Choosing a decent turntable & speakers

[The Gauge]

Can anyone recommend a decent turntable/record player & speakers please?
It's my sons 18th birthday soon and he'd love a record player for his bedroom. He's recently started buying vinyl in anticipation.
He's got his eye on Audio Technica LP60 or LP120

Are there any others that we should be considering at a similar price point? Will also need a pair of speakers

Edited by The Gauge on Tuesday 16th July 17:27

[ben5575]

Do you need an amp as well?

I can't help with the suggested turntables only to say I bought my daughter a Project E1 turntable but haven't been impressed by it at all.

I did however connect it up to a pair of S1 Sonos 5 via the line in and it works great as a basic system that you can stream spotify etc to as well.

Not trad 'hifi' but is flexible, 'bookshelf' sized and cheap (around £70-£100/speaker on ebay). May not be what you're looking for though?

Oh and DM me if you need a phono amp. I have a project one you can have for postage/charity that I've used a couple of times but has been gathering dust for two years.

Edited by ben5575 on Tuesday 16th July 17:32

[dickymint]

I have a '120' but it's the bluetooth version AT-LP120X USB so can be played through TV soundbar and rear speakers - great sound

[The Gauge]

ben5575 said:

Do you need an amp as well?

Thanks for the offer, I'm hoping the turntable we get has a built in amp

dickymint said:

I have a '120' but it's the bluetooth version AT-LP120X USB so can be played through TV soundbar and rear speakers - great sound

Thats reassuring, sounds ideal for him, thanks.

[d_a_n1979]

The Gauge said:

Can anyone recommend a decent turntable/record player & speakers please?
It's my sons 18th birthday soon and he'd love a record player for his bedroom. He's recently started buying vinyl in anticipation.
He's got his eye on Audio Technica LP60 or LP120

Are there any others that we should be considering at a similar price point? Will also need a pair of speakers

Edited by The Gauge on Tuesday 16th July 17:27

FWIW my brother his this as his vinyl system in their living room:

Edifier powered speakers on Soundstyle Z2 stands:

Speakers: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Edifier-R1700BT-Bluetooth...

Stands: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Soundstyle-Z2-Stand-Blk-B...

TT: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Audio-Technica-AT-LP60XUS...

It's a great little system and suits their needs to a tee

I have those speakers in my garage and they sound really good (have them on wall mounted stands); they go plenty loud enough to disturb the neighbours

[Johnny 89]

The Audio Technica turntables are a good option for a reasonable auto set up that could be paired to a set of Bluetooth speakers.

However, if your son gets in to hi-fi and wants to upgrade the system in time then I think you are much better off with something like a Rega turntable with separate amp. and a good set of bookshelf speakers. That way, any individual part can be upgraded, if that's what he decides on.

[miniman]

My thought is that the whole point of vinyl is that it’s analogue. If you digitise it and stick it through Bluetooth then, well, what’s the point?

ProJect turntable + decent amp + bookshelf speakers would be my recommendation.

[3454.5]

OP, the answer is not MX5 as usually here but Richer Sounds as you've not stated a budget, which is all important.
Look at Richer's website, sign up to VIP, go to nearest store and you'll get sorted.

[miniman]

https://www.richersounds.com/project-primary-e-bla...

https://www.richersounds.com/cambridge-audio-axa25...

https://www.richersounds.com/q-acoustics-q3020i-bl...

[Lucid_AV]

The Gauge said:

ben5575 said:

Do you need an amp as well?

Thanks for the offer, I'm hoping the turntable we get has a built in amp

You don't want a turntable with an amplifier built in. But before the lines get too muddled up, there's a difference between an amplifier that will run some speakers, and the phono pre-amp (also a sort of amplifier) that makes the tiny cartridge signal suitable for connecting to some powered speakers or a sound bar with AUX in.

Your basic components are - the turntable - a phono preamp - some amplification to drive the speakers - and the speakers themselves.

Some of these things are combined, so you'll find turntables such as the two AT decks which have a phono preamp inside. There are also powered speakers such as Edifier R1280T where the amplification is built into the speakers.

