20 Best Turntable For Beginners (2022 Updated)

I’ve not had a record player since 1989. Mine did not make the move to university when I started there, nor did it go to my parents’ new home when they moved there the same week. I would have access to a record player at their house, but by that time I was buying only CDs.

But now I have a record player again. I’d looked at the reviews of many on Amazon – but it was clear that those that were cheaper, were not going to be worth paying for (despite the reviews. most of which have effectively been paid for).

So I went to Richer Sounds to get some proper advice. They recommended two different models. In the end I went for this one, which was actually a more expensive version of one that they had recommended.

The reason I went for this one is that I wanted the convenience of using bluetooth. I’m glad that I both went to Richer Sounds and got this particular model. It does sound great (though you can hear some of the record coming directly from the player rather than only the speakers, which can be a bit distracting) and is easy to use.

I’m not such a purist that I could claim it’s better than MP3. Also, what a 50 year old can hear is different to what I could hear back in my teenage years. But there is no doubting that the experience, when you are in the mood for losing yourself in the music rather than having it on as background (as I always do as I cannot work in silence), is much better.

For doing all of that, this player is perfect.

I have always considered myself to be somewhat of an audiophile, but I am still somewhat new to vinyl records. I started off with a cheap Victrola unit, which was total crap. Don’t ever buy a Victrola.

Then a fellow budding vinyl enthusiast suggested the AT-LP60, so I upgraded, and what a difference it made over the Victrola. A few months later, I purchased this AT-LP120, as I wanted to get more experience with a more “adult turntable” as my friend said.

It’s a great unit for starters. However, it seems that the pitch control is not QUIIIIITE stable. I’ve made sure I’m perfectly leveled, the tracking and skate are set to the correct positions, and most things play fine.

Being a metalhead, most of my LOUD records, I can’t hear anything wrong. But on some of the quieter records, especially those prominently featuring strings or piano, there’s a very slight bit of warble in the pitch.

I’ve read on several forums from others that have experienced my exact same issue with this unit. So all in all, if you like your music loud and heavy, this will likely suit your needs just fine! But if you’re into the likes of smooth jazz or orchestral, I might suggest researching some other units.

Also, if anyone more experienced has any tips for me in how to fix this pitch warbling, I’m all ears!!!.

First, let me say that I am not a DJ. I was just looking for a quality turntable under $300. 00, one that was not totally entry level, and one that was not audiophile quality in the 4-digit price range.

There is a lot that I like about this Audio-Technica – ATLP120XBT and a few things that I do not like. All in all, I think its keeper though I am settling a little on the features, it hits the target on my price range.

Unlike the Denon DP300F, the Audio-Technica – ATLP120XBT is a fully manual turntable. There is no auto stop feature or auto return feature. So, when your needle gets to the end of the album, it’s just going to bump against the paper album ring of da thump, da thump, da thump.

Not a problem if you are a DJ type and you are standing over your turntable/s and picking up the needle. But for me, I like roaming around the house while listening to my LPs which usually means, I am not there to pick up the needle and avoid hearing da thump da thump da thump.

Even with that said, some auto stop turntables that I have read up on will keep spinning several times until they have realized the end has been reached and the auto stop kicks in. So if you can’t live with the da thump sound, you are going to want at least a semi-automatic turntable that returns the tonearm back to its holder, which means you don’t want this turntable.

I am not exactly sure what potential harm can be caused to the stylus, but the sound just drives me nuts. Another thing I am not crazy about with this turntable is the dust cover and/or dust cover hinges.

While the plinth of this turntable seems heavy and solid enough, the dust cover seems too light. So, I find opening the dust cover with one hand creates enough uneven lifting force to where the cover wants to come off the hinge.

Either the dust cover needs to be heavier and/or the hinges need to fit the cover a bit tighter to keep the cover from wanting to come off. I also did not like the light feeling felt platter mat on this Audio Technica turntable, the Denon had a heavy rubber platter mat.

And now for some good stuff. The Audio-Technica has both a built-in preamp and Bluetooth connectivity for connecting wireless to Bluetooth speakers. I find that the preamp output is sufficient to generate good volume and drive the bass and midrange well enough on my soundbar without any noticeable distortion even at higher volume settings on my soundbar.

It also has USB output along with a USB cable so you can connect the turntable to a computer and digitize your records if you like. The back of this turntable has female RCA connectors as opposed to the cable being internally connected to the turntable on one end and having male RCA connectors on the other end.

