Cyrus TTP turntable review https://the-ear.net

Cyrus TTP turntable and arm Turntables have been around for, seemingly, forever. And thanks to the resurgence of vinyl almost everyone has one in their portfolio of products today. At least, that’s the common perception. After all, can anything new be done with a turntable. Cyrus is celebrating some 40 years of existence. 40 years […]

The Ear Best hi-fi of 2023 https://the-ear.net

The Ear picks the best hi-fi of 2023 2023 has been a tough year for the hi-fi industry but that has done nothing to stem the flow of first class products coming to market. In fact there are even more extraordinary audio components to choose from than there were last year, with advances made in […]

Rega Naia turntable and arm

Rega Naia turntable and arm Rumours about this turntable were circulating a couple of years or more before it was finally revealed at the Bristol show in February, it even had a phantom name, Planar 12, but it took Rega quite a while to nail the Naia (pronounced niya/nigher) down and put it into production […]


Origin Live Aurora Mk5 turntable & Onyx Mk4 tonearm review www.the-ear.net

Origin Live Aurora Mk5 turntable & Onyx Mk4 tonearm The Aurora turntable with Onyx arm was my introduction to Origin Live’s products, so I came to it with no preconceptions, but knowing that over the years they have garnered praise from respected fellow reviewers. I am not by any stretch of the imagination an engineer, […]

Vertere MG1MkII, Imperium, Mystic and Phono 1 MkII L www.the-ear.net

Vertere MG1 MkII, Imperium, Mystic and Phono 1 MkII L record player Hello again dear readers. Those of you who have been with us for a while may pick up on the fact that this is my third review of the Vertere MG1 MkII Magic Groove record player and the second of the MkII version. […]

supatrac blackbird tonearm review www.the-ear.net

Supatrac Blackbird tonearm Having experienced the Supatrac Blackbird my record playing world will never be the same again. My earliest memories of vinyl records are from my father’s system, which consisted of a Leak Dynamic moving-coil mono pick-up, Collaro 4T200 transcription turntable, Quad 22/II combination and a sand-filled corner cabinet housing a Wharfedale CS/AL Super […]


Origin Live Agile tonearm

Origin Live Agile tonearm The Origin Live Agile tone arm is distinctive enough for anyone familiar with this British brand to spot it as one of Mark Baker’s creations, what may not be immediately obvious is that it’s the £10,500 penultimate model in Origin Live’s High-End range. Rather than employing more conventional gimballed bearings for […]

Vertere DG-1S review

Vertere DG-1S, Sabre & Phono-1 record player Where would we be without turntables like the Vertere DG-1S? Think of all those tons of historical vinyl pressings that would be useless if we were unable to access what’s stored in those tiny grooves. As a result, many people have taken very innovative and different approaches to […]

Origin Live Calypso main

Origin Live Calypso Mk4 & Illustrious Mk4 turntable & tonearm Turntable makers come and go. Some endure for a variety of reasons, others bite the dust very quickly. But Origin Live is one of a special breed, an enduring, steadily improving must-have breed that gets under the skin of its owners and provides musical satisfaction […]


The Ear BEST OF 2022 820 547

The best of the best that we have reviewed on the Ear over the last 12 months

wand main 1

Turntables come and turntables go, and so do arms, cartridges and the other paraphernalia surrounding vinyl replay. However, unlike the majority of ‘me too’ CD or digital replay systems, many vinyl replay products still manage to have an enduring place in people’s memories, almost regardless of when they were encountered. For my sins I hold […]

opera-consonance-wax-engine-turntable

OK. So turntables are still the ‘new kid on the block’ after all this time, and still the debates rage regarding whether they should be suspended, rigidly mounted, plinth or no plinth, belt, idler or direct drive… But let’s face it, as with speaker types, or your preferred music to listen to, it’s whether a […]