Whilst on the subject, there are turntables which have both the pre-amp and the speaker amp built in too. Here's one such thing at Amazon: LINK. Aside from the extra background noise this generates, and the limited fidelity when the amp circuits need to be so small as to fit in the player's plinth, the other issue is losing the amplifier when it comes time to upgrade. TBH, at this level that's probably no bad thing, but everyone's mileage is different.

A turntable with a switchable pre-amp, and then a set of powered speakers gets your lad up and running with the best 'bang for the Buck' system.

The AT-LP60X comes in some different variants. The basic X is the lowest priced. The BT version is handy for listening via wireless headphones. The USB version is for recording records to MP3. What isn't mentioned is that all three are dead-end turntables. There's a very limited scope to upgrade the deck. The cartridge can't be improved, and attempts to add a better phono preamp have mixed results. It that works, it's a big step up. However, there are a lot of cases where it has just ended up with a load of hum.

The LP120 is a better choice but obviously more money. It looks like a Technics DJ deck, so that'll score some 'cool cred' points. This is a fully manual TT which means the cueing and lifting off of the tonearm is all hands-on operation. The deck will take a better cartridge, The easier option though is to simply replace the green stylus with the orange 'EN' version once the green hits the 500 hrs playing mark.

Since we're in fully manual operation territory, then we should mention the Pro-Ject E1 Phono at £299. It's about £30 more than the LP120. Instead of Audio Technica's 'bells and whistles' approach, the Pro-Ject has nearly all the money spent on the bits that make music sound better. The platter and spindle. The tonearm. The motor. There's a decent Ortofon cartridge, and once again the stylus is upgradeable without the need to mount an entirely new cartridge.

Sonically, the Pro-Ject is well ahead of the LP120. This means it will sit through more upgrades of the powered speakers (or amp + speakers) before reaching the performance limits of the deck. That makes it a better purchase in the long term.

For speakers, if it's the LP60X or one of its variants then something alog the lines of the Edifier R1280T (£80) to the R1700BT (£139) is about the range.

With the LP120X, the Edifier R1280DB (£130) would leave the door open to add a subwoofer at a later date. Ditto the sub with the £180 Edifier R1850DB.

The Pro-Ject could be partnered with some of the more Hi-Fi-focussed Edifiers, but it would be equally at home with something more ambitious. The Q Acoustics M20 (currently on a deal at £320) is a far more grown-up active speaker set and boasts a raft of the higher quality and lower latency BT formats. There's also Optical and USB inputs backed up by a 24bit/192kHz DAC.

[ben5575]

Some great replies and recommendations.

The only thing I'd add make sure it's as faff free as possible. Us oldies grew up having to tweak and faff to get things to work, 18yo in 2024 expect stuff to 'just work'.

The joy will be the owning/collecting physical media, the novelty of having to interact with getting it to play and the purity/discipline of being forced to listen to an album rather than be overwhelmed by the choice of streaming.

I suspect the nuances of analogue vs digital, sound stage etc etc and all of the nerdy stuff we like will be way down the list, if on it at all.

My daughter has spent/been gifted £hundreds of vinyl which she keeps in her bedroom. None of it has been played because she put some burners and other trinkets on top of the turnable and can't be bothered to move it to open the lid.

[d_a_n1979]

Folk are reading too much into this

I'd say the OPs son isn't an audiophile and won't want a TT, TT amp, a change of cartridge or 6, integrated amp, speakers, cables everywhere etc

It sounds like a plug n play system is what's wanted and for it to just work

When he's older he can then maybe start to dabble in separates and fall down that rabbit hole in his own time with his own pennies etc

[fizzwheel]

Another vote here for the LP120, as that's what I bought myself when I wanted a turntable a few months ago I read a fair few reviews and it tends to always come up somewhere in the "recommended" lists. I would echo the recommendation to get the Bluetooth version as well its not much more money and it adds extra flexibility, for me that just means I can pair it with my Bluetooth headphones when I don't want to disturb the rest of the house.

