The best record players that offer great sound for vinyl lovers

The Rega P1 is this brand’s most entry-level deck, with the “Plus” in its name here indicating the addition of a built-in phono stage for plug-and-play convenience.

While a lot of onboard phono pre-amps can be of questionable quality, the one included here is quite different. It’s a customised version of Rega’s excellent value Fono Mini, arguably one of the best phono pre-amps you can buy under £100. That makes it an excellent choice for anyone looking to keep things simple and keep extra kit down to a minimum. Just be aware that you can’t bypass that pre-amp, you’ll want to choose the regular P1 if you don’t need it.

The P1 Plus is beautifully and solidly built for its price, with the options of three different colours for the plinth to match your décor (white, black and walnut). It’s simple to set up too – you will need to attach a tracking weight, but push it all the way onto the tonearm, and it’s balanced to the right specifications. No further tweaks or setup are required.

As for how it sounds, it’s a confident performer, offering a full-bodied, yet balanced sound that works with everything we throw at it – from Elvis to ELO. There’s plenty of detail, great clarity from top to bottom, and stacks of energy that give the P1 Plus a very engaging and likeable character. You’ll struggle to find a better all-rounder at this price.

If you’re on a budget, the Denon DP-29F is a solid starter turntable that champions simplicity and ease of use, making it great for turntable newcomers too.

There’s very little to set up here. You will need to take a minute to mount the metal platter onto the deck and loop the attached belt over the motor but that’s it – the cartridge is pre-installed, the tonearm is balanced and there’s no bias to set. Plus, since it’s automatic, you don’t have to move the tonearm onto the record yourself.

Press the start button on the front and the tonearm will automatically go to the beginning of the record. Press stop and the tonearm will return to its rest – it all works smoothly and without issue. Of course, you can still manually move the tonearm to specific spots on a record if you prefer – just be aware there is no tonearm lever to help support you as you do.

That’s not the only design quirk here. It’s fair to say the plasticky build of the Denon DP-29F is a slight disappointment. It feels very lightweight and flimsy compared with other turntables we’ve tested. We don’t love the built-in cables either, since you can’t easily replace them if they get damaged. Still, its retro styling looks nice enough, it has easy-to-access controls for speed and record size and it’s a compact design for smaller spaces too.

The built-in phono stage can be bypassed through a switch under the platter, but even with it turned on, the sound here is enjoyable for its price. It’s not as detailed as you’ll find decks that cost more, and it sounds a little smaller too, but it’s a solid performance with enough drive and enthusiasm to get your toes tapping.

Pro-Ject has an excellent reputation for its turntables, and the affordable E1 BT goes a long way to showing us why.

The E1 comes in three flavours – the basic E1 model, the E1 Phono, which adds in a phono stage and the E1 BT, which is on test here and includes the phono stage and Bluetooth playback too.

As is befitting an entry-level turntable, the E1 BT keeps things simple, with things like the tracking weight and bias pre-set at the factory, and the popular (and excellent) Ortefon OM5E cartridge pre-installed.

It’s an overall modern, minimalist design, available in a choice of black, white or walnut finishes. It’s beautifully made, if a little on the light side, so just take care it doesn’t slip around when you’re using it – its felted feet aren’t the grippiest.

Listening through the built-in phono stage, it does a grand job at this price. It’s lively, dynamic and expressive, with a keen eye for detail and a strong grip on timing. It’s not quite as full-bodied as something like the Rega P1 Plus, but it’s certainly not lacking in punch and is a truly engaging sound that’ll hold your attention for track after track.

If you want to use Bluetooth, the pairing process is a little clunky — though the E1 is not alone in this. Like many turntables, it simply pairs with the first Bluetooth device it finds, and we had to switch it on and off several times before it paired with what we wanted it to, which felt more like luck than judgement. Unless you need Bluetooth functionality, consider saving £60 and buying the E1 Phono instead.

Audio-Technica produces a wide range of turntables, from entry-level to more sophisticated. The AT-LPW50BT is somewhere in the middle, offering good build quality, upgraded components and the ability to upgrade them further later on, should you wish.

It looks the part and everything about the build quality is impeccable, with a rosewood veneer MDF plinth, carbon fibre tonearm, hydraulically damped lift control and die-cast aluminium platter.

As one of the pricier turntables we’ve tested, there is an expectation that you may want a bit more of a manual setup. This means you’ll be fitting the cartridge headshell, the tracking force and the anti-skate dial, but the instructions are all very straightforward to get you there.

There’s a built-in phono stage, so we used that for most of our testing, and the Audio Technica produces a smooth, easy-going sound that works well with all sorts of music. We play everything from Michael Jackson to Adele, and find there’s texture and detail aplenty here, with an open soundstage, balanced sonic character and enough rhythmic drive to grab your attention.

It doesn't offer quite the level of insight or precision as you’ll hear with the Rega P1 Plus, nor is it as dynamic. The AT-LPW50BT has a more mellow, laid-back character making it listenable and enjoyable.

There’s Bluetooth on board here, but it’s pretty temperamental, so some perseverance is needed. Once connected it sounds good though — there’s a touch more energy compared with the built-in phono stage, though the treble is a little pitchy with some recordings.

House of Marley prides itself on its use of recycled materials, and unboxing the Stir It Up Lux is really refreshing. There’s not a single piece of plastic in sight, even down to the cardboard ties securing the tonearm in place in transit.

