Analogue has always been a speciality at Lotus but is a part of this hobby that is even more specialist and even less well understood than other parts so a deeper commitment to it is required on the part of the dealer as well as freedom from supply and market forces; a pledge to really look beyond popularist dogma and into the more clandestine corners of the industry.

At the entry position you have the direct drive Bardo, typically shod with the 10.5 tonearm to make for a circa £10,000 package. The Bardo is an extraordinary product for the money. Dynamic, precise, musically nuanced with great forward drive it is a true high-end sound and comfortably deserves the moniker of “giant killer”. It shows the flagship deck from Scotland a clean pair of heels, even with Radikal, Keel Karousel and third party upgrades like Tranquility and Karmen.

The Taurus is Brinkmann’s newest turntable. A direct drive like the Bardo, it benefits from an upgraded chassis and brings about a more dynamic sound with even better low end performance. It can also accommodate up to 2 tonearms. Sonically it is a significant step on from the entry Bardo. All turntables can be upgraded by the vacuum tube RoNtIII power supply. This is a very worthy consideration some time during ownerhip if not at the time of purchase.

The Yatrus is one of those products that was so convincing in all aspects of its execution that I was compelled to bring it to the UK and offer it up to customers. It is the sole direct drive turntable made by boutique high-end manufacturer Thrax over in Bulgaria. In fact so impressive were all of its aspects that it started a journey that eventually led me to bring the enture range of Thrax products into the Lotus portfolio and into the UK.

The Yatrus is very compact, handsome, a doddle to set up and use, and is also bundled with the same Schroder tonearm that we supply on our Helix decks. It makes for a fine alternative to the Brinkmann Taurus and delivers a sonic performance that seems so very close to the mega decks experienced in the £30,000+ territory. Superb value for money.

Primary Control is the newest addition to our suite of Analogue. Ingenuity, technology, superlative craftsmanship and value to you the customer through uncomplicated supply lines from a company who are set on making the finest bespoke products rather than high revenue and world domination.

Bernd Hemmen is the visionary behind Netherlands based Primary Control and primarily a designer of beautifully realised tonearms. On offer are 4 quasi-unipivot models ranging from £3850 to £26,850. At the low end the Arrow tonearm offers exceptional build and ability for it’s more modest price and at the flagship end, the FCL Tonearm with its unique field coil loaded frictionless bearing has been hailed by some of the world’s most prolific turntable collectors as the one of the world’s best.

The Kinea is Primary Control’s first turntable. It’s inherent technologies and superb build position it just above the Thrax and Brinkmann decks we sell. It is a large footprint direct drive design with extensive use of Panzeholz and adjustable torque for fine tuning of the sound. Whilst its pricing of under £17,000 saves you tens of thousands over many of today’s ‘uber’ decks, it can be furnished with any of the 4 tonearms to suit your final budget.

The phonostage received a lot of attention and technological breakthrough around 10 years ago and rightly so; it is a component that deals with tiny tiny signals and simply has an enormous impact on the sound quality of a Vinyl chain.

In the last few years Soulnote have shaken up the Phono premp matetplace somewhat with the modestly priced E2. This unit has an ability which is completely unique for its price point so it dominates unless you are approcahing a £20,000 budget. It has been tested extensively against other well known units costing this amount (and more) and it is deeply competitive. If it sold for twice the price people would still buy it. Below £6800 we have its junior brother the E2 which is also exceptional for the money. Late 2025 we expect a new E3 flagship from Soulnote at the £19,000 mark.

Thrax Audio offer the LCR Orpheus. It is one of the first products created by Thrax and is now in Mk3 guise having been steadily improved over the last 10 years or so. It is obviously a very high level unit and majors on transparency, imaging and life, as per the Thrax house sound.