Once I had it a few weeks I then added

AMP - Cambridge Audio AXA35
Speakers - Cambridge Audio SX60

and I'm really happy with that setup.

[Nomme de Plum]

d_a_n1979 said:

Folk are reading too much into this

I'd say the OPs son isn't an audiophile and won't want a TT, TT amp, a change of cartridge or 6, integrated amp, speakers, cables everywhere etc

It sounds like a plug n play system is what's wanted and for it to just work

When he's older he can then maybe start to dabble in separates and fall down that rabbit hole in his own time with his own pennies etc

I disagree. I built my first HiFi system at the age of 18.

Michell Electronic reference turntable. SME 3009 arm, can't recall which cartridge.

Lecson AC1 Preamp and AP3 power amp and a pair of 3 way home built speakers, components from Wilmslow Audio.

Not all teenagers will tolerate inferior performance.

Just remembered the cartridge. It was a Shure V15 Mk?

Edited by Nomme de Plum on Wednesday 17th July 13:32

[d_a_n1979]

Nomme de Plum said:

d_a_n1979 said:

Folk are reading too much into this

I'd say the OPs son isn't an audiophile and won't want a TT, TT amp, a change of cartridge or 6, integrated amp, speakers, cables everywhere etc

It sounds like a plug n play system is what's wanted and for it to just work

When he's older he can then maybe start to dabble in separates and fall down that rabbit hole in his own time with his own pennies etc

I disagree. I built my first HiFi system at the age of 18.

Michell Electronic reference turntable. SME 3009 arm, can't recall which cartridge.

Lecson AC1 Preamp and AP3 power amp and a pair of 3 way home built speakers, components from Wilmslow Audio.

Not all teenagers will tolerate inferior performance.

Just remembered the cartridge. It was a Shure V15 Mk?

Edited by Nomme de Plum on Wednesday 17th July 13:32

About the same with me (mid 90s - Arcam integrated, CD player, Acoustic Energy speakers, and an old Aiwa TT my uncle donated me - t'was his fault I got into the hifi habit and my 3rd monthly paycheck bought me that system)

But it's a lot different nowadays with very much plug n play / just work systems etc - modern tech has come a long way; there was nothing like powered/active speakers for the general market back then

[paralla]

Using the line in on Sonos isn’t ideal for use with a turntable as it introduces a delay between what is happening at the needle and what’s coming out of the speakers. It’s a disconnect between the physical and the sound that completely ruins the tactile experience of putting a record on.

[dickymint]

paralla said:

Using the line in on Sonos isn’t ideal for use with a turntable as it introduces a delay between what is happening at the needle and what’s coming out of the speakers. It’s a disconnect between the physical and the sound that completely ruins the tactile experience of putting a record on.

Really? I can't remember ever watching the needle and looking for lip sync

[Nomme de Plum]

paralla said:

Using the line in on Sonos isn’t ideal for use with a turntable as it introduces a delay between what is happening at the needle and what’s coming out of the speakers. It’s a disconnect between the physical and the sound that completely ruins the tactile experience of putting a record on.

Is Sonos considered Hi Fi.

I must be getting old.

I do stream using Roon and Tidal Hi Res

[The Gauge]

Thanks for the advice, especially the long detailed posts, much appreciated.

For his first set up I think Ill go plug & play with bluetooth for headphones (so I don't have to listen), and let him buy himself an upgraded system with his own money when that time comes. Currently any upgrades would have to come out of my pocket!

So it sounds like the LP120XBTUSB and a pair of speakers from those suggested above might be a decent choice. Though I will have a read up on the Pro-Ject E1 suggestion too

[paralla]

dickymint said:

paralla said:

Using the line in on Sonos isn’t ideal for use with a turntable as it introduces a delay between what is happening at the needle and what’s coming out of the speakers. It’s a disconnect between the physical and the sound that completely ruins the tactile experience of putting a record on.

Really? I can't remember ever watching the needle and looking for lip sync

Yes really. Using a turntable is a tactile experience, it’s at the heart of its appeal. Ruining that by introducing a delay ruins the experience for me.