Record Players Test

Reviews on Record Players

"All hands on Thorens' new deck"

Issue: 8/2008

On test: Thorens TD 160 HD / TP 250 Tonearm

Thorens reemerges in the UK with a great new turntable. → More

"Ion iPTUSB Turntable"

Computing Made Easy
Issue: 125

On test: Ion iPTUSB Portable Turntable

Now that even the CD looks set to bite the dust in the face of the continual onslaught of compressed digital music, there has never been a more poignant time to transfer old vinyl records to PC and the ION iPTUSB presents an easy way to do just that. → More

"Ion LP Dock peripheral"

Published on: 5/2008

On test: Ion LP Dock

Is bringing together old and new technology a good idea? → More

"ION USB Turntable with iPod Dock review"

Published on: 4/2008

On test: Ion USB Turntable with iPod Dock

Ever wanted to record vinyl to iPod without a PC? → More

"Ion iPTUSB Portable Turntable review"

Published on: 2/2008

On test: Ion iPTUSB Portable Turntable

Whether you're a DJ with converted white label or special edition mixes of your favourite tracks (ask your children) or you've stowed away the treasured first 7in single you ever bought, chances are you have some vintage vinyl hiding away at home. Usually records remain dusty and unplayed because vinyl isn't compatible with CD players, let alone PCs, iPods and MP3 players. However, with the Ion iPTUSB Portable Turntable you can convert vinyl to MP3 for use in iTunes or another digital player. And then you can burn it to CD. → More

Record Players

Record players are used to play vinyl records and consist of a turntable and tonearm, on which the stylus is mounted. The turntable is usually able to play back records at either 33 or 45 revolutions per minute, most other speeds, for instance 78 rpm are no longer used. The pick-up is mounted on a tonearm and consists of a magnetic cartridge and a sapphire or diamond tipped stylus. The newer, lighter stylus replaced the needle and allowed for playback of stereo recordings and worked to prolong the life of records because the contact was so slight. The cartridge is where the movement of the stylus is converted to electrical signals. In a magnetic cartridge a magnet is moved in a coil and electricity created by inducing a current which can then be amplified and changed to sound energy by the speakers. The problem with magnetic pick-ups is that the signal produced is so small there is often the need for one or two pre-amplification stages before the sound is passed to the amplifier. A good record player will be able to keep a steady speed, will generate few vibrations during use and will not skip when playing discs. The optimal record player will use components that interact perfectly with and complement eachother. Quality sets cost upward of two hundred pounds, but the real high-end devices cost well over a few thousand pounds.

This category contains tests on Turntable, Turntables.