pick the best hi-fi of 2024 If you want to know the best hi-fi of 2024, the audio products that really wowed our reviewers this year look no further. These components that made a lasting impression, they are the ones reviewers would have held onto if they could and sometimes did. There […]
Audio Creative Groovemaster 4 tonearm I love tonearms. To me they are the access point for getting that magical stuff called music out of the grooves in a vinyl record in such a way that we can become immersed in it. I know that the turntable and cartridge are integral parts of that process, but […]
Gold Note Da Vinci & Giotto cartridges Gold Note has risen to prominence in recent years with an extensive product offering that includes turntables, cartridges, phono stages, amplifiers, CD players and DACs, the company is rapidly gaining a well deserved reputation for good sound quality. The company was founded in Italy by Maurizio Aternini. He […]
Skyanalog P-1M & P-1G MC cartridges Cartridges are right at the sharp end of groove information retrieval, in every sense of that phrase. Whether it’s a wax cylinder, 78rpm shellac disc or a vinyl record, the cartridge is where the music starts. Stylus tip shape is an often-debated subject too, and many engineers have spent […]
Tangerine Audio Revolver LP12 platter Those of you who have been kind enough to read any of my pieces for The Ear over the past few years will know that vinyl is my favourite music replay medium and that, unless there is a guest turntable in the house, I use a Linn Sondek LP12. You […]
Rega Nd7 moving magnet cartridge The Nd7 is the most ambitious of Rega’s radical new moving magnet cartridge range. We enjoyed the entry level Nd3 a couple of months back, got some excellent results with the Nd5 not long ago and have arrived at the Nd7 to top of the trio. All three cartridges share […]
Rega Nd5 moving magnet cartridge The Nd5 is the second of three moving magnet cartridges announced by Rega at the Bristol Hi-Fi Show, the first new examples from the company in over a decade. It resembles and is in almost all respects identical to the Nd3 entry level cartridge that we reviewed last earlier in […]
Zinamp Z-Act MM cartridge enhancement system A good number of us absolutely love vinyl replay. It’s not only that the sound is so good, but also there’s something comforting about the ritual of putting a record on, of tailoring the sound to suit your ears with the vast range of different cartridge types or choice […]
Rekkord Audio M600 turntable Let me start with a confession. I was totally unfamiliar with the Rekkord Audio brand until I received an email from our Editor a few weeks ago asking if I would be interested in reviewing their top turntable. I was sufficiently intrigued to agree to doing the review and only then […]
Dynavector XX-2A moving coil cartridge Dynavector has a strong pedigree and reputation for producing high-quality and well-respected cartridges and when I heard there was a brand new XX-2A model making its debut, I was straight on the phone to secure a sample. Dynavector was founded in 1978 by Dr Noboru Tominari, who was previously a […]
Rega Nd3 moving magnet cartridge The Nd3 is the first of a new generation of moving magnet cartridges from Rega. The company showed a prototype Nd7 range topper at the last Bristol hi-fi show and there will be an Nd5 in between in due course. Unlike the previous Rega MM range the Nd models use […]