Dear Wirecutter: Do Vintage Turntables Sound Better?

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Will a vintage turntable make my old vinyl records sound better?

Q: I recently bought a couple of vintage speakers because, for a while now (eight years), I’ve been wanting to listen to my old albums. (I unwisely sold my ’70s/’80s equipment in a ’98 garage sale—aargh!)

Anyway, the guy who sold me the speakers told me that my old vinyl was going to sound like crap on my new gifted turntable and that I needed to get a nice vintage turntable (but he doesn’t do turntables). So here I am looking all over eBay, where apparently everyone and their neighbor have gone Tickle Me Elmo insane outbidding each other for “vintage.” I’ve never been a sheeple, so I declined joining the mob.

The question is: What vintage turntable do you recommend to avoid the static, crackle, and pop of imperfect old vinyl playing through some excellent speakers?

I am willing to wait if it’s hard to find, or pay more if necessary, because I don’t like to buy things twice.

Audio Technica AT-LP120-USB

A modern turntable

The Audio Technica is highly adjustable, has a built-in phono preamp for hassle-free setup, sounds great out of the box, and has a built-in USB port if you want to digitize your LP collection.

Buying Options

Buy from Amazon

A: Don’t listen to that guy telling you that you need a vintage turntable. A vintage table might be great, but a modern turntable like our pick, the Audio Technica AT-LP120-USB, is going to sound just as good or better due to advances in electric-motor and speed-control technology that have trickled down to affordable models over time. A record player with the speed stability of our top pick would have sold for several times as much back in the ’70s. The only reason to suggest that an older turntable might sound better is that it is going to add some more distortion to the records, or not track them as well, which you might find pleasing for nostalgic reasons.

Another reason I don’t recommend people new to vinyl look for a vintage deck is because, unlike a digital media reader (like a Blu-ray player), a turntable relies on many delicate moving parts that get worn down over time. If you know what to look for and are willing to do some minor repair work, you can get great deals locally. But if you’re buying online, you don’t know what kind of condition it is in, what maintenance might need to be done, or if the cartridge and/or needle would need to be replaced (I use a Shure M97xE cartridge myself). If you’re not careful, you may end up spending more on fixing the thing than you did on buying it.

The best way to make your vinyl sound as good as it can is to take care of it. A cleaning product like Spin-Clean can do a very good job of getting years of built up grime out of record grooves. The cleaner the record is, the easier it is going to be to track, and the fewer pops and other issues you will encounter. If a record has physical damage, you can’t fix that, but keeping records clean and well cared for will get the best out of them.

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