Yamaha MusicCast Vinyl 500

When this ‘VINYL500’ turntable launched a few years ago, we rather rudely called it a ‘freak’. Not because it’s ugly — quite the opposite, indeed: it presents an immediately eye-pleasing gloss black finish, everything either black or silver or (in the case of the Audio-Technica cartridge) white. No, our name-calling addressed the less visible abilities coming from electronics hidden within.

Because this a turntable that can receive Tidal... and Spotify... and internet radio and high-res network streaming. A turntable that has AirPlay and Bluetooth and Wi-Fi and Ethernet. You can plug it into an amplifier, but you can equally send its output wirelessly to speakers all around the home, and have everything under app control. So it’s, er, unusual.

All the extras come from Yamaha’s streaming and multiroom platform MusicCast, which you might more commonly find in the likes of wireless speakers