It's here!  The replacement for the Line Magnetic 518, the LM 845, has finally arrived.  The LM518 was heralded as one of the best 845 output tube integrateds ever, and its successor already seems to be taking the lead.  Very similar now to the LM805 in appearance, the LM845 is basically the 518 with a redo to the internals, a parts and amp topography upgrade. Still the glorious 22 watts out of the 845 tubes.  Not sure how they've accomplished it, but it sounds even more delicious than the 518.  Already the burn-in time is approaching 100 hrs, so it should be ready for some serious auditioning very soon.   Schedule a listen.  Santa says more are on the way!  Good ol Santa...

                                                  The new Line Magnetic 845
​                                 It's been hard to get any sleep around here.....

  With all this food prep going on around here, all I can think of is food, and THIS new cartridge.
This is the new 17DX from Dynavector.  At $2250, it's considerably more than the previous version, the 17D, @$1250.  Yet it is light years away in terms of musical capabilities.  I simply can't get over this cartridge. What it does is place you right there with the musical event, no squinting to see if a particular instrument is where it should be, no hoping for sheen and snap from snares and cymbals the way some of you do...( don't think I don't catch you always leaning in for the cymbals - it's a disease of certain audiophiles, the dreaded cymbal/brush/snare malady.) Well, this new Karat 17DX will cure you of all that, and more.   Just wanted to give a brief taste of what this new cartridge holds, I'm sure you'll be hearing lots about it soon enough.  I've seen gaga testimonials already from those early trendsetters.  I want you to know I've been most calm about it throughout the rigorous break in cycle, although I've not gotten much sleep in the last couple of weeks due to this brass beauty, let me tell you.  And with all these new great records coming in, FEDEX, UPS, and USPS have been such regulars lately, I'm starting to hand out snacks.  Anyone need any record shipping boxes let me know...they're starting to stack up more than the pizza boxes.  So have a warm and tasty Thanksgiving, and tell those asking what you want from Santa that the new Dynavector Karat 17DX is what every good girl and boy needs for their tonearm. 
Tell Santa I've already got the step ups all figured out, and can give him a play by play on which work best.  Schedule a listen.....and get ready to drop your jaws.    Happy Thanksgiving!
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  I've said this before, yet it must be said again....being in this business both as a hobbyist and retailer can have it's banner days and it's  go kick the tree days. Trials and tribulations, my grandpa always used to say. A few of my
companies I carry can have an order out pronto, give tracking info, follow up, the whole nine yards.  Others are smaller, and we, meaning you and me, wait in the queue to get our order made, and not always told the status unless pressured, and wait and wait and wait.  Sometimes I envision even the most patient Mother Theresa up in a tree waiting with a crossbow at one of these facilities or distributor's offices to wring justice from said "promising" person.  It gets to be quite a trial sometimes, and again I thank those that remain patient with me and for their endurance.  I'm right in the trenches with you, let me tell you. I think I've even dreamed of a certain distributor falling in a pool of quicksand, like in those Tarzan movies, although I was recently very disappointed to find out that no one ever seems to die in quicksand.  As kids growing up, we stomped around vast areas of woods and creeks, and always hoped of finding quicksand somewhere. We did have great vine swings over some fairly large creek beds, but that's for another story. At least no one got killed then, and hopefully no one will get cross bowed, either.   Stay the course, and in due time, your patience will be rewarded.  My mom did say upon a recent rant of mine that I could have retailed more midline goods, and have pallets of it to choose from, but instead I had to get the fancy stuff.  She always called me Mr Fancy. Good ol mom.....
  Another dreaded part of the hobby in regards to patience is when things break or fail, or if one of us breaks something....I'll let you in on a little trade name secret....that's called HiFi Hell.  And trust me, most of us have been there at one time or another.