We're all about practical buying advice here at What Hi-Fi? We want you to buy the best kit for your budget, so you get the most sound per pound from your investment.
Usually that doesn't mean spending £50,000 on a record player.
But every now and again, a special edition model comes along that makes us sit up and pay attention.
Maybe it's a collaboration with an iconic company or band, or it's just got a really cool theme – either way, fun is the name of the game.
And all of the below are a ton of fun.
No, they're not priced remotely within the means of most people. They might not even sound as good as the best turntable to grace our test rooms.
But man, do they catch the eye.
Here are five special edition record players that must be seen to be believed.
Pro-Ject AC/DC Turntable
This is most definitely one for those about to rock.
It's part of Pro-Ject's Artist Series of turntables – which includes a Metallica version, a cute Yellow Submarine model and various others; see also the Pink Floyd model below – and features a tonearm styled after the band's iconic lightning bolt logo.
That's not the only nod to the veteran Aussie rockers. The sub-platter's stainless steel axle is illuminated by red LED lighting to give the player a striking appearance, just like the highway to hell.
Technics SL-1200M7B
This is basically the Technics SL-1200MK7 with added Lamborghini.
Not only do you get a plinth pattern featuring the Y shape used across so many of Lamborghini’s designs, you get a choice of lurid colours too.
Yellow. When we get a Lamborghini, it's going to be a bright, highlighter yellow.
You get stickers too, and special edition slipmats. But the real fun happens when you play the bundled picture disc record featuring the V12-engine sounds of six Lamborghini super sports cars.
These include the 400GT 2+2, Miura SV, 25th Anniversary Countach, Diablo 6.0 SE, Murciélago LP 640, and Revuelto.
Otherwise, you get all the features of the non-Lamborghini MK7, including a coreless direct-drive motor, a sensitive-but-robust tonearm and two-layer structure platter for improving vibration damping.
But it's the Lamborghini styling that really sets it apart. Brrrm!
- Read our Technics SL-1200MK7 review
Bang & Olufsen Beogram 4000c Series Saint Laurent Rive Droit Edition
Quite a mouthful. But then there's a lot to say about this deck.
It's a modern spin on one of B&O's most established turntables, done in collaboration with a fashion house, of course (hence the long name).
The original Beogram 4000 Series turntable debuted in the 1970s. But this reimagining takes things up a notch.
Each new unit is housed in a ziricote wood case, and is individually numbered, accented with aluminium details and adorned with an etched logo.
Only 10 have been made. Editions don't come much more limited than this.
Pro-Ject The Dark Side Of The Moon Turntable
Pro-Ject is at it again, this time putting a Pink Floyd spin on one of its classic record players.
This one was created to celebrate 50 years since the band's groundbreaking album The Dark Side Of The Moon.
The pièce de résistance has to be the LED-backlit rainbow, which, as the vinyl spins, recreates the refracted light from the iconic album cover. Immense.
It even has a dimming function, while the deck's extended on/off lever doubles as the beam of white light.
The triangular 10mm glass plate mirrors the dispersive prism on the album cover. Talk about attention to detail.
Linn LP12-50
Jony Ive – the design guru responsible for most of Apple's most iconic products – collaborated with Linn on this turntable, and the results are just as sleek as you would imagine.
The LP12-50 is a 50th-anniversary edition of the Sondek LP12 record player.
Once Ive had spent some time with the original deck, he suggested some improvements, including precision-machined metal hinges for the dust cover, circular power switches machined from aluminium, a curved-edged top plate and arm board to mirror the new power switch’s curves, and a new lid badge.
But the improvements aren't purely aesthetic.
There's also a new plinth, made extra resistant to resonances by compressing layers of beech wood under extreme pressure.
Linn says this results in a new level of sonic performance.
If it sounds anywhere near as good as it looks, it'll be a treat for the ears.
MORE:
Check out the best turntables we've tested and recommend
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