Best Budget Turntables 2020: Entry Level Record Players
Turntable is mood changing material for people who love music. It had lost it popularity but recently people over the world are showing their interests on this again. So, it is gaining its popularity back. A good turntable can cheer up a person quickly. There are various types of turntable, among those a person can choose a type that he or she wants.
Buying Guide: Things to Consider When Buying a Budget Turntable
To buy a turntable one can follow the following things:
• Decide your budget
• Decide the features you want
• Compare turntables that matches your demands such as, you can search for best automatic turntable or best turntable under 200.
• Read both good and bad reviews about a product to get to know it from all perspective
We’ve considered various products for our budget selection. But after considering all the aspects, we ended up selecting four. They have slightly different price range though. AT-LP60 is the best choice according to the price which is below $100 price tag. The JTA-230 is for value choice which is also good with a price tag below $50. The most expensive turntable in this review is the Victrola Wooden 8-in-1 Bluetooth turntable and which is above $120. The 1byone belt-drive stereo turntable is the cheapest and a good choice for entry level with below $60 price tag.
AT-LP60 has high quality cartridge and can play 180gm record very well and selected as the best choice as it has many features comparing to the price. The JTA-230 has volume and tone control, converting system that many people demand for. The Victrola Wooden 8-in-1 Bluetooth turntable has recording option, remote control system. It is the most expensive choice and also provides a lot of features. The 1byone belt-drive stereo turntable is the cheapest choice and comes in briefcase design and has front-facing speakers that provides good sound and also has balanced tone arm.
AT-LP60 has easy operating system as it is fully automatic thus very easy to use. In the JTA-230, a person can control the volume and tone as per his or her wish. The Victrola Wooden 8-in-1 Bluetooth turntable has remote control system and one can easily sit and enjoy music by this. 1byone belt-drive stereo turntable is very portable and one can easily carry it to anywhere they want to go.
AT-LP60
Best Choice
Notable Specifications
Easy Operation: It is a fully automatic turntable that gently places the stylus on records and automatically returns the tonearm when record ends.
Belt-Drive Design: It has a belt-drive design that isolates the platter from motor vibrations and results in increased clarity and high-quality audio.
High-Quality Audio-Technica Cartridge: It has high quality phono cartridge and also a replaceable diamond stylus.
Audio-Technica is a Japanese company. It designs and manufactures audio equipments for professional uses. The AT-LP60 is fully automatic belt-drive stereo turntable. It is in silver color. It is the best choice for you comparing to the price. Moreover, it has very good sound quality, very easy to set up. The best thing about this turntable is that there is a button that helps to raise the arm and then the needle can be placed easily over the track. If the sound is not loud enough then flip the switch that is in the back and then the preamp comes on and makes sound louder. It can be hooked to speakers directly if one doesn’t have a stereo. It can also be hooked to the computer.
- It is really easy to connect to the speaker and does play 180 gm record very well.
- The set-up is very simple
- It doesn’t have any bells or whistles
- It is easy to assemble
- It has smaller footprint than most turntables, excellent sound and the autoplay mechanism works perfectly.
- Sometimes the RPM kept drifting and it may become hard to set the speed perfectly for 33 1/3 RPM mode
- The tonearm is not movable
AT-LP60 is a good choice for entry level. Its easy operating system makes it more friendly to use. The automatic function of this turntable has removed the threat of scratching the vinyl while placing the needle down or picking it up. The aluminum platter is good and doesn’t look cheap. Finally, the sound is deep, rich, textured and most importantly clear.
JTA-230
Value Choice
Notable Specifications
Pitch Control: It has pitch control that helps to adjust the record speed.
Volume & Tone Control: It has volume and tone control that is very helpful.
Converting system: It has converting system that helps to convert the audio content to MP3 format.
