Ken Kessler

From the VaultTurntables, Arms & Cartridges
This Koetsu's for keeps...
Ken Kessler  |  Nov 17, 2020  |  Published: Apr 01, 1990  |  0 comments
Koetsu enters the 1990s with a new standard-bearer in the shape of the hand-made Urushi moving-coil cartridge. Ken Kessler is smitten...

As I sat back and listened I thought, maybe it's the particular recording, perhaps it's my frame of mind but no – it can only be the cartridge. All I know is that my smooth and steady progress in coming to terms with CD has been set back to its 1985 level. Why? Because I was in peril of missing an important fact of hi-fi life, which is that just as CD hardware and software has been getting better and better, so has analogue.

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Audiophile Vinyl
Audiophile: Vinyl, October 2020
Ken Kessler  |  Oct 29, 2020  |  0 comments
This month we review: B B King & Eric Clapton, Dire Straits, Idris Muhammad and Carly Simon.
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Audiophile Digital
Audiophile: Digital, October 2020
Ken Kessler  |  Oct 29, 2020  |  0 comments
This month, we review: Shoes, Earth Wind & Fire, The Idle Race and The Love Revolution.
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Investigation
Tape: The Reel Deals
Ken Kessler  |  Oct 02, 2020  |  0 comments
Ken Kessler brings you his definitive guide to buying reel-to-reel tapes, new and secondhand

For any format, whether new or revived, it is the availability of pre-recorded music that determines its health. That's why the LP came back like gangbusters, and the otherwise-hugely-impressive Elcaset withered away. When it comes to the growing interest in reel-to-reel tapes, three routes exist for feeding the machines, and each has its adherents, while many users will adopt all three when building up a library.

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Audiophile Vinyl
Audiophile: Vinyl, September 2020
Ken Kessler  |  Sep 28, 2020  |  0 comments
This month we review: Al Di Meola, Fred Neil, James Taylor and Twisted Sister.
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Audiophile Digital
Audiophile: Digital, September 2020
Ken Kessler  |  Sep 28, 2020  |  0 comments
This month, we review: T Rex, The Box Tops, Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes and The Monkees.
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From the VaultIntegrated Amplifiers
Class Distinction
Ken Kessler  |  Sep 18, 2020  |  Published: May 01, 1985  |  0 comments
hfnvintageKen Kessler goes Class A in a small way with the Marantz PM-4

Phone calls from company spokespersons such as Marantz's Steve Harris, are generally one of two types. Either 'Would you like to review our new Model XYZ whatever?' or 'Where the hell is our Model XYZ whatever, which you've had for nine months?' Such phone calls are never about reviewing components that are out of production.

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Audiophile Vinyl
Audiophile: Vinyl, August 2020
Ken Kessler  |  Aug 28, 2020  |  0 comments
This month we review: Dire Straits, The Beatles, The Dave Clark Five and Clear Light.
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Audiophile Digital
Audiophile: Digital, August 2020
Ken Kessler  |  Aug 28, 2020  |  0 comments
This month, we review: James Taylor, Kristin Bolstad With Stemmeklang, Cream and Jimi Hendrix.
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Audiophile Vinyl
Audiophile: Vinyl, July 2020
Ken Kessler  |  Jul 31, 2020  |  0 comments
This month we review: The Band, Quentin Collins All-Star Quintet, The Grateful Dead and The Rockin' Ramrods.
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