If you’re boarding the vinyl train for the first time, you'll need to familiarise yourself with some key components, and in particular the phono stage. This is essentially a step-up amplifier – often referred to as phono preamp – that increases the record-player’s tiny output to a level that a standard stereo amplifier can work with.
Many turntables – even those in our best budget turntables list – come already packing a built-in phono stage, as do some stereo amplifiers. For some however, like the Rega Planar 1, a phono stage will be an additional cost, but one I reckon is definitely worth the investment.
Generally speaking, a phono-less turntable that goes through an external phono stage before getting to the amplifier will sound best, so consider going down that route if you’re serious about audio quality. Right now, the best phono stage at this end of the market is undoubtedly the Rega Fono Mini A2D.