Vertical turntables are not new, and the Ruka Studio TD-1 is hardly the first record player to decide that gravity should be part of the engineering brief. Pro-Ject explored the concept with the VT-E and Bluetooth-equipped VT-E BT, and Fuse Audio continues to sell more affordable vertical record players. That makes the new Ruka Studio TD-1 less of a revolution and more of a distinctly Los Angeles interpretation of an old idea. The real question, therefore, isn’t whether a vertical turntable can work. Price & AvailabilityThe Ruka Studio TD-1 is available for pre-order at $1,399 (founder price), which is refundable.