AFFORDABLE VINYL UPGRADE
Sound Advice: The 5 Best Record Players Under $500, Reviewed
Whether you're new to vinyl or have built up a solid collection over time, these turntables fill the room with warm, vibrant sound
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Vinyl is more popular than ever, and it continues to be the preferred listening medium for audiophiles, and delivery method for artists. Large artwork, easy-to-read liner notes, and analog sound are just some of the advantages vinyl has over digital files. Yes, your albums can wear, warp, and scratch, but they’ll last a lifetime if you take care of them correctly.
A number of current pop artists have released vinyl versions of their latest records too, from Beyonce to Olivia Rodrigo. Classic albums like Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde, Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, and Thelonious Monk’s Brilliant Corners have also been reissued, so you can hear them the way the musicians intended. This trend proves that vinyl isn’t going away anytime soon.
The good news: you don’t need to spend a ton of cash to get a great, affordable turntable either. These days, a number of high-end audio brands have released the best budget turntables under $500.
What Are the Best Turntables Under $500?
Whether you’re new to records, or have built up a solid collection over time, you’ll want to invest in a reliable turntable that can fill the room with clear, full, sound. We’ve selected the best budget turntables under $500 for budding audiophiles who want to hear their favorite songs in high fidelity.
BEST OVERALL: Fluance RT81+
ENTRY-LEVEL PICK: U-Turn Orbit Plus
MOST VERSATILE: Sony PS-LX310BT Belt Drive Turntable
BEST DESIGN: Crosley C100 Belt-Drive Turntable
AUDIOPHILE PICK: Pro-Ject T1 Phono SB
1. Fluance RT81+
BEST OVERALL
Fluance says its new RT81+ turntable provides a “pure, uncompressed” listening experience, and as our 2024 Audio Award winner, we think its feature set absolutely backs up that claim.
By using solid wood for the plinth, dampened aluminum platter, and sound isolation feet, Fluance greatly reduced the amount of vibrations that will reach the RT81+’s needle. The’ve also upgraded their elliptical stylus and now feature a 3mm acrylic mat, which helps keep distortion low, and clarity on musical peaks high.
Fluance says this record player’s curved tonearm allows it to track your music more accurately, and we’ve found that to be the case in our testing. This means the needle is in the middle of the record’s groove and won’t move around, which can reduce its audio quality. Fluance paired its RT81+ with an Audio Technica VM95E cartridge, but you can upgrade to the needle of your choice whenever you’d like.
Although the RT81+ isn’t fully automatic, it delivers simple functionality at its best. One useful feature is the turntable’s switch to engage or disengage the auto-stop once the needle reached the end of the record. However once playback on the record is complete, there is no auto-return for the tonearm, which some users found frustrating.
Fluance’s RT81+ includes a built-in “Texas Instruments” preamp, with ground terminal and gold-plated RCA line outputs that ensures high-quality sound. In short, every detail in Fluance’s latest turntable works together here to deliver an immersive vinyl experience that you’ll instantly want to take for a spin.
$299.99
2. U-Turn Orbit Plus
ENTRY-LEVEL PICK
This may be our entry-level pick, but it’ll provide an excellent experience right out of the box.
U-Turn Audio’s Orbit Plus comes loaded with a respectable Ortofon OM5E cartridge, which features a replaceable elliptical diamond stylus (needle). The external belt drive eliminates too much motor noise and makes sure the speed stays consistent between 33/3 and 45 RPM on the turntable. The company provides a 45 RPM adapter, which fits in the larger hole found on older singles, and allows you to easily place them onto the record player’s spindle.
You can start and stop the turntable, or lift and lower U-Turn’s OA2 tonearm, which uses a precision gimbal to allow the arm, and the needle, to move more freely, which in turn gives you less distortion. We also like the acrylic platter, which minimizes vibrations for cleaner audio.
The Orbit Plus comes with or without a built-in preamp, so you can plug it directly into a pair of powered speakers or stereo receiver with a pair of RCA (red and white) cables. But the Orbit Plus is solid and versatile enough on its own to make your records sound great with