Turntables, Arms & Cartridges

Transrotor’s history begins in the early 1970s, when Jochen Räke set up a company to import British turntables into Germany. He chose Transcriptors’ decks, including the iconic Hydraulic Reference model [HFN May ’11] featured in the Stanley Kubrick film A Clockwork Orange. Räke maintained a close relationship with Transcriptors’ David Gammon and this included him checking and modifying all imported decks and providing after-sales support. Even today, Transrotor is known for the repair and restoration of Transcriptors’ turntables.

At the IFA exhibition in 1971, Räke was asked by the German actor Raimund Harmstorf to design him a turntable made from glass. Harmstorf was so delighted with his purchase that he introduced Räke to other members of the Munich elite, securing him more sales. This wider attention and flourishing order book prompted Räke to set up his own brand in 1973. The name ‘Transrotor’ was chosen to acknowledge the inspiration provided by the Transcriptors models that the company had sold originally.

The initial decks were built to Räke’s requirements in England by Michell Engineering and the first model was the Transrotor AC of 1976. Production gradually transferred to Germany, although still using many parts made by Michell. Full independence came in 1986 with the Transrotor Connoisseur [pictured] – the first fully German-built model.