Quick Summary
The Ruka TD-1 is the company's first turntable and it sits vertically, making wall art from your records as they play.
It is available to pre-order now as part of a limited run of 500 units for $1,399 each.
You might not have heard of Ruka before, but the audio brand describes itself as a "collective of former Apple engineers and designers", and its first turntable is certainly a head-turner. The TD-1 is a vertical deck that makes your records into wall art as you play them,
Available to pre-order at a founder price of $1,399 (around £1,033), the player has a machined aluminium body that can be hung on a wall or stand. And while modern looking, there's a touch of the retro about it too, with physical knobs and clickable switches.
Once you've loaded a record, you secure it to the player with a magnetic clamp and the belt driven motor does the rest. The platter is acrylic and you can choose your own cartridge, with automatic calibration to your stylus of choice, too.
Power is supplied through USB-C and there are both wired and wireless connections to hook the TD-1 up to speakers or a sound system. On-board Bluetooth also means you can enjoy playback through wireless headphones.
Of course, the better-looking the LP, the better the aesthetic, but the Ruka certainly looks impressive. We've seen a few vertical turntables recently, including the Trettire TTT-LP3 and CoolGeek VS-01, but this looks the most understated. That means it should suit most living spaces.
Ruka plans to ship the first production run of just 500 units in 2027, with another batch to follow after. Pre-orders can be secured with a $100 deposit on the company's dedicated website.
As for what to play on it, why not get the coloured vinyl version of Bob Marley's Sun is Shining. It comes with three LPs in red, green and yellow.
Or there's The Rolling Stones' Forty Licks box set – a best-of featuring yellow, red, blue and orange LPs.
