A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone or since the 1940s called a record player, is a device for the mechanical and analogue recording and reproduction of sound. The sound vibration waveforms are recorded as corresponding physical deviations of a spiral groove engraved, etched, incised, or impressed into the surface of a rotating cylinder or disc, called a "record". To recreate the sound, the surface is similarly rotated while a playback stylus traces the groove and is therefore vibrated by it, very faintly reproducing the recorded sound. In early acoustic phonographs, the stylus vibrated a diaphragm which produced sound waves which were coupled to the open air through a flaring horn, or directly to the listener's ears through stethoscope-type earphones.
Linn Products is an engineering company that manufactures hi-fi and audio equipment. Founded by Ivor Tiefenbrun in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1973, the company is best known as the manufacturer of the Linn Sondek LP12 turntable.
Grado Labs is an American audio manufacturer known for hand building high-end dynamic open-back headphones and cartridges in Brooklyn, New York.
Roksan is a British manufacturer of high fidelity audio products for domestic use, based in Rayleigh, Essex. It is best known for its influential and innovative design for hi-fi equipment, and in particular its Xerxes platform for playing LP records.
Dual is a brand name of audio and video electronics.
Audio-Technica Corporation is a Japanese company that designs and manufactures professional microphones, headphones, turntables, phonographic magnetic cartridges, and other audio equipment.
Stanton Magnetics, doing business as Stanton, is a business unit of inMusic Brands that designs and markets turntables, cartridges, DJ mixers, DJ media players, and DJ controllers.
The Linn Sondek LP12 is a transcription turntable produced by Glasgow-based Linn Products, manufacturers of hi-fi, home theatre, and multi-room audio systems. Its name is derived from the 12" vinyl LP.
Rega Research Ltd. is a British audio equipment manufacturer. Rega was founded in 1973. The company's name was formed of the initials of its two founders. Rega are widely known for their turntables – most notably the iconic Rega Planar 3, cartridges and tonearms, and has produced award-winning amplification and speakers for over 20 years. In addition to manufacturing products under their own brand name, they have also served as an original equipment manufacturer of turntables and tonearms for other companies such as NAD and Rotel.
Elektromesstechnik (EMT) is a manufacturer of phonograph turntables and professional audio equipment, including a well-regarded line of artificial reverberation devices beginning with the EMT 140 plate reverb. The company was founded by Wilhelm Franz.
Ortofon is a Danish manufacturer of electronic audio equipment. It is the world's largest producer of magnetic cartridges for phonograph turntables, with 500,000 cartridges sold annually.
The LP is an analog sound storage medium, a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of 33+1⁄3 rpm; a 12- or 10-inch diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specification; and a vinyl composition disk. Introduced by Columbia in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry. Apart from a few relatively minor refinements and the important later addition of stereophonic sound, it remained the standard format for record albums until its gradual replacement from the 1980s to the early 2000s, first by cassettes, then by compact discs, and finally by music downloads and streaming. The LP has experienced a revival in popularity since about 2007, in 2020 Nielson and Billboard reported vinyl sales at 27.5 million.
Broadcast Electronics (BE) is a manufacturer of AM and FM transmitters, Marti Electronics STL and RPU equipment, developer of the AudioVAULT radio automation system and parent company to Commotion - a social media company for radio.
Lenco is a Dutch owned brand of audio & video equipment, part of Commaxx International NV and a sister company of Trebs BV.
Birmingham Sound Reproducers (BSR) was a 20th-century British manufacturer of record player turntables, and, for a time, housewares.
SME is a brand name of an English company that produces high end tonearms and turntables, whose name has become synonymous with the industry standard detachable headshell mount.
The Roksan Xerxes transcription turntable is a record player named after the Persian king Xerxes I and produced by London-based Roksan Audio. Designed by Roksan co-founder, Touraj Moghaddam, the Xerxes is a belt-driven turntable with a solid plinth. Launched in 1985, the sound quality of the product positioned it as a strong competitor against the established industry leader, the Linn Sondek LP12. Many reviewers use the Xerxes as a reference turntable.
The Rega Planar 3, together with its successors, the P3 and RP3, is a well-known budget audiophile turntable by British hi-fi manufacturer, Rega Research available since 1977. It was a belt-drive deck that broke from convention, by employing a solid plinth in lieu of the compliantly-suspended chassis or sub-chassis used in many quality turntables since the early 1960s.
Goldring is an audio equipment manufacturing company that was established in 1906. In 1906, the Scharf brothers started manufacturing phonographs in Berlin, Germany. The company moved to England in 1933 and continued manufacturing cartridges and turntables. The "Juwel Electro Soundbox" phonograph was their own creation and was released in 1926. The Goldring logo was as indication of quality.
