Do you need speakers for a record player?
Yes, any record player needs speakers and amplification to play back your record’s sound, but how this looks in practice can vary.
Some of the cheapest record players come with everything built in, in one box – you’ll likely have seen the suitcasestyle turntables sold by many online stores. However, you won’t find any of those recommended here. While compact and convenient, they sound terrible and can damage your records thanks to their cheap components.
Your money will be far better spent on a good entrylevel setup, which will sound far superior and give you a system to last you years – not to mention one that may be upgradeable over time, should you wish.
So what do you need for your record player setup? As well as your turntable, you need a phono preamp (also known as a phono stage), an amplifier and speakers. And while you can have all of these as separate components for the very bestsounding setup, they can also be combined for something much simpler too.
For example, if your turntable comes with a builtin phono stage – and most of our recommendations do, to allow you this flexibility – you can simply attach it to a pair of active speakers (which have amplification builtin), or even a Bluetooth speaker, if your turntable offers it. While you might enjoy building your own system, if you’re feeling unsure, looking to the same brand as your choice of turntable can be a great starting point, as components are often tuned together for a strong family sound.
Some manufacturers have even started offering turntable bundles, to save you time. Premium options include the Rega System One or the ProJect Colourful Audio System, but more affordable options exist from the likes of House of Marley and Lenco too.
Hifi retailers will also bundle complementing equipment together, so it’s worth looking online for their recommendations as well.
Do turntables sound better than digital?
Ah, the ageold debate. The safe answer here is they sound different. But what ‘better’ means to one person, can be very different to another – so really it comes down to preference.
Those on the vinyl side will argue that the way records are made means that the continuous analogue waveform is replicated precisely into the grooves of a record, making it a more authentic copy of the original recording – and that that makes it “better”.
However, objective measurements show good quality digital files are actually more accurate and consistent when it comes to things like distortion, frequency response, dynamic range and channel separation.
You’ll usually hear vinyl sound described as ‘warmer’ than digital. That’s a somewhat subjective observation, but it is likely because records do a better job of reproducing the mid and lower frequencies than higher ones, which creates an overall richer sound.
As for that nostalgic vinyl pop and crackle? That’s actually surface noise created by dust in the grooves, and is something you ideally want to avoid. But for some people, that’s all part of the vinyl appeal – you get a much cleaner reproduction with digital.
What to look for when buying a turntable
We’ve already discussed what you don’t want from your turntable shopping — the main point is to avoid the allinone suitcase designs — but what should you be looking for in your next record player?
RPM
This stands for rotations per minute and having this set right will be important to your record playback. 33 (and a third, if we’re being accurate) is usually the correct setting for the ‘standard’ size record, while 45 is the right setting for smaller vinyl. Those are the most common settings on decks at this price, but you might find 78 on some a little pricier — those records are rarer though, and generally something for enthusiasts.
Beltdrive or directdrive
You may also have seen the terms beltdrive and directdrive in your search and wondered what they meant. The likelihood is you’ll buy beltdriven — directdrive turntables are usually the more “DJstyle” decks, where the motor sits under the platter. Beltdrive is usually favoured for giving the very best sound for an athome listening experience.
That’s because it does a better job of isolating any vibrations from the motor, which can affect the sound. Turntables are really vulnerable to outside noise interference from various sources, so a lot of what makes the very best record player is how that is prevented.
Design and materials
These can play a huge part when it comes to sound quality. For example, with the plinth, you’ll want that to be as solid as possible, to withstand external vibrations from any speakers. At the sub£500 level, you’ll probably be looking at an MDF veneer as the top option, though you will find a fair bit of plastic at this price too. Don’t dismiss a deck outright because of this, some have been strengthened and welldamped to help, so just do a bit of research.
The platter material, which the record spins on, also has an impact on sound, though different companies have different takes on what is best. Common materials are aluminium, glass and plastic — generally, you want something heavy that guards against resonance, but budget will come into this. Turntable mats can help too.
As for the tonearm, you want it to be as stiff and lightweight as possible — carbon fibre is typically the gold standard here, but aluminium is also good.
Next, consider how much you want to be involved in the setup. Many entrylevel turntables can do a lot of the heavy lifting for you, with preset counterweights (which ensure the stylus is putting the right amount of pressure onto the vinyl) and preset bias, or antiskate (which exerts an outward force on the tonearm to keep the stylus where it should be in the record groove), making a turntable pretty “plug and play”.
This will usually mean there’s no upgrade path, but that might not worry you if you’re a casual listener. You can even opt for a fully automatic turntable that will lift the tonearm into place for you, and return it back to its rest when you’re done.
Upgrading your record player setup
But what sort of upgrades could you do? At this level, the most obvious one is upgrading from the included cartridge, which has a huge impact on the sonic character. However, that will usually require different weight and bias settings, making preset decks out of bounds.
There are a few other things to consider. Do you need a builtin phono stage (sometimes called a phono preamp)? Most of the turntables we have recommended have one builtin, which helps to keep starter setups simple, but if you have an amp with one builtin, you could save money by looking for one without it.
And what about other features? If you don’t want to buy an amplifier and stereo speakers, having Bluetooth on board can simplify your setup hugely. We have to vouch for the beauty of proper analogue sound through an amplifier and stereo speakers, but having Bluetooth available gives you flexibility, even if the initial setup process is a little frustrating on most turntables.
