What to look out for with your first turntable in 2024
Vinyl records do incredible numbers. LP sales are at their highest level since the 1990s, after sixteen consecutive years of rising sales, and it’s no wonder why: Vinyl records not only sound good, they’re beautiful visual and tactile things, too.
As much as we love the best music streaming services, selecting a record, putting it on one of the best turntables and putting the needle on the record provides something far more satisfying than clicking an icon on your phone. And you can’t show off a Spotify subscription by placing it prominently on a shelf.
If you’ve been thinking about getting involved but don’t have a turntable, we’re here to help. Whether you’re a budget buyer or looking to spend big, here’s how to find the perfect turntable for you on Record Store Day.
1. What do you want to spend?
You can spend a lot of money on a turntable. Think a very large number and it’s likely there are turntables that cost even more: some high-end turntables will set you back five figures. But there are plenty of very affordable options too, and our current budget pick – the Audio-Technica AT-LP60XBT – costs less than $200 / £200 AU$300.
So before you dive into the spec sheets, features, drive types, and more, it’s important to decide how much you’re willing to spend. Don’t forget that the records you will play can also be expensive. There’s no point in having a brilliant turntable if you can’t afford records to play on it. As a rule of thumb, under $100 / £100 / AU$200 you can find the most basic turntables; they’re fine, but you may outgrow them relatively quickly.
One step further: with turntables in the range from $100 / £100 / AU$200 to $400 / £400 / AU$500 you will find the best entry-level models as well as mid-range models. There is a lot of choice here, and there are many well-known brands and interesting new manufacturers. And most importantly, the sound quality here will usually go well beyond what the sub-$100 / £100 / AU$200 models can deliver.
By all means, go beyond $400 / £400 / AU$500 if you can and want to, but you’re in premium territory now. The turntables in this price range are beautiful, but they can also be a lot more complex and you don’t have to spend that much for your first spins.
2. What do you already have?
Do you already have an amplifier and the best wireless speakers, or are you starting from scratch? If it’s the latter, you’ll also need to purchase an amplifier and speakers, or consider going the Bluetooth route instead.
Some turntables are now equipped with Bluetooth, which allows you to stream wirelessly to hardware such as smart speakers and the best Bluetooth speakers. The sound quality isn’t as good as a decent hi-fi (although the most recent, more premium turntable models with aptX HD sound pretty fantastic), but if you’re short on space, money, or both and already have good quality Bluetooth speakers, this is a very convenient option.
There’s also less stuff to move if you’re in accommodation, such as a student apartment or shared apartment, from which you’re likely to move in the near future.
3. What do you want to play?
Turntables usually come with different playback speeds: 45 revolutions per minute for seven-inch records (singles, EPs and flexi-discs) and 33 and 1/3 revolutions per minute for twelve-inch albums. Twelve-inch singles play at 45 rpm. The older speed of 78 rpm is a fairly rare option these days, but if you want to play vintage singles you may need that option too.
If your records include some valuable or limited edition records, it may be wise to avoid really cheap turntables. A good turntable requires a lot of careful engineering, especially around the tonearm. That’s the long arm that holds the needle cartridge and moves toward the center as the record plays. A poor quality or poorly designed tonearm or stylus can put your records at risk of damage.
If the tonearm is too heavy, or is weighed down in such a way that too much force is exerted on it, this can cause extra wear and tear on the records and also on the stylus. Some wear is inevitable, because putting a needle on a record creates friction, but you don’t want to cause more wear than necessary. And if the tonearm is too light or not enough force is applied, the stylus can jump over the grooves and cause scratches.
The key here is what’s called tracking force, which is the amount of downward pressure the tonearm exerts on the stylus when it’s in the groove of the record. Turntables with a counterweight allow you to adjust that force, which is also very important if you replace the needle cartridge in the future: different cartridges, even from the same manufacturer, often require different tracking force settings.
Another protective feature that is often missing from really cheap turntables is anti-skate. This applies a slight horizontal pressure to the tone arm; without this the tonearm really wants to skate to the center of the record during playback. Without anti-skate it can be more difficult for the turntable to minimize distortion and wear and deliver good stereo sound. The anti-skate system of some turntables is adjustable via a small knob; others are preset.
4. Do you want an all-in-one?
When it comes to convenience, there is no all-in-one that combines a turntable, amplifier and speakers in one device. But what you gain in convenience, you may lose in audio quality and certainly in expandability: few all-in-ones have components that you can upgrade in the future, and many are made with relatively poor quality parts that are likely to limit your options. audio pleasure.
The most flexible and future-proof system consists of separate parts that allow you to upgrade or replace your turntable, amplifier or speakers later.
5. Do you need a phono stage?
If you’re connecting your turntable to a hi-fi system, you’ll need something called a phono stage in your amplifier, in your turntable, or as a standalone piece of hi-fi hardware between the two.
A phono stage amplifies the signal from your records, so that it is strong enough to let the amplifier do its work and send the sound to your speakers. If you plan to go ampless and plug directly into a set of powered speakers, you will almost certainly need a phono stage in your turntable or a standalone amplifier.
If you plan to only stream from a Bluetooth-enabled turntable, you don’t need a phono stage, as one is built in to process the signal before sending it to the Bluetooth transmitter.
Not sure if your amplifier has a phono stage? If it has one, it will have inputs on the back labeled “phono” and a matching phono option on the input selector.
As your turntable and amplifier both If you have phono stages, you don’t want to use both: the signal will be too loud and distorted. Some turntables allow you to disable the phono stage with a simple switch, but if not, you’ll need to connect it to the normal analog inputs instead of the phono inputs. As much as we love distortion in music, doubling the phono stage produces a very wrong kind of distortion that is actually quite unpleasant.
6. Are you confident in buying second hand?
Used turntables can save you a lot of money and make previously unaffordable models affordable. There are lots of good ones at good prices, from people who have upgraded their existing systems.
But there are also many bad ones. If you haven’t owned a turntable before, or aren’t confident in assessing the quality of a potential second-hand purchase, we recommend sticking with a new one: that way you’ll get a warranty and other customer protections.
7. Do you want a belt drive or direct drive?
To rotate the platter, turntables are connected to it via a rubber belt – a belt drive – or directly to the platter – direct drive. Many, but not all, high-quality turntables have direct drive.
Belt drives are generally quieter due to the mechanical noise they generate, but the belts do need to be replaced from time to time. Direct drive effectively lasts forever, but the downside is that it can cause more vibration. That vibration can be evident in budget models that lack the advanced technology of their more expensive direct-drive rivals.
8. Want your turntable to do everything?
The next choice is whether you want a manual turntable or an automatic turntable. A manual version requires you to lower the tonearm onto the record when you want to play it and remove it when you reach the end of the record. An automatic turntable does both of those things for you. It’s like the difference between a manual car and an automatic car.
This really comes down to personal preference (and price: fully automatic turntables are a little more complex and therefore can cost a bit more), but if you can’t decide, consider semi-automatic: that still requires manual operation, but lifts the tonearm and stylus for you at the end of the record.
9. Who are you going to call?
There is an impressive amount of turntable advice available, much of it very good. We naturally recommend our own guide to the best turntables, updated regularly with expert insight from our resident vinyl enthusiasts. And there are a lot of great blogs and also a lot of helpful people on Reddit’s r/turntables and r/budgetaudiophile subreddits.