J. Sikora

Janusz Sikora spent 40 years working non-ferrous metals in Lublin, Poland before he built his first turntable, and it shows. Since 2007 his family workshop has machined decks from layered bronze, brass, cast iron, and aluminum, each metal chosen to drain resonance away from the record. The Reference weighs 108 kg and runs 4 DC motors. The KV12 tonearm pairs a conical Kevlar tube with monocrystalline silver wiring. Drop the needle and you'll hear how black the background gets.