The Best Turntables in all Categories: From Experienced Record Collectors To Beginners 2023

The U-Turn Orbit Plus was a fan favorite before it even hit the market thanks to a 2014 Kickstarter campaign. The reason: there’s a lot to like, starting with build options that let you pick the base color, platter material (acrylic in the photo), cartridge, and more. U-Turn’s minimal, plug & play design is ideal for beginners and we had ours up and running in less than 5 minutes. There’s no short-cutting when it comes to sound; even our most finicky audio pros give the new Orbit Plus a thumbs up.

U-Turn not only builds every Orbit Plus by hand in their Boston plant but they also assign an audio technician to listen to each before sending it along. (Impressive for this price range.) The only button on the Orbit Plus is for power – there’s no speed switch; you have to manually switch the belt from one groove to another to change RPM speed. If you’re a hands-on type, no biggie… but if you’d prefer a switch that changes speed for you, the Orbit Plus isn’t for you. (Do you really listen to that many 45s?)

A straight, understated tonearm glides on a pivot-style bearing positioned close to the record, which allows for more accurate groove tracking.  One detail to note is that this does not come with a cue lever built-in.  U-Turn offers a cue lever as an optional attachment which you can find here.  Each Orbit does ship with the cartridge already installed and tracking force perfectly calibrated, which is great for beginners.   

P.S. U-Turn makes a special version of the Orbit with a pre-amp built-in, called “The Orbit Special.” Check it out.

Denon’s DP-300F picks up where turntables left off after CDs took over in the 1980s. At the time, most consumer turntables were fully automatic. People listinening to  would put a record on the platter, push a button, and they were done.  From there, the turntable picks up the tonearm, places it over the beginning of the record, gently puts it down, and voilà, music. At the end of the record, the turntable automatically lifts the tonearm, gently puts it back in its holder, and then turns itself off. Convenient, yes, but fully automatic is more about not accidentally scratching your records.

What’s more, given the DP-300F’s preamp (included) can be turned on or off, you can plug it into almost any integrated amp or receiver – even those without a phono input port. This allows the DP-300F to work with almost every home music system. Switching out the cartridge is easy too, should you ever decide to upgrade for something with a bigger range. Do that, and the Denon DP-300F is easily on par with record players that cost two or three times as much. As for looks, the DP-300F is attractive yet unassuming, a classic look built on 4mm thick cabinet walls made of die-cast aluminum. (We love the gloss coating.) 

So: good-looking, built like a tank, fully automatic, compatible with almost everything, easy to upgrade, made by Denon – an industry legend. What’s not to like?

If turntables in the $2k price range and up are like high-end sports cars, then maybe turntables in the $5K and up range are like high-end jet aircraft. If that’s the case, then the semi-automatic MT5 from McIntosh – the world’s undisputed amplification champion –  is a show-stopping F/A-18 Hornet. (The tonearm is made of Dural-Aluminum, often used in fighter jets, so the analogy fits.)

The MT5 weighs in at 31.5 pounds, making it the heaviest turntable on our list. (Turn it up. It won’t vibrate.) It integrates with ease, especially when mated to a 2-channel McIntosh preamp. It comes with McIntosh’s precision tonearm and the much-loved Sumiko Blue Point No.2 MC cartridge, though some customers swapped-out the Sumiko for something they felt was better suited to the MT5. (Call to discuss.) The sub-platter, made from anodized aluminum, sits beneath the silicone acrylic outer platter. The combination rests on a ceramic bearing using magnetic suspension, so it literally floats on a cushion of air above a lit green platter, which is easily dimmable. There’s so much to talk about here – see our MT5 product page for the full story.

The MT5 is a favorite among Grammy winners, audiophiles, and music lovers the world over, and our ears agree: this is the best turntable humans have ever created thus far. Very expensive, yes, but this is next-level awesome, or as Rolling Stone called it: “The McIntosh MT5 is the turntable of the Gods.”

