portable turntable Since 2006, vinyl record sales have increased at double-digit annual rates. As a result, you can find affordable record players in music stores, departmental stores, and fashion outlets. Some models are priced lower than an audiophile-grade vinyl record. This leaves the novice vinylphile wondering: Does this sound OK? Do they actually work?

This question was asked by a Wirecutter reader. I didn’t know the answer. As an avid audiophile, I was as uninterested as a fisherman in an R2-D2 spinning rod.

Then I remembered what had ignited my love for music, listening to a copy of Led Zeppelin II that was passed down from an older cousin. It was played on a Sears Silvertone vinyl player that I used mostly for records featuring Peter Pan Pop Band & Singers.

My turntable reviews were for Sound & Vision magazine. I was familiar with the quality of high-end turntables and knew that cheap players today couldn’t compete.

portable turntable could provide some entertainment for vinyl novices. To find out, I tested models that were representative of both the basic types of inexpensive turntables: portable models that cost between $50 and $60 and those that cost $100 or less at home.

The cost of these players is not difficult to understand. A U-Turn Orbit Basic turntable, combined with a Sony STR–DH190 stereo receiver, a pair of Q Acoustics 3020i speakers or Klipsch R–51PM powered speakers (which have a phono output), would cost you more than $500.

The Crosley Cruiser is the portable that I chose. It has a built-in Bluetooth receiver and comes in 24 colors and finishes, including a Star Wars theme.

The Victrola Plaza was my choice for the home model. It has Bluetooth and an FM radio. Both models include stereo speakers, a headphone socket, an auxiliary input for other audio sources, and an analog audio output to connect to external stereo systems.

Both of the players I tested used several components from the same manufacturer. You can also find similar models at other brands. These players are similar in appearance and likely came from the same factory. Therefore, any loyalty to one brand is unlikely.

The experience

This was a refreshing change from the complex setups that many turntables require. Simply remove the twist tie and some foam pieces, turn on the power and place a record onto the platter. The tonearm will be placed on the record and you can enjoy the sound.

The Crosley Cruiser portable player didn’t allow me to complete the final step. The sound was bleeping and thin from all the records it played. When I played Bob Dylan, R.E.M., and Yes albums, I could only hear vocals and guitars.

I thought the Cruiser would sound better with soft music so I turned on Affinity by Bill Evans and Toots Thielemans. However, I found myself quickly rereading the credits as I realized that I wasn’t sure if there was a bassist, but couldn’t hear him.

The stylus was leaking noise from the motor of the turntable, which was audible through the speakers.

The two Cruiser oval speakers, which measure 2 1/2 by 1 1/4 inches each, were not what I expected. However, it exceeded my expectations and I still enjoyed listening to them.

Crosley is not the only model I want to mention, as there are many similar portable models from other brands, including Victrola.

The Plaza was an entirely different story. The Plaza was mechanically identical to the Cruiser but produced a richer, more satisfying sound. It got me listening to classic rock and hardbop records that I hadn’t heard in years. The Plaza was similar to my Sears Silvertone.

It had enough bass to give me an idea of the music’s rhythm and get me excited about the music. Although the speakers were not as large as the Cruiser’s 2 1/2-inch ones, the difference was just as evident as if you switched from 32-inch TV speakers to a soundbar.

A good, comparable-priced portable Bluetooth speaker will likely have better audio quality, but the Plaza was still enjoyable to listen to, and I continued using it well after my testing.

The Plaza, like the Cruiser’s motor noise, leaked into my stylus. portable turntable It was neither dynamic nor detailed and had no stereo effect. However, I did feel some of the “vinyl warmth“, which audiophiles love.

Jeff Beck’s Blow by Blow album seemed fatter and more rhythmic when I played it than when I streamed it over Bluetooth from my phone to the Plaza. My bias is probably due to decades of listening to audiophiles praise vinyl. But the romantic in me doesn’t care.

Since it’s been 45 years since I last used a cheap record player I couldn’t rely on my own opinions. So I asked Gordon Sauck of Innovative Audio what his thoughts were about these all-in-one affordable systems.

He said, “It all depends on the person.” It doesn’t matter if they are just listening to Christmas music. It’s no longer about the record player; it’s all about the experience. portable turntable We have found that a large number of these units are not working right out of the box. However, if they can find one that works for less than $100, that’s a good deal.

The other side

I originally planned to evaluate these record players solely based on their experience of using them. After realizing how much the Victrola Plaza was my favorite and how much the Crosley Cruiser was not for me, a portable turntable I decided to test the technical differences with my Audiomatica Clio audio analyzer.

This measurement clearly shows the differences between these players. It measures their internal speakers’ frequency responses, which is how even an audio device reproduces every frequency of sound.

This chart shows the results of my measurement using the record players’ audible inputs. Both were not as good as the best bookshelf speakers guides, but the Victrola was much more responsive than the Crosley.

The Victrola had a fairly flat response across an audio range of 80 Hz through 15 kHz, while the Crosley was able to reproduce about 180 Hz to 5.8 kHz.

Even more important is Victrola’s ability to reproduce the lowest note (E2) on a six-string guitar. The Crosley cannot reach the lowest note of a mandolin, or violin (G3).

Theoretically, a player’s line output can be connected to an external stereo system to produce better sound. Although the owner manuals do not specify whether the line outputs can be used with a phono input and a regular audio output, it doesn’t matter.

portable turntable With both players, regardless of whether I used the line input or the phono on my Parasound Halo P5 Preamp, the sound was very distorted and unlistenable.

Although neither player was accurate in their rotational speed, the difference was not noticeable on any records I played. The Crosley portable ran at 33 1/3 rpm, which is 1.4% faster than the Victrola model at 33.9 rpm.

Wow, and flutter, or variations in pitch caused by speed fluctuations, were measured at 0.09 for the Crosley and 0.12% respectively (both measurements NAB-standard weighted).

These numbers are important to understand: Music is composed of a pitching change equal to 6%. Therefore, the wow and flutter of the players would likely not be audible. Only those with perfect pitch would notice the pitch change.

Audiophiles have warned against cheap record players. “Those things will wear your records out!” They seem to be right. The excessive vertical tracking force (VTF), which is the pressure that the tonearm applies to the stylus, is what wears records out prematurely.

VTF is a measure of how likely it is for the stylus to ski or skate across the record. However, the higher the VTF, both the stylus and the record’s chances of being damaged will be less.

A typical audiophile cartridge may have a VTF of two grams. Because the AcousTech digital VTF gauge has a 5-gram capacity, I cannot determine the exact tracking force for these record players. I’d guess that it’s set at 7 to 8 grams.

Stuck was astonished to learn of my findings. He suggested that if you are concerned about the wear and tear on your records, you should get a record player with interchangeable cartridges and an adjustable tracking force.

These players are usually made of ceramic cartridges that are very primitive. If you don’t want your records to be worn out, you will need at least one moving-magnet cartridge.

To buy or not buy?

It’s easy for those of us who are passionate about audio to forget that there are many types of vinyl-record lovers. These are the most passionate and vocal vinyl-record fans. They will spend thousands to obtain the best quality and play their records for many decades.

These record-loving enthusiasts won’t even consider buying one of these players.

Another vinyl-record lover loves vinyl because of its nostalgic value, coolness, and the simple pleasure of putting a needle on a record and then hearing it vibrate.

Although they don’t care as much about sound quality, they want it to be good enough to produce all the instruments and get their feet tapping.

We wouldn’t recommend the Crosley Cruiser to them as it loses too much music. A player like the Victrola Plaza will provide hours of entertainment and perhaps even an emotional connection to a simpler, more satisfying musical past.

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