A joy to look at as well as listen to, Vertere’s DG-1 is an outstanding turntable package without a doubt.

Magic Box – A device that comes at a reasonable price and yet is not ordinary, but different from others? Touraj Moghaddam, owner of Vertere Audio, has managed exactly this balancing act with introducing the MM/MC pre-amplifier Phono-1 MK II.

Image depth was just short of excellent, with particularly good detail and very natural musical dynamics, in some respects reminiscent of the highly rated Naim Super Lumina DIN-RCA interconnect.

If you have a decent DAC and digital source it could prove to be the finishing touch that pulls the digital whole together to produce a degree of musical delight that’s hard to achieve but very easy to enjoy.

Welcome to the Part-Time Audiophile Buyers Guide for 2021! This year we decided to mix it up a little by breaking up the Buyers Guide into sections, which makes it a far more manageable read. And oh, we know what you’re thinking–the best turntables? Really?

Visually, the model that I had was absolutely stunning. Constructed in some sort of clear Perspex and standing on burnt orange feet, this handsome beast looks amazing, at least to my eyes.

It’s a masterful performance, with an integrated, contiguous sound from deepest bass to soaring treble. Soundstaging is unforced and natural – neither painting too broad a picture nor reducing stage width. It’s dynamic too, with sound rising from a super-quiet noise floor for vinyl. And crucially, even the surface noise doesn’t intrude; it just ‘floats’ above the music.

The DG-1 rightly bears its name “Dynamic Groove”. No matter if rough impulses or fine dynamic contrasts like soft guitar noise, which add lively breath to a performance: the Vertere mastered it equally fast and effortless.

When a designer makes his or her mark with something exotic, there’s often a sense of trepidation when it comes to successfully trickling down the technology to the more affordable versions that are likely to be the big sellers.

You could think of the Mystic, at $2699, as somewhat “affordable,” but for me that’s a stretch. Better to say that while it’s not outrageously expensive, it’s still a high-rent MC that outputs a manageable 0.5mV. Its micro-elliptical stylus rides on a tubular cantilever of aluminum, and Vertere recommends a vertical tracking force (VTF) of 2gm.