Roksan Attessa

This British brand came to the fore in the midEighties, gaining critical acclaim for its high-end Xerxes turntable. Things have changed since then for Roksan, and it now makes affordable designs too.

The Attessa is an all-in-one package, including deck, tonearm, cartridge and phono preamp; the latter can be switched off so you can use your own phono input should you prefer. And, of course, you can change out the bundled entry-level Dana cartridge too. The aluminium tonearm is a unipivot design and the deck is a non-suspended belt drive, but with electronically governed speed control. The plinth feels sturdier than most, including the Rega (p66), and has the usual decoupled feet.