We’ve been talking a great deal about sources this month, from streamers through to CD players. Heck, we even touched upon cassette tapes at one point! But no ‘source’ appreciation month is complete without touching upon what many believe to be the ultimate hi-fi source (yes, that might just include us!) the turntable!
This is where hi-fi as we know it began and thanks to the great vinyl revival of this rather spectacular decade, we have seen an enormous influx of new technologies, all of which have made great leaps in perfecting it. Perhaps best of all, the turntable is no longer the plaything of the very rich, or the hardened audio aficionado. Now, the turntable is a source that is available to anyone, even on a budget!
To celebrate the turntable, we consulted our resident vinyl-expert Richard, who has helped us pick out the 5 best turntables, based on their popularity with our customers, as well as what we’ve learned from using them ourselves. Some of them are old favourites that we’ll have waxed lyrical about before. But there are a few new names in there too!
So, without further ado, here are the five (current) favourites.
A long term favourite, and a great budget choice, the Pro-Ject Essential II is a firm favourite amongst us, the critics and the rest of the hi-fi world. It’s a multiple award winner and is completely ideal for those looking to get into vinyl and who want more than just a basic deck. It features an internal phono stage which will allow it to be plugged into any amp. Very very handy – especially for beginners! But just because this is an excellent beginners model, doesn’t mean it’s exclusive to beginners. It sounds great, it’s easy to use and it’s pretty hardy.
We’re big fans, basically.
Speaking of Pro-Ject…
Sticking in the realms of the budget, the Pro-Ject Elemental Phono USB is the next thing to consider. Yes, Pro-Ject do good budget! It looks incredibly impressive and minimalist, and will blend into any setting with ease. It sound fantastic, it has won a heap of awards and is largely considered Pro-Ject’s best value offering. It features USB functionality, including an Analogue to Digital Converter (ADC) which means you can digitally record your favourite records onto your computer. Great to make sure your collection is nicely backed up at full analogue quality. We liked this turntable so much, we decided to hook it up with another of our favourite value items (the Yamaha NX50 active speakers) and offer it up as a plug-and-play package! Not bad at all, if we do say so ourselves.
The Pro-Ject Debut Carbon DC is the second incarnation of its predecessor: the Debut. Its been turning the heads of critics and audiophiles alike ever since its… er… debut! This multi-award winner is no lightweight – it features a carbon tonearm, two Ortofon cartridge options and plenty of other exciting upgrades and improvements. There are six funky colour options too. This is an excellent mid-range option which has proved a real crowd-pleaser for years, and it shows no signs of slowing down.
If there’s one thing we’ve learned from this little project of ours, it’s that you can never have enough Pro-Ject! Next up is the Pro-Ject 2 Xperience SB DC. This is a high-end player that can be yours for a little over £1000, which is a very good price for a turntable of this calibre, and that is no exaggeration. When we first received it for demo we weren’t expecting it to blow us away anywhere near as much as it did. Richard (the aforementioned vinyl expert) is a particularly big fan, likening it to the very high end Pro-Ject Xtension 10 which is nearly triple the price! It takes pride of place in our demo room to this very day.
It wouldn’t be a top list of ours if it didn’t conclude with the wonder that is the Linn Sondek LP12. The original, and the best, the Sondek LP12 hasn’t changed much since its original incarnation in 1972, with only tiny tweaks made along the way to keep up with the technological advancements. We see a lot of LP12s, mostly due to the fact we service them (well, Richard does!) and we have come to the conclusion that the most recent incarnation is the best one yet. No wonder it is still regarded as one of the finest turntables money can buy. And for just £1,635 you can walk away with the basic model! If you want to see one in action for yourself, we have the Akurate model available to demo – come and have a listen!
There’s one more that deserves a special mention…
It didn’t quite make it into our top 5, but we couldn’t not mention the gorgeous Roksan Radius 5.2 which is the winner of our very own ‘style concious’ award (particularly in the acrylic finish!). I mean… look at it!
As always, if you see something you like, get in touch! We have plenty available to demo, and as always you’re invited to come and try it all out for yourself. Words can only do this kind of thing so much justice, in an ideal world you need to see (and hear!) this stuff for yourself. Thankfully, our world is exactly that ideal.