After connecting its included gold-plated RCA cable into our Sony receiver (which itself has a preamp and is connected to two Sony bookshelf speakers - see How We Tested below for more about the setup), then playing a record, we were treated to a robust soundstage that blended low, mid and high tones beautifully, with solid bass to boot.
#DRIVING RECORDER PLAYER BLUETOOTH#
What the Fluance lacks in connectivity (it doesn’t feature Bluetooth technology and lacks a built-in preamplifier, aspects a handful of the other players in our testing pool boast) it makes up for in pure high-fidelity analog sound. (More on that below.) So how did the Fluance RT82 beat out the competition? Let’s talk about the most obvious way first: sound. In fact, design accounted for a very small percentage of our overall rating for each record player - 5%, to be exact. It certainly does, and it certainly is, but as we know, looks aren’t everything. Even our photographer, upon seeing it for the first time, asked, “Is this the winner? Because it looks like a winner.” Combined, its simplicity and sheen completely had our attention before we put needle to vinyl. While its unique S-shaped tonearm (the movable arm that allows the needle to follow the grooves of the record) adds texture and movement to its overall aesthetic, the rest is kept very simple: a motor pulley in the top left corner and a knob for switching between speeds in the bottom left corner. Its solid medium-density fibreboard plinth, aka base, with high-gloss Piano Black finish looks modern and clean without drawing too much attention to itself. Sure, we could have said “sleek” or “sophisticated-looking” or even “lustrous” - and it’s all of those things, too - but whenever we returned the Fluance RT82 to our shelf for further testing, we couldn’t help but think, Dang, this is one sexy machine. It’s important to note that not only will cheap $50 systems never sound good, but they could also even damage your records, so in the long run it’s worth it to spend a little more even on a “beginner” turntable.Īfter weeks of testing, this is our favorite entry-level record player:Īll right, before we get into the nitty-gritty of the specs of this record player, let’s get one thing out of the way up front: This is one sexy machine. However, we tested several entry-level models all under $300 that are ideal for total vinyl beginners looking to buy their first record player or those looking to buy a gift for the audiophile in their life. Finally, there are surface-level reasons for wanting to own a record player as well: It’s fun to go record shopping and find hidden gems in dusty bins, build up a collection and show it all off as a unique centerpiece in your home.īecause record players are arguably the most nuanced of any stereo component, high-end ones easily sell for multiple thousands of dollars.
And many audiophiles will argue that you’ll get a fuller sound from playing an album on vinyl versus digitally, perhaps even hearing more instruments, tones or other minute details that sometimes get lost in compressed formats (though this is hotly debated). It lends itself to being more engaged with the music and listening to albums in their entirety as opposed to skipping around tracks. Heck, even Barnes & Noble sells records.īut why the popularity in 2021? Well, for starters, manually playing a record can be an extremely satisfying and intimate experience - a feeling that hasn’t changed in a century.
Vinyl records have had such a resurgence, in fact, that brands like Vinyl Me, Please now offer record of the month subscription services, you can buy your own personalized LP and there’s even an annual Record Store Day when limited-edition vinyl releases can be purchased from local shops. In just the first half of 2020, there was $232.1 million in vinyl LP and EP sales in the US, far exceeding the total revenue for CD sales during the same time.
0 kommentar(er)
