Turntables, Arms & Cartridges

There is always some kind of surprise in store when reviewing vintage Philips products. Whether a new way of doing things or an extra feature you never knew you needed, Philips always had a knack for this sort of thing. The GA 209S seen here was an attempt to completely automate a high-quality turntable. Introduced in 1973, it entered a market where the grinding gears, clicking cams and greasy levers found in the mechanisms of some BSR and Garrard decks were still very much the norm. The Philips approach was quite different; it made extensive use of electronics to control and sequence the mechanism.

For a brand that’s a relatively new name to the hi-fi industry, Hana is already making big waves in the vinyl community. With four distinct cartridge ranges (moving-coil only) comprising the E, S and M models in both high- and low-output versions and topping out in the Umami series, it previously had options covering a price range of £419 to £3399. However, that selection has now been crowned by a no-compromise flagship, the £7995 Umami Black.

It can be difficult for a manufacturer to successfully span a wide price range. History reveals a handful that have come unstuck by either trying to move upmarket from affordable roots, or attempting to develop trickle-down versions of expensive designs. However, those companies that get it right across the board tend to find themselves very popular, and Pro-Ject’s new £10,599 Signature 12.2 is the latest offering from a brand that is a master of the art.

Fans of affordable vinyl reproduction are somewhat spoilt in Europe as the continent is home to the titan that is Pro-Ject Audio Systems, responsible for half the turntables sold above €200 or so. It becomes easy to understand why some manufacturers might take the route of ordering an OEM model from this Austrian powerhouse and labelling it as their own.

To some hi-fi enthusiasts, European Audio Team (EAT) is the classy sister company of turntable giant Pro-Ject. That’s not entirely the case, though, as owner/CEO Jozefina Lichtenegger categorically puts her own spin on turntable designs – all invariably luxurious, high performance and upmarket. The F-Dur is the firm’s latest creation, based upon the pricier, chunkier and notably senior Forte S [HFN Dec ’10].

For a company not exactly known for ‘product churn’, SME has been uncommonly busy with the release of several new turntables, including the flagship Model 60 [HFN Jul ’22], the Model 35 [HFN Jul ’25] and now the £9999 Model 8. The latter replaces the Model 6 that, fitted with an SME M2-9 tonearm, marked a departure for SME on its release in 2020. Not only was it the company’s first ‘entry level’ design, it was also the first to utilise a solid, non-suspended plinth arrangement and the first SME deck to employ an AC motor.

B&O’s Beogram 1000 was one of those turntables that seemed to be everywhere in the late ’60s and early ’70s. Combining simplicity with careful design, for many years it was one of the most popular high-quality decks on the market. As ubiquitous as a Garrard SP 25 [HFN Jun ’25] or a Pioneer PL-12D [HFN Jun ’25], the inexpensive Beogram 1000 made great sound available to listeners of all levels of experience.