Editors’ Choice: Turntables $2000-$5000

Clearaudio Concept Black with Satisfy Black Tonearm

$2000

Beautifully proportioned, light but not insubstantial, Concept Black is a model for how a mid-priced, belt-drive turntable should look and perform. Concept Black is made like a fine Swiss mechanical watch; sonically, it offers overall musicality, image focus, transient authenticity, and dynamic conviction. Aided by the optional high-precision Satisfy Black tonearm, mistracking is rendered essentially theoretical, and speed stability is rock solid. Further, image stability is locked down with little to no smearing, even when the ’table is challenged by a tightly packed chorus or complex symphony. 

Kuzma Stabi S

$2156 ($3615 with lid and external power supply)

The Stabi S is Kuzma’s least expensive turntable, but you wouldn’t know it to listen to the thing. Blessed with deep background silences, the Stabi S makes a great complement to the Stogi S tonearm. Not a good choice for rooms where footfalls will be a problem (because it is unsuspended), it is otherwise a fine mid-priced ’table. 

MoFi Electronics UltraDeck+

$2299 

When Mobile Fidelity decided to create a line of hardware it wisely brought in Allen Perkins of Spiral Groove to design the turntables, and those ‘tables deliver a lot of bang for the buck. Setup is simple, especially with the “+” option, which comes with the Japanese-made UltraTracker mm cartridge preinstalled at the Ann Arbor factory. The belt-driven ’table features an isolated AC synchronous motor, a hefty Delrin platter, and a constrained-layer-damped chassis with feet designed by Mike Latvis of HRS. Smoothness, imaging, musicality, pitch stability, and presence emerged as strong themes. The UltraDeck is a smartly conceived and finely honed design that’s already earning its place as an instant classic. 

Pro-Ject RPM 9 Carbon 

$2999 ($3499 Including Sumiko Songbird high-output mc cartridge)

The RPM 9 Carbon is Pro-Ject’s “tuner” special with significant upgrades over the box-stock RM-9.2. There’s a new motor, a new DC-driven power supply that features an improved AC generator for speed stability. Plus, a newly upgraded platter and carbon-wrapped chassis. Sonics were devilishly good. Backgrounds were jet black, and sonics softly tinted to the warmer end of the tonal spectrum. Presto arpeggios were liquid and articulate, and there was an impressive sense of air and lift in the upper octaves with an overarching sense of balance across all other criteria. Overall, a terrific package certain to give a great many lucky owners years of vinyl-spinning thrills. 

Linn Sondek LP12

$3000 (turntable/deck only)

The original high-end turntable, Linn’s LP12 conveys the rhythm and pace that are the very foundations of music, and it gets better with age—owners of any vintage LP12 can upgrade to the current model. One of high-end audio’s genuine classics. 

EAT C-Sharp

$3495 ($3995 w/Ortofon Quintet Black cartridge)

The combination of the C-Sharp and the Ortofon Quintet Black cartridge produced appealing sound that had rhythmic drive and made nearly everything reviewer Andre Jennings spun fun to listen to. Although the EAT lacked the ultimate resolution and neutrality of pricier analog front-ends, AJ still found its “sins” of omission more than acceptable. Indeed, he found himself spending more time listening to complete albums during the review period than what he’d originally allocated for the evaluation. 

SOTA Sapphire Series VI 

$3975

The Series VI upgrade of this 30-year-old classic boasts improvements in parts, engineering, machining, fit and finish, and performance—all retrofittable to earlier versions. Its time-proven, four-point hanging suspension is still the ultimate in isolating the ’arm/pickup. For PS, the Sapphire is the least expensive turntable that suggests what “super”-turntables are all about, sacrificing only a bit of resolution and control by comparison. Recommended without serious qualification. 

Dr. Feickert Volare with Origin Live Silver MK3A tonearm

$3995 

Derived from Dr. Feickert’s flagship Firebird, Volare is a non-suspension, belt-driven design that has the essentials down pat, possessing a musicality, stability, and solidity that few LP rigs in the $3k ranks can match. Setup is a snap; it operates silently and achieves platter velocity swiftly. Pitch and image stability are rock-solid. It is unwaveringly stable and reproduces soundstage and dimensional cues and ambience in ways that reminded NG of many top-tier rigs. On occasion some acoustic feedback was noted, so a good isolation base is recommended. Volare includes a premium, heavy, well-balanced aluminum platter coupled with a high-torque motor. Fit and finish are superb. 

Pear Audio Little John with Coronet 2 tonearm

$3995 ($2995 w/Coronet 1 tonearm)

This combination, close to the entry-level of the Pear Audio line of turntables and tonearms, owes design principles to the late vinyl guru Tom Fletcher, notably in the use of a low-torque motor (to prevent vibrations from reaching the stylus) that requires manually bringing the platter up to speed. Paul Seydor found the sound warm without being mushy; rounded and dimensional without being soft or fuzzy; smooth, even sweet, yet not lacking in profile or enough stringency if the source calls for it; natural, easeful, unforced, and musical against a background of black velvet (record surfaces permitting). 

Technics SL-1200G-S

$3999

This turntable, which shares the historic name and appearance of the long-running SL-1200 series but is in fact a new design, offers performance at the very highest level. Its silence and speed stability are competitive with any turntable available and are far superior to most, even very high-priced ones. The turntable’s sound is rock-solid, very pure, highly resolved, and quite lively in the positive sense. 

Luxman PD-151

$4125 ($4995 with dustcover)

The PD-151’s almost Spartan appearance belies its technical and engineering sophistication. Stability of speed and accuracy of pitch are addressed by a combination of a proprietary sine wave/pulse-width-modulation power supply, high-torque DC brushless motor, and a PID feedback loop for control over rapid speed fluctuations. Some turntables have an immediately recognizable sound of their own, others don’t or at least have much less so. This Luxman is solidly in latter camp. The PD-151’s dynamic reproduction is principally limited by the quality of vinyl you place on the platter and the quality of recording pressed into that vinyl, and the same goes for detail. Reviewer PS concluded “I experienced more sheer joy with the PD-151 than I’ve had reviewing a turntable in I can’t remember when.” 

Clearaudio Concept Active

$4600 (Smart Power 12V option, $1200)

The Concept Active redefines what it means to be an affordable and accessible high-performance turntable in the here and now. The Concept Active includes a tonearm and cartridge, of course. But there’s also a top-notch built-in phonostage and headphone output with volume control. While the Concept Active performed terrifically in a full system, it’s hard to downplay the musicality of listening through a good set of headphones fed directly from the Concept Active. What was unexpected was how little resolution the “entry-level” Concept Active gave up in comparison to far more elite rigs. Adding the optional Smart Power 12V—a battery-based DC power supply—further improved image focus and transient clarity. Overall, a rarity in the high end—a triumph of performance, pricing, and packaging. 

Pro-Ject Xtension 10 

$4999 ($5999 with Sumiko Starling cartridge)

Long known for affordable, high-value turntables, Pro-Ject has recently entered the market for more up-scale models. And its Xtension 10 is a worthy contender. The design features a mass-loaded, magnetically floated subchassis, a 3″-tall, 12.6 lbs. vinyl/alloy platter, and the 10cc Evolution tonearm. What makes the ensemble special is its ability to get at the heart of the music, consistently providing not only a high level of musical satisfaction but doing so in a way that delivers a powerful emotional wallop.