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7 Best New Vintage Looking Turntables

Review of best new vintage looking turntables

In this guide, we’ll review 7 high-quality turntables that combine a traditional vintage look with new tech and great sound.

Buying old turntables and record players can be troublesome if you don’t know what you are doing. They may need service and repairs that only an expert can perform. And spare parts that are hard to source.

Therefore, finding the vintage vibe with a brand new vintage looking turntable is the way to go for most of us.

Below are 7 great vintage looking turntables that I think are the best options today. I have picked them with a strong focus on quality and performance. Low-quality record players that may ruin your records and break down the first week are not considered in this guide.

If you would like great vintage looking powered speakers to pair with your vintage looking turntable, have a look at Klipsch The Three Tabletop Stereo and Klipsch The Sixes Powered Monitor. They will make for an awesome vintage turntable and speaker combo!

Here are 7 great new vintage looking turntables.

#1 – Fluance RT81

Best Vintage Looking Turntable Overall

Fluance RT81

The Fluance RT81 is a beautiful vintage looking turntable at a reasonable price. It has a simple traditional layout, comes in walnut wood finish and a good AT95E cartridge as standard that is also easy upgradable if you want even better sound down the line.

KEY SPECIFICATIONS

OperationManual
DriveBelt
PreampYes
Speed33 and 45 RPM
BluetoothNo
USBNo
CartridgeAT95E

The Fluance RT81 has received very positive reviewed and seems to be a turntable that most owners simply fall in love with. Its combination of great looks, great built-quality and great sound for the money make it our top pick for a relatively affordable new vintage looking turntable.

Click here to check price on Amazon.

#2 – Audio-Technica AT-LP120XUSB

Best Classic Looking DJ-Style Turntable

If you fancy a classic-looking DJ-style turntable, then the AT-LP120XUSB is likely your best and most popular option for reasonable money. It has the look and feel of an professional DJ turntable that has been used by the world’s leading DJs for decades. It is super popular and comes with all the features you can dream of in a DJ-style turntable.

KEY SPECIFICATIONS

OperationManual
DriveBelt
PreampYes
Speed33 and 45 RPM
BluetoothNo
USBYes
CartridgeAT95E

The AT-LP120USB was the first turntable I bought when I restarted my vinyl journey, and it is an impressive piece of kit. As an electronics engineer that used to make consumer electronics for a living, I cannot understand how they can sell this so inexpensively. It is a bargain.

Click here to check price on Amazon.

#3 – 1byone AD07US01

Great Vintage Looking Turntable with Many Features

1byone AD07US01

1byone is a relatively new turntable manufacturer that has grown rapidly in popularity. Much of their success can likely be contributed to nice design and affordable pricing. In my opinion, the AD07US01 is one of the nicest looking affordable turntables out there. It is a piece of art.

KEY SPECIFICATIONS

OperationManual
DriveBelt
PreampYes
Speed33 and 45 RPM
BluetoothYes
USBYes
CartridgeAT MM

This 1byone turntable not only look great, but it comes with a lot of handy features. With this turntable, you get USB functionality, wireless connectivity and a tonearm with adjustable counter-weight and anti-skate weight. It is a lot of turntable for the money.

Click here to check price on Amazon.

#4 – Audio-Technica AT-LPW40WN

Great Clean Looking Classic Turntable

The AT-LPW40WN is a clean and classic looking turntable form Audio-Technica that is designed to give you optimal high-fidelity audio reproduction from vinyl. It comes with a carbon-fibre tonearm and a VM95E cartridge.

KEY SPECIFICATIONS

OperationManual
DriveBelt
PreampYes
Speed33 and 45 RPM
BluetoothNo
USBNo
CartridgeAT-VM95E

This is a classic purist turntable, so it doesn’t feature many fancy options besides a built-in switchable phono preamp. A good choice for those that want a sounds good and looks good, but can do without options like Bluetooth and USB. A good- looking purist turntable from one of the most respected turntable manufacturers in the world.

Click here to check price on Amazon.

#5 – Fluance RT85

Midrange Vintage Looking Turntable with Great Sound

The Fluance RT85 is essentially a better sounding version of the Fluance RT81. What you get extra by choosing the RT85 is a better sounding Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge and a high-quality acrylic platter.

OperationManual
DriveBelt
PreampNo
Speed33 and 45 RPM
BluetoothNo
USBNo
CartridgeOrtofon 2M Blue

While the RT81 offers very high-value for the casual vinyl spinner, the RT85 gives even higher fidelity sound in the same elegant looking package. The RT85 is Fluance top turntable and is best suited for the critical music listener and passionate vinyl enthusiast. In the spirit of audiophile turntables, the RT85 does not include a built-in preamp.

Click here to check price on Amazon.

