They start with a crude playback mechanism-a non-adjustable tonearm tipped with a cheap ceramic cartridge. Inexpensive record players are available under various brands, but they all tend to look suspiciously the same insiders have told me most come from just a handful of factories in China. Just turn on the power, place a record on the platter, and lower the needle into the groove.įortunately, a few audiophile-focused companies have started to offer higher-quality all-in-one (or close to all-in-one) models, and at least one mass-market brand is working to make its players sound better. While audiophile turntables typically require complicated setup with $50 to $100 worth of specialized tools- and sometimes the addition of a special preamp to boost and EQ the signal-all-in-one record players require no extra components or cables, and no setup. Still, the appeal of a simple, all-in-one record player is undeniable. And the extremely heavy tracking force applied by these players is enough to do significant damage to a record groove after just a few dozen spins. Whether or not you agree with audiophiles’ claims that vinyl sounds better, there’s little chance that those sonic benefits could find their way through these record players’ cheap ceramic phono cartridges and tiny speakers. That’s because the vast majority of people play their sides not on elite, high-end turntables such as those from Pro-Ject and VPI, but on all-in-one record players purchased for less than $100 at big-box stores such as Best Buy or Walmart.

But ask them what people are playing those records on, and they’ll likely clam up. V inyl enthusiasts love to brag that last year, the dollar volume of record sales surpassed that of CDs for the first time since the 1980s.

The wirecutter turntable