When I was growing up in the 70s & 80s vinyl albums and separates hi-fi units including top of the range turntables were essential to life ! I guess we thought it was all over when CDs came in, then later  iTunes and Spotify – but no vinyl is back! There has been strong growth in the market for the last 5 years. On the back of this, specialist turntable manufacturers are enjoying steady growth too. One such company is Rega based in Essex, which was started in 1973 as a hobby by Roy Gandy (ex automotive engineer) and friend Tony Relph. The early 80s saw a peak in the company’s production to 2000 units / month and then to drop down to 500 – today it’s risen to 4500 / month, and employing 120 staff ! Success has also been passed on to their supply chain, where many of the components are manufactured in the UK.

The turn tables themselves are high end products costing up to £3000, backed by intense on going research & design to continually eek out improvements to sound quality output. One area is the turn table platter that needs to be made from a high stiffness material such as phenolic resin, specialist glass or a ceramic called aluminium oxide. Other components under the spot light are the: light weight cartridge, balanced & light weight tone arm, diamond stylus, minimal friction bearings, smooth low noise motor, all meticulously scrutinised to eliminate vibration and friction, and ultimately wow, flutter and drift, to faithfully replicate the original recording.

For more info:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcJlvfulDLs

Have a great month

All the best,

Mike

Quotations:

“One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.”

– Bob Marley

“If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.”

– Albert Einstein