If you are serious about both your hi-fi system and your love of vinyl, getting the ultimate performance from your priceless record collection is the ultimate aim. What you need is a high-end turntable.
What Hi-Fi? has been testing turntables ever since our inception in 1976, so our experienced team of reviewers know just how much of a difference an exquisitely engineered and exceptional sounding turntable can make when bringing every drop of detail and information from the vinyl record groove to life. Of course, the rest of your system components have to be of a similarly high level to get the best out of your new high-end turntable, too.
You might have perused our best turntables guide and decided that you are after something far more high-performing (and can afford the higher price tags) – which is why we have curated this list for audiophiles who are interested in the finest, most impressive high-end record players that have passed through our test rooms in recent years.
There are a few things to consider with high-end turntables, as they aren't 'plug-and-play' models like budget decks. You'll need to visit a specialist retailer and choose your own cartridge and sometimes even the tonearm, which is why you won't see our usual price widgets on the products below as the customisation and pricing options will vary. We would also recommend listening to your new turntable before making such a huge purchase and getting tailored advice from your dedicated dealer.
Whether you have the deep pockets to fund this esoteric interest or you are just perusing and dreaming about your dream deck, read on to discover the stunning high-end record players we've reviewed and recommend.
The best high-end record players
Originally introduced back in 1973, the LP12 is still a massively capable and neatly configured deck that puts many a young gun to shame. It's been updated and modernised over the years, but the quality and performance have remained impeccable. Even when you factor in the five-figure price tag, the Klimax LP12 represents value for money and is one of the best high-end record players we've ever had the pleasure of testing.
This configuration sees the basic deck (called Sondek LP12) partnered with an Ekos SE tonearm and Kandid moving-coil cartridge. There's also an Urika phono stage, Radikal power supply and Keel sub-chassis all of which combine to make this a truly high-end turntable. We tested it originally at £18,670 (around $22,180 / AU$32,925) but as of 2023, the deck is available in the link provided above for £25,100 (around $31,000 / AU$48,655).
And it's all worth every penny because this deck is impressively precise and smooth, beautifully made (the arm tube is made of titanium) and sounds wonderfully musical. Detail resolution, agility and transparency have improved over the years, resulting in a high-end record player that never loses its composure.
If you want scale, power, passion and all manner of sonic fireworks, the Klimax LP12 is the money-no-object choice.
Read our full Linn Klimax LP12 review
Rega has picked up plenty of awards for its more modest offerings, but the Planar 10/Apheta 3 combination sets sky-high standards for the money and serves up plenty of insight and detail.
The company's mainstream range-topper, the Planar 10 is well-made and visually striking. You could buy the Planar 10 without a cartridge but Rega’s Apheta 3 makes the ideal partner. We tested the deck at £4499 / $6695 / AU$9499, but current prices have the Planar 10 set at £4950 (roughly $6,255 / AU$9597 with the Aphetea 3 and £6840 ($8643 / AU$13,263) with the Aphelion 2 MC.
There's plenty of elegant engineering to admire, including a single-piece machined aluminium sub-platter with a hardened tool steel spindle running inside a custom brass housing. As for the belt, Rega spent three years developing the material used.
When it comes to sound, there is transparency, resolution and dynamic expression in spades. It's a natural and measured performance that is mature and authoritative, with plenty of weight to bass frequencies.
All in all, this high-end record player is as good as it gets for the money. And if you like that it resembles a work of art, this is the deck for you.
Read our full Rega Planar 10/Apheta review
Want a more high-end, more refined alternative? See the Rega Naia below
At the top of Technics' range of turntables sits the SL-1000R. It won't suit everyone's budget and weighing in at 40kg, you'll probably need another pair of hands to shift it. But from the magnesium S-shaped tonearm to the adjustable feet, build quality and finish are as precise as a Japanese bullet train.
Unusually for a high-end turntable, Technics has opted for a direct drive motor rather than a belt drive, but great care has been taken to reduce vibration. Technics pioneered the direct drive turntable design in the 70s, and the SL-1000R delivers excellent speed stability at 33.3, 45 and 78rpm. It also features a 7.9kg triple-layered platter and comes with an external power supply. As with most options at this price (£18,999 / $24,000 / around AU$47,867), you'll need to supply your own cartridge.
The SL1000R's sound quality is seriously punchy and tuneful. We're impressed with its delivery of tight, beautifully-defined bass and deeply impressive levels of scale and authority. It might seem expensive, but the SL-1000R will go toe-to-toe with any rival in this price bracket. Truly a fantastic beast.
Read our full Technics SL-1000R review
"I've been reviewing turntables for over 25 years, from budget to high-end models, and there is extra care needed when testing and listening to a high-end record player. At this level, you get a choice of the cartridge you want to use, and it may not necessarily come from the same brand that makes the turntable. Take the Technics SL-1000R for example – we use this as our reference deck in our What Hi-Fi? test room, and use a Kiseki Purple Heart moving coil cartridge as the recommended pairing. More recently we have also used the new Vertere Dark Sabre moving magnet cartridge as an alternative. It all comes down to what is recommended by the manufacturer – or the dealer – when it comes to choosing the right options for your turntable. It's important to listen to the turntable with each option too, so make sure you're able to demo the high-end turntable before making a purchase."