True audio snobs usually don’t bother with Bluetooth devices, especially turntables, as they traditionally don’t deliver the audio quality audiophiles seek. The Cambridge Audio Alva TT V2, however, is getting the full attention of home theater geeks with golden ears, and for several reasons. The big one: The Alva TT V2 streams using the aptX HD format, which encodes the warm sound of your vinyl at 24 bits / 48 kilohertz, which is true high-resolution audio that gives you all the headroom and air of your original recordings. With aptX-HD-compatible speakers or wireless cans, that full range of beautiful analog sound will envelop you, but the wires and cables won’t since you won’t be using any.

The Alva TT V2 has other high-end audio necessities, including the innovative moving coil cartridge that delivers remarkably high output levels and the built-in preamp that is designed expressly to handle the output of the cartridge. The direct drive motor ensures that your LPs will play at exactly 33-1/3 or 45 RPM, with no variation, and with no unwanted noise. The ALVA TT V2 beams vinyl playback into the modern world of high-resolution audio, satisfying the requirements of the most discerning audiophile or wireless user.

A similar turntable to consider is the Cambridge Audio Alva ST turntable. There are four notable difference between the two: 

1. The cartridge on the ST is a Moving Magnet AT95E instead of the high output moving coil cartridge found on the TT
2. The platter on the ST is die-cast aluminum and the TT has a POM platter
3. The ST turntable is belt driven and the TT is direct drive
4. The price

Check out our Alva TT V2 turntable review here and our review for the Alva ST belt driven turntable here.

The Victrola Stream Carbon turntable is the first ever turntable certified by Sonos and the first turntable with Sonos streaming capability built-in. This means that you can stream directly from your turntable to your Sonos system over Wi-Fi without needing any other components or wires. Just plug it in and connect it to your network. Easy peasy... right? We were skeptical at the thought of taking the most sacred of music rituals and the most analog of experiences and digitizing it. But that's exactly what Victrola did with the Stream Carbon turntable.

The Victrola Stream's built-in Wi-Fi lets you connect wirelessly right to the Sonos network or you can use the ethernet port on the back. By connecting to Wi-Fi, It also has a ground lug and a pair of gold-plated RCA outputs, so this turntable can be used easily and independently of the Sonos system by connecting to your existing hi-fi system. You'll want to download the Victrola App once you're ready to connect the turntable to your Sonos network and speakers.

When played on the highest quality setting, this turntable sounded wonderful. Rivalling, if not besting other turntables in the same price point. Retailing at $799 and shipping with everything you need to be listening to your record collection in under a half hour (for most, even sooner). Victrola recently announced an additional finish of the Stream turntable, the Stream Onyx. The Stream Onyx maintains all of the Sonos connectivity and streaming features as the Carbon, with only a few differences in construction and features an Ortofon OM 5E Cartridge. This is a turntable for everyone (with Sonos), for anywhere.

To learn more about this turntable, check out our full review of the Victrola Stream Carbon turntable here.

Got 78s? You probably haven’t played them in a while, because turntables that play 78s are rarer than an original pressing of Louis Armstrong and his Hot Five playing “Heebie Jeebies.” The Dual CS 518 is here to bring life to your ancient shellac discs — and the rest of your vinyl collection, too. What sets this high-quality unit apart (other than its incredibly useful three-speed operation) is its innovative tone arm, which uses a unique double-gimballed design coupled with balanced counterweight and anti-skate control, resulting in remarkably gentle yet consistent playback, even of your most cherished historical artifacts. The included Ortofon 2M Red is often on the cartridge list for audiophiles, but the tonearm is equally equipped to do justice to even the most high-end cartridge and stylus. 

The Rega Planar 3 story begins in the UK in the late 70s and continues to this day. It’s about an ever-evolving turntable conceived and built by two devoted lovers of music, Tony Relph and Roy Gandy, and how they keep finding ways to extract every bit of fidelity out of treasured LPs – essentially perfecting a much-beloved product over the course of 40+ years. 

Highlights include: a high-gloss acrylic laminate plinth designed for low mass and high stiffness. A “floating-glass” flywheel platter with Optiwhite polished rim, topped with a felt mat, and a low-mass, low-friction tonearm with precision bearings and steel counterweight – the result of 40 years of research and experimentation.  Rega’s own Elys 2 moving magnet cartridge will come factory fitted with this version of the Planar 3. The Planar 3 really sings with the Elys 2 MM cartridge onboard.

