Globe-Trotter X Analogue Foundation: the “ultimate listening station”

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The one-off turntable- and headphone-based hi-fi-system-cum-cocktail-cabinet will soon be on show in London for two weeks.

The Analogue Foundation - a collaboration between Audio-Technica, Grammy Award-winning producer/engineer Russell Elevado and experimental performance atists Soundwalk Collective - celebrates everything analogue in today's digital-dominated world.

And, making good on the declaration on its "about us" website page to "share the experience and our passion of analogue", it has teamed up with Hertfordshire- based luxury travel brand Globe-Trotter to build the "ultimate listening station".

To justify such self-aggrandisement, the Globe-Trotter X Analogue Foundation Listening Station naturally combines music and booze inside an ornate wheeled cabinet. It provokes images of Sean Connery standing against it listening to Diamonds are Forever and holding a vodka Martini. Shaken, not stirred.

The Listening Station allows you to spin records on a customised Technics SP10 turntable, which is furnished with three Audio-Technica phono cartridges - AT-ART9 and OC9/III moving coil options and AT33Sa Shibata alternatives.

Below it is a drawer of Audio-Technica headphones (the five-star ATH-W1000Zs alongside ATH-ADX5000s, ATHA2000Zs and ATH-W5000s) that can be plugged into the stations's equally five-star AT-HA5050H headphone amp.

While the analogue army has decked it out with some high-end tech, Globe-Trotter - broadening its scope from leather-bound luggage to music and cocktails - is behind the station's impressive craftmanship.

A built-in drawer, complete with bottle of bournon ans a set of tumblers, only adds to its drawing-room appeal. Sadly though, this station is unique, a one-off that's not for sale. Its sole purpose is to educate populations around the world about the joys of analogue sound.

But you can get your hands on (and ears around) it. Having been on tour around Europe for 18 months, the Globe-Trotter X Analogue Foundation Listening Station is returning to London to be displayed in Globe-Trotter flagship UK store, from 19th February, for a fortnight.

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Becky Roberts
Becky Roberts

Becky is the managing editor of What Hi-Fi? and, since her recent move to Melbourne, also the editor of Australian Hi-Fi magazine. During her 10+ years in the hi-fi industry, she has reviewed all manner of audio gear, from budget amplifiers to high-end speakers, and particularly specialises in headphones and head-fi devices. In her spare time, Becky can often be found running, watching Liverpool FC and horror movies, and hunting for gluten-free cake.