While many of the best turntables you can buy have certainly left a positive impression on our ears, few record players from decades past have managed to leave an indelible mark on our hearts and attain a truly lasting legacy.
As team What Hi-Fi? is currently celebrating Vinyl Week in the build-up to Record Store Day, we have looked back at the decks – some old-timer classics, some newcomers that are bound to become icons – to have spun records the best over our proud 49-year lifetime.
Some record players make an impact through their cutting-edge and impeccably engineered designs, while others earn a place in the annals of history for bringing high-quality vinyl replay to the mainstream at an attractive price like none before.
Crucially, each shares one thing in common: they sound fantastic, giving your beloved record collection the exceptional sonic treatment they deserve.
Delving back into the foggy recesses of the 1970s and moving through to the groundbreaking mastery of present-day pioneers, these turntables have made a profound and lasting impact across What Hi-Fi?'s five-decade history.
Linn LP12 (1973)
Linn's LP12 turntable was first introduced in 1972 and immediately proved popular with audiophiles. The range of compatible arms and cartridges the company made meant keeping this vinyl player up-to-date was satisfyingly easy.
Almost every aspect of the design has been revised over the years, and while the early breed of the LP12 had a round and rich balance, modern incarnations have moved towards a more neutral, even-handed sound.
Technics SL1200 (1976)
Perennially the DJ's favourite, the SL-1200 is known for being built to a supremely high standard. There was plenty of flexibility when it came to positioning and cartridge-matching too, so you had a fair bit of choice in making this turntable feel (and sound) like your own.
Tough, fuss-free, with solid sound quality, this player is worthy of its legendary status as it turns 50 this year (and has a limited edition model to show for it).
Rega Planar 3 (1978)
Since its introduction in 1978, the Rega Planar 3 has been a go-to turntable (and its modern incarnation, the RP3/Elys 2, is still going strong).
The Planar series is well-known within hi-fi circles, combining a simple yet elegant design with some ever-dependable build quality and that signature Rega sound. You can't do much better for the price.
A respectable mid-market record player, the Planar 3 remains an easy-going, low-cost piece of kit that continues to keep our vinyl spinning – and since the company keeps refining the product, we imagine it'll stay that way for a while yet.
Dual CS505 (1981)
Who says that you can't get good quality on a budget? Not us, that's for sure. And it was as true in the 1980s as it is now, thanks to Dual's CS505 player.
It was a tidy, well-balanced performer that managed to bring a decent amount of detail to the table without exposing the entry-level kit it usually worked with.
While it might have looked a little inelegant in the beginning, later versions looked more refined thanks to smarter wooden plinths.
But no matter how it looked, this Dual delivered satisfying results. And going by the latest Dual CS 418 and Dual CS 518 reviews, its decks still are today.
Michell Gyrodec (1982)
In 1982 the Gyrodec was a combination of great sound quality and artistic design. Bring the clock up to date and this player is still available – and it's a testament to its quality that it's essentially the same machine.
There aren't many decks from the early 1980s that still have a place in today's modern market, after all.
When it's up and running it sounds detailed, expressive and graceful, ready to put down other products costing plenty more.
It's not plug-and-play – some assembly is required – but the instructions are clear, and there's a logic to its design that means it'll be spinning your discs in no time.
Read our Michell Gyrodec SE/TecnoArm A review
Systemdek IIX (1990)
The Systemdek IIX became our Product of the Year in 1990, and it held that position for the next two years. The technical highlight was a sprung sub-chassis that isolated the playing surface from sonically damaging vibrations from the support and environment.
The Systemdek's sound quality rose well above that of its closest rivals – timing was confident, and music sounded tuneful and easy-flowing, leading to accolades and acclaim from both critics and listeners alike.
Pink Triangle Tarantella (1997)
The first time we heard this turntable, we awarded it a dismal two stars. We were unable to get vinyl turning steadily at 33rpm – which, we're sure you'll agree, is a bit of a disadvantage when it comes to playing LPs.
But Pink Triangle brought the deck back to us with all problems solved – and we were thrilled to hear the Tarantella's open sound and refreshingly clear dynamics.
It was an immensely exciting listen and a complete reversal from what we'd heard when the superbly-named Tarantella entered our doors.
Although the Pink Triangle company closed in 2003, there's no doubt the London manufacturer's legacy lives on.
Pro-Ject Debut (1999)
Despite its name, the Debut isn't the first product to come from Pro-Ject – but it's certainly one of its most significant.
It's simple to use and great value for money, partly because of its European construction – the turntable was designed in Austria before being manufactured in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
20 years of steady improvements bring you the impressive Debut Carbon and Debut Carbon Evo, but it's with this original that Pro-Ject came to the fore.
