Turntables, Arms & Cartridges

Townshend Audio Rock 7 Townshend Audio's unique damping trough introduces a whole new approach to turntable performance The Rock range of turntables has invariably been distinguished by the front-end damping trough, developed as a result of research at Cranfield Institute of Technology and commercialised by Townshend in the 1980s. In many ways it’s a very different turntable from the old ‘Elite Rock’ that made the brand famous. Construction is based on 6mm steel plate, with the main chassis cut out in a pleasingly curvy shape – which accommodates the huge main bearing, the arm mounting and the three bellows suspension feet. These are a development of another long-standing Townshend idea and consist of a spring inside a rubber bellows with a small air leak.

Edwardian splendour Malcolm Steward assesses a Rega-based turntable from Edwards Audio, a new outfit from the Talk Electronics stable The Edwards Audio TT1 starts at a very reasonable £325 without a cartridge, but is also available with an Edwards Zephyr £60 cartridge for £375 (a £10 saving when purchased with the deck as a complete record-playing package). This cartridge is similar to the popular Goldring Elektra, supplied with this review sample on the highly respected Rega RB250 [OEM] tonearm. Clearly this turntable is targeted at those who want to be able to enjoy their vinyl, without having to remortgage their homes or sell any of their internal organs to fund the investment. Rega revisited The TT1 differs from the timeless Rega P2, upon which it is based, in that it features a clear, naked acrylic platter.

Roksan Radius 5. 2 £1,399 (inc. arm) Putting the competition to shame in terms of rhythm and pace, the Radius 5. 2 has much to recommend it The Radius design has undergone so many changes over the years that practically no single part is left of the original, yet it is instantly recognisable as the same model.

Michell Gyro SE £1,140 With Michell proprietary technology such as TechnoWeight, this turntable has a few surprises up its tonearm The Michell look is distinctive and eye-catching and this turntable is no exception. To what extent, though, does form follow function? Many aspects of the Gyro’s design are highly functional, for instance those brass weights hanging below the plastic platter. Yes, a flat disc of brass (or other metal) would have achieved the same aim of adding rotating inertia, but it wouldn’t have done it any better - probably a little worse. On the other hand, the skeletal metal casting which forms the subchassis of the Gyro SE is, if we’re honest, more attractive than effective.

Rega style for less Rega has revised its entry-level record player, adding a new tonearm and platter material. Jason Kennedy asks if the brand still 'owns' the sector Rega, once the king of the affordable turntable sector has just reasserted its position in the market a brand-new entry-level model, the RP1. This new turntable replaces the rather dowdy P1 and sports not only a new platter material, but a totally new tonearm to boot, an arm we are told that hints at changes to come across the entire range. New mould The platter is now moulded in phenolic resin which was once known as Bakelite; one of the first plastics to be used in manufacturing and usually associated with radios from the forties and fifties.

Beautiful bolt-on The most dramatic Rega arm rebuild yet encountered sounds as good as it looks according to Jason Kennedy People have been modifying Rega’s classic RB series tonearms for some time now, but never have we come across such a dramatic transformation as the one achieved by Audiomods. It uses the arm tube, lift mechanism and rest clip from an RB250 and replaces everything else with machined aluminium parts that, like the tube, are polished for a perfect finish. If that weren’t enough, Audiomods adds a micrometer to the system that allows precise VTA adjustment on-the-fly. The arm is also presented in a padded wooden box and comes with alternative counterweights.