These new record player designs will have you in a spin

Thomson and Bigben have presented a yet-to-be-named record player that can be mounted to a wall as a space-saving measure or an interior design feature.

Apart from the fact that they all spin at a speed of either 33 or 45rpm, the new vinyl record players presented at the recent IFA electronics trade fair in Berlin, Germany, don't have much in common.

Thomson and Bigben presented a yet-to-be-named model that can be mounted to a wall as a space-saving measure or an interior design feature. On the more conventional side, the record player has direct drive and automatic tonearm lift.

But it also comes with a remote control as well as Bluetooth to transmit music wirelessly. And the protective cover can be removed automatically. The device will be available from January 2018, according to the manufacturer, with the price yet to be announced.

A number of retro record players were also on show in Berlin. Among them was the Flight model by British company GPO Retro, which comes in an aluminium case - along with loudspeakers, a cassette player and a rechargeable battery, which is supposed to last four hours.

The four-kilogram device also allows users to digitize records and cassettes by simply popping in a USB flash drive while playing music.

Roberts, another British manufacturer, presented the classic RT100 with semi-automatic belt drive in a wood veneer frame. Thanks to an integrated pre-amplifier, the record player can be connected directly to active loudspeakers. It also touts a USB port for digitising records and comes with a price tag of €270 (RM1,350).

Panasonic's high-end Technics SP-10R is an entirely different beast, sporting newly developed coreless direct drive. It has a particularly heavy turntable - seven kilograms - made of brass, aluminium and rubber.

These materials have been combined to ensure rotational stability, says the manufacturer. It also has a separately housed power supply designed to minimise hum and vibration. The SP-10R is to be released in the early summer of 2018. — dpa