So, if your RCA cable fails, you can just replace the cable with a new male to male RCA cable. Turntables like the Denon DP300F that have the RCA output cable attached to the inside of the unit will probably require servicing if the internal connection is faulty or ends up failing, which is exactly what happened to me.

Gently moving the cable where it came out of the Denon unit would cause the left channel to cut out, which I discovered when I noticed that I wasn’t getting left channel sound coming through my speaker system.

When I took the Denon DP300F back to Best Buy, I tried to exchange it for another Denon DP300F, hoping the cable issue and low preamp output was just bad luck. They did not have another Denon unit in stock so I just exchanged for the Audio Technica.

The plinth of the Audio-Technica – ATLP120XBT has a convenient indentation to hold the 45rpm record adapter. Some people may not like the aesthetic of the indentation, but I do not mind it because my 45 adapter is always right there, which to me is a good trade off.

The tone arm holder has a lock that you can employ to keep the tone arm from flying around if you accidently bump it while changing a record. The plinth also has a nifty target light that you can point right at your needle which makes seeing the beginning of each album track line easier to see in low light conditions so you can drop the needle right where you want it.

This is also a direct drive turntable as opposed to a belt drive turntable, so I am settling here as well. It is said that while you get less precise speed with a belt drive, you get more motor noise with a direct drive in this price range.

I don’t listen to my records using headphones and I have yet to hear any motor noise or distortion while a song is playing so I don’t think sound quality is going to be a factor for me. I imagine that higher end turntables attempt to overcome this problem with motor shielding and using dampening materials.

But, a belt drive just seems more intriguing to me, having the platter spun by a belt on a pully instead of directly by gears on a machine. To me, it is like the turntable is more of an instrument with a belt instead of just being a machine.

A belt drive is kind of like strings being part of a guitar, and I really like that. Stretching the belt over the pully during first time setup also feels like bringing the turntable to life. So, belt vs direct drive all boils down to a matter of preference and consideration of what is more important to you.

For me, I wanted to bring my records back to life asap without spending over $300. All in all, the Audio Technica ATLP120XBT is a solid turntable in this price range. If it had at least semiautomatic functionality and a heavier or more secure feeling dust cover, it would be 5 stars in my book, not taking into consideration my preference for a belt drive motor.

I have a small collection of LPs that I have not been able to listen too for a very long time, I no longer have a traditional stereo system (speakers, receiver and turntable), but I do have Bluetooth headphones and sound system for the tv.

I recently discovered the existence of Bluetooth turntables, these seemed to allow me to play my LPs while broadcasting existing speaker systems. I wanted a good table, more like the ones used in the 70’s.

My research brought me to Audio Technical. The ATLP120XBT seemed to check all the boxes in my search for a quality Bluetooth turntable. It is a quality unit that would fit into most 70s stereo systems (a big complement).

It is well built, has an optical system for confirming proper turntable speed and a light to highlight the area where you drop the tone arm onto the record. The table can connect through Bluetooth, USB or traditional two plug stereo.

With the USB connection, you can connect to a computer and record your music. This was the most important feature for me. The ATLP120XBT allows you to connect the turntable to your computer. Using free software such as Audacity allows you to convert the music to a file format that you can store and listen to on most modern devices.

Now I can listen to my long lost music on my phone, dedicated music player and computer! There is multiple resources with videos to show how to use Audacity specifically on the turntable. I admit that when you first open Audacity it looked daunting, but there are videos, broken down into specific areas of use, that will have you up and running within a day.

Not to forget the Bluetooth capability, I have connected to both my Bose headphones and a LG sound bar. The connection is stable and supports quality sound experience. In conclusion, this is an excellent turntable.

It is built with the quality of past generation turntables while including modern conviences of USB and Bluetooth connection. For the younger crowd, there is a control bar that allows you to adjust the speed of table up to +- 10%.

It is a manual table so you will physically have to move the tone arm into place to start play and return the arm when finished. There seems to be a question about whether the table comes with a phono cartridge and needle.

My table came with phono cartridge and needle.

I have always been a vinyl junkie, always. Last Christmas (2021), I decide to replace the main turntable in my home theater set up. I was using Gramavox’s “Floating Record” vertical turntable at the time, mainly for it’s visual appeal and “wow factor”.

While it is a great turntable in many ways, it also has several drawbacks including being a 100% manual turntable, and it is a very delicate & fragile unit with horrible skating issues and a heavy tracking force.

I started off in the <$200 range and purchased a unit by a new company called "Angel Horn" for about $150. It was gorgeous to look at but had horrible motor issues resulting in unstable turntable speeds that would fluctuate WILDLY during a record playback.

