Status: 24.10.2023, 13:28 PM
By: Jörg Heinrich
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The best of both worlds: Coturn turntables offer trendy retro technology. © Manufacturer
Vinyl is booming without end - and one of the most beautiful turntables for playing the retro discs does not come from Sony from Japan or Rega from England, but from the Bonn inventor Benjamin Großjohann.
He dares to compete against the global competition with his Coturn CT-01 portable turntable. Anyone who sees, hears and operates the handy player, which is milled from aluminium and comes with a glass top, may find it hard to believe that a small German manufacturer is behind it. Because the design and workmanship could also come from Sony & Co. One would almost like to say: If Apple were to build a record player, the Coturn could come out of it.
Turntables are in vogue: A top model comes from Germany
"I didn't want a retro design, I didn't want plastic and I didn't want 'Made in China'," music lover Großjohann reveals about his player, which comes with touch controls and elaborate mechanics for the retractable tonearm. With three employees, Coturn assembles around 20 devices per day in a small production line in Bonn. Because it is difficult to compete against the big players with a stationary turntable, Großjohann has chosen the gap in the market of portable players - hence the name Coturn (Compact Turntable). Thanks to its 01-hour battery, the CT-16 can be taken to the kitchen, terrace or holiday home. The music lands wirelessly on a Bluetooth speaker or via jack on almost any other speaker or headphone.
The 41-year-old explains the fascination of vinyl and record players as follows: "You simply have more to look at, to touch. It's like coffee: although there are fully automatic machines, people are enthusiastic about the whole procedure with the portafilter. It's just more intense and beautiful to listen to music like that." After a successful Kickstarter financing and Corona delays, the CT-01 is now regularly available for 449 euros. The only competition worth mentioning is the reissued 80s sound burger from Audio-Technica from Japan. At 229 euros, it costs only half as much - but with a lot of plastic, it looks more like a handicraft shop than the Überall turntable from Bonn.
1963: Philips launches the first Philips EL 3300 cassette and recorder
Just in time for the 60th birthday of the music cassette, the good old mixtapes are back. World stars such as Taylor Swift or Justin Bieber are releasing their albums on cassette. And the prices for well-preserved cassette recorders on Ebay continue to rise. This trend is due in no small part to the influencers on TikTok, who like to swim against the tide when it comes to technology. When the whole world takes pictures with a smartphone, the digital cameras are dug out again. The old snaps from Canon or Olympus are currently considered a TikTok cult. And cassette recorders and ghetto blasters can now be seen more and more often in the videos.
There are six new cassette recorders from the Swiss manufacturer Lenco. They are suitable for listening to Pumuckl in the children's room as well as for recording and playing mixtapes - which are much more romantic than a Spotify playlist.
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The range ranges from the simple Lenco SCD-420RD with CD and cassette player for 65 euros to the SCD-6900BK, which plays DAB+ digital radio and MP149 CDs for 3 euros - and which can even stream your favorite music from your smartphone via Bluetooth. Above all, however, the good old cassettes, which may still be found in the basement or attic, are iconic, hopefully without tape salad.
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