To prove the health of the Debut lineage, the superb Pro-Ject Debut Pro won a What Hi-Fi? Award and the Debut Evo 2 is a five star deck, moving the range more upmarket with sublime results.
Read our Award-winning Pro-Ject Debut Pro review
Roksan Xerxes 20 (2006)
You should never judge a book by its cover, and the same can be said for turntables. The Roksan Xerxes 20 looks to be your conventional, run-of-the-mill wooden-box turntable, but it is packed with clever engineering.
A motor that turns on its axis to compensate for torque fluctuations, a bearing designed to minimise noise and rubber suspension tuned to dampen specific frequencies are just some of the little tricks Roksan's engineers built into this player.
And they worked, winning our Temptations tournament at the time. The Xerxes 20 got all the essentials right – this is a player with first-class dynamics, and exceptional timing and rhythm.
Read our Roksan Xerses 20 Plus (Package) review
Thorens TD160HD (2008)
20 years after the original Thorens TD160 turntable came through our doors, the TD160HD made its way to us in 2008, a year that in itself now feels like a lifetime ago.
While it might appear chunky, this turntable's performance is anything but. It treats the subtleties in a song well, ensures the vocals are full of life, and provides a sound full of bass and depth – yet you'll be surprised at how tight your vinyl sounds.
Ultimately it's a faultless, five-star performance, and has us hankering for the new TD160 iteration.
Read our full Thorens TD160HD review
Clearaudio Innovation Wood/Universal/DaVinci V2 (2010)
One of our reference pieces of kit for several years, and with good reason, this high-end turntable sounds as good today as when we first heard it.
Innovation by name, innovative by nature: the ceramic magnetic main bearing minimises friction and noise, its high-quality DC motor and electronic speed governor switches between 33 1/3 to 45 or 78rpm at the push of a button.
As audiophiles, we always hope for transparency in our music, and the Innovation delivers. It's built superbly and a joy to use – a compulsory feature of this list – and remains in our hearts despite no longer being a fixture in our testing rooms.
Read our full Clearaudio Innovation Wood review
Kuzma Stabi S/Stogi S (2010)
A uniquely designed turntable, Kuzma's Stabi S is a minimalist, beautifully engineered piece of kit. Its uni pivot design, silicone damping system and two-piece counterweight on its arm – to name but a few design choices – all help it deliver top-notch sound quality.
Insightful, dynamic, natural-sounding and able to deliver vocals with real passion, this turntable is something special.
Read our full Kuzma Stabi S/Stogi S review
Clearaudio Concept (2014)
A four-time What Hi-Fi? Award winner, the Clearaudio Concept's charm started with its simplicity. While 'plug and play' offerings were – and largely still are – typically associated with cheaper turntable designs, the Concept offered such straightforward set-up and operation alongside a performance worthy of its four-figure price tag.
Clearaudio's own moving magnet Concept cartridge was fitted to the Verify Direct Wire Plus tonearm (a moving-coil alternative was also available), and the company set everything, including the cartridge weight and bias, before the turntable left the factory. Just fit the platter and belt, and off you spin!
A breeze to listen to, the Concept set the benchmark for detail, spaciousness and rhythmic prowess at this level for years.
Quite simply, it was hugely engaging and entertaining, and with its high practicality was a uniquely compelling package. "A Conceptual masterpiece," our review concluded.
Read our full Clearaudio Concept review
VPI Prime (2015)
VPI Industries has a long history of producing great turntables, and 2015's Prime player is no exception. The MDF chassis, steel plate and simple-to-use design all help towards its splendid sound quality.
It's a wonderfully confident-sounding product, with plenty of punch and impressive dynamics on scales both small and large. Of all the products VPI has made since its 1978 founding, the Prime is one of the very best.
Read our full VPI Prime review
Audio Technica AT-LP5 (2016)
As an Award winner of its time and one of our favourite budget turntables, the LP5 has something special to it, in both design and sound quality.
Its J-shaped tonearm harks back to those used by Audio-Technica in the 1960s and ’70s, while the AT95EX cartridge is exclusively designed for this turntable. Its sound quality is what really makes it shine; it's rhythmic and dynamic, with more than enough detail to keep us satisfied for hours of playtime.
A turntable you can plug straight into your amp, with the added bonus of USB output, the LP5 is a winner, and that formula has proceeded to win our favour with the newer Audio Technica AT-LP5x too.
Read our full Audio Technica AT-LP5 review
Technics SL-1000R
A quality publication needs a quality turntable to get its records spinning. The beautifully made SL-1000R has been a fixture of our reference set-up for a while now, initially earning our favour with its unmatched sonic stability and breathtaking sense of insight and drive, especially at the lower registers.
