Price: $5500

Website: www.tw-acustic.de

Garrett said: The Raven arm had so much extension, pitch definition, and responsiveness that it could render very deep, complex bass with ease and superb musicality. It was more, umm, lifelike. And ain’t that the point? So I bought it. The Raven 10.5 tonearm is mine. If you have a turntable comparable to my Raven Two, I strongly suggest you consider making a Raven 10.5 yours as well.

Read the Ultra Audio review.

The gist: Ain’t German engineering great?

Price: $2850

Website: www.welltemperedlab.net

Jason said: Whichever way you slice it, the Well Tempered Lab Amadeus is a cohesive, well-made, wonderful-sounding turntable that’s worth every penny of its $2850 asking price. 

Read the Ultra Audio review.

The gist: If you don’t mind a golf ball on your turntable . . .

Price: $305

Website: www.artisansilvercables.com

Graham said: All this for 305 bucks? Fuhgettaboudit. I don’t think I’ve heard the Silver MC’s equal for anywhere close to that amount. To better it, you’d need to move higher up the price ladder. 

Read the Ultra Audio review.

The gist: Get into good-sounding vinyl on a tight budget.

Price: $1849.95 ($1899.95 in red)

Website: www.thorens.com

Ron said: I can’t put an entry-level price point for such a system, but I can say that, at its price, the Thorens TD 309 should not have too much competition. An excellent job all around.

Read the GoodSound! review.

The gist: Turntable with great style and sound for a fair price.