ANALOG CORNER

Phasemation, DS Audio, and an upgrade from Audio Research

I feel compelled to repeat here an eerie occurrence I related a while back on AnalogPlanet. I reviewed, in the February 1999, Analog Corner column, the Cartridge Man’s Digital Stylus Force Gauge,¹ which back then sold for $299.

I still have it, but a decade ago, the battery stopped taking a charge. I put it aside, planning to replace the battery someday.

One late October afternoon, I looked over at the device and decided it was time to resurrect it. I opened it up and inside found an odd-looking soldered-in battery. I emailed Len Gregory, aka the Cartridge Man, and asked how he was all these years later. Then I inquired about the battery.

Instead of waiting for a reply, I took the device further apart and got the battery number. I found one online for under $10. I ordered it.

That evening, around 9pm—3am in the UK, where the Cartridge Man is based—I received a return email. It read, “I am very sorry to tell you that Leonard died this evening, quite suddenly.—Jean Gregory.”

Rest in peace, Len Gregory.

While we’re on the subject—the subject of dying—a reader emailed recently to say he’d just been to a used record store and found a Guess Who record with an “Art Dudley” sticker on it. Did I want it? He sent a picture and I passed it on to Janet, Art’s widow. She confirmed that it was Art’s handwriting, so I told the reader, “yes.” According to Janet, Art was not a huge Guess Who fan, and neither am I, but I remain a big Art Dudley fan, so I’m glad to have it.

Can’t do that with streaming.

THE PHASEMATION PP-2000 MC PICKUP CARTRIDGE

Phasemation, a product of Japan-based Kyodo Denshi Engineering Company, has kept a low profile in America despite the “analog revival.” I’ve seen their cartridge lineup in Munich and elsewhere, but I can’t recall seeing it in America before. In addition to cartridges, Phasemation also offers an extensive line of