Three Top Rated Records Players and Turntables That Will Turn Heads

Posted by LP Tunes on

The Minimalist’s Recommendation:
Denon DP-29F Turntable

The Denon DP-29F is designed for user-friendly operation. The tonearm is button-operated, so it starts playing the record by itself and automatically returns to its original position when the album finishes, which ensures that the vinyl won’t get scratched.

The die-cast aluminum body, formed with precision and uniformity, makes the turntable steady for a higher quality of sound. A phono preamp and a Moving Magnet Cartridge are built-in for easy connection to speaker systems and faster setup.

Minimal buttons create a sleek, simplistic design for music lovers who don’t want to be confused with the clutter of adjustable knobs and dials. In addition to its easy use, the DP-29F is among the most inexpensive turntables on our market, giving new listeners easy access to the experience of classic vinyl records.

The Connoisseur’s Choice:
VPI SuperScoutmaster Turntable with JMW-9 Signature Tonearm

From 27 years of turntable development comes the third generation of the greatest LP playback devices, the VPI SuperScoutmaster Turntable with a JMW-9 signature tonearm.

This player is a hybrid, the result of crossing a VPI Scoutmaster with an HR-X system—the highest quality turntable paired with the most accurate motor drive. It has a massive flywheel, providing more momentum and smoother rotation. Its non-resonant, laminated chassis and periphery ring clamp lessen the likelihood of speed changes due to warps in the records, and it has an inverted bearing that runs on silent teflon. All the precision-crafted details that have gone into the making of the VPI SuperScoutmaster are what values it as a state-of-the-art machine.

The DJ’s Favorite:
Audio-Technica AT-LP1240-USB Turntable

The Audio-Technica AT-LP1240-USB was crafted for the sole purpose of delivering DJ’s highest quality of sound. It’s capable of playing 33 1/3s, 45s, and 78s.

Not only is a phono preamp built in for quick connection to speaker systems, but the turntable also has a USB output for direct link to computers—along with software compatible with both Macs and PCs—to convert a record’s music to digital audio files.

The AT-LP1240-USB has a start/stop button, as well as adjustable knobs that can regulate the timing, can brake, and can even reverse the direction of the platter’s rotation. Pitch and speed are customizable, as well. The S-shaped tonearm comes with an anti-skate adjustment, a height modifier, a ground lug, a hydraulic action and lift lever, an adjustable counterweight, and a rest with a locking mechanism. Its stroboscopic, aluminum platter guarantees low resonance, and its direct-drive motor rotates with accuracy and stability.

Just like music, a turntable reflects the style of the listener. Find the best record player that matches your tastes at LP Tunes.

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LP Tunes Upgrade stylus for HYM Seed turntable
Þorgeir Valur Ellertsson (Hafnarfjordur, IS)

Fast and every thing as expected.

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Stylus for ADC WXL-1 WXL1 cartridge
Janet Catlett (Vienna, US)
Good cartridge

I had a hard time finding this Stylus. Finally found it at KP Tunes, price was good and it came quickly. Worked so well I bought another as a backup

Unfortunately the belt was not correct, but LP Tunes made it right

The belt was thinner than the OEM belt, and ran at 32.1 rpm, I contacted LP Tunes and the refunded my payment this morning.

Great service. Hopefully they will review their belts for the Roksan Radius and in future they will work accurately. Can’t ask for more than this though, they cannot own every turntable.

Exactly the item that I was looking for.

Product fits and sounds very good.

Great product, great price!

Picked up a new turntable to match my other AT-LP120, an excellent product. Thanks to LP Tunes for the responsive customer service and free shipping!

Great product

Works great ..as advertised!

Does exactly what it is supposed to do, and does it well

I was looking for a turntable to transfer a couple hundred vinyl records to digital format. Since whatever setup I used for the transfer would be how I heard all those LPs from now to forever, it seemed to make sense to avoid cheaping out. OTOH, it's not worth it to me to spend thousands of dollars on an esoteric audiophile turntable. We already have a Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Evo turntable in the living area with the stereo, but I didn't want to commandeer that unit for transfer purchases,. That unit wins all the awards for "best under $1000 setup", but I'd need an external phono preamp and A/D converter, pushing the total cost to over $1k. The AT-LP120XUSB is less expensive and includes everything needed to connect to the PC, so it was an attractive option.

After reading a bunch of reviews of various turntables, I came to the conclusion that I was overthinking it and just went with this model. This turns out to be the right choice for my purposes. Once I had it set up I compared it directly with the Pro-ject unit, and the differences were subtle, if there were any audible differences at all. It works, it sounds good, and seems quite durable.

PROS:
o Setup is straightforward, since the TT, tonearm, headshell, cartridge, and stylus were all engineered together.
o The included stock AT-VM95E cartridge/stylus is well regarded and allows for an easy upgrade if you want a better stylus.
o Solidly built in the tradition of the Technics 1200 that it is modeled after.
o Professional quality internal phono preamp and A/D converter.
o Sounds basically identical to a unit twice the price
o Does basically everything it's supposed to do, and does it well.
o Since it's a DJ turntable, it should hold a good resale value - once I'm done digitizing the records I have I'm probably done with it so I might sell it at that point.

CONS:
o If you try to use both the USB and analog line out simultaneously there's a prominent high pitched whine - the engineers did not adequately isolate the two from ground loops - while this is a disappointment to me, there are easy work-arounds and few people are going to connect both.
o It's fully manual, so perhaps not the best choice if you just want to play records.
o If you have a receiver with a phono preamp, you don't need the internal one or the A/D converter so you'll be paying for things you don't use
o Your audiophile buddies will not be impressed.