Audio Appraisal - Audio Equipment and Music Reviews, Opinions and Tutorials

Multiple Scratches — Will A Cheap Turntable Damage Your Records?
Shopping for a turntable? You'll have undoubtedly seen the surplus of budget-priced models from the likes of Crosley, Ion, GPO and many others, sold by high street retailers and online retailers such as Amazon and eBay. Many claim that these sub-#100 turntables will cause irreparable damage to the vinyl they play. Wanting to offer some conclusive evidence either way, we purchased a GPO Stylo and conducted an experiment to see what it really takes to damage a vinyl record.

Aap12 Top View With S Of S Record On — Building the AAP12, Thorens TD-150 Modification Part Three
Herein we continue the tale of two turntables with the build of the AAP12, a turntable based on a Thorens TD-150 but with extensive modifications.

Maple Td 150 Top View With Record Arm Across — Thorens TD-150 Rebuild Part Two, Project Maple
a stock Thorens TD-150 transformed but with its original charm intact.

Maple Td 150 Original Top Cover Off — Thorens TD-150, Rebuild & Modification Part One
It’s been a while since I owned a suspended belt drive turntable. I decided to build two decks; one based on a stock TD-150 MK2 in a Maple plinth and the other, using the inner workings of the TD-150 (sub chassis, bearing, platter and motor) but with a new top plate and extensive modification and in a Cherry plinth.

Cherry and maple plinths stacked — DIY Plinth Dimensions For Linn LP12 / Thorens / Ariston ...
With a great deal of research and a bit of trial and error I have managed to assemble a list of dimensions that work to build a Linn plinth. They are published here in the hope that they will help future DIYers.

CD Box S2 Silver Front — Pro-Ject CD Box S2 Review
If Pro-ject can tweak the software and include a better remote handset in the box (a must at this price), this would be a serious contender and is very much worth an audition.

Audio-Technica VM95E — Audio-Technica AT-VM95 Detailed Review & Measurements
Succeeding the AT95 was a tough ask, but Audio-Technica have risen to the challenge. May the ‘green king’ rest in peace, the successor has arrived to steal the throne.

SL-1200GR turned on top view — Technics SL-1200GR / SL-1210GR Turntable Review
When Technics commercialised the direct drive turntable in the ‘70s, they became known as class-leading products among the best available at any price. These new Technics turntable set new technical standards which will pave the way for future evolution of vinyl and the equipment we use to play it.

S2000 Pro Overall view — Edifier S2000 Pro Active Speakers Review
Great looking, well made, well specified and lovely to listen too. That’s the Edifier S2000 Pro summed up in a nutshell.

CS-435-1 Silver TOp — Dual CS-435-1 Fully Automatic Turntable Review
if you need, or favour the convenience of an automatic mechanism, the CS-435-1 does sound surprisingly good despite its shortcomings.

A300 Pair on stands — AirPulse A300 Active Speakers Review
Their price and size places them in a segment of the market where there is a great deal of competition, but they compare very favourably to models far beyond their price.

Turn 5 full view with Record — Reloop HiFi Turn 5 Direct Drive Turntable Review
The Reloop HiFi Turn 5 is a well built, well specified and keenly priced alternative to the norm.

Vinyl Styl Audio Cassette Head Cleaner And Demagnetiser

Cassettes may be making a comeback, but as yet the machines to play them aren’t. As such it is necessary to keep old machines in good health with regular maintenance and TLC. The Vinyl Styl cleaning and demagnetising tape does just that.

Edifier S350 front view of 3 speakers — Edifier S350DB Review
If you’re after plenty of inputs, smart aesthetics and convenience features with better sonics than the average one box solution, these are worth a look. For no compromise audio performance, look elsewhere.

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Clear Groove Vinyl Record Cleaner

Herein we feature the products of Clear Groove, a family run business specialising in the design and supply of products for vinyl and CD care and cleaning

SugarCube SC-1 Front View — SweetVinyl SugarCube SC-1 Vinyl Click & Pop Remover Review
The SugarCube enhances the listening experience with vinyl old and new, and for that it earns a thoroughly deserved recommendation.

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Five 1980’s Singles You Thought You’d Forgotten

But here, to make you either cringe or smile from ear to ear are five corker ear-worms of 1980's singles you thought you had forgotten.

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Vinyl Record Cleaning fluids Compared, Pro-Ject & Vinyl Shelter

Vinyl Shelter offer an excellent cleaning product, perfectly suited to the cleaning of vinyl records. While we only tested two fluids here, the results did not conclusively prove that one fluid was vastly superior to the other.

SL-L20 Open Lid Platter View — Technics SL-L20 Linear Tracking Turntable Service
I’ve yet to come across a Technics that didn’t at least sound good, and I had great fun spinning 7” singles on the L20 before returning it to its rightful owner ready to deliver another few decades of faithful service.

S880DB Front Side View with Remote — Edifier S880DB High-Res Certified Speakers Review
Truly excellent both physically and sonically and packing quality components into a pair of compact enclosures, the S880s represent real value for money. Highly recommended.

Pads — Meze Audio 99 Classic Headphones Review
These are some of the best headphones I’ve heard regardless of price or brand status. They simply must be heard because until you wear a pair on your own head you don’t know what you’re missing.

Isolation Platform Front View — Cheap Turntable Isolation Platform with Corian and Sorbothane
I was surprised by the performance improvement. A highly recommended and worthwhile DIY upgrade that must be heard to be believed.