It’s Cyber Monday, should you buy a cheap turntable today?

No.

It’s Cyber Monday, and there are “deals” everywhere imploring you to buy things you wouldn’t otherwise dream of. Among the offers are turntables, bountiful all year round, but now particularly accessible, given that the cheapest models have had an extra few pounds slashed.

Like all sales, the prices on offer today are less a reflection of goodwill on behalf of your friendly online mega-retailer and more a reflection of the actual value and quality of turntable you’re buying.

Amazon currently have four on offer, ranging from a staggering £32.79 for an all-in-one deck by a mysterious brand called 1byone, up to £119.99 for an ION Audio turntable encased in a red 1965 Ford Mustang chassis.

However tempting this might sound, it’s very much our duty to tell you not to do it. Your records will never forgive you.

And this is not an audiophile crusade – we’re all in favour of access to records and turntables – but more of a public service announcement, as cheap models with fixed tracking weights tend to exert such force on your records as to cause them damage over time.

If you’re buying your first turntable, or a gift for someone else, read this guide first, and then consult our list of the 8 best budget turntables that won’t ruin your records.

They might be a touch more than the price of a hot dinner, but there are also new models from Audio-Technica and Roberts that punch above their weight enough to warrant an approving nod from our in-house tech guru Paul Rigby.