Top 10 Must-Have Record Players | Ultimate Buying Guide 2023

The best of the best! The ultimate buyers guide specially curated JUST FOR YOU!
New to vinyl? START HERE!
#10 U-Turn Audio - Orbit Plus amzn.to/3qRRn0w
#9 1 BY ONE Luscinia Acrylic Sheet Turntable amzn.to/3Juj31Y
#8 Victrola Revolution GO amzn.to/3Jwwv5p
#7 Audio-Technica AT-LP60XBT amzn.to/43UMDGb
#6 1 BY ONE Belt Drive Turntable amzn.to/3PvjMUu
#5 Fluance RT85 amzn.to/46n0pTx
#4 Audio-Technica AT-LP7 amzn.to/3XqyjTo
#3 Audio-Technica AT-LP3 amzn.to/42Xa40f
#2 Crosley C200A-BK amzn.to/42Yx7Yo
#1 Audio-Technica AT-LP120XUSB-BK amzn.to/3XoB0EY
Want to see the reviews? • Small Radio with a BIG...
Exclusive Orange 45 Adapter www.ebay.com/itm/364195148783
LIMITED EDITION Glow-In-The-Dark 45 Adapter www.ebay.com/itm/364324016349
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[@gregsnarke610]

I even got the victrola cd 💿 player with blue tooth 🦷 radio 📻 the same one that you talked about on your KZbin channel I have my lights set on blue I couldn’t believe how big it was for a desk top unit the sound of this thing is amazing I love ❤️ it I have it out here in my living room and I even have the victrola record player in my bedroom now I can buy cds 💿 again and keep buying records lol 😂

[@Jammerk40]

I like the Fluance RT82

[@vwestlife]

Audio-Technica does still make a regular AT-LP60X without the Bluetooth output, as well as a model with USB output and one with a built-in headphone amp.

[@JimmyV1530]

Great informative video. I love my Fluance RT81 and when I want to go the next step up, I will definitely stay with Fluance brand.

[@G0LDB0I]

I have the Audio Technica LP60X-BT and it works magnificently, and I can just plug it in to any speaker with an aux cable or with the included rca cables, and it plays pretty well, I can also connect it to my bluetooth headphones, my only complaint is, that it only has two speeds, so any LP's with 33 1/2 speeds are nearly unplayable, but for 120 bucks its to be expected, still a solid turntable, and its especially good for inexperienced people or the young

[@ScottGrammer]

Just recently bought an AT-LP120XUSB-BK and I'm quite happy with it. I am upgrading the cartridge to a Shure M97xE, which should be a massive improvement over the already-good cart that comes with the table. I am impressed with the speed stability - rock solid and even better than the 40-year-old $600 Kenwood it replaced. I changed turntables because I have begun transferring 78's to digital, and the Kenwood would not run at 78 RPM. The 1 BY ONE Belt Drive Turntable seems like it would be a real sleeper at that price. Once I see one in person, I may begin recommending it to my clients as an entry-level table. Thanks for introducing me to it!

[@stanleycostello9610]

Take a look at VM95ML. I got it. It sounds fantastic. And you don't have to change cartridges, either.

[@seanearnest8350]

Do you consider the audio Amp and speakers make a difference in the audio reproductive quality?

[@Greg-et2dp]

Record ology I learn a lot from you bying new and used turntables my friend 😅😅😊

[@TheFrugalAudiophile]

Great list! I have not heard it myself, but I know a lot of people love the project debut carbon turntable.

[@ronaldweed6103]

Great lineup. I0🎉🎉great looking tts

[@leecooper8589]

I had narrowed my shortlist to about 3 or 4 turntables (in no small part due to your channel) but the LP 120 X kept grabbing my attention and was ready to spend the UK £ 280 or so that it cost a year or so ago. Then I had a stroke of luck. I happened to log into social media on a site I don't use often and saw a local chap was selling a used LP 120x for £70. Initially I was dubious because it sounded literally too good to be true but I contacted him, he lives about 1.5 miles away and I went around, he offered me a listen and the deal was done. It was like new, it turned out that he was only selling because he wanted a Bluetooth turntable. I did buy a new stylus as standard with buying a used turntable but I really didn't need to and have since added a spare head shell to experiment with cartridges but I'm over the moon with the LP 120 X. If there WAS to be a criticism it would be that it's totally manual and at least making it semi auto would be a great improvement to the turntable. However, I knew that already, so even if I bought the official Audio-Technica tonearm raiser so it lifts at the end of the record I'd still have saved money and much cheaper raisers do exist that do the same job.

