Verdict
The Rekkord F100 gives you the alternative to have fuss free machinelike procedure without losing out on the performance a turntable at this cost point should offer . It ’s a delight to live with and open of a very enjoyable performance
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Take a flavor through thevarious criminal record playersthat have passed through the Trusted Reviews examination cognitive operation and they generally have one matter in common .
To start a record book playing , the arm must be move manually over the record and lowered into the run in groove . Then , at the other end , the process must be done in reverse . It ’s prison term observe and can be rather gratifying but it ’s not without some issues .
Anyone with ricketiness or manual dexterity issue can find the operation stressful and leave a turntable run with the pickup in the end channel will get into the style out quicker than it ask to .
The Rekkord F100 looks much the same as any other turntable here but it has one key remainder . The procedure by which the arm arrives and departs the record has been mechanise . lazy Susan that do this are referred to as fully robotic and the Rekkord , while strange , is not unique . The mechanics to make this process pass off , mold how the lazy Susan is work up and has to be let in in the final monetary value of the turntable .
Does the F100 hold its own against rival that do n’t have to budget for an automatonlike chemical mechanism ? How much does this convenience terminate up costing when you sit down and listen ?
Availability
The F100 is useable in the UK for £ 329.99 . A translation with a phono stage built into the player is a useable for £ 359.99 . In the US it can be found for $ 399 but does not appear to be on sale in Australia at the meter of review .
Rekkord has been making and selling turntables for many years but their chain of mountains is freshly go far in the UK and only beginning to filter into dealers now which imply that there are not huge number of dealers at the moment but more are being added all the sentence .
Design
The F100 is the most affordable fashion model that Rekkord makes and the overall design and styling reflects this relatively low price dot but that does n’t quite tell the whole storey as to how it looks and feels . Any automatic turntable needs to let in the mechanics ( and that option of word is deliberate as it is a collection of cog and gear in there ) which means that very lithesome plinths are n’t really possible .
When you take this into account , the F100 is a rather elegant piece of packaging that does n’t look much dissimilar to more conventional rivals . The finish is a small on the sober side equate to things like theJBL Spinnerbut many people will opt that .
The automatonlike cognitive process of the F100 means that the control are a little dissimilar . A start / diaphragm switch is commingle with an arm lift and pelt along modification permutation . It ’s less immediately obvious than machine that have a individual ascendency to start and stop them but it is legitimate enough ( although there are some quirkiness we ’ll cover in a act ) . The subdivision is an 8.6 inch foresightful unit of measurement that comes with an Audio Technica magazine pre mounted and the trailing force out correctly set .
The overall mental picture of the F100 is that it feels carefully design by people who have considerable experience in the field of take a crap turntables . It ’s simple mindedness itself to set up and details like the usefully compliant feet and lid make it painless to live with a normal household . The level of frame and stopping point is extremely telling for the cost too .
Features
The key selling degree of the F100- indeed its whole reason to be- is the automatic arm . There are other turntable uncommitted for a interchangeable price that can do the same affair but the Rekkord is by far the most self-confidence barrack one I have screen . Press the start switching and there are no weird groans or clicks as the mechanism circle to work and it has function perfectly every undivided time . These might sound like low bars but you might be surprised how often I have seen them not met .
There are some caution though which need to be name . Rekkord has simplified the mechanics so that it has two engage states . If you have 33rpm selected , the arm will head to the outer edge of the phonograph recording . If you pick out 45rpm , it heads to the point where a seven inch single will play . This means that if you have a 12 inch 45rpm record , the weapon will need to be placed manually . There is also no provision for 78rpm playback . How much of an return this will be is really last to total down to the record you own ; my gut impression is it is worth the sacrifice for the smoother and more reliable mechanics .
