Turntables put to the test in 2021: These models protect your vinyl treasures

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Apart from the hopelessly scratched flea market discs, practically every record in a vinyl collection is valuable.

Sometimes just ideal for the owner, sometimes tangible in the form of two or even three-digit euro amounts.

Pure reason demands that such treasures be treated with respect.

And that means hearing your vinyl on a good turntable.

Such devices cannot be built cheaply at will, because, unlike everything digital, precision mechanics are not subject to a constant fall in prices.

On the contrary, it is becoming more expensive every year.

Really good turntables are not as expensive as you might fear.

The models in the test are between 300 and 1000 euros, and there is an astonishing amount of technical and sonic value.

Thanks to easily available wear parts, the solidly constructed players allow years of problem-free operation as well as safe and clean playback of even somewhat tricky records.

And with their sound quality they already bring a lot of the legendary strengths of the record to the ear.

The “Computer Bild” test reveals what to look for when buying and names recommended models.

Cheap turntables in the test

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A look through the microscope at the record and needle shows how precisely such a record player has to work: At a pitch of 10,000 Hertz, the vibrations engraved in the vinyl have a deflection of less than 2 micrometers - that's roughly one-thirtieth of a human hair!

With even higher frequencies, which at least young people can still perceive, the deflections in the groove are even smaller.

As soon as something on the turntable vibrates unintentionally, if the tonearm wobbles in the bearing or motor vibrations reach the record, these disturbances can quickly become larger than the tiny vibrations in the record groove.

The turntable has the task of guiding the needle very precisely and smoothly through the groove.

The art of omission has proven itself for inexpensive turntables: Deliberately simple constructions do without anything that could cause acoustical annoyance.

Or what would not interfere with playback only with expensive effort.

Most turntables have a belt drive - in the sectional view you can see the motor in front, behind it the inner platter, on which the actual platter lies during operation

Source: Pro-Ject

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Most current turntables keep their platter moving with a rubber strap.

This is sensible for hi-fi drives in this price range because such an elastic belt filters out motor vibrations well.

The most important duties of a turntable are smooth running and an absolutely stable speed.

But these are not already fulfilled if a player is not clearly audible.

Far below the threshold at which the hearing perceives fluctuations in speed as pitch fluctuations, disturbances in the synchronization impair the stability of the stereo reproduction and the purity of the sound, in short: Already in the drive it is decided whether the wave mountains engraved in the grooves will ultimately produce credible, tangible vocalists and become instruments.

In addition to the motor, the synchronism is also influenced by the plate with its flywheel and the quality of its bearing.

The roundness and surface quality of the belt running surfaces and the belt themselves also have a say.

The Rega P2 is a classic - and still one of the best turntables in the price range up to around 500 euros

Source: Rega

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The British manufacturer Rega is considered to be the inventor of the minimalist turntable design possible.

Instead of a housing in the true sense of the word, the Rega P2 is built on a simple, stable and acoustically dead compressed wood board as the chassis.

The motor, an AC synchronous motor with a simple plug-in power supply, is embedded in the back corner on the left.

It runs absolutely noiselessly, but the engine speed cannot be switched electrically.

To change from 33 to 45 revolutions, you have to move the belt by hand to the larger radius on the motor.

Pro-Ject uses a very similar design.

However, with the Pro-Ject T1 and Pro-Ject Debut Evo Carbon models, an electronic motor control allows convenient speed selection at the touch of a button.

The same applies to the Music Hall MMF3, which Pro-Ject produces to order.

Dual, Audio-Technica and Thorens rely on more classic designs and electronically controlled DC motors.

Their speed can also be easily switched.

However, the motors of the Dual CS 458, Thorens TD-202 and the Audio-Technica models did not run completely silently in the test: If you listen carefully, you can guess that all three players are quietly singing and murmuring in the noise of the grooves - the vibrating signature of their little ones , fast turning engine.

Direct drive turntable tested

The Panasonic subsidiary Technics swears by direct drive.

The motor axis leads directly into the turntable axis.

With this technology, the speed can be kept very constant;

In addition, direct-drive vehicles quickly get going - important for DJs.

With the SL-1500C, the latest model in the test is not a contract production with a Technics sticker, but a thoroughly independent, fantastically processed piece.

The SL-1500C is the civil version of the SL-1210 MK7, the current DJ technology.

It does without its speed adjustment and display, but a very good Ortofon pickup (2M Red) is included.

And it sounds really good: tight and clean, with clear, yet warm highs - great!

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The AT-LP120XUSB from Audio-Technica looks very similar to the Technics and works like this with direct drive, but costs only a third.

You can feel this on the wobbly tonearm and the lower weight of the chassis and turntable.

