Manically energized after watching Dua Lipa’s “Illusion” video on repeat for all nine hours of my flight from Newark to Munich [Editor’s note: Why???], I was ready for some calming turntable action. The off-white colors of Luphonic Labs’s turntable line caught my attention, their curvy design aesthetic and retro appeal comforting my jet-lagged brain.
Luphonic Labs’s founder Thomas Luh gave me the info on his four turntables in static display at Munich, though his top model R3 could be heard with Fink Team, atrium A4.1, E121.
The Germany-made offerings from Luphonic Labs constituted some of the most affordable, belt-drive, synchronous motor turntables at High End Munich. They included the Model H1 turntable (€2390), new Model H2 turntable (€3490), R Series Model R2 turntable (€3690), and Model R3 turntable, without tonearm (€4,290), with K2-9″ tonearm (€4990), with K2-12″ tonearm (€5290).
Luphonic Labs turntables are constructed of a sandwich of aluminum, acrylic, rubber, and Corian”—yes, the stuff some countertops are made of.
Thomas Luh’s design acumen spreads to his turntables’ operation, controlled by a small plastic puck that, when positioned correctly, alerts the turntable to power and choice of speeds, 33 or 45.