Every childhood home had a music centre in it – usually one the child in question wasn’t allowed to touch. Audiophilia has always included a hair-shirt element, a strong suggestion of ‘no pain, no gain’. Well, Cambridge is here to demonstrate what can be achieved when you attempt to rewrite that particular rule. Cambridge Audio’s Alva TT V2 is the second generation to the original (and appealing) Alva TT wireless turntable, and is a relatively safe but well-thought-out evolution.

Safe to say Juke Box E sounds best when playing some vinyl. Pro-Ject has plenty of experience where these things are concerned. And Juke Box E has detail, dynamism and warmth to spare.After some coaxing, the Pro-Ject E1 pumped out a respectably dynamic sound that kept getting better the more records I spun. My first impressions of the Pro-Ject E1 were not great … but after some fine-tuning on the receiver, this thing started to sing.

Unlike many other turntables around this price, the Pro-Ject T1 BT has all the elements of a proper hi-fi turntable - just at a lower price. Rather than plastic, the CNC machined plinth is made from MDF. This gives lower resonance for reduced distortion. Mounted to the plinth is a steel/brass bearing that’s the same as the award-winning Essential III and, combined with the new heavy glass platter, provides smooth and stable running for perfect pitch. All three of the Pro-Ject E1 models have an easily-accessible speed switch on the left side of the plinth allowing the choice of 33 1/3 or 45 RPM speeds, as well as the off position. This is great because as with many more expensive turntables, you have to switch the speed by manually moving the rubber belt, which is a pain. The E1 Phono I tested had a dead-on accurate speed of 33 1/3 RPM. No auto stop If you're only planning on using the Bluetooth turntable with a wireless Bluetooth speaker or pair of wireless headphones, then you don't need to spend a fortune. You won't be needing any extra cables, either, and can be flexible with placing them anywhere in the room. The E1 BT adds wireless connectivity to the built-in phono preamplifier. Connect your turntable wirelessly via the BT 5.2 transmitter to your BT speaker, -headphones, or -amplifier.

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On the subject of system-matching, it’s worth noting the Juke Box E isn’t the out-and-out loudest system we’ve ever heard, so it’s also worth giving proper consideration to speaker sensitivity. The epically long model number refers to the fact that this turntable features aptX Bluetooth 5.0. It’s for wireless streaming of your vinyl to Bluetooth speakers or headphones. Plus there’s a USB output for recording vinyl to a computer. The Audio Technica also has a switchable phono stage, meaning it can slot easily into systems of all types. But there probably wasn’t room to shoehorn a reference to that into the model number too. Everything from Strawberry Fields Forever’s Mellotron flute intro to the whiny bendy guitar of The Smiths’ How Soon is Now sounded clear and defined, with everything properly situated in the soundstage, making for a higher, bigger sound than I was expecting. Note: I did not test the E1 running it directly through a set of powered speakers without independent EQ control, so I cannot speak to its sound without having the ability to adjust it.