After returning 2 units for the same issue I figured I should probably up my budget to get a record player of better quality. That is when I found my Denon DP-300F, with a reduced price for the holidays, so I bought it.

Right out of the box, I was impressed with its rich, polished appearance and obvious high quality construction. It is a thing of beauty! The set up was very standard, so quite easy, and it was ready for a test spin after about 10 minutes.

The automatic features are silent, smooth and swift with incredible accuracy. The sound reproduction is a strong point here too with a solid built in preamp and decent cartridge/stylus included to get you started.

I have been using this almost daily since then (about 8 months now) and I am still in awe of my new “toy”. Even though I would certainly recommend this one to a friend ( I already have, actually), and would buy it again if I had to replace it, there are two small issues I have with it that I want to share.

First, the included cartridge & stylus, while certainly useable, should really be upgraded to something a bit better. Mine had some real trouble handling some music fade outs at the end of a song. Often the sound would drop out on a channel then return & drop out on the other channel just to come back & drop out all together in the middle of a fade.

I double & triple checked the tracking force, and anti-skate setting before giving up & replacing it with an Ortofon 2M Red. That problem was solved. Second, while the rotating speeds are EXTREMELY stable on both 45 & 33 1/3, it spins just slightly faster than it should, usually around 46-46.

5 rpm & 34-34. 2 rpm. While nothing major, it is slightly noticeable and should be just a bit more accurate. All in all, I truly enjoy my turntable and I look forward to many years of use from it.

Great turntable, easy to setup and get listening within a few minutes! Sound quality it’s far better than my old audio-technica, with a much better dynamic range. BUT I don’t think it’s worth buying the “TTL Upgraded” version.

The Ortofon Red comes preinstalled, but they don’t include the original as a backup, which I was hoping to install on my older turntable as a minor upgrade. So yes, you get the cartridge for a discount, but IMO it’s not worth giving up the original for it.

Also, the included slipmat from TTL is much thinner and lighter than the OEM rubber slipmat, so it’s not really an upgrade apart from the improved static resistance it might provide. I will play around with it a bit but I suspect the sound quality/stability could suffer with the thinner slipmat.

I have some extra ones as well though that I might be able to stack to get the weight back without making it too thick. So just keep that in mind; if I was going to order this again I would just get the base version and buy the cartridge and slipmat upgrades separately to have more flexibility.

This turntable is infuriating. The speed was off right out of the box but I was able to use the adjustment screws to get it right. It has held speed since so not the end of the world. However, the chip / brain in this machine is awful.

It is designed to be a fully automatic turntable but the auto start function has not worked since very shortly after purchasing it. The auto return function works without fail, but it sometimes gets caught in a loop and keeps trying to start and stop without any directive from the user, and it stays in a loop for anywhere from a half dozen attempts to 5 minutes, making it unusable during that time.

As of today, it is caught in a permanent loop despite unplugging it and plugging it back in, which essentially means I no longer have a turntable I can actually use. It begins to spin, picks up the tonearm, stops spinning, and puts the tonearm back down, then immediately starts the loop again.

NOT worth the price!.

First of all the build quality of this turntable is outstanding. And it never missed a beat. Tone Arm is very straight forward to balance. The Evo feet are easily adjusted to optimise level. So overall the set up was a breeze thanks to the clear and concise instructions supplied.

And it had to be as this was the 1st turntable I had set up. I am useless with instructions LOL The Evo is teamed up with my Audiolab 6000 Amp, through my Bower & Wilkins 606. Dire Straits Brothers in Arms was the LP of choice , presentation is outstanding.

The advice given by Richer Sounds is why I keep returning there. All the above has been purchased at Richer Sounds. I am no Audiophile expert. But what I do know is that its crucial in getting the correct advice when building the right system that suits you and your pocket.

So if you are looking to buy your 1st system or upgrading then I highly recommend paying Richer Sounds a visit.

This has been my first upgrade from a very inexpensive AT-LP60 that I had for many years. It lets me hear all that I’ve been missing all these years. Even though the cartridges are very similar, the overall build is so much better (more solid plinth, much better arm, better bearing and drive motor, much heavier and less resonant platter) everything works together to deliver big gains in clarity.

The Rega P2 also looks and feels premium in everyday operation. I was looking at this or the Carbon Evo, but went with the P2 cause I liked the glass platter looks more and it had a longer, generally well-regarded tonearm.

The Upscale ptr set-up service also gives me peace of mind that they’d catch anything before it got sent out to me. I plan to keep it for the long term. Using it for about a month, I’m very happy, it’s solid and sounds great.