The actual turntable part of the Rekkord is a belt drive aluminum platter with a rubber mat on top . The belt occur pre fitted and the whole meeting place feel solid and confidence inspiring . The subdivision come fitted with an Audio Technica AT91 cartridge ; a gimmick that crops up on a large number of turntables at the price and that works pretty well . The branch of the F100 seems design to work specifically with the AT91 so your upgrade options are a little more special than with some other turntables at this cost .
Like a few figure at this Leontyne Price , the Rekkord has a captive cable running from the arm which might limit your placement options a little but simplifies installation . It use a wall wart character power provision that is far from the smartest equipment I have ever reckon but that works well enough . In a globe where turntables haveBluetooth , USB out and headphone socket , the F100 feel very simple but it does allow it to get on with being a turntable instead and avoids doubling up if you have these feature of speech already .
Sound Quality
Something else that is worthy of preeminence is that I melt a few tests with the F100 and ascertain it is impressive delivery static too . There is precious little instability in the speed it rotates at and the means that long sustained notes on records do n’t have that wobble in their tone which give them go unstable . It cements the melodic theme that the engineering at work here is verry dependable and that the F100 has n’t skimp on the basics .
This translate into a very engaging performance as well . The Rekkord is able to find fiddling details in platter that do n’t always make themselves ostensible when played on somewhat low-priced record player . The hot record album by Fink Wheels Turn Beneath my Feet is packed with incident details that get the venue and the performing artist to life as something more than a by the number rendering of the hits . rather , you get a true sense of the music and distance it was recorded in . The F100 also creates enough of a tactile sensation of space in its carrying out that recordings feel pleasingly three dimensional as well .
The Rekkord is n’t eat up there either . It manages to secure a degree of warmth and tonic magnificence from that Audio Technica cartridge that is not always something I associate with it ( which does suggest it might be snatch on the soft side if you exchange this without much thought ) . The peak eighty glibness of The Travelling Wilburys is as full and luxuriant as you might fairly hope for and , so long as you do n’t have very ardent partnering equipment , the balance is one that works with a good spread of styles and transcription character .
Where the Rekkord has to give some earth to fundamental challenger is the freshwater bass telephone extension . Securing decent basso from low-priced record players is severe and to its credit , the F100 is able to keep the same decent detail retrieval in the down registers that it does elsewhere and it is pleasingly articulate . Compared to theFluance RT-82though which is slenderly less expensive , there only is n’t the humiliated end clout from some records that I know they can pitch .
Something more positive that shows across heed is that there is a definite presentation style to the Rekkord . Where aRega Planar 2is pressing and hard striking , the F100 feed through textile in a way that feels unforced and effortless . hear to M83 ’s Saturdays = Youth on the Rekkord bring the music an effortless and comforting sound . you’re able to doubtlessly corrupt turntable that are more ballistic but the F100 is an passing pleasing gimmick to spend time with .
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Should you buy it?
The F100 is both a good sounding lazy Susan and an extremely convenient one . It manage to keep most manual rivals honest while offer a level of convenience that they can not get anywhere near . If you want an automatic turntable for less than £ 500 this is well the best one I have tested .
There is moderately much no scope for upgrading the Rekkord once take out which means it can not easily germinate with you if you choose . While it is potential to order a version with a phono stage , if you want other functionality , you will have to await elsewhere .
Final Thoughts
If you want to automatize the business of playing a record , your pick are more circumscribed than they are with manual rivals . The F100 goes about its business in a very confidence exhort means , compound a well - engineer and stout automatic mechanism with a degree of overall performance that keeps simpler rivals honest .
Those rivals do have attributes that the Rekkord can not cope with though . TheFluance RT-82has much more elevate CRO in its introductory design while theJBL Spinner BToffers a built in phono degree with Bluetooth for exchangeable money . Both of them have manual process though .
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How we test
We test every turntable we review good over an extended period of time . We use industry standard trial run to equate features in good order . We ’ll always secern you what we come up . We never , ever , take money to review a merchandise .
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FAQs
you could play platter at 33.3 and 45RPM with the Rekkord F100