That continues to the turntable itself, which uses a bamboo plinth and glass platter, and there’s a double-sided cork slipmat which has a cool trick of animating under strobe lighting. The only downside to the brand’s no-plastic commitment is there’s no dust cover here, so you’ll need to keep on top of cleaning to ensure your turntable stays sounding its best.

When it comes to setup, you’ll have to do the legwork. There’s a manual balance weight and an anti-skate dial that needs setting, but the instructions help you get it done pretty easily.

With the House of Marley’s sizeable lineup of Bluetooth speakers, it’s hardly surprising that Bluetooth is on board here, and it is one of the few turntables we’ve tested that pairs without any hiccups. There’s also a built-in phono stage and a headphone output too, which is a nice addition.

Put a record on, and the House of Marley serves up a warm, rich performance. There’s a real lean towards the lower frequencies here, which creates a solid and authoritative sound, but can cause the mids to sound a little recessed and muddy by comparison.

You’ll lose a bit of the boominess and gain a bit of clarity via an external phono stage, but the overall character here is undeniably bottom-heavy, so just be sure that’s to your taste before you invest.

Lenco has enthusiastically embraced the vinyl revival and focused much of its attention on affordable turntables — including a few of the “turntable-in-a-suitcase” style designs we aren’t keen on.

However, the LBT-225WA is much more reminiscent of the brand’s original hi-fi heritage. It’s one of Lenco’s more premium decks and delivers several features for a good price.

Design-wise, it looks as good as some turntables that cost much more. It has an MDF plinth in a walnut finish, carbon fibre tonearm and glass platter. It’s a fully manual setup here too, with the slightly fiddly anti-skate weight design that we see in Pro-Ject’s pricier turntables, like the Carbon Debut Evo. This means you could upgrade this deck in the future, swapping out the included AT-VM95E cartridge if you wish to.

There are a lot of features here too, including a built-in, swappable phono stage, Bluetooth 5.2 and a USB connection for ripping your records into digital files. Great if you’ve got some old classics you want to take with you on the go.

We ran into some familiar struggles with Bluetooth but got connected after a couple of attempts — having the Bluetooth pairing as a button at the top right does make it nice and easy to get going.

Using the built-in phono stage, the LBT-225WA is a spritely performer, with plenty of energy, a good handle on dynamics and a good amount of clarity through the midrange. Its sound is leaner than the Rega P1 Plus, but there’s still enough punch to ensure it doesn’t sound lightweight.

JBL has a rich history in hi-fi and audio that dates back to the 1940s, but turntables are one area it hadn’t dabbled in until recently. The JBL Spinner BT is the entry-level option of its now two-strong lineup, and it offers a lot to like at a competitive price.

Its bold design might divide opinion, but the black and gold finish we have in for testing is rather more understated than the retro black and orange option you can choose instead. We quite like both, and appreciate the attention to detail with the coloured accents on things like the logo, the platter’s edge and the anti-skate dial.

With a black-painted MDF plinth and aluminium platter, we’ve no complaints about its build quality, with two electronic buttons to select your record speed and well-damped feet to keep any external vibrations at bay.

A manual setup is required but it’s straightforward enough. You get a built-in phono stage, which you can bypass if you prefer, plus there’s Bluetooth, which feels like a no-brainer considering the extensive JBL Bluetooth speaker lineup on offer. We’re pleased to see it supports aptX HD Bluetooth too, which offers a higher quality playback than any other Bluetooth deck on test. However, the position of the pairing button on the rear is slightly annoying.

The Spinner BT jumps into life with auto-play when you lift the tonearm and keeps that good energy going throughout. It’s a refined performance for its price, with a fair amount of detail, a decently wide soundstage and a smooth, balanced presentation that is forgiving without tipping the scale into sounding soft. It’s not the last word in finer dynamics and we’d take a touch more sparkle in the highs, but it’s expressive enough to maintain a song’s musical intent, creating an engaging and enjoyable listening experience no matter the genre.

Pro-Ject has a strong reputation in the turntable market, and that’s why it gets two entries in this list. The Debut Carbon Evo is the latest upgrade to its most popular turntable, and our priciest on test.

Whether you’re a beginner wanting to invest a bit more in your hobby or upgrading from a cheaper deck, it’s fair to say the performance you’ll get here will outshine pretty much everything else we’ve tested. It still sits just inside the entry-level market, but has an upgrade path to take you firmly into mid-range territory, should you wish.

That’s because you’re coming from a strong starting point, with a refined design made from good-quality materials, improved damping to reduce resonance and an expanded choice of 33, 45 or 78 RPM. There’s an Ortefon 2M cartridge pre-installed, a one-piece carbon fibre tonearm and a fantastic choice of colours and finishes. Even the cables included in the box are of significantly better quality than you’ll find elsewhere.

The setup here takes the longest of any turntable we tested. It’s not hard, but just a bit fiddly, since you’ll be using some small weights and fine fishing wire to set the bias, as well as fitting the platter and balancing the tonearm manually.

There’s no phono pre-amp included here either, so you will need to invest in one or ensure your stereo amplifier has one built in. As for how it sounds, it’s a rich, yet insightful performance that digs up stacks of fine detail but never sounds clinical. The mids get a particular focus here, but there’s no lack of weight in the low end, giving it plenty of authority and solidity.

The dynamics are expertly voiced, the treble is allowed greater extension than you’ll hear on cheaper decks and there’s a level of precision that shows its class. It’s an incredible performance at this price.