L’Or du Son • October 2026
Dear Friends,
Welcome to the October edition of L’Or du Son, our selection of reviews, releases and conversations from the analog world.
Last month we wrote that the other tools were finished and would follow. They are now online, gathered with the Arc Protractor Generator on one page: Free Analog Tools. You will find a tonearm resonance calculator, a cartridge loading and gain calculator, a step-up transformer calculator and a strobe disc generator. Each one answers a practical setup question and runs directly in your browser, free to use, with no account required. Nothing you type into a tool is stored or sent.
The protractor has grown as well: seventeen Jelco tonearms have joined its verified presets. If your arm is not in the list, tell us and we will verify it. And on the cartridge pages, the photographs now open in a viewer that lets you zoom in on the details.
Three things to look for in this issue. Bill Hart of The Vinyl Press, who keeps a worldwide list of cartridge retippers and rebuilders, has named Le Son among his latest additions. His note is under News & Releases.
Mike, a reader in Birmingham, wrote to us after September’s piece on the Garrard 401 to tell the story of his own, bought new around 1972 and still the only turntable in his system. In the mid-1980s, a dealer laughed when Mike said he used a 401. You will find the story in Culture & Essays.
“He’s not laughing now!”
Mike, Birmingham, on his Garrard 401
And a new section, From the Archive, opens with a page from 1962: the chief engineer of Bang & Olufsen on vertical tracking angle.
We hope you enjoy the read.
Reviews
Sumiko’s Oriole MC Cartridge Advances Truthful Sound Reproduction
Sumiko’s Oriole moving-coil cartridge, handcrafted in Japan, features an aluminum cantilever and nude Shibata stylus, offering low output and impedance for refined analog performance.
Comparison of Three Ortofon X Series Moving Coil Cartridges
Ortofon’s new X series replaces the decade-old Quintet line, improving production consistency and performance with innovations in cantilever design, damping, and injection-molded stainless steel construction.
MoFi UltraPhono Pro Phono Preamplifier Expands Mobile Fidelity’s Playback Range
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab introduces the UltraPhono Pro, a phono preamplifier complementing its audiophile vinyl reissues with a dedicated component for enhanced analog playback.
Technics SL-1200GME Turntable Recognized as a Reference Component
The SL-1200GME, launched in late 2025, culminates over five decades of development with advanced direct-drive motor and magnesium tonearm, offered in limited silver and black editions.
Audio Desk Systeme’s Silent Core One Offers Premium Vinyl Cleaning
A veteran vinyl enthusiast reviews the Silent Core One, tracing the evolution of record cleaning methods and highlighting this vacuum-powered cleaner’s effectiveness in preserving LPs.
News & Releases
Ortofon Introduces MC Vertex, a New Flagship Cartridge
Ortofon’s MC Vertex cartridge features a Vertex Diamond stylus, titanium chassis made by selective laser melting, and high-purity silver coils, offering precise tracking and controlled resonance.
VPI Introduces CRG-258 Carbon-Fiber Resin Gimbal Tonearm
VPI’s new CRG-258 tonearm employs advanced carbon fiber and resin technology with ABEC-5 bearings, offering precision adjustability and enhanced analog playback performance.
Pro-Ject and Harley-Davidson Collaborate on Special-Edition Turntable
Pro-Ject’s Harley-Davidson turntable features an aluminum-MDF chassis inspired by the motorcycle brand’s logo, with a heavy glass platter, record puck, and an 8.6-inch S-shaped aluminum tonearm.
Retipping Phono Cartridges Gains Popularity Amid Rising Cartridge Costs
Retipping remains a valued practice for upgrading phono cartridges, offering a cost-effective alternative to expensive new MC cartridges while preserving the original character of the cartridge.
Forger Jailed Over £2.7m Fake Vinyl Record Sales
A forger who made £2.7m selling counterfeit records by artists from The Beatles to Taylor Swift has been jailed in London for three years and six months. Police found 2,791 fake records by 108 artists, pressed over seven years on four 70-year-old presses.
