The AVM R 5.3 is a really good turntable in many ways. It is unusually compact, easy to set up and use, and provides excellent sound quality with a wide range of cartridges. It is relatively insensitive to placement and vibration and is the kind of exercise in precision German engineering that seems likely to last.

The built-in tonearm is easy to adjust, and the cueing is smooth and precise. The AVM R.5.3 is packaged in ways that make it easy to assemble, place, and install the cartridge. It seems unusually resistant to any form of hum and noise, sonic breakthrough, and room vibration.

The R 5.3 is actually fun to live with and easy to operate, and its size, design, set-up, and leveling features make it as easy to operate as any turntable I know of. The tonearm also comes with a range of weights, and the tonearm’s mass and headshell design make it compatible with almost all modern cartridges.

The R 5.3 measured very well in tempo and pitch without any hint of resonance-induced coloration. It is a relatively low-torque unit, and you do need to let it get up to full speed before lowering the tonearm, but it has a surprising amount of mass for a relatively compact design, and unlike some other relatively low-torque designs it can provide very good lower midrange and deep bass with a lot of clarity and detail. It is a bit “lighter” in overall timbre, musical dynamics, and deep bass than some larger, more massive designs, but not to the point where it can’t handle rock, or do an excellent job with demanding direct-to-disc recordings.

As such, the AVM R 5.3 is easy to recommend.

Anthony Cordesman, The Absolute Sound, July 2019

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