Turntables

Vinyl — reading a groove

Vinyl has a way of making time irrelevant. A well-set-up turntable playing a well-pressed record can stop a conversation — not because it is nostalgic, but because it is accurate in a way that digital formats are still working towards. The question every serious turntable engineer is trying to answer is the same one it has always been: how do you read a groove without adding anything of your own?

Rega — rigidity as a philosophy

Rega's answer is to remove mass, increase rigidity, and build tonearms to tolerances that make bearing geometry irrelevant as a variable. The Rega Planar 1 is the entry point — a deck that plays records properly without asking you to think about it. The Rega Planar 3 RS Edition sits in the middle of the range where most serious listeners find their home, with a bearing, platter and tonearm combination that represents decades of focused development. At the summit, the Rega Naia is the full expression of what Rega's research into tonearm geometry, platter materials and bearing design has produced — a turntable that reveals what is in a groove rather than interpreting it.

Linn — a platform, not a product

The Linn LP12 is not a turntable in the conventional sense. Continuously refined since 1972, it is a platform that rewards long-term investment. The Linn LP12 Majik is the entry point at a serious level; every component can be upgraded independently — the LP12 you buy today is not the LP12 you are committed to forever.

SME — engineering without compromise

SME make tonearms and turntables to tolerances that most engineering disciplines would consider excessive. That rigour produces results you hear immediately. The SME Model 20 MK2 and SME Model 30 MK2 address bearing geometry, platter mass, arm alignment and vibration isolation with a systematic precision that removes variables rather than managing them. The SME Model 60 is as serious as analogue playback gets.

Listening and advice at Martins Hi-Fi

Dave and Chris can advise on turntables and the systems to match them, and most of what we stock can be demonstrated in our Norwich showroom. Come and listen at 85–91 Ber Street, Norwich, or contact us at info@martinshifi.co.uk or 01603 627010.