With the vinyl revolution in full swing, the humble turntable is back to being the coolest way to spin your tunes. Whether you’re just starting out your vinyl musical journey or if you’re an aficionado, we look at our top picks for great players…
If you’ve been handed down a rickety old deck and want to hear your music on a more modern player (make sure it’s not an antique before you discard it!), or if you just fancy a shiny new upgrade, we’ve put together a selection of turntables to suit a wide range of budgets and tastes.
The Sony PLX300 features a USB input for recording your records.
Always ahead of the curve, this Sony has been a mainstay on our shop floor shelves since long before records became ‘cool’ again. Whilst the turntable itself is relatively basic, the sound quality is good for the money – it is what you might consider to be a budget option. The standout feature is unquestionably the USB input – perfect for copying new or old records alike onto a PC or Mac, so you can keep a digital version to listen to on your phone or tablet. A phono stage is also built in, meaning this turntable can easily connect into any amplifier with plug and play simplicity.
The TT5005 will easily slip into any system with its classically sleek design.
Alongside Sony, Marantz are one of the biggest traditional Hi-Fi manufacturers. This mid-range deck is perfect for those who put ease of use as a priority, but are after a bit more in the sound quality stakes. Unlike the popular Project range (we’ll get to this later), this Marantz is fully automated, so when your record finishes the tone arm will set itself back to starting position, and likewise will start playing your records at the touch of a button. Easy as pie!
The award-winning Project Essential 2.
Project (also known as Pro-Ject) are the world’s biggest selling turntable manufacturer, so the fact that our next three picks come from this Austrian manufacturer needs little explanation. Project’s decks are simplicity itself, with ease of use falling only marginally behind best sound quality in their list of attributes. All of the models are belt driven, with a change between 33 and 45rpm made by moving said belt from one cog to another. You’ll be rewarded with best in class sound, even this entry level model marks a huge jump in quality over most budget systems. Its classy design and a high-end Ortofon OM5e cartridge are both standout features!
The Project Debut Carbon is available in a wide range of colours.
Our second entry from Project ups the ante over its cheaper sibling. Rather than using wood for the platter, the Debut opts for metal instead, adding mass to the the deck and helping to dampen vibrations. A whole host of other changes are implemented, all geared towards keeping the sound quality at its highest – and no more so than with the Debut’s tonearm. Built from carbon fibre, the tonearm is not only extremely light, but also incredibly rigid. This vital component really shows through in the fantastic sound quality. The clean lines of the cheaper model are tidied up further, and the choice of gloss finishes really stand out.
With its weird and wonderful design the Evolution 9.2 is a real standout.
Pro-Ject RPM 9.2 Evolution
From mid-range to high-end we jump, and if you’re really serious about getting the best out of your records, then a turntable like this one is going to bowl you over. From the very first look, this is clearly a special piece of kit. Eschewing the traditional design that turntables tend to keep to, the RPM 9.2’s base and platter match each other in size and shape, giving a super-modern look to classic Hi-Fi tech. A heavily modified version of the carbon fibre tonearm that is used on the Debut features here, and the metal platter is replaced by an acoustically inert acrylic number instead. All of Project’s best audio wizardry is featured, including a massively oversized outer ring on the tonearm, and Sorbothane used for damping throughout. You’ll need a top system to get the most out of this one, but the reward will be true high-end sound quality.
This is just a small selection of the huge range of turntable options that are available. If you think we’ve missed any out please feel free to share them with us in the comments section. Alternatively if you’d like to find out more about our fantastic range of Hi-Fi products feel free to pop in-store or give our telesales team a call on 0333 900 0093.
Author: Chris, Liverpool store
