Turntables — Rekkord Audio F110

The F110 is Rekkord Audio's entry-level sub-chassis turntable, handmade in St. Georgen in Germany's Black Forest, sitting one step above the F100 with a more sophisticated floating sub-chassis platform. Owned by the team behind Pro-Ject, a company that knows a thing or two about building turntables, Rekkord traces much of the F110's automation mechanism technology back to earlier, well-respected Dual turntable designs, winning a stack of "best buy" awards including a 5-star What Hi-Fi? review specifically for hitting the sweet spot of sound-per-pound at a sensible price.

Key specs that matter

The entire automatic system, tonearm and damped aluminium platter sit together on a floating sub-chassis platform, physically decoupled from the rest of the wooden plinth chassis - this genuine mechanical decoupling insulates the sensitive playback components from external vibration considerably more effectively than the F100's simpler pressed-wood construction, delivering smooth, distortion-free sound. A heavy aluminium platter promotes speed stability and deeper bass extension. The ultra-low-mass aluminium tonearm uses Rekkord's own steel-tipped bearings for precise tracking, with tracking force and anti-skating both pre-adjusted at the factory - no complicated setup is required, though a listener can still manually lift and lower the tonearm to any precise point on the record despite the fully automatic operation. An Audio-Technica AT3600L cartridge comes pre-mounted on a carbon-fibre-reinforced headshell for the perfect connection to the aluminium tonearm, with cartridge weight fixed and alignment pre-set, meaning no complicated setup is needed straight out of the box. Pressing start triggers the tonearm to autonomously cue to the correct starting position and begin playback; at the end of a side, it lifts, returns to rest and stops the motor automatically - fuss-free operation, though the Dual-derived mechanical automation mechanism can feel a little clunky at times and rewards a bit of patience. MSRP is €399 (F110) or €449 (F110P, with a built-in phono preamplifier).

Sound and use context

Expect a musically cohesive and organised sound that punches above its price point - What Hi-Fi? specifically praised this quality alongside the fully automatic operation and genuine ease of setup, while noting the trade-off is somewhat limited upgrade potential and that certain cheaper manual alternatives can actually sound better if a listener is willing to give up the automation convenience.

Pairing

The F110P variant's built-in phono preamplifier lets this turntable run directly into any hi-fi system or even mobile powered speakers without a separate phono stage, while the standard F110 requires either an amplifier with a built-in phono input or an outboard phono preamp.

Alternatives

Rekkord's own F100 sits below this model as a more basic entry point without the sub-chassis isolation, while the F300 and F400 sit above with further refinements, and rivals including the Rega Planar 1, Audio-Technica AT-LP5x and Pro-Ject Essential offer capable manual alternatives worth comparing directly if the F110's specific automatic functionality isn't a priority for a given buyer.