With over 35 years of experience under its belt, Vertere - originally a maker of high-end cables – knows a thing or two about polished performers. The MG-1 MkII is a fine transition into the world of high-end record players and delivers an astonishingly clean, compelling sound.
Designed to make a statement it's packed with nice details, from the triple-layered, vibration-reducing acrylic structure to the removable centre spindle on the platter, which prevents noise from the bearing being directly transmitted to the record surface.
It's best paired with Vertere’s in-house moving coil cartridge, the Mystic. Machined from solid aluminium, it's a perfect fit, tracks well at 2.0g and is easy to fit thanks to threaded bolts.
The sound is super-agile and we were awed by the level of dynamic expression on display. This is a high-end record player that packs enough energy to drive each and every crescendo with ease.
You'll struggle to hear anything better than this Vertere package at this money, even with recent prices rising to £11,950 – £12,950 (around $15,103 - $16,366 / AU$23,158 - 25,099AU$ depending on your choice of finish.
Read our full Vertere Acoustics MG-1 MkII/Mystic review
The new VPI Prime 21+ builds on one of our favourite turntables with an upgraded design that improves performance and ease of use.
Just to be clear, there are actually two versions of this deck. The ‘21+’ model costs around £6500 ($6500, around AU$11,450) and includes the brand-new VPI Shyla moving coil cartridge and the company’s Weisline tonearm, while the base '21' model misses out on these two options but costs much less – around £4500 ($4500, around AU$8000).
If you can stretch to the 21+, you won't be disappointed. It's engineered to sing and, like previous VPI's Prime turntables, dishes up plenty of clarity and precision. Sound is big and bold without overstepping the mark, delivering punch and insight that put it among the class leaders in this category.
It doesn't quite have the drive of the Vetere MG-1 or the rhythmic snap of the superb Rega Planar 10 (both listed above), but the VPI Prime 21+ does combine its impressive sense of power with easy set-up and a generous supply of accessories in the box. And for those reasons, this one has to be on your shortlist.
Read our full VPI Prime 21+ review
The Clearaudio Ovation is the Clark Kent of high-end record players: its superpowers are neatly hidden under conventional looks. It's a terrific all-rounder brimming with clever engineering solutions. There's plenty of choice when it comes to picking a cartridge – Clearaudio makes a varied and impressive range, so you can take things up a notch should your budget allow. The Ovation currently retails at around £6300 (around $7960 / AU$12,207) back in 2014, with a Talismann v2 Gold moving coil cartridge costing you north of a £1000 / $1263 / AU$2000.
Build quality is pretty much bulletproof. The Ovation’s plinth boasts a sandwich construction made up of two plates of aluminium encapsulating a layer of Panzerholz (a dense, heavily processed wood that’s said to be bulletproof). It's also an effective damping agent.
How does it sound? Refined, enthusiastic and blessed with a level of bite and verve that belies its classy styling. A fuss-free deck that serves up a full-bodied performance. On a tighter budget? You might also consider the four-star Clearaudio Active MM, which performs brilliantly considering it's around half the price of this deck.
Read our full Clearaudio Ovation review
SME doesn’t launch many new products, but when it does they’re obsessively engineered and usually stay in production for decades. This SME 60 is an immaculate evolution of a 30-year flagship, but takes advantage of modern production techniques and materials where needed. Those are evidenced in the 5A tonearm, machined from a block of high-tech polymer resin, whose well-damped property helps reduce armtube resonances.
SME doesn't make its own cartridges, so we tested this package (which cost £49,950 / $50,519 / AU$72,484) with a highly-regarded Ortofon Windfeld Ti moving coil model. Yes, it's a pricey package, but the build quality is exceptional and you'll need to treat it to appropriate partnering kit to get the best out of it. While the SME 60 may be a precision instrument, it still has the aura of something that's intended to be passed down between generations even with heavy use.
Sonically, we hear an immense scale of sound and a breathtaking combination of muscle and authority that allows a song's dramatic nature to shine through. The Model 60 is almost brutal in the way it renders Beethoven's Fifth Symphony’s savage dynamic swings, yet at no point does it sound anything less than in total control of the situation. It digs up every last bit of information from the record groove, doing a convincing job of transporting us in time and space to the point the music was recorded. While it does err more on the insightful, analytical side (and will show up any shortcomings in a pressing or recording), the 60 still has plenty of verve to keep us entertained and listening.
Read our full SME Model 60 review
Prefer a less expensive alternative? Read our SME Model 20 Mk 2/Series V review
The Naiad was an R&D exercise for Rega engineers to create a no-expense-spared turntable using the brand's long-held core beliefs of low mass and high rigidity, but pushed to the highest limits. Such was the demand for that conceptual model, that only 50 hand-made units were made – each for £30,000.