The Planar 3 is hailed the world over as the highest-value, entry-level, audiophile record player since its original introduction back in 1977, and it’s as much a conversation piece as it is a true high-fidelity component. Hi-Fi named its predecessor “Product of the Year” three years running. Herb Reichert of Stereophile magazine said, “I love the way it honors musicians.” 

All this for less than $1,150. Need we say more?

Still well within reach if your audio budget is on the tight side, the AT-LP3BK lets you add some decidedly audiophile features to your spin time. Fully automatic operation coupled with the balanced hydraulic tonearm and AT91R cartridge provides a delicate touch that is remarkably consistent, ensuring damage-free playback and uniformly superb audio quality. The universal headshell makes it easy to replace or swap out cartridges, and you can adjust the tonearm’s tracking force and anti-skate control. Integrated RCA cables and ground wire facilitate hookup into a system with a preamp, and switchable output levels make it easy to connect directly to line-level inputs, too. The sleek design of the base, aluminum platter, and hinged dust cover are all configured to support the anti-resonance design and reduce vibration, but they also make this turntable a stunner in your home theater setup.

Somewhere on this page, we gave “Best Beginner’s Turntable” to the Orbit from U-Turn Audio. Now, we’re talking about the Orbit “Special" and what makes it so special – the fact that it comes with a Pluto Phono Preamp already built-in. (Watch us take the Orbit Special for a spin in a World Wide Stereo video product review here.)

In addition to the Pluto preamp, U-Turn added a cue lever to the Special (thank you) as well as an acrylic platter. The Special also comes in one of two gorgeous, solid hardwood, plinth finishes: flat cut maple and rift walnut.

The advantage to having a preamp already built-in? For starters, since a preamp does what an external amp or receiver does, you have one less piece of equipment to deal with. You can quite literally plug your Orbit Special into any speakers in the house and get up and running in seconds.

For the money, Orbit is hard to beat. And, for an American consumer electronics company, that’s saying something.

Check out our U-Turn Orbit Special turntable review.

AudioTechnica (AT) is legendary in the turntable world, and this is the most cost-effective way to add that AT tech to your audio system. With simple automatic operation and push-button control, playing your LPs on the AT-LP60X-GM is as easy as it could be. Bluetooth connectivity lets you pair your wireless speaker or headphones for instant playback, and line level and phono level outputs let you plug in to just about any kind of receiver or preamp. AT has taken extra care to reduce noise that can affect playback by providing an external power supply and updating the case and tone arm construction to minimize vibration. The die-cast aluminum platter also contributes to the kind of silent operation that will really make listening to your LP collection a pleasure. The moving magnet cartridge has a very low effective tip mass, which reduces the force applied to the delicate grooves of your LPs, reducing the possibility of damage. It also produces a fairly high output level, which works well with the phono inputs on a stereo amplifier or receiver. The stylus assembly is easily replaceable, too.

The AT-LP3xBT turntable from well-known Audio-Technica marries the old-school feel of music with the more modern convenience of Bluetooth music streaming. Designed for novice users all the way up to more experienced listeners, this Audio-Technica turntable has something for everyone.

The automatic design permits the listener to pop a record onto the platter and then press the start button to have the tonearm swing out and drop neatly at the beginning of the record. When you’re done listening, press the Stop button, and it lifts the tonearm from the record and swings it back to its resting location. If you would prefer to operate the tonearm manually, that’s also an option!

A phono pre-amp is built into the AT-LP3xBT deck, so that will allow you to connect it to virtually any amplifier. If wireless music streaming is more desired, the built-in Bluetooth 5.2 technology features aptX® encoding for high-quality sound. You’re able to stream your tunes to Bluetooth-enabled speakers or headphones. Pretty neat, huh?

Audio-Technica uses their own moving magnet cartridge, the AT-VM95C. They also employ a hinged dust cover to protect the delicate components from settling dust particles. The versatility of the AT-LP3xBT is something very much desired nowadays. Being able to dictate how you want to use the turntable at any given listening session is certainly something to consider if you’re a first-time buyer. You should also know that the turntable is available in a black finish as well as a white finish. Both are rather striking in-person – both in appearance as well as performance, of course!