Music & Mastering
The Beatles’ Rubber Soul 60th Anniversary 5LP Box Set Highlights New Stereo Mix and Studio Sessions
This 5LP super deluxe set celebrates Rubber Soul’s 60th with a new stereo mix from original four-track tapes, studio sessions, demos, and original UK mono and US stereo LPs, all with enhanced packaging.
Does Vinylphyle’s Allman Brothers At Fillmore East Surpass the Piros Cut?
A detailed comparison of the new Vinylphyle reissue of At Fillmore East with the original Capricorn Piros cut, examining mastering, packaging, and historical significance.
The Velvet Underground’s Third Album Reissued with Lou Reed’s ‘Closet Mix’
UMe’s Vinylphyle series releases The Velvet Underground’s 1969 third album cut from Lou Reed’s rare “Closet Mix,” marking its first official vinyl appearance since the early 1980s.
Impulse Records Announces Release of The Tiberi Tapes Featuring Live Coltrane Performances
The Tiberi Tapes, private recordings of John Coltrane from 1960, will be released on November 6, 2026, offering rare live performances from a pivotal period in his career.
Columbia and Legacy Reissue Miles Davis & John Coltrane Complete Columbia Recordings
The landmark box set capturing Davis and Coltrane’s collaborations from 1955-1961 is reissued on 9LP and 6CD with remixed and remastered audio, rare photos, and extensive liner notes.
Nat King Cole’s After Midnight Reissued in Blue Note’s Tone Poet Vinyl Series
After Midnight: The Complete Sessions, a 2-LP expanded edition mastered from original analog reels, celebrates Nat King Cole’s 70th anniversary with deluxe packaging and new liner notes.
Moodsville Acoustic Sounds Series Revives Three Classic 1960 Jazz Albums
Prestige Records’ Moodsville imprint returns with three all-analog mastered 180g vinyl reissues featuring Tommy Flanagan, Coleman Hawkins, and Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis with Shirley Scott, emphasizing relaxed, melodic jazz ballads.
ERC137 Vangelis Blade Runner Vinyl Box Set Combines Iconic Score with Unique Artefact Design
The Electric Recording Co. presents a limited edition Blade Runner soundtrack on 12" vinyl, cut from original 1994 tapes with no processing, housed in a bespoke box inspired by the film’s visual elements and production design.
Culture & Essays
Grandmaster Flash Reflects on Turntablism and His New Book Birth of a Culture
Vinyl pioneer Grandmaster Flash discusses his role in developing turntablism, including his Quik Mix Theory, and chronicles hip-hop’s evolution in his new book, Birth of a Culture, released in hardback in September 2026.
Navigating Record Buying in Today’s Market
An in-depth guide explores strategies for acquiring high-quality vinyl, balancing provenance, pressing details, and sonic performance amid rising prices and complex reissue landscapes.
More Than Fifty Years with One Garrard 401
Mike bought his Garrard 401 new around 1972, at 22, and it is still the only turntable he has ever used in his system. He wrote to us from Birmingham after September’s piece on refurbishing a 401. His secret is regular maintenance: oiling the motor and the idler wheel’s bearings, cleaning the idler, and checking the oil level in the bearing.
From the Archive
Vertical Tracking Angle: A Source of IM Distortion
In November 1962, Bang & Olufsen’s chief engineer, E. R. Madsen, wrote in Audio about a mismatch every stereo record still carries. Cartridge makers cut their styli to different vertical tracking angles, from Decca’s 0 degrees to Shure’s 40, so no single pickup matched every disc’s cutting angle. He proposed an industry standard. What has not changed is the physics behind it, the same angle we still check when we set up a cartridge on the bench.
L’Or du Son
A Monthly Exploration of the Analog World
A thoughtful selection of reviews, articles, videos, discussions, and news to deepen our connection with music and analog sound.
- Category
- News