How to Position Your Turntable

Marc HenshallNew to Vinyl, Vinyl 1011 Comment

When setting up a HiFi system, every detail counts. Where you place your turntable in relation to the rest of your audio system is particularly important, as we’re dealing with a physical playback mechanism. Everything that comes into contact with your turntable or causes resonance will affect how the record tracks, and in turn, how your records sound. Today, we’ll … Read More

Classic Albums: Fleetwood Mac – Rumours

Marc HenshallClassic Albums3 Comments

Fleetwood Mac’s ubiquitous Rumours is the classic album that almost never happened. The story behind one of the biggest selling albums of all time is filled with tales of love, despair, anger, drugs, and revenge. The troubled relationships playing out during the album recording are well-known and arguably play a big part in making this such a timeless album.  What’s … Read More

Exploring Jazz, Soul and Blues with VMP Classics

Marc HenshallUncategorized6 Comments

Like many music fans, I started my earlier personal music journey with a relatively fixed idea of what I did and didn’t like. I was raised (mostly) on 60s and 70s rock, and this undoubtedly shaped my early adolescent music choices.  In our formative years, it’s easy to fall into a music scene and feel fixed within it. After all, … Read More

Ortofon 2M Red vs 2M Blue – Is it worth the upgrade?

Marc HenshallReviews28 Comments

The 2M series from Ortofon has, for many, become the de facto cartridge and styli range for the vinyl revival. The ubiquitous 2M Red, in particular, has rightly earnt a reputation as one of the best-sounding affordable cartridges on the market at just $99 or £95. Sound-wise, the performance is undoubtedly impressive across the 2M range, which is semi-modular to … Read More

Synthizer Bamboo Vinyl Record Holder Review

Marc HenshallRecord Care, ReviewsLeave a Comment

If you’re anything like me, your vinyl record collection is an ever-expanding beast. Once you’re hit with the vinyl bug, there’s no satisfying that itch to buy more records as you set out on a lifetime journey of musical discovery.  The bigger your collection gets, the more creative you have to get with storage. A record crate becomes a record … Read More

How to Replace a Turntable Cartridge

Marc HenshallNew to Vinyl, Tech Talk, Vinyl 1012 Comments

There are several reasons you might want to replace your phono cartridge. You could be upgrading the stock model shipped with your turntable, or you might be looking to replace an older model on a used deck. Either way, it’s important you take care to install your new cartridge with care and attention to detail. As we always say at … Read More

What Makes a Great Album Cover? With Spencer Drate & Judith Salavetz

Marc HenshallCulture & IndustryLeave a Comment

Vinyl records are the greatest format for album artwork, as the larger space compared with CDs or a thumbnail image provides the perfect canvas for artistic expression. So What Makes a Great Album Cover? To find out more, I spoke to Spencer Drate and Judith Salavetz. They are revered for their reputation as outstanding album cover designers and their contributions … Read More