Sound Advice: A kitchen warming mat and disc player upgrades

Don Lindich, Tribune News Service on Feb 26, 2025

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A useful warming mat for home cooks and entertaining: Regular readers know I have a passion for food and cooking, and later this year I will be launching a cooking website. For now the name of the site and the web address are confidential, but the tagline is "Fun with Food and Gadgets." As I develop content for the website I have been experimenting with recipes, appliances and kitchen tools, and came across a handy item and deal that is too good to keep people waiting.

The Pragatism Electric Warming Tray with Adjustable Temperature is a heated silicon mat that rolls up and stores in a nylon bag. Dozens of tiny feet elevate it above the countertop or other surface, and it can be set at 140, 176 or 212 degrees for keeping food warm or cooking light meals. It lists for $49.99, but right now it is only $39.99 on Amazon. For under $40 it is a bargain, and the applications are nearly endless. Highly recommended!

Q. I have over 100 Super Audio CDs (SACDs) and want to upgrade from my Sony UBP-X800M2 player, which sometimes skips playing discs. Your recent review of the Magnetar UDP900 got me excited, but that $3,000 price is pretty stiff. What are your thoughts on the $1,600 Magnetar UDP800? Practically speaking, what does the extra $1,400 for the UDP900 get me?

My second question is completely unrelated. With all of the coverage of vinyl and turntables, why don't you ever mention linear tracking turntables? I still have my Technics linear tracking turntable from the mid-1980s, and I occasionally think about hooking it up to show my 11-year-old son how vinyl works.

—T.B., Derry, New Hampshire

A. Please note that I did not personally review the Magnetar UDP900. I have seen Magnetar players at trade shows and am familiar enough with the product, its capabilities and its reputation to highlight it in the column, but I have not personally put a Magnetar player through its paces. I received quite a few emails like yours and reader interest is extremely high, so I may be setting up a review in the near future.

A Magnetar player is the current equivalent of an Oppo universal player, a discontinued product that is widely and deeply lamented. Not only did Oppo players offer performance and quality of the very highest order, they could play most anything you throw at them. This includes rare, high-quality formats like SACD, which offer higher resolution sound compared to ordinary CDs. Magnetar players recapture the magic of the product and the time, and offer a way for those who missed out on an Oppo to have the same experience.

Getting the UDP900 over the UDP800 provides beefier construction, multichannel analog outputs for home theater and music, and higher-performing, more advanced circuitry throughout. Using the HDMI output for audio you would not hear any difference at all between the UDP800 and UDP900, or even between either Magnetar and your Sony. With the analog outputs the UDP900 would have better sound and more connection options, but I think it would be difficult for the average person to hear the difference. The UDP800 would be a huge upgrade over your Sony in every way, and you will be really proud to own it. Even if it is not the top-of-the-line Magnetar, it is still an awesome $1,600 disc player! magnetar-audio.com

As for linear tracking turntables, you only see linear trackers at the very high end these days. Older ones can be fussy and unreliable (I have one in my own collection) so it does not provide a lot of opportunity to cover them.

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