Can Startups Carve Out a Space in the HiFi Turntable Market

Icons of Obsession: What Rolex, Ferrari, and Leica Teach Us About the World’s Most Iconic Turntables

Forgotten Names in Turntable Manufacturing – Part V Micro Seiki: The Master Machinist of Analog’s Golden Age

The visionaries who redefined the tonearm

Analog audio once again proved remarkably alive at CES 2026.

Forgotten Names in Turntable Manufacturing: Part IV – Braun and Dieter Rams' Timeless Precision

BSR was founded in 1932 in Birmingham, England, by Dr. Daniel McLean McDonald. Like many British engineering firms of the era, it began modestly, producing transformers and public-address equipment. Nothing at the time suggested it would grow into one of the most prolific turntable manufacturers in history.

Ariston represents a classic tale of innovation, rivalry, and lost legacy. Founded in the early 1970s by the visionary Hamish Robertson, Ariston carved a niche as one of Scotland’s finest turntable makers. Robertson initially operated under the company name Thermac before evolving into Ariston in 1970 and later Ariston Audio Ltd. The company’s flagship product was the Ariston RD11 turntable, developed around 1971 with the aid of Castle Precision Engineering Ltd, a renowned Gl

The Holy Grail That Doesn't Exist: In Search of Your Best Turntable

Is the analog preference in audio purely nostalgic, or does psychology really play a role?

Over the past decade, sales of turntables, vinyl records, reel‑to‑reel decks, and tube‑based amplifiers have surged again, even as streaming dominates the mainstream. This revival isn’t a fleeting fad; it reflects a confluence of cultural, technological, and psychological factors that together rekindle our fascination with analog sound.

Few audio technologies conjure as much mystique as the reel-to-reel tape deck. Once a cornerstone of professional studios and ambitious home systems, these heavy, spinning machines became symbols of sonic purity and engineering bravado. Their demise in the 1980s was inevitable—cassette, CD, and then digital formats promised more convenience at lower cost.

Should a Hi-Fi Turntable Be Just a Music Player or Also a Work of Art

The Amstrad TP12D is a belt-drive turntable notable for its unique platter design, inspired by the Transcriptors Reference player.

Owning and using the Micro Seiki DD-24 is like having a piece of hi-fi history that still performs at an elite level.

Micro Seiki DDL 150: A Forgotten Masterpiece of Analog Engineering

The RD11S is a belt-drive turntable featuring a 24-pole hysteresis synchronous motor mounted on a silicone isolation subframe.

The Thorens TM 1600 reel-to-reel (R2R) tape deck is a modern, high-end analogue tape machine developed in cooperation with the Düsseldorf-based specialist Ballfinger. It was launched around summer 2020 and is designed as a half-track quarter-inch machine with three motors, capable of handling reels up to 10.5 inches at speeds of 19 or 38 cm/s (7.5 or 15 inches per second).

Several emerging brands have entered or re-entered the reel-to-reel (R2R) tape deck market in recent years

The largest manufacturer of hi-fi quality turntables in the world is SEV Litovel.