Our first model is another table from our friends at U-Turn, the U-Turn Orbit 2 Special. Whenever anyone sees one of these for the first time, they usually comment: “Wow, what a beautiful turntable.” And the Orbit 2 Special certainly is, with its plinth being made from sustainably sourced US flat-cut maple and rift walnut. The Special version of the Orbit gets you the better plinth, the cue mechanism is included, but best yet is you get the classic Ortofon 2M Red phono cartridge included.

The Orbit 2 Special also got the new OA3 tonearm with its improved build and tracking ability and the new belt and speed control.

The Red has to be the most popular cartridge of all time, and for good reason. It tracks great and has a very neutral sound.

Another cool part about the Red is that you can make it sound even better by buying a stylus for the next model up, the Ortofon 2M Blue. The Blue tracks even better and will extract even more details from your records.

Next up is a turntable from our friends at Rega based in the UK. We absolutely love Rega tables at Audio Advice. Of all the turntables on this list, the Rega Planar 1 (P1) is by far and away the easiest one to set up. Rega makes tables that cost tens of thousands of dollars and have decades of engineering experience. Their turntables consistently win the best of awards all over the world.

The P1 is their entry-level and comes with their best-selling Rega Carbon moving magnet phono cartridge premounted on their RB110 tonearm. The P1 is a great value table that sounds fantastic, but if you think you might get the itch to upgrade later, you will not be able to change cartridges or make any of the other upgrades Rega offers on their higher-end tables. Rega does offer the P1 as the Planar 1 PLUS, which has a built-in phono preamp designed for the Carbon cartridge. If you are looking to get into the wonderful sound and engineering Rega has the offer, the P1 is a very good way to start.

The Pro-Ject Debut Carbon, in its various versions, was one of the best-selling turntables ever on the market. The Debut Carbon EVO is an evolution of this classic turntable. There is just so much to like about the EVO. It starts with special damping feet that use ThermoPlastic Elastomers or TPE, plus they are adjustable for easy leveling. The platter also has a ring of TPE around the perimeter, which damps it and adds a great flywheel effect for better speed stability. The motor mount and platter bearing are also extremely well put together. The tonearm is like a fine watch with precision bearings.

The US version of the EVO comes with a Sumiko Rainier phono cartridge that tracks fantastic with a neutral sound. Better yet, you can upgrade its performance substantially by simply purchasing the next model up in a stylus replacement.

There are also a host of beautiful finishes to choose from. And if you want to hot rod your EVO, Pro-Ject makes a variety of upgrade options we have an article and video on.

Next is the classic Rega Planar 2 Turntable. Did you know we still see earlier versions of Rega 2 coming into our stores for tune-ups that are over 40 years old and still going strong?! That is pretty cool. The Rega Planar 3 is our best-selling table at Audio Advice. The Planar 2 was designed alongside the Planar 3 and benefits from much of the R&D that went into the Planar 3. Even though it comes with the same cartridge as the Planar 1, it is a big step up in sound. You’ll get a much better tonearm with the one-piece RB220 arm sitting on a beautiful acrylic laminated plinth. The platter is a float glass design driven by a low noise 24-volt motor. The sub-platter and its bearing are first-rate as well.

If you want to stay well below $1,000 and get into the build quality and sound Rega has been known for, the Planar 2 is a big jump up from the Planar 1.

This last one may look a little funky, but we have to say if you can handle no dust cover and something that looks more like a spaceship than a turntable, the Pro-Ject RPM-1 has an incredible sound. The Pro-Ject RPM1 Carbon was specifically designed to be a high-quality table that doesn’t compromise sound quality at a modest price. A combination of a low resonance chassis with an inverted MDF platter bearing and a ceramic ball minimizes noise and reduces rumble. Pro-Ject even individually balances each platter. An outboard 15 Volt AC motor is driven using an ultra-precision AC generator with a DC power supply for enhanced speed stability.

The RPM1 comes with a precision S-shaped tonearm constructed from a combination of carbon, aluminum, and resin and comes with a Sumiko Pearl cartridge pre-mounted. This arm is fully adjustable to handle any cartridge you might upgrade to later. The RPM-1 is not for everyone, but if you want amazing sound and a table that will certainly raise some eyebrows, check out the RPM-1.