Despite all the disturbing stories of music enthusiasts disposing of their LP collections for a pittance – a friend of a friend not so many years ago was offered 50p an album, regardless of quality of recording or condition – records persist, and whether you still have a treasure trove stored away or hunt the second-hand market, the ongoing revival of interest in all things analogue means there are still plenty of ways to enjoy those LPs all over again.

True, you may not find pristine albums in charity shops at giveaway prices – that ship has sailed, and many charitable organisations now have centralised operations where donated records are ‘graded’ and then priced accordingly – but that other bugbear of vinyl playback, the sheer fiddliness of setting up a player for optimal sound, has been overcome in these new-generation players. These days it’s perfectly possible to buy a turntable system that’s easy to use with minimal faffage straight from the box – it’s no harder, and in some cases even simpler, than plugging in a network player and getting up and running.

These ‘plug and play’ record players – and here I’m not talking about those really cheap ones complete with retro styling and a reputation for ploughing all the detail out of the grooves after just a couple of spins – have all the hard work done for you. The pickup cartridge is installed and aligned for you, the tonearm set up and all the adjustments made, and all the buyer needs do is drop the platter on to its bearing, instal the drivebelt around it and the motor pulley, and you’re good to go.

They’re just the thing for those just wanting to play records without all the fussing about matching arms to cartridge, alignment, tracking weight, anti-skating, VTA and more. You won’t need scales, protractors or anything to get them going – and sounding very good. What’s more, if you think such products are just for beginners, you’re wrong: these easy-install turntables exist at all levels of the market, as is seen in the Vertere DG‑1S.

Now, the company would rather I used the term ‘record player’ to describe it, explaining that the turntable is just the bit that spins the disc, but – like all the contenders in this guide – the DG‑1S, now available in that striking white as well as black, is a complete record-playing system: turntable, arm and cartridge. Like the others here, it may be designed to be up and playing in short order but it can also be developed if required at a later stage. For example, the Magneto cartridge supplied is excellent but the company has even better ones to explore – and of course third-party options can be fitted if you want.

Yes, the DG‑1S, while Vertere’s entry-level model, is a high-end design, but down at the other end of the market there’s no shortage of choice, whether from longstanding British turntable manufacturer Rega Research or from Pro‑Ject, for many years a driving force in the so-called vinyl revival.

As I mentioned in my previous guide to turntables (7/22), the Rega Planar 1 is the most affordable design in the British company’s range but it comes with an in-house RB110 tonearm, complete with automatic bias setting, and Rega Carbon cartridge fitted, allowing the company to claim set-up time can be as little as 30 seconds. The Rega 1 Plus version has an integrated phono stage, so will plug into any line-level input, just like a CD player. And further up the range, the latest version of the famous Rega Planar 3 can be supplied fitted with either a Rega Elys or Exact cartridge for just the same simplicity of set-up.

Pro‑Ject, based in Austria, has built a huge business from initially making just one turntable model, the Pro‑Ject 1, back in 1991, when it seemed like a lone voice crying in a wilderness created by the onslaught of digital audio. Now it has a huge range, starting with the Pro-Ject E1, and most of the models come in ‘plug and play’ usually with a cartridge fitted from Ortofon, all the way up to exotica such as the Signature 10 model, which is available fitted with the company’s Pick‑IT DS2 cartridge, or to order with an even higher-end Ortofon Cadenza model, with a 30 per cent discount on the chosen cartridge and a nominal – for a £5000+ turntable – £25 fitting charge.

Back in the UK, Edwards Audio makes its own line of turntables, with the entry-level model being the striking-looking, skeletal Apprentice TT, which is pre-fitted with the company’s innovative in-house TALK A1 tonearm and C50 cartridge. Complete with a Z-Type dustcover, it comes in a range of six colours.

All those designs use belt-drive, with a motor connected to the platter on which the record sits via a ‘posh rubber band’, isolating the disc from any motor noise. If you want a direct-drive turntable of the kind you used to find in radio studios, however, look no further than the Technics SL‑1550C , part of Japanese giant Panasonic’s revived turntable range. With massive build and a superb finish, this one again comes with a cartridge pre-installed – and yes, it’s another Ortofon!