#6 – Pro-Ject The Classic EVO

Best Audiophile Vintage Looking Turntable

The Pro-Ject Classic EVO is the latest iteration of the award-winning The Classic and has many improvements over its legendary predecessor. It is a modern and highly advanced turntable in an elegant classic design. It delivers very high-end sound and has been the preferred turntable for many audiophiles for decades.

KEY SPECIFICATIONS

OperationManual
DriveBelt
PreampNo
Speed33 and 45 RPM
BluetoothNo
USBNo
CartridgeOptional

The main improvements from previous iterations of The Classic include new TPE bushings, a brand new 9″ tonearm and new sub-platter with increased rotational mass. This turntable will probably blow the budget for most casual vinyl spinners. But if you want audiophile sound, and have the budget, it harder to find a more classic looking audiophile turntable than The Classic EVO from Pro-Ject Audio.

Click here to check price on Amazon.

#7 – Linn LP12

Best High-End Vintage Looking Turntable

The UK based electronics manufacturer Linn produces what’s might be the most iconic turntable in the world, the Linn LP12. It is voted “the most important hi-fi component ever sold in the UK” and “the second most significant turntable of all time in 2011” by the major Hi-Fi publications Hi-Fi Choice and The absolute Sound. It is a true high-end turntable with an amazing history.

KEY SPECIFICATIONS

OperationManual
DriveBelt
PreampNo
Speed33 and 45 RPM
BluetoothNo
USBNo
CartridgeOptional

The Linn LP12 has undergone continuous development and improvements since it was first introduced in 1972 and is still one of the highest respected turntables in the world among dedicated vinyl enthusiasts.

Contact your local Hi-Fi dealer for current pricing.

What about cheap all-in-one record players?

As you see, there are none $50 to $100 all-in-one record players with tiny speakers built-in on our list of great vintage looking turntables and record players above.

Why is that?

These cheap all-in-one record players do unfortunately have a reputation for destroying records (worst case), they are built with very low quality parts and the tiny speakers that are built into the cabinet don’t produce sound of decent quality.

They definitely have their place in the market, and we have all the respect for vinyl spinners that enjoy them. But it is hard to put them on a list of top recommended turntables as they aren’t genuine quality products.

What is the best cheap turntable?

One highly affordable turntable we however do recommend is the Audio-Technica AT-LP60X. It doesn’t offer a vintage look, but it makes for a good vinyl spinning experience at a very low cost.

It is regarded as one of the very best entry-level turntables by many Hi-Fi publications, it doesn’t have a reputation for breaking records and it is very well built.

It can be connected directly to powered speakers, and the Edifier R1280T is a very popular and affordable powered speaker option.

I have an AT-LP60X myself, and it is a fantastic turntable for the money. You can read my full review here.

FAQ

What is a preamp?

I preamp boosts the tiny signal that does out of the turntable’s cartridge to a standard audio signal that is called a line-level signal. A turntable produces a much smaller signal than, for example, a CD player. The preamp makes the small signal from the cartridge the same size as a signal from a CD player.

Do you need a preamp?

Many turntables come with a preamp built-in. But some doesn’t. For those that don’t, you will need a separate preamp, or an amplifier with a preamp built-in.

What is manual operation?

Manual operation means that you manually have to place the tonearm at the beginning of the record and manually returns the tonearm back to its resting position when the record is over.

What is automatic operation?

Automatic operation means that you simply push a button and the turntable automatically place the tonearm at the beginning of the record. When rev record ends, the turntable automatically returns the tonearm and shuts off.

What is direct drive?

In a direct-drive turntable, the motor is connected directly to the platter.

What is belt drive?

In a belt drive turntable, the motor connects to the plater through rubber belt.

Do you need an amplifier for your turntable?

Turntables very rarely come with an amplifier built-in, so you will very likely need an amplifier for your turntable. Another option is to use powered speakers that comes with a power amplifier built-in and can connect directly to a turntable.

What is powered speakers?

Powered speakers are speakers that are powered (driven) by an amplifier that is built into the speaker cabinet. With powered speakers, there is no need for a separate amplifier.

What is a cartridge?

The cartridge sits on their end of the turntable’s tonearm and transforms the grooves that are carved into the record into an electrical signal. The cartridge holds the needle/stylus that tracks the grooves.

What is the purpose of a cartridge upgrade?

The main purpose of a cartridge upgrade is to replace the stock cartridge with one of higher quality. A higher quality cartridge will reproduce higher fidelity sound. Better details, more dynamic and more authentic sound.

What is a Bluetooth turntable?

A bluetooth turntable comes with the extra feature to connect wirelessly to wireless speakers and wireless headphones.

What is a USB turntable?

And USB turntable includes a digital USB output that makes it possible to connect the turntable to a computer and rip the music on your records into digital music files on your computer.