Roksan Radius 5 Acrylic + Nima Arm (GBP 995.00, cart extra)

Roksan have a long illustrious history going right back to the original Xerxes in the late 80's, a turntable which acquired a cult following, alongside Linn's LP12. You were either a Linn follower, or a Roksan follower, at least in Britain (possibly Pink Triangle too, but that's another story for another time!). The original Radius, from the early 90's, was a popular budget model - this latest incarnation, though, has very little in common with it, visually, that is. Sonically, it's way better than the original (as you would hope, and expect). What's specially nice about it is the absence of any real set-up (original Xerxes owners don't need reminding of the problems which plagued this deck). Our picture doesn't do it justice unfortunately, this a very smart modern design, with a lot of clever design work hidden below the surface.

The package with the all new Nima arm is very attractively priced - you can get it arm-less, but it's not worth it. Our normal recommendation would be the ubiquitous Rega arm, but the Nima, a unipivot design, is seriously good in it's own right - we sell them with other turntables too - and is perfect for the Radius. Very nice to see Roksan back in the running in this price area, with a very competitive product, capable of giving any of it's peers a strong run for their money. Highly recommended!