And you can hear it in the duller, significantly less precise sound with less depth.

For the money it's still well made, better than other Technics replicas.

And the extensive equipment brought him way up on the best list.

Tone arms should be stable leaders

In addition to the turntable, the tonearm has a key role to play: it has to follow the cartridge smoothly and at the same time process considerable amounts of mechanical energy.

The playback process transmits vibrations to the pickup and thus also to the arm.

If you put your ear close to a running player, you can often hear them clearly.

If these vibrations affect the pickup, they affect the sound quality.

It is therefore worth striving for rigidity and low resonance if the dead weight is not too high.

As an example, Rega is showing the legendary arm tube, cast from one piece including the cartridge head ("headshell"), which moves in large-caliber, play-free ball bearings.

The arm tube of the Pro-Ject turntable is also one-piece.

In the new Debut Evo Carbon, the manufacturer weaves the tube and headshell from carbon fiber using a sophisticated process.

Another carbon design is used by Music Hall, where only the pipe is made of carbon fiber laminate and the aluminum headshell is then attached and glued on as a sleeve at the front.

More filigree are the arms of Thorens and Audio-Technica, which clearly come from the same factory and have unsightly horizontal play - which may explain the slight lack of authority in the bass that these players showed in the listening test.

The players from Dual prove that a slim arm does not necessarily have to sound thin: They are equipped with a revenant of the classic dual arm from the 80s, a fine, excellently positioned manager who creates a stable bass foundation.

The pickups

There was great agreement in the test with the pickups - these small components at the front end of the tonearm convert the vibrations of the stylus into electrical currents.

All test candidates have pre-assembled cartridges so that even laypeople can use the turntable without any problems and without any knowledge of adjustment.

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Most manufacturers use Audio Technica cartridges.

In the AT-LPW50PB there is an AT-VM95E with an elliptical needle, which comes up with a grandiose, spacious, clean image.

Closely related is the predecessor AT-95E, which cuts a good figure in the Thorens, for example.

Rega and Dual use systems from the simplest Audio-Technica series, the AT91.

For Rega this system is being renamed “Rega Carbon”.

Audio Technica equips its AT-LP120 turntable with its own VM95E cartridge - an excellent choice

Source: Audio Technica

Pro-Ject, Music Hall and Technics buy from Ortofon in Denmark and use the high-quality Ortofon 2M Red, which costs around 100 euros - what you can hear: their palette of timbres is richer than that of the other players, details are more beautifully separated.

If that's not enough, you can swap the fine diamond of the 2M Blue the next time you need to change the needle - with their potential, players can make such an upgrade audible.

Replacing the needle is recommended after 500 to 1000 records have been played.

Thanks to the so-called Moving Magnet (MM) principle, this is possible with a simple movement, with prices between 20 and 50 euros, the financial outlay for these cartridges is also kept within reasonable limits.

Frequent listeners often make the mistake of continuing to use needles in questionable condition because they dread the price of the replacement part.

But from a sound point of view as well as to protect the records, it's better to replace a cheap needle four times than to replace the precious diamond once too few.

Connect the turntable correctly

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Good for connecting to the stereo system: a number of current turntables such as the Pro-Ject T1, the Thorens TD-202, the Audio-Technica models and the elegant Technics SL-1500C have built-in preamplifiers.

It can be connected to any stereo system; a stereo input labeled "Aux", "Line-In" or "CD" is sufficient.

Turntables without a built-in preamplifier, such as the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Evo, Music Hall MMF3.3, Dual CS 458 and Rega P2 tested, require an amplifier with a "phono" connection or a separate preamplifier.

Other turntables go one step further and seek the connection to modern times with Bluetooth and WLAN.

The usual stereo system can be omitted, the music is wirelessly transmitted to the appropriate speakers.

Thorens equips the TD-202 with a preamplifier so that it can be connected to any stereo input.

Also on board: a USB output for digitizing

Source: Thorens

However, there can then no longer be any question of analog playback.

The chic Sony PS-LX310BT, however, buys this original extra with an otherwise extremely simple construction.

The tonearm wobbles in its bearing, the tracking force cannot be adjusted, and a pickup replacement is not provided.

Only the needle can be changed as long as the spare part is available.

The Yamaha Musiccast Vinyl 500 looks a lot more solid.

With the built-in WLAN module, he also plays Spotify (!), The music selection works with a smartphone.

Music from records can also be distributed to Musiccast speakers via WLAN.

The sound is not too transparent, but powerful and warm.

Lifted off - This turntable makes the vinyl float

Hardly any old medium attracts nostalgics and music lovers as much as the vinyl disc.

A Slovenian company is now upping the ante with the player - with the first turntable that lets the record float.

Source: WELT / Kevin Knauer