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Welcome to the September issue
“Sitting in a room, alone, listening to a CD is to be lonely. Sitting in a room alone with an LP crackling away, or sitting next to the turntable listening to a song at a time via 7in single is enjoying the sublime state of solitude.”

These are the wise words of Henry Rollins and I’m sharing them with you because I was wondering if anyone else felt the same way about record players as I do. I’m not talking about the allure of vinyl here; the warmth, depth and humanity that explains its appeal over the digital delivery of music has already been well and passionately documented. What I’m talking about is the player itself; the tonearm, the plinth, the actual act of placing the platter on the deck and watching it revolve.

I got my first record player for my ninth birthday in 1965 and have loved them ever since. What I like is the care, patience and precision needed to get it just right.

Digital delivery eliminates all of this and so eradicates a whole heap from the experience – the anticipation, the effort, the fun. The very basis for its existence – convenience – robs us of all the joys of the ritual.

Anyway, all of this is a roundabout way of saying how pleased I am to present this month’s Group Test of turntables, chosen from a non-prohibitive price range so that vinyl virgins can make an educated choice and set out on their own personal musical odyssey.

Enjoy the issue