Sony PS-HX500 turntable

What is it?

A record player you can use to create highresolution copies of your vinyl collection.

Music fanatics will tell you vinyl has never really gone away despite the uptake in digital downloads. A straw poll among family and friends, however, suggests that for a long time turntables were kept for sentimental reasons, as kitsch objects of decoration now largely consigned – in hindsight with a little regret – to car boot sales or gathering dust in the loft.

The convenience of iPods that can hold your entire music collection seduced most of us during the early noughties but in recent years vinyl has enjoyed a glorious resurgence. Gone is the cringe factor of vinyl as the domain of the chin-stroking poser brigade. Sony is helping bring a generation of millennial music lovers into the light – as well as rekindling the interest of baby boomers and Gen X alike – by combining old and new with the PS-HX500.

Good points?

The simple design satisfies the technology geek in me but maintains a retro feel that stays true to its roots. The device feels sturdy and won't move or scratch a record even if the platform is accidentally knocked.

The PS-HX500 is also the only turntable to offer the ability to rip your collection in double-DSD format and transfer it to your phone or another digital player.

Bad points?

At nearly double the price of its rivals, it's not going to appeal to everyone.

Best for …

Those unwilling to compromise on the quality of recordings transferred to portable music players.

Avoid if …

The extent of your needs is to play the odd record and have it look pretty.

Score

8/10. Sony PS-HX500, £299.99 (sony.co.uk)