Best Record Player for 2023 – CNET [CNET]

$150 at Amazon

Best budget turntable

Audio-Technica AT-LP60X

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$260 at Amazon

Best Bluetooth turntable

Monolith by Monoprice Belt Drive Turntable

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With the sales of vinyl booming, music fans will tell you there’s nothing that compares to the rich sound of a record player. That’s why CNET has tested and rounded up some of the very best record players on the market right now. Features vary, but some of the things to look for include adjustable feet and a speed switch — some of these models even include Bluetooth connectivity. Superior analog sound often requires spending more money, but it’s not necessary. If you’re a vinyl enthusiast, you could start with something like the $149 Audio-Technica AT-LP60X workhorse — it’s simple and it’s good. Need more information? This guide will fill you in on the models CNET has tested and the features you should be looking out for, from $80 and up.

What is the best record player overall?

Based on my hours of testing and comparisons between models at every level, the best turntable for most people is the Fluance RT82 ($299). It offers excellent design, killer old-school looks and great sound quality for the money. But if you’re looking to spend a lot more than that, the best turntable I’ve tested is the U-Turn Orbit Theory. It offers superlative sound quality and looks every bit the premium model it is. Depending on your budget, there’s even more players to choose from — so dust off your vinyl collection and keep reading.

Best record players of 2023

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If there’s a turntable on this list that represents a ridiculous amount of value it’s this one. It may look like a lot of other record players under $300, but it also sneaks in a USB connection and Bluetooth capability. It used to be that USB meant compromise but not in this case — the Monolith sounds good using the usual analog connections, and Bluetooth is easy to get up and running. Add in a dedicated speed switch and a defeatable phono preamp and you have a great package. 

The main reason to trade up to the Fluance RT82 is it’s easier to setup — the Monolith’s tonearm bearing is a little floppy, and I was over the optimum weight by 30% when using the balance method on it. If you want to get the Monolith dialed in you may need to buy a $15 tonearm scale.

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Entry-level turntables are great for people getting into the vinyl hobby, but if you really want to unlock the sound quality encased in your records it’s worth upgrading. The Pro-Ject Debut Pro is a high-quality record player offering many usability features the competitive Rega Planar 3 doesn’t.

For instance, the Sumiko Rainier cartridge comes preinstalled, and the combination of adjustable feet and electronic speed change are a godsend for user-friendliness. The only tip I would give a potential buyer of this turntable is to buy a stylus force gauge as the “plastic see-saw” in the box is finicky to set the tracking weight correctly. 

Once setup is complete, though, the sound the Pro produces simply astonishes. If you’ve ever heard of vinyl described as “warm,” this is definitely not that. When paired with a decent system, a high-quality turntable like the Pro-Ject should sound as good as, if not better, than the equivalent digital file. Through testing, I found the Debut Pro has a way of making even well-worn records sound hi-fi with plenty of high-end detail, an expressive midrange and surprisingly deep bass. If your music needs some pep — if your records make you sleep rather than dance — this player is a great way to energize your system. The downside to the Pro-Ject’s enthusiastic presentation is that with the “wrong” record, the sound could become a little fatiguing.

When you pair “true hi-fi” performance with day-to-day ease of use and drop-dead good looks I can’t think of another turntable apart from the Orbit Theory that can hold a candle to it. That said, it is also worth looking at the pared-back Rega Planar 3, as it offers a touch more sonic subtlety and one of the best tonearms out there.

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Most of the turntable models I’ve tested for this buyer’s guide have at least something to recommend them — whether it be design, sound quality or both. The following are ranked in order of commendability.