Jensen is a consumer electronics brand founded by Peter L. Jensen. They have six main product lines. The JTA-230 is a belt-drive 3-speed stereo turntable. It is a beautiful, modern form of turntable. It is like everything that a traditional turntable should be. The volume is good and pretty loud. It has two built in speaker that sounds better and the line-out jacks can be used on the back to hook it up to other external power amp. It also has a auxiliary input jack that helps to connect to the iPods, MP3 player etc. Another interesting thing is, it has software to convert the audio content to MP3 format. You can control the tone and volume in this turntable.
- It is a beautiful modern form of turntable
- This is a belt-driven, 3-speed stereo turntable
- It has everything you can expect from it, including volume and tone control, stereo headphone jack, pitch control, auto stop switch and a dust cover
- It also enables to listen music on iPods and other MP3 players through the aux-input jack
- Though it is good for the price but it has some flaws
- It sometimes spun unevenly. There is a lack of an adjustable tonearm.
JTA-230 Jensen 3-speed stereo turntable that has a good sound quality, tone and volume control, USB port to connect to the computer. It is good according to the price and very portable. There is also an additional pitch slider. It is simple and good for the price.
Victrola Wooden 8-in-1 Bluetooth Turntable
Most Expensive Choice
Notable Specifications
Recording Function: One can record from vinyl, cassettes and disks directly to USB.
Remote Control System: Remote control system is included that allows to sit back and enjoy music.
Built in Bluetooth: Built in bluetooth to wirelessly play music from bluetooth enabled devices.
Victrola was an American company. The Victrola Wooden 8-in-1 Bluetooth Turntable is one of their great turntables and is selected as the most expensive choice as the price is above $100. The sound quality is really fantastic and it works flawlessly. It can convert cassettes and disks to digital through USB and allows to play it on PC or anywhere. AM and FM radio work perfectly in this turntable with small single wire antenna. External headphone can be used for small speakers. It is easy to connect to iPhone and the remote-control system makes it easier to use and allows to answer phone calls by using mute button.
- It is simple for using
- It has great sound quality
- The bluetooth works excellently and quickly
- This vinyl player is easy to set up
- It has a startup manual laid across the platter
- It plays all speeds like it says
- The platter doesn’t skip anything
- The needle reads clearly
- The AM and FM radio works in a perfect way
- List Item
- Adequate remote support
- The CD player doesn’t work
- And also, sometime it is hard to pause the recording during the breaks between record tracks.
It’s really good for people who like a radio playing and making record. Easy to use. It is okay for vinyl records but not for tapes.
1byone belt-drive stereo turntable
Cheapest Choice
Notable Specifications
Front-facing Speakers: It has integrated front-facing speakers that provide convenient listening in any environment.
On-the-go ease: The durable case and convenient handle make it easy to carry wherever you want to go.
Balanced tone arm: There is dynamic tone arm with damping control.
This is the cheapest choice. The sound quality and volume are very good. It has a gentle-drop lever so the needle can be dropped softly into the right place. The carrying case is nice. There is a switch that allows to choose to adaptor for 45s. The speakers are okay according to the price. However, it doesn’t play 33s records at the correct speed. Line-in and line-out RCA outputs make it easy to operate.
- It is a good choice for entry level according to the price
- It doesn’t look cheap
- The tone arm, stylus, platform and the belt work quite wel
- You can use external speakers easily to get more loud sound.
- Though it plays records but the built-in speakers are not working properly
- Volume can’t be tuned sometimes
- It only plays 45s
1byone belt-drive 3-speed portable stereo turntable is cheap and okay according to the price. It is lightweight and portable, so easy to carry. But it only plays 45s though it claims to play 33/45/78 RPM. Sound quality is okay but sometimes it is awful.
This might help you in choosing turntable as per your wish and budget. AT-LP60 is the best choice here with a good budget. If you want to have the best service and are ready to spend more on turntable then you can go for the Victrola Wooden 8-in-1 Bluetooth turntable. If you have very low budget then you can go for the 1byone belt-drive stereo turntable. As a value pack you can choose JTA-230 one. Hope it was helpful for you to choose your one!
