Turntables, Arms & Cartridges

From the moment Rega revived its Planar name with the introduction of the Planar 1, Planar 2 (HFC 415) and Planar 3 (HFC 411) turntables in 2016, it was logical that the RP6 would be in line to join the new order. Rumours of an RP6 successor have been circulating for some time since the Planar 3 arrived over a year ago and anticipation was finally broken with the official announcement of the imminent release of the new Planar 6 in mid- July, much to the excitement of both dealers and Rega enthusiasts alike. On the face of it, the similarities between the Planar 6 and the more affordable models in Rega’s range look to outweigh the differences, but rest assured that the £998 (without cartridge) Planar 6 is rather more than a beefed-up version of its Planar 3 sibling. The new turntable is still an unsuspended, belt-driven design that uses a single-piece plinth instead of the distinctive two-piece design of the continuing RP8 and RP10 flagship decks.

If you’re in any doubt that vinyl has returned to almost mainstream status, the latest turntable to join the format’s rapidly growing ranks should remove any uncertainty as to its popularity. The rather unassuming PS-HX500 deck is made by Sony, the company that jointly developed the compact disc and worked hard to commercialise the SACD format. The fact that the PS-HX500 exists at all is a fairly clear indicator that the Japanese giant sees which way the wind is blowing, and demonstrates the entertainment brand’s continued commitment to hi-fi. Of course, Sony has also been working hard to provide a cohesive range of audio products that demonstrate the advantages of high-resolution digital and in order for the new deck to fit into this brave new world, it’s equipped with the ability to rip vinyl to digital files via USB and some nifty software.

Not wishing to rest on its laurels, Austrian-based audio specialist, Pro-Ject, has introduced another model to its comprehensive line of turntables that spans an impressive range of models to suit just about every budget. The RPM 9 Carbon sits towards the upper end of the range and makes use of modern materials combined with new manufacturing processes to produce a deck with an extra-heavy, mass-loaded sub-chassis that is decoupled from its support surface using magnetic feet. The teardrop-shaped plinth is manufactured from an advanced sandwich construction of MDF, carbon fibre and steel pellets that has all been subjected to a thermo treatment. The polished 7.

When The Funk Firm releases a new turntable, you can expect innovation to be high on the agenda. Challenging the norms of turntable design is what company founder Arthur Khoubesserian is all about. Let’s not forget that this is the man who some decades ago first introduced novel ideas like fitting DC motors to belt drive decks alongside acrylic platters for placing your LPson sans mat. Back then this wastruly leftfield thinking, but now it’s commonplace on many of today’s high-end vinyl spinners, showing that Arthur was clearly ahead of the game.

Launched by Divine Audio’s head honcho Tim Chorlton and Mark Groom, and with power supplies designed by Garrard guru Martin Bastin, Analogue Works is a new turntable manufacturer that brings plenty of experience to the table, which has been ploughed into the company’s carefully crafted rangeof record players and accessories. The One is positioned slap bang in the middle of the company’s record player range, sensibly sandwiched between the Zero (£650) and Two (£1,600) models. All three decks get the same bronze/steel bearing and the Zero also packs a Rega RB202 arm within its price, but gets a bamboo or MDF plinth and wall-wart PSU in place of the One’s birch-ply plinth and standalone PSU. The cheaper Zero also comes equipped with an acetal platter instead of the more substantial damped alloy platter sported by the One and Two decks.

Michell Engineering GyroDec SE Full spring suspension and a competitive performance makes the Michell a strong contender. . . This deck is relatively unusual these days in that it includes a full spring suspension, which in turn is rare in using springs in tension rather than compression.

Inspire Eclipse SE V2 Combine this turntable’s presentation attributes with SME’s M2 arm and you have a fine piece of audio engineering The newest kid on this particular analogue block, Inspire, clearly has a penchant for acrylic. It started out offering mods for Rega decks in the material and the Eclipse SE V2 is almost entirely made of the stuff. The black shiny fi nish says it all really, but it’s more than a couple of slabs of the stuff, between the two are three cones with acrylic tips, alloy bodies and sorbothane damping. The bottom half of the plinth sits on three low-profi le feet with no option for height adjustment.