Turntables

Reloop has been producing professional audio equipment since 1996, and a dedicated hi-fi section was established two years ago. The £650 Turn5 is the company’s top-of-the-line turntable, and it’s essentially an SL-1200 clone with the exception of the variable speed control and a distinct paint job… It’s not quite as good as the Technics, but […]

The Revolver turntable, designed by Sundown Electronic Engineering, Ltd. (also known as The SEE Corporation) in Warrington, England, was aimed at a very specialized segment in the budget audiophile turntable market in the 1980s. It was distributed through a network of small, independent specialty hi-fi stores. When you took into account the expense of an

The 1970s were known as the “Golden Age of Vinyl,” and Sony played a key role in establishing it. Although belt-driven British superdecks like Linn’s Sondek and Dunlop’s Systemdek dominated the specialist audiophile market, the larger turntable world was dominated by quartz-locked, direct drives from Japan with high levels of automation. Sony, like every other

Technics was founded in 1965 as Panasonic Corporation’s high-end hi-fi brand. The term first appeared on loudspeakers, but it was an obvious fit for Shuichi Obata’s innovative transcription turntable. The ‘Technics by Panasonic’ SP-10 was the world’s first direct drive deck of the contemporary era, debuting in 1970. It made its way into broadcast studios

The Technics SL-1200 was never just a disco fashion statement. To people who had only only seen Regas and Linns, the Technics would appear to be a flimsy ornament, but once you see one in person, you’ll realize why it was always remarkable. It has a sophisticated diecast aluminium upper portion, as well as a

In 1883, Herman Thorens founded the company in St Croix, Switzerland. It began as a maker of musical boxes and related equipment, then manufactured its first Edison type phonograph in 1903, before concentrating on horn gramophones for the new shellac records. The company made cigarette lighters until 1964, and only stopped selling harmonicas in 1952

By the time Compact Disc was introduced in 1983, the UK had an abundance of excellent belt drive turntables on the market. There were versions to suit every budget, from the Rega Planar 3 and Ariston RD80 to the Strathclyde 305, Dunlop Systemdek, and Linn Sondek LP12. CJ Walker, a tiny British corporation situated in

It’s difficult to overstate the decline of Dual, which had once been one of Europe’s leading turntable manufacturers, employing over three thousand people across various factories in West Germany during the country’s postwar economic boom. It originated in 1907 in the Black Forest village of St. Georgen, when brothers Christian and Joseph Steidinger began creating

With a number of specialist tonearm producers, the United States was a thriving market for turntables. Rabco, based in Maryland, was one of these companies, selling its complicated SL-8 and SL-8E tangential-tracking tonearms from the late 1960s onwards. Powered by two small electric motors, they amassed a small but devoted following, prompting the company to