For the handsome sum of nearly £20,000 / $20,000, it really is the turntable that sets the standard at this premium level.
It's also wonderfully made. Weighing in at over 40kg (carrying isn't a one-man job), the SL-1000R is a stunning piece of engineering that, while never showy or attention-grabbing, exudes the sort of class and poise that gives you the confidence that your records are getting the best service possible.
Not only is the deck capable of a seriously high torque output, but Technics also boasts an astonishingly low 'wow and flutter' figure of 0.015 per cent.
Read our full Technics SL-1000R review
Vertere DG-1 Dynamic Groove (2020)
Vertere Audio may not have the heritage of brands such as Rega or Linn just yet, but the brains behind the company have decades of experience in the field, and that's readily seen in the DG-1.
This may be the company's entry-level deck, but it's still packed with the clever engineering that's so easily seen in the rest of the range. There's the flat tonearm, which is made of a triple-layered, aluminium alloy/polymer sandwich to minimise resonances.
The plinth echoes the arm’s sandwich construction, but this time it’s three layers of acrylic reinforced with a steel chassis to give a rigid yet well-damped structure.
The list goes on, but the important thing is that this isn't just doing things differently just to be different, all these unusual ideas result in a deck with a class-leading performance that even pricier alternatives struggle to match.
The DG-1, with the supplied Magneto moving magnet cartridge, produces a dynamic, rhythmically secure and massively entertaining sound.
Plus, the core DG-1 DNA lives on with the exceptional updated model – the DG-1 S/Magneto, a deck that's so good it's our current What Hi-Fi? Award winner.
Read our Vertere DG-1 Dynamic Groove review
SME Model 60 (2022)
We apologise for using the sort of disgusting cliché normally reserved for air-headed panel judges on shows such as The Masked Singer, but the Model 60 really does have the coveted "wow factor".
Built to be as exclusive as a Rolls Royce Phantom and almost as luxurious, the super high-end Model 60 was tested by our experts a couple of years back for £49,950 / $50,519 / AU$72,484. Believe it or not, it's absolutely worth it if you have the scratch.
A sublime engineering achievement, the Model 60's top-tier construction and immaculate build result in one of the finest-sounding turntables you'll find anywhere.
From its precision-machined aluminium body to its advanced polymer resin 5A tonearm, the SME heaps quality onto quality, resulting in audio that delights with its exceptional resolution and outstanding control.
Read our full SME Model 60 review
Rega Naia/Aphelion 2 (2023)
The production-ready and purchasable version of Rega's Naiad, which was a no-expense-spared R&D turntable project that began in 2009, the Naia is a culmination of cutting-edge technology and years of hard work, and, as we said in our Naia review, a "magnificent achievement".
It's the best turntable Rega knows how to make and applies the company's long-held low-mass, high-rigidity ethos (‘mass absorbs energy and lost energy equals lost music’) to reach new performance levels that justify the Naia's £12,499 / $16,995 / AU$24,999 price tag.
It's highly engineered, from its special main bearing assembly made from a composite ceramic material called ZTA (Zirconium Toughened Alumina), to its three round-sectioned belts which connect the deck’s 24V motor and sub-platter, and which Rega spent three years researching and developing rubber compounds for.
The optional Aphelion 2 moving-coil cartridge we tested the turntable with proves the ideal partner, too.
An unquestionable success, Rega's flagship is a must-listen for anyone interested in knowing just how good vinyl can sound.
Read our full Rega Naia/Aphelion 2 review
Vertere SG-1/Xtrax (2023)
At the time of writing, our Vertere SG-1/Xtrax review is merely a few days old, and yet we are already confident of its place on this enviable list.
Indeed, our technical editor has said that this is the turntable he would have at home (if he had a spare £44,605 lying around!) – and, well, he has had his fair share of high-end turntable experience over the decades!
In the hi-fi game for slightly (albeit not much) longer is Vertere's designer and founder, Tourag Moghaddam, so the SG-1 has been built on solid foundations, and that shines through in both its aesthetic (defined by its strategically placed LEDs embedded in the sumptuous acrylic plinth) and its performance, the latter of which we described as "about control and composure partnered with a wonderful lack of restraint".
"The SG-1 package is a true musical chameleon, one that changes character with the recording being played," we concluded. "Such a talent is rare in hi-fi, and should be cherished."
Read our full Vertere SG-1/Xtrax review
MORE:
See the What Hi-Fi? Vinyl Week reviews, news and features
Check out the 30 best hi-fi speakers of What Hi-Fi?'s lifetime