Audio-Technica’s AT-LP60XBT is truly a jack-of-all-trades kind of turntable: connect it in the “traditional way” to an amplifier or through Bluetooth to a pair of compatible speakers or headphones. Sound interesting? Then read on!

This belt-driven fully automatic turntable from Audio-Technica allows anyone from novice to full-blown record enthusiast to enjoy its easy-to-use design. Simply drop in your record of choice and press the Start button on the front of the plinth. The tonearm will rise, swing over, and drop at the beginning of the record – it really doesn’t get any easier than that. You can then either hit the Stop button to end the session or, when the needle hits the end of the record, the tonearm will rise from the record and swing back to its resting location.

When it comes to connectivity, we wanted to describe in more detail what you can do. If the AT-LP60XBT is going to be hard-wired into your current sound system, the built-in phono pre-amp will connect to just about any amplifier (there is an included 3.5mm to RCA cable in the box, which plugs into the rear of the deck). You can also utilize your existing outboard phono pre-amp (assuming you have one) by flicking the output switch to PHONO on the rear of the turntable. If you’re planning on using a pair of Bluetooth speakers or Bluetooth headphones, pair that device to the Audio-Technica turntable and enjoy the tunes through the Bluetooth 5.0 chipset being utilized for rich sound quality.

From a looks perspective, the AT-LP60XBT is available in three colors: black, red, or white. Select the one that best matches your décor, relax, and enjoy the tunes!

While Rega’s Planar 1 turntable might look a bit retro (particularly in the Special Edition Walnut finish), the turntable is brimming with new technologies to help you get some incredible sound from your current (or future!) record collection.

Upon first glance, the Planar 1 is a cool mix of simplicity and elegance. A clear acrylic dust cover is hinged to the rear of the unit and swings down easily to protect the tonearm, cartridge, and potentially a record from dust settling on them and impeding performance. The handmade RB110 tonearm with precision bearing is already calibrated (and so silky smooth in movement!), so overall setup should be a breeze – less than 30 seconds in most cases.

A 24-volt synchronous motor is used for power and is whisper-quiet. Couple this with the EBLT belt drive system and the Rega Carbon moving magnet cartridge, and you’re stunned with the performance versus cost ratio of this Rega turntable. The one regret we will impart upon you is that the Planar 1 does not have a built-in phono stage, so you will need one of those if your current amplifier is not equipped with the proper inputs. We just want to mention that we do have an assortment of outboard phono stages available to complement your new turntable.

The on/off switch for the turntable is located underneath the front-left corner of the plinth. While some may gripe about it not being as accessible, we rather like it because it doesn’t interrupt the lines of the unit. To help mitigate vibration and improve stability, the Planar 1 is equipped with a phenolic resin plinth and vibration-reducing feet. In using these technologies, the perfect environment for a turntable is guaranteed.

At the end of the day, the Rega Planar 1 turntable is an absolutely incredible turntable that’s sure to please just about anyone. If the aforementioned walnut finish isn’t your speed or doesn’t match the décor, it’s also available in a matte black and a matte white finish.

Within this unassuming exterior lives a beast of technology that makes this one of the most advanced turntables we’ve ever seen. The age-old complaint of added features like auto-lift is that the extra mechanisms and motors can put a hard ceiling on performance, limited by the extra noise and interference of those mechanisms. Don’t expect a ceiling with the SL1500, though. The secret? A high-tech core-less direct drive motor that drives not only the platter, but the auto-lift on the tone arm as well, all while limiting interference. By embedding the Auto Lifter function in the base portion of the tonearm, it eliminates impacts to the tonearm. With simple design that doesn’t use motor power, there is no electrical or vibrational impact.

Don’t think Technics got lazy after accomplishing that feat though! They made sure to include an excellent phono preamplifier, so the SL1500 is perfect for any system, even if that system doesn’t have a phono preamp or phono stage (some of our favorite applications include wireless speaker systems or powered monitors for a more compact setup).

SL1500 has a no-frills design. It might not win a turntable beauty pageant, but that’s only because every aspect of this table is built meticulously for the best performance we’ve ever heard in a turntable with an auto-lift.