Turntable makers worth knowing

Guide

By Jeremy Screeton · Published October 20, 2026

Vinyl buyers tend to ask the same first question: which brands should I even be looking at? This page pulls together the turntable, tonearm and cartridge makers in the Audio-Atlas directory and sorts them roughly by where they sit. The descriptions come from each company's own listing on the site, which links to the sources we checked. It's a starting map, not a ranking.

Good places to start

These companies make decks that people commonly buy as a first or second turntable, though several also make far more ambitious models.

• Audio-Technica (Japan). Japanese audio company whose origins in phono cartridges developed into headphones, turntables and microphones for home and professional use. Its history connects the dual-magnet VM cartridge family with later monitoring headphones and recording products, retaining a substantial analogue-playback focus.
• Pro-Ject Audio Systems (Austria). Austrian audio company founded in 1991, centred on turntables and compact stereo electronics. Its manufacturing account distinguishes Czech turntable production from Slovak electronics production, while the present catalogue also includes vinyl cleaning, streaming amplification, speakers and special-edition collaborations.
• U-Turn Audio (United States). US turntable maker that assembles its record players in the USA, with Orbit models starting at $249, the more advanced Orbit Theory, the Pluto 2 phono preamp and Ethos powered speakers, sold individually or as complete systems.
• Music Hall Audio (United States). Turntable and hi-fi brand whose best-selling Classic turntable is aimed at new vinyl listeners, alongside the MMF series. Its A2D2 Stream device sends vinyl, CD or tape to Sonos, HEOS, AirPlay, Chromecast and other wireless speakers.
• Denon (Japan). Denon is a Japanese-origin audio brand covering AV receivers, stereo components, turntables, wireless speakers and headphones. HEOS connects supported products for whole-home streaming, while the catalogue retains separate routes for multi-channel cinema, disc playback and vinyl listening.
• Rega (United Kingdom). English hi-fi manufacturer founded in 1973, best explored through its Planar turntables and associated cartridges, tonearms and phono stages. Its current catalogue also covers amplifiers, disc players and loudspeakers, with products designed and hand-assembled in its southeast England facilities.
• Technics (Japan). Technics spans direct-drive turntables, hi-fi components, all-in-one systems and personal audio. Its global site connects SL-1200 and vinyl-DJ heritage with current headphone and earbud products, while regional catalogues distinguish Reference, Grand, Premium and DJ product groupings.
• Thorens (Germany). German turntable brand (Thorens GmbH, Bergisch Gladbach) whose history in music reproduction goes back to 1883, from early cylinder phonographs to its current "Designed in Germany" turntables and accessories.

Specialist and high-end analogue

These makers concentrate on precision playback, often with their own tonearms, bearings and drive systems. Expect dealer networks and higher prices.

• VPI Industries (United States). New Jersey turntable company founded by Sheila and Harry Weisfeld in 1978. Its history connects record-cleaning equipment with later vinyl-playback systems, while the current website provides dealer finding, parts access, instructional videos and a community route for owners.
• Clearaudio (Germany). Clearaudio is an Erlangen, Germany analogue-audio company whose workshop was founded in 1978. Its current turntable families emphasise bearing, drive and resonance-control engineering, with Essential, Performance and Reference lines addressing different levels of system complexity.
• Linn (United Kingdom). Linn is a Glasgow audio manufacturer founded by Ivor Tiefenbrun in 1973, initially producing the Sondek LP12 turntable. Its range now includes network music players, active and passive loudspeakers and amplification, with modular hardware and upgradeable software central to its approach.
• Kuzma (Slovenia). Slovenian maker of turntables, tonearms and cartridges praised by the audio community since 1983. Its products, including the Stabi S turntable and the 4Point and SAFIR 9 tonearms, use solid non-resonant aluminium, brass and acrylic construction.
• Transrotor (Germany). German family-run turntable manufacturer founded by Jochen Räke in 1971, building precision record players in Germany and selling them through a dealer network.
• Vertere Acoustics (United Kingdom). British analogue specialist founded by engineer Touraj Moghaddam, making record players, precision tonearms and cables designed to bring listeners closer to the original performance.
• EAT (Czech Republic). European Audio Team (E.A.T.), led by owner and CEO Jozefina Lichtenegger from Prague and Vienna, makes turntables, tonearms, cartridges, phono stages, power supplies and vacuum tubes. Its F-Dur turntable won an EISA Premium Turntable award for 2025–2026.
• MoFi Electronics (United States). Hardware arm of Mobile Fidelity, drawing on five decades of record-making at Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab studios. It makes turntables such as the MasterDeck and a Fender collaboration, phono preamps including the MasterPhono and UltraPhono Pro, and SourcePoint speakers.
• LUXMAN (Japan). Japanese hi-fi company with a history beginning in 1925 and a catalogue spanning solid-state and vacuum-tube amplification. It also makes digital players, network transports, turntables, DACs and phono/headphone equipment, with current and discontinued products clearly separated in its product index.
• ESOTERIC (Japan). ESOTERIC is a Japanese high-end component brand offering disc players, network DACs, amplification, clocks and analogue playback equipment. Its VRDS-ATLAS disc mechanism and Grandioso range illustrate a focus on specialised mechanical construction, digital conversion and multi-component systems.
• Nagra (Switzerland). Swiss audio company whose heritage starts with Stefan Kudelski’s Nagra I portable recorder in 1951. Its present site separates professional recorders from high-end home-audio components, with Reference, HD, Series II, Classic and Compact collections illustrating different product approaches.

Cartridge and tonearm specialists

A cartridge upgrade is one of the more noticeable changes you can make to an existing deck.

• Dynavector (Japan). Phono specialist making moving-coil cartridges since 1975, along with a bi-axial tonearm, step-up transformers and turntables. Its current cartridges include the XV Ultima, and its site keeps brochures, technical notes and a list of discontinued products.
• Goldring (United Kingdom). UK turntable-cartridge brand established in 1906, offering E Series moving-magnet cartridges, hand-crafted 1000 Series models, the Ethos moving-coil, the GR3 turntable and vinyl-care products such as stylus cleaning kits.

How to narrow it down

• Decide whether you need a built-in phono stage or already have one in your amplifier.
• Check that the tonearm makes it easy to swap cartridges later.
• If you might buy used, read our used-gear checklist first.
• Placement matters: a solid, level surface away from speakers cuts down feedback.

Browse every source component in the Sources category.

Audio-Atlas is an informational directory; mentions are not endorsements. Check details with each manufacturer or business. See our editorial policy and affiliate disclosure.