On the surface, turntables are deceptively simple devices, designed to spin records at a constant rate of speed and transform the “data” pressed in their grooves into an electrical signal. But just how precisely a turntable performs that task largely determines how faithfully it can reproduce your music, and to a great extent, how much it may cost.

Ironically, the better your turntable the less you’ll actually hear it working. That’s because the best sounding turntables simply get out of the way to let your music come shining through.