Of everything we sell, turntables are the products people fall in love with. Nobody buys a record player for convenience — they buy it for the ritual, the sleeve in your hands, the warmth of an album played end to end. So let me talk you through what actually matters, and what really doesn’t, when you’re choosing one.
The deck itself comes first
A turntable’s job sounds simple: spin a record at a perfectly steady speed while keeping every scrap of vibration away from the stylus. Doing that well is harder than it looks, and it’s where your money goes. A well-engineered deck from the likes of Pro-Ject or Technics gives you a solid plinth, a good bearing and a properly designed tonearm — the foundations that everything else builds on.
The cartridge is where the magic happens
If the deck is the engine, the cartridge is where the record actually turns into music. It’s the tiny stylus tracing the groove, and it has an enormous influence on how your system sounds. Many good decks come with a decent cartridge fitted, but upgrading to a better Ortofon is one of the most cost-effective improvements you can make — often more noticeable than spending the same money on a pricier deck.
Don’t forget the phono stage
A turntable’s signal is tiny and needs a special phono stage to bring it up to the level your amplifier expects. Some amplifiers have one built in; many don’t. It’s not glamorous, but a good phono stage matters — get advice on matching it to your cartridge rather than leaving it as an afterthought.
Setup is everything
Here’s the honest truth the internet often skips: a brilliant turntable set up badly will sound worse than a modest one set up properly. Tracking force, alignment, anti-skate — get these wrong and you’ll not only lose sound quality, you’ll wear your records prematurely. When you buy a deck from us, we set it up properly for you. It’s not an upsell; it’s the difference between a record player and a hi-fi.
So what should you spend?
Enough to get a solidly engineered deck with a cartridge worth keeping, and don’t forget to leave room for a phono stage if you need one. Beyond that, the law of diminishing returns is real — but so is the pleasure of a truly special front end. The best way to decide is to hear a few, side by side, with records you know intimately.
Come and have a listen
We’ve always got decks set up and ready to play in our Shrewsbury showroom. Bring a couple of your favourite records, put the kettle on with us, and hear the differences for yourself — no pressure, no rush. Book a listen or drop us a line and we’ll take it from there.
— Duncan Lewis, Chief Sound Enthusiast, SMC HiFi