The Naia, then is the production-ready, 'mass-market' version of the Naiad. It has the skeletal plinth frame seen in the Planar 10 model (above), but there are new technologies throughout. First is that skeletal plinth, which now uses graphene-infused carbon fibre to sandwich the foam core. Then there's the delicate and shaped ceramic platter, which concentrated most of its mass around the perimeter to help the flywheel effect and improve speed stability. A new titanium tonearm offers a lighter and stiffer design, but it's the precision and low friction movement of the titanium main bearings that impress the most. A triple belt design, outboard power supply and the fitted Aphelion 2 MC cartridge complete the set. Altogether, with the cartridge, the Naia costs £12,499 / $16,995 / AU$24,999.
And it is a magnificent achievement. It's an incredibly insightful and natural-sounding deck. The Naia sounds clean and crisp, delivering class-leading levels of information without ever edging into sterility. It delivers agility and articulation in spaces, while also offering plenty of scale and authority when the music demands it. Some might want a bit more in the way of rhythmic drive; don’t get us wrong, this package is certainly surefooted and confident when delivering rhythm tracks, but compared to a rival like the Vertere Acoustics MG-1 MkII/Mystic (above) it does sound a bit polite in comparison.
However, this Rega is the result of truly ambitious single-minded engineering and a must-listen for anyone interested in knowing just how good vinyl can sound.
Read our full Rega Naia review
How to choose the best high-end turntable for you
First things first: if you're already considering a high-end turntable and looking at this page, then you know your budget already stretches anywhere from four figures to a hefty five figures. So while it may be high, the budget still matters as the turntable should match – or dictate – the rest of your hi-fi system.
There are a few key things to look for when buying a high-end turntable. Generally speaking, the higher the price, the higher quality of the materials used. And when it comes to performance, you can expect a sense of realism, detail and instrumental authenticity that more affordable models just can't match.
Many models at this level might not come with a tonearm or a cartridge, which means you'll have to factor in the added (and possibly quite significant) costs for these essential additionals. We've noted the cartridge and tonearm that came included in each turntable package that we reviewed, but there are other options the manufacturer might recommend. Some manufacturers like Rega will recommend their own tonearm and cartridge pairings for the high-end Naia, but many other manufacturers don't make their own cartridges, for instance, so they will recommend other reputable brands. Don't forget to head over to our list of the best cartridges for some alternative inspiration, though, not to mention finding the perfect match when it comes to phono stages.
You might notice that pricing is complex when you start looking into buying a high-end turntable. Products as esoteric as these are quite often only available through a select few outlets and dealers that specialise in high-end hi-fi. In this case, we would always highly recommend visiting a dealer, who will be well-versed in recommending the accessories (tonearm, cartridge, phono stage) for each turntable you choose. We would always recommend demoing a deck at these prices too, and again the dealer will be able to demo the different combinations of cartridge and tonearm to help you find the sound you like. It's quite a big purchase, after all. Some dealers might even let you take the turntable home for a short trial (they will likely take a deposit in this case), but you won't know if you don't ask.
Once you've made a decision and you've bought your new turntable, you'll want to know how to set up your turntable perfectly to get the ultimate performance from your vinyl set up. Again, for high-end turntables of this calibre, you'll want the expert dealer to set the turntable up for you. Most dealers do this for an additional fee (or this might come as part of the package, depending on the brand) – but this final step is worth getting the experienced care and time your new turntable deserves to ensure it's all set up correctly.
How we test high-end record players
What Hi-Fi? has been reviewing turntables for nearly 50 years, ever since our first magazine issue was published in 1976. Our editorial team has over 100 years of collective experience in reviewing, testing and writing about consumer electronics, from speakers to headphones to TVs, and that includes plenty of high-end record players.
We test high-end turntables the same way we test all turntables: in our dedicated state-of-the-art testing facilities in London and Reading, where the rooms are acoustically treated and we have a tried-and-tested reference hi-fi system as well as a stockroom full of Award-winning products and five-star rivals for every price band and product category. We ensure we set up each turntable correctly according to each manufacturer's instructions, with the tonearm and cartridge provided (or we use a recommended, price-compatible cartridge where applicable). We make sure we place each deck on a level surface and plug it into price-appropriate electronics and speakers (usually our reference system) and we spend as much time as needed with each turntable, to make sure we listen to its qualities in full, play various records and genres, and use different amps and speakers to make sure we're getting the best out of them and are able to deliver complete advice to our readers.
All new high-end turntables are tested in comparison with rival turntables at the same price where possible, and fitted with either the supplied cartridge or a premium price equivalent.
We always review as a team, too. All our reviewers are conducted by our in-house review team, and each turntable is listened to by more than one reviewer. All final verdicts are decided upon as a team as well, to eliminate any personal subjectivity and ensure we remain thorough and consistent in our testing and judgements. There is never any input from manufacturers, PRs or commercial teams on any of our reviews, with What Hi-Fi? delivering independent, honest and unbiased reviews for nearly five decades. So if you decide to take the plunge and buy one of the recommended turntables on this page, you can rest assured you're getting a What Hi-Fi?-approved product.
You can read more about how we test and review products on What Hi-Fi? here.
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