Review: Ken Kessler

If anyone doubts we are treated to as much, if not more novelty than back in the day when LPs ruled, EAT’s Fortissimo turntable and F-Note tonearm will put paid to that. Like TechDAS’s vacuum hold-down and air bearing [HFN Jun ’19], or the Reed deck [HFN Apr ’24] available in idler- and belt-drive versions, this EAT combination bursts with clever features.

When we reviewed Manley Laboratories’ long-lived Chinook phono stage [HFN Dec ’21] the reaction was ‘Wow!’ and it was deemed ‘irresistible’. The £2699 Chinook, a ‘stripped down’ version of the company’s flagship Steelhead, climbed to £3399 by the end of its run and has now been replaced by the Oasis at £4249. Manley has approached its successor with care, so as not to compromise the Chinook’s virtues.

This month we review: Lori Lieberman, Ars Nova, Johnny Pacheco, and Simon & Garfunkel

Sixty years after its demise, monophonic sound seems a mere curiosity. Like pre-recorded open-reel tapes, there’s a cut-off after which mono was relegated to niche usage. Today it survives only for archival reissues, and this is for two reasons...