How marvellous to be entering 2022 with a brand new record player. Forty years on from the arrival of the ” compact disc player” who would have imagined it? My old revolver deck had seen much use and the rubber band surrounding the platter had become a little overstretched and fiddly.

Otherwise. its in fine condition if you are interested! The Planar (with Ortofon cartridge), is a good value, solidly built, neat looking UK built deck and works well through my Monitor Audion speakers.

Records have less shrillness about them than cds and its almost nice to hear the odd crackle or two again! Highly recommended.

I tried ordering this turntable from a local high end hi-fi show room here in Phoenix Arizona. After about a week and a half, the owner of the company said he was having difficulty getting his hands on turn table so I canceled that order and went with turntable lab.

The turntable arrived a couple of days ago and I got it all set up today and everything works and looks terrific. Everything showed up within the estimated time frame and was in perfect working order including the stylus upgrade for free.

Top notch to turntable lab for a flawless and seamless process.

I have had this turntable a few months now and it is the best turntable I have ever owned (or used). It has the build of a tank but the looks of a high end sports car if you know what I mean. However, it is its sound and ease of use which are the most important factors for me.

I have owned lower models in the Technics range back in the 1970’s through to the early 1990’s. I have also owned turntables by many other manufacturers in the past. I still own a current model British made turntable with a fixed headshell which I use in a different part of the house.

I have also in the past frequently had access to use turntables made by other competitors. So, I know my way around a turntable. I have had no major complaints about any of the other turntables that I have owned or used.

However, this Technics simply beats the lot of them especially in terms of sound quality and build quality. There is no contest. I have a collection of six different phono cartridges. They each have attributes that I like with either different types of music or different types of record, such as stereo or mono recordings.

Swapping cartridges over to get the sound I want is just so easy and fuss free with this turntable. This process would be a right pain in the neck with a fixed headshell tonearm. I do not have any negative comments about this turntable.

However, I would suggest that any new users treat the VTA setting guide in the manual as just a general guideline. In my experience, this turntables arm sits higher, (at even the lowest setting), than many of the arms on other turntables that I have owned and used.

I had trouble getting one of my cartridges to play correctly when I measured its depth and set the VTA setting at 2 as suggested in the manual. When I lowered the VTA setting to position 1, the cartridge performed as it should.

I am so pleased I bought this turntable. It is used nearly every day and I try to avoid commitments that will prevent me from being at home to use it. I guess that I may never use the pitch control feature, as I am not a DJ and bought it for home hi fi use.

Its a great turntable and if you can afford it you should buy one. It has the ability to really enhance your listening experience. Got mine at Richer Sounds in Newcastle and their service was first class.

It always is and it does not really matter which member of staff you deal with. All of the staff are friendly, polite and know about the products they are selling. I’ve been using this store for many years and it does not matter if you are buying a low budget item or a more expensive item like this turntable.

In my experience their customer service is always among the best you will get anywhere.

This is far a better turntable than the original technics sl1200 models like the MK2’s. There’s a big improvement when it comes to audio quality. Less background rumble, getting more detail out of the grooves.

The tonearm is low mass, more stiff and better insulated to prevent feedback. However, since the tonearm is made from an alloy of magnesium, a graphite or magnesium headshell is highly recommeded to prevent resonance (and disappointment) caused by different stiffnesses of materials.

The supplied ground cable is rather cheap, but luckily its an all modular design when it comes to cables, so it can be swapped with a better cable. The turntable feet are way better/heavier than the ones on the original MK2/MK5/M5G types, but replacing the feet with better insulating ones is recommended nevertheless.

Is it worth the money? Well, only if you have equipment good enough to be able to hear the difference. Obviously not made for DJ set-ups or grocery store surround sets/sound bars (like the well known Bose and Sony stuff).

The SL-1200GR is awesome. Had loads of different HiFi components over the last few years but can safely say this is the best sounding source I have ever had. Purchased with a Goldring E3 Cartridge which seems great value at under £80.

Build quality is superb, easy to set up, very straight forward operation but most importantly the sound quality is superb. My floorstanding Pro-Ac Response D18 speakers have responded brilliantly to the Technics, never heard so much quality bass through them.

When I stream Tidal after listening to the deck, it just seems to lack something now. Totally worth the money and thumbs-up for the cartridge as well. As an aside, had to buy online rather than the shop in Chester I normally use due to current lock-down, but spoke to one of the staff who was working from home and he was helpful in deciding a suitable cartridge.