Audio Appraisal

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Edifier H850 Closed-Back Headphones Review

They are a steal at their current price and earn a thoroughly deserved recommendation.

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.