Audiophilepure

https://www.hifinews.com/content/sme-model-8309-turntabletonearm

There is one very important caveat, though, and that is you must always use the supplied record weight/clamp. A brief listen to the Model 8 without it revealed that it’s an essential part of the design. With the record weight absent, bass is less sure-footed, as is that signature SME sound. As PM postulates in his [see PM’s Lab Report], this may well be due to slight movement of the LP on the ‘slippery’, machined surface of the acetal platter [pic, above and p62]. The Model 8’s record weight prevents any movement of the LP on the platter, and makes a big difference to the sound.

With the weight firmly in place, the result is a turntable that doesn’t miss a thing. There’s a subtle tinge of warmth to the overall sonic balance that’s very appealing, but don’t interpret this as the Model 8 being all warm and fluffy and lacking any substance. Nothing could be further from the truth – the deck has a crispness and sense of focus that many other models around the price struggle to match.

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/rega-planar-8-turntable

Let’s not mince words. This Rega turntable attacked each record with electrifying energy — controlled chaos, nail-biting drive, and a dynamic range that hit like a nuclear warhead blasting from its silo. Track after track, it unearthed layers of detail, ambient textures, and spatial depth, revealing music in striking three-dimensional relief.

The Rega Planar 8 is an incredible vibration-measuring machine. It’s one of the few times a turntable so completely convinced me of its rhythmic prowess that was undeniable. Each record was a new land to explore, with fresh details unearthed, and new energy unleashed. All of it was allied to a wide soundstage that enveloped and engaged me. In short, the Rega Planar 8 turntable is a triumph of modern turntable wizardry — and it is wholly worthy of your full, rapt attention.

https://www.hifichoice.com/content/technics-sl-1300g

Sonically, the SL-1300G benefits from the more defined sense of identity that is common to all Technics turntables and that stems from the potent drive system. This imbues it with truly sensational low-end – superior to the SL-1200GR2 and something which needs defining as a little more than simply ‘good bass.’ The brooding Blowback by Marconi Union has relatively little percussive low end to it, but there are tones that extend down from the midrange and mingle with deep electronic notes. The texture and articulation that the SL-1300G brings to them is truly impressive. Without sounding bloated or over blown, there is a level of weight and presence here that even significantly more expensive rivals can struggle to match.

Like the SL-1200GR2, the most surprising aspect of the Delta Sigma drive is that there is a delicacy to how the SL-1300G performs that is not part of the makeup of previous older Technics turntables. Listening to The Wrong Band by Tori Amos on the SL-1300G is instructive because it is a track that thrives on the articulation of the piano against Amos’ vocals and not an excess of scale or weight (although, it’s only fair to note that the lower piano notes sound truly exceptional) and the Technics does a sensational job of delivering them.

https://www.analogplanet.com/content/denon-dp-3000ne-turntable-0

The MoFi Miles Filles disc now had girth, presence, and a visceral solidity. The formerly truncated, anemic images were now pumped up and bristling with surreal sounds. Miles’ trumpet keened through a larger, deeper image, its tonality richer and the soundstage vastly expanded. The Denon/Kuzma duo unlocked the fiery goodness and sweet ’60s sonority of Miles’ music, delivering a sound that was both powerful and pure.

https://www.hifichoice.com/content/musical-fidelity-m6xtt

Without an M8xTT on hand for a direct comparison, we can’t tell you how much sonic goodness you forego for a £3,450 saving, but we’d be surprised if the M6xTT deviates in core character, and that’s something to celebrate as it strikes an elegant balance between excitement and poise that serves nearly every musical genre well and does so with a winning mix of warmth, weight and refinement. A turntable that sounds every bit as classy as it looks. 

https://www.whathifi.com/hi-fi/turntables/sme-model-8

Billie Eilish’s Happier Than Ever set reinforces our impressions. The Model 8 sounds insightful and composed. It can track low-level instrumental strands with ease, yet still keep a firm grip of the whole. Basslines are remarkably powerful and weighty, while lacking little in terms of articulation, though Eilish’s distinctive voice comes through with impressive clarity.

Yet, the deck doesn’t quite manage to convey the ebb and flow of the music quite as explicitly as we would like, and emotionally, we are left a little cold by the lyrics. We can make out everything Eilish is saying, but we’re not sure we quite believe her.

https://www.hifinews.com/content/transrotor-massimo-nero-turntable

Back in the 1990s, when big idler drive turntables like the Garrard 301 experienced a resurgence, it was common to read of listeners getting up to check they weren’t ‘running fast’, such was their dynamic delivery. The magnetic/belt-drive Massimo Nero has the opposite effect. There’s no faulting its pitch stability [see PM’s Lab Report], but its delivery can sometimes feel a little sedate. Jah Wobble’s bassline on ‘The Sun Does Rise’, from the EP of the same name [Island Records 42285 40371], had all the clarity, eyeball-rattling depth and impact I could have hoped for, but seemed to be picking its way carefully and thoughtfully in rhythmic terms, rather than romping along joyously.