Ken Micallef

2 weeks ago | analogplanet.com | Ken Micallef

Manhattan’s All Blues played host to Zev Feldman’s traveling Record Store Day (RSD) cavalcade this past Wednesday, April 2, 2025. Joined by jazz journalist, Jazz and Coffee’s Syd Schwartz, Feldman gave the backstories and played selections from his upcoming RSD 2025 releases. These six RSD releases followed Feldman’s typical Jazz Detective approach, mining tapes from radio stations, performance venues, and collector’s vaults, pressed to virgin vinyl.

3 weeks ago | analogplanet.com | Ken Micallef

The Dr. Feickert Analogue Volare 25 25th Anniversary Limited Edition turntable — a.k.a. the Volare 25 — was designed and manufactured in Germany by Dr. Christian Feickert and crew. It builds upon the company’s original Volare model with a significant tonearm upgrade, a new low-friction bearing, a second motor, and more. The Volare 25 turntable ($4,795) includes the Serbian-made Auris W-10a, a solid aluminum tonearm that offers VTA, azimuth, and high-quality Auris copper wiring.

1 month ago | analogplanet.com | Ken Micallef

I have a lot of jazz records. Too many jazz records. Thousands of jazz records. What to do with them all when I’m not playing/reviewing them on my home playback system? Well, that question was answered for me recently in quite an interesting way by the Spin Doctor of our sister site Stereophile — and occasional AP contributor — Michael Trei. Not so long ago, Mike had set up a $16k McIntosh MT10 Precision Turntable at a Japanese restaurant on the next block up from my Manhattan bachelor crib.

1 month ago | stereophile.com | Ken Micallef

Audiophiles are often misunderstood as mere hobbyists; in fact they hold a profound reverence for sound. Japanese jazz kissas, where vintage vinyl, turntables, tube amplifiers, and horn speakers have drawn audiences since the 1950s, exemplify this passion. Western audiophiles share a similar fervor, though our pursuit of sonic perfection often manifests in a more discreet, almost monastic, lifestyle (footnote 1).

1 month ago | analogplanet.com | Mike Mettler |Ken Micallef

Live from this past weekend’s Florida International Audio Expo — a.k.a. FLAX — Ken Micallef shows us turntables, reel-to-reel players, and more from the likes of Audio Note, Benny Audio, Clearaudio, Bergmann, J.Sikora, and Studer — plus, he has a bonus interview with VPI’s Mat Weisfeld, who walks us through all the ins and outs about the way-cool VPI Avenger Statement turntable.