• Crosley C10A ($350): You may know the brand for its suitcase players, but Crosley’s C10A is an excellent hi-fi component. This vinyl record player sounds good and looks great. I don’t like it quite as much as the Fluance or new runner-up Monolith by Monoprice overall, but if you can get it under $300, it’s a bargain.
• Music Hall MMF-1.3 ($349): The Music Hall MMF-1.3 is a good turntable at a decent price. It has an even-handed response with all types of music but it wasn’t as engaging as the Fluance RT82. If you’re looking to plug a turntable straight into any receiver without a phono preamp, this is the model I’d opt for.
• Fluance RT85 ($500): Unless you have a mellow-sounding system, the Fluance RT85’s combination of an Ortofon 2M Blue and acrylic platter seems like one upgrade too far. The RT85 will be too much for already bright systems and the Pro-Ject T1 and Debut Evo are a better value at this level.
• Audio-Technica AT-LPW40WN ($379): With its carbon-fiber tonearm and natural wood veneer plinth, the Audio-Technica features excellent design, but it’s a mixed bag in terms of sound quality. The table sounded boomy when plugged into a phono preamplifier, and while it was more neutral with the onboard preamp, it was still a little ho-hum.
• Victrola Stream Carbon ($799): The first turntable to work wirelessly with Sonos, the Victrola Stream Carbon is easy to set up and play on any compatible speaker. The turntable’s a lot of fun and the sound quality was fine enough, but sadly the ergonomics were a little off. Specifically, the two components you use every time — the power-speed switch and the tonearm lift — are almost comically tiny. Read our Victrola Stream Carbon first take.

• U-Turn Orbit Plus ($399): While it’s better-sounding than I remember the original being, the U-Turn couldn’t compete with the performance of other players around $300. The turntable sounded truncated with a lack of extended high frequencies, and on the hardware side, the lack of a cue lever felt like a glaring omission.
• Crosley Cruiser Deluxe (around $80, depending on color): The “suitcase-style” turntable is hyper popular due to its combination of eye-catching design and cheap pricing. The Deluxe has a plethora of features, including Bluetooth in/out plus RCA out, but some compromises have been made, including a cheaper stylus. It’s a fun toy, but in the end it’s the Crosley’s poor sound quality which disappoints. The Victrola Eastwood (below) sounds better, but it has its own issues.
• Victrola Eastwood ($90): Unlike the competitive Crosley Cruiser Deluxe, the Victrola offers a proper cartridge (no plastic moving parts here) and compact styling. While it also sounds better than its competitor, the Eastwood’s main problem is that the lid gets in the way when you try to change records, which could lead to damaging your vinyl.

There are four main elements to a turntable: the plinth or base, the platter on which the vinyl record sits, the motor and the arm. The best designs offer extended bracing and isolation between each of these elements to reduce the noise, which can affect the sound quality of the vinyl. All of these record players offer a belt drive, which further reduces noise over direct-drive designs.

The best turntables feature a user-replaceable cartridge, which allows you to experiment with a higher-quality cartridge (such as an Ortofon 2M Red). Other convenience features to look for include an electronic speed switch (no more removing the platter) and a switchable onboard preamp which enables you to use a better phono stage.

All of these turntables offer a phono-level output — an unamplified signal that needs RIAA equalization. I used a combination of gear including a Rotel RA1592 amplifier, Onkyo TX-NR696 and TX-RZ50,  Q Acoustics 3050i tower speakers, and the Cambridge Audio Duo preamp.

For receivers and amps that lack phono input, you’ll need a phono preamplifier. CNET contributor Steve Guttenberg recommends the $100 Schiit Mani phono preamp as a quality budget option.

Two of the models offered a switchable line-level output — the Music Hall MMF-1.3 and the Audio-Technica AT-LPW40WN — and this is handy if you don’t have or don’t want an external preamp. You can plug these models into anything that accepts RCA cables. I also plugged these two directly into the amplifier and compared them against each other.

It’s worth noting that some of the models are unavailable outside North America, such as the Crosley C10A, Music Hall MMF-1.3, Fluance RT82 and the U-Turn Orbit Plus. If you’re looking for the best alternative to the Fluance RT82, I would recommend the Pro-Ject T1. 

As part of the tests listened to a number of different albums including these four artists: Bob Marley, Slint, LCD Soundsystem and Miles Davis. On each turntable, I listened for bass response (was it boomy or clean?), midrange detail (low-level instruments and echo effects) and high frequencies (were they recessed or too loud?). The best turntables performed well across all genres.