Goldring hasn't been in the turntable game in a long while. Its peak popularity was in the 50s and 60s (with collaborations with fellow turntable brand Lenco) but, as vinyl's popularity faded, the 118-year-old brand continued specialising in cartridges rather than full decks.
Until now. Goldring has decided that a comeback to the turntable market is the right course, nearly 20 years after its last effort (the GR2 in 2005). It is a crowded market these days – Pro-Ject unveiled three new affordable decks last week, while Audio-Technica launched a flagship AT-LP8X model – but Goldring aims to combine audiophile principles with modern convenience.
To that end, the new Goldring GR3 turntable is a manual, belt-drive design with tonearm and cartridge included. It features a phenolic resin platter with enhanced flywheel effect – greater mass on the rim – that ensures consistent rotational speed, with 33 1/3 and 45 rpm speeds supported.
Goldring says the new deck has been developed in collaboration "with a renowned British hi-fi manufacturer" – turntable fans may need only a glance at the images to figure out that manufacturer's identity.
The GR3 aims for set up and inclusion into any home audio system to be as easy as possible, and comes fitted with the What Hi-Fi? Award-winning Goldring E3 cartridge, which we praised for its refinement, tonal balance and expressive dynamism. It also comes with a phono preamp built-in, so you can plug this deck directly into a pair of active speakers or any amplifier. You even get two interconnect cables from sister brand QED in the box: one phono-to-phono cable (1.5m) and one phono-to-3.5mm (3m long). Offering two choices of cables in the box to work with a variety of partnering setups is a generous and useful addition.
The Goldring GR3 turntable is available in a high-gloss black finish and costs £699 / €899 / $999. It is available now for customers in the UK and Europe, and will be available in the US from December.
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