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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.

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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.

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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.

Little Fwend Automatic Tonearm Lifter Review

The Little Fwend is as thoughtfully designed as it is nicely machined. Setup correctly it does its job with no hassle and minimal user input, besides a quick push on its platform after each use. Expensive it may be, but it’s a terrific accessory and is therefore highly recommended.

SoundCraft 22MTK 22-Channel USB Mixing Console Review

It’s a simple 22-channel console and recording interface with none of the useless gimmicks often cluttering up boards at this price. It produces recordings of exceptional quality and is as at home live as it is in the studio. Best of all it’s affordable enough for the gigging local band, the bedroom musician looking to take the next step into quality recording, or even a project studio able to turn out high-quality output for release.

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Yamaha R-N803D MusicCast Network Receiver Review

Yamaha’s R-N803D is a stereo receiver packed with clever tech and plenty of connectivity. The intuitive retro-inspired design, brilliant software and the thoughtful implementation of its many features are the icing on a particularly sweet cake.

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Pro-Ject VC-S MK II Review and Comparison

Thoughtful tweaks to what was already a terrific machine have made the best even better, improving usability, performance and value across the board. Every vinyl fan should own a VC-S, I simply can’t recommend it enough.

Edifier R2730DB Active Bookshelf Speakers Review

If you like hugely over-emphasised bass and little else, these are the speakers for you. For the rest of us who favour neutrality or musicality, these are not contenders; especially at the price.

Tannoy Legacy Cheviot Speakers Review

Truly terrific speakers, from which music flows with apparent ease. If you’ve got a little space and don’t mind the retro looks, these big Tannoys are truly deserving of their fine heritage and pride of place in your music system.

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Adventures in MiniDisc & Sony MDS-JE770 Repair

I had every intention of starting a small MiniDisc collection, but ultimately it’s not going to happen. The MiniDisc technology was cutting edge on its introduction and something that few if any home computers could replicate. These days however the MiniDisc is easily outshines by the most basic digital players. While it’s a nice format, it’s not difficult to see why it has faded into obsolescence.

Music Recording – A Logic Pro X Workflow

What follows is a method of music creating using Apple's Logic Pro X recording software, but so much of what I say here will apply to pretty much any software package, as it's more about a philosophy, rather than "click this, then click that". I hope this workflow will prove useful for all budding musicians, and that it entertains you more than wading your way through one of the many enormous books on the subject.