The World's Most Expensive Turntable: Goldmund Reference II

Today I was in the middle of a conversation that went like this: "Hey, T, guess what? The world's most expensive turntable runs 300 grands and more!" and T said something like "F**k that, man, that's sick!" Well, it's not quite on me to judge about how sick paying $306,000 for a turntable is, but I am still struck.

The item comes from the Swiss manufacturer Goldmund and ...well, I am somehow acquainted with many of the prices the Swiss are asking for their gear, but that's really over the top.

I thought Linn, DNA or the ELP laser turntable were expensive, but c'mon, compared to the Goldmund Reference II they're candy change. Les Enstone from Laser Turntables UK sent me some promo materials and I could get a more serious glimpse into what pro-grade turntables are...but once more: damn, $306K?

The Goldmund Reference II comes as a whole with a neat-looking 1 meter-tall table upon which the turntable rests; need I really say that the touch-controls are embedded in this tall table? The height of the table is dictated by the ease with which you can manipulate the records and operate the player... fancy thing, I must agree.

The whole ensemble weighs in a very hefty 250Kg (more than 500 pounds) so you should think very well before you have it installed (your Swiss guys will do the carrying and installation for this crazy price, won't you?); if you have second thoughts, baaad luck - forget about them, you ain't moving sh*t unless you're some cartoon superhero.

As for the rest, the Goldmund Reference II turntable has pretty much everything any audiophile turntable would come with, only in a much more expensive version, so that the dementing price would seem a more acceptable tad. Well, I guess I'm off to a cold one, thinking about how much money a Goldmund fan would need to have his entire audio rack at home set up with the neatest gear...

Take a peek to the tech specs, as offered by Goldmund themselves and repeat after me: "Damn, $300K for a turntable?"

-Supporting table of extreme rigidity and inertia (250kg) with 100cm platter height for easy manipulation