[@mikalmos369]

Thank you very much for that video you helped push me over the edge to definitely getting a lp120x for my next turn table. That said as I was searching for one and price comparison I ran across a Canadian Best Buy only version ( AT-LP120XUSB-BZ) which is the same thing but they replaced the silver color of the metal parts with a bronze color and it is gorgeous. Unfortunately they won't ship it to the United States without some kind of third-party transhipper and the retail price $529 Canadian and even with the exchange rate you are certainly paying for that visual upgrade. I find it interesting that they included the same cheap black plastic 45 adapter on the X models instead of adding a metallic bronze one to this which would have been a nice touch especially for the price. If I somehow figure out how to get one I'm certainly going to be searching for a bronze 45 adapter LOL

[@jro7075]

this was a great selection of TT's and did a fantastic job of reviewing them ,I also wanted to point out that I noticed like you have that a lot of these TT's only have plastic 45 adaptors and some cheap looking ones I agree it would be nice to have a nicer one there were some models you showed that the adaptors were plastic but at least full sized and much better looking but I believe why they do not invest on metal type ,in the 70 's when I worked in the record store 45's were the thing to buy if you could not buy the album or if it did not come out yet the adaptors were plastic but thicker like if you saw a dual TT it was plastic but had co logo which i have many of them but I noticed a lot of the younger people never seen a 45 and i do not see any 45 's that are new being made today and who is going to buy a used 45 when they are asking 7 to 20 dollars for them the average price in my time was 1$ for a 45 I would never buy a used 45 ever cause they are a shorten versions of song you want anyway that is a waste of money so I believe manufactures are not going to invest in a fancier item when no body is using TT for playing 45's now I have 45's cause I worked in the record store and I worked partime and I could not buy lp's even if they cost 6.99 which was the average price at the time ,so thats why I noticed that a lot of these adaptors are way cheap plus a lot of them get lost since a lot of TT's do not have a place to store them ,I noticed you are pretty close to a lot of these co that make these TT's you should ask them why don't they put in fancier adaptors then we can finally find out why at least thats why I think they do not include a fancier adaptor ,I stoppedplaying 45's for a while cause using it on the TT was a pain the songs finish then you got to get up and change them ,but recently I acquired a stacking adapter for my dual,bsr and garrard TT's so that I don't have to get up for every song also i misspelled adapter in beginning of this so I apologize JRo

[@johnlouis3873]

I have the AT120 which has the reverse play feature. This was removed on the LP120X. Not everyone would use this feature, but I have a few records with reverse recordings.

[@dragon2knight]

I just nabbed a new "closeout" (it obviously isn't, but no one told the reseller that on ebay!) AT LP60BT, non X model. It's red and looks great. I honestly didn't need it but I couldn't pass it up for $140. As for the 3600, I changed the stylus to an LP elliptical, a necessary change to boost the sound/quality. Great list!

[@ayedee6681]

AT-LP60 base is $149. Still a great deal.

[@Rebel9668]

I've got a red LP60BT, but it's too old to have the X. Still a good little player. I can't believe how many turntables I have now, which is kind of goofy considering how limited I am on space in my house. I blame that on you, lol. I'd have never bought a 78 only Vanity Fair turntable if I hadn't been watching this channel :P Between that and my Rokblok I have two turntables I might drag out once every other year or so, lol. I still haven't even hooked up the Pioneer DJ PLX-500 white turntable I got watching this channel. I'll hook it up tomorrow and move my BSR MA-65 to the stereo in the living room for my Ma as I've got her some albums now too. Mostly Reader's Digest Country music boxed sets. And because of this channel I now have A Hard Day's Night album which came in the mail today, lol. You're ruining me. :D...I didn't even mention my 1917 era Brunswick console turntable. I too love Fluance's speakers. I have a set of their walnut finish SX6's in my bedroom and they sound just as good as the Kilpsch R51-M pair I have in the living room, hands down.

[@gavinroy325]

Got my Excalibur RD50 Turn Table AM/FM Radio Cd Player and Cassette Player for $40

[@UncleDansVintageVinyl]

At $200, the AT-LP3 is a great, great value. I put an Audio-Technica AT-520EB on mine, and it sounded great. The AT-91R is great, too.

[@sopaman1234]

Also great for playing 78 rpm records..

[@thomaslytle5519]

If you want the Beautiful Fluance RT-85 but can’t afford it, don’t go all the way down to the RT-80 model. It’s Not the “same as the 85” There were speed issues with the motor that were fixed with the RT-83. The RT-83 would be a better choice, and that Is essentially the same as the 85, minus the acrylic platter and 2m blue cartridge

[@DCDura]

What, no Denon DP-300F or DP-400?

