Usually, new audio products come from audio companies, or at least companies with some sort of experience in audio. But don’t tell that to Detroit-Based Shinola. The company, which began as a watchmaker, decided to pivot and try its hand at crafting a turntable. Meet the new Runwell Turntable.
While Detroit hasn’t had an easy time, in recent years, the city has become a haven for both artists and startups. In 2012, Shinola built the city’s first watch factory for the creation of its Runwell watch. Eventually a bicycle and backpack would join the Runwell family, as well as a 12-month planner. None of these aside from the planner is particularly cheap.
Like the rest of Shinola’s products, the Runwell Turntable doesn’t aim for the low end of the market. Instead, the company teamed with what it calls “some of the best American minds in audio,” working with the founder of well-known turntable maker VPI Harry Weisfield and his son Mat for an audiophile-grade piece of hardware that is ready to use out of the box.
Shinola takes pride in its home city, and as such, all of its products are assembled in Detroit. The Runwell Turntable is no different, with all the components — including the magnet cartridge and phono preamplifier — were assembled in full view of the public at the company’s flagship store in Detroit. The main plate, platter, and tone arm were all produced by the Lakewood, New Jersey-based MDI, a longtime partner of VPI.
The Shinola Runwell Turntable is available now and sells for $2,500. It was created in a limited run of 500 units, so it won’t be available for long. A separate all-black version of the turntable was made available for Black Friday, some models of which are currently still available. For more information, see the Shinola website.