[@GeneSavage]

Are there any "if cost were no object" turntables that you think could outperform the turntables on this list? I couldn't drop $25,000.00 on a turntable, but sometimes I wonder if those extremely esoteric designs could actually improve the sound quality (however subtly). Are the insanely expensive turntables just ego pieces that look impressive but don't actually improve what hits your speakers, or if you're willing to spend as much as you would on an SUV, can you get truly superior audio off of vinyl?

[@Recordology]

Lots of new people to the channel through this video so I have been fielding a lot of comments about not including higher end turntables. Our channel has always been focused on the entry level. I should’ve stated that more clearly in the video. For us an $800 turntable is high-end! And to be fair for a lot of people that’s still a lot of money. I can only personally speak to the ones I have reviewed which are indeed hundreds of units under $1000. I have been told anything above that experiences the law of diminishing returns exponentially.

[@AlexMitchell-sj4sb]

What a great channel! I don't even own any records!

[@Recordology]

Thank you!

[@pervertedalchemist9944]

The Crosley 200 isn't a bad turntable, but it looks way too much like a Technics 1200. I am surprised they haven't been hit with any legal action yet.

[@ScottGrammer]

There are LOTS of turntables made to look like the SL1200, the AT-LP120XUSB-BK included. Technics apparently does not care.

[@SwingingCreeper]

I think the design patent has expired

[@b.j.thomas8606]

i have a Pyle that looks a lot like a Technics

[@ayedee6681]

No Music Hall Classic ?

[@adotopp1865]

The American uturn orbit is an obvious Rega Planer copy. Britsh made Rega RP3 is the original and obviously, through 35 years of development, the best.

[@Recordology]

It’s not even similar…very different design.

[@adotopp1865]

@@RecordologyHow is it very different? They've obviously seen the Rega and tried to copy it. You ask them.

[@stanleycostello7312]

I have an AT LP 120XUSB. It sounds excellent. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I have a question about VTA. As records have different thickness. Dynaflex, the thin records from the '70s, the current trend for 180 gram vinyl. I don't suppose anyone adjusts the VTA (except maybe Michael Fremer). My question is, why bother with VTA?

[@johnlouis3873]

I have the AT120 which has the reverse play feature. This was removed on the LP120X. Not everyone would use this feature, but I have a few records with reverse recordings.

[@ScottGrammer]

VTA directly affects the angle of the intersection of the stylus and record, which should always be 90 degrees. If it's off by more than a couple of degrees, it will adversely affect the performance of the more radically-shaped styli on high-end cartridges. More radical shapes like hyper-ellipticals and shibatas will be affected more than regular ellipticals. For low-end cartridges with spherical (conical) styli, VTA makes almost no difference.

[@stanleycostello9610]

@@ScottGrammer I know about VTA and SRA. Maybe I'm mistaken, but the thickness of the record is paramount. Correct me if I'm wrong. Thx.

[@MuzikJunky]

Top-10 vintage turntables? Peace.

[@PGlll]

What is VTA Adjustment ??

[@Recordology]

Vertical Tracking angle. Basically the height of the back of the tonearm. It’s important that the tonearm is parallel to the records surface so some record players have an adjustment.

[@PGlll]

@@Recordology thank you. I just purchased the AT120xUSBBT. Sinve it doesn’t have VTA does it mean the unit is compromised?

[@oldsoulshow]

Actually the Victrola GO is $129.00 as of November 2023.

[@Recordology]

It was down to 79 yesterday

[@iankirk4660]

What about the Rega Planer 1. You guys don’t know what you’re missing.

[@randallmarder8049]

His opinion is missing many superior TTs. It comes down to considering all other associate gear and especially the room. It really is a science and also from experience to be able to put the best synergy between all equipment.

[@blujack100]

I have a Dual 721 which wasn’t on your list.

[@daniannaci3258]

I have a Dual 721 too, and love it! Top of of the line in 1980, so probably long discontinued. There’s always eBay…

[@lasskinn474]

do i really must have 10?

[@davyboy232]

No you can have as many as you like 😀😀😀

[@johnkear2268]

Just save a bit more and buy a Rega....

[@RacingAnt]

Top 10 buyers guide that doesn't mention: Rega Project Linn Vertere VPI Clearaudio SME And even Technics. Hardly an "ultimate guide".

[@Recordology]

This is an entry-level channel. And the Technics turntables of the 80s have been featured multiple times in our used buyers guides. Normal people can’t afford VPI.

[@RacingAnt]

@@Recordology thanks for the reply. The video just came up on my feed. So, there's no way for me to know that the channel is entry level.

[@spacemissing]

Seriously, in 2023, it is difficult to imagine a really decent new turntable costing less than $1500, and that without a cartridge. Anyone who is musically satisfied with something less should improve their standards.

[@b.j.thomas8606]

or get a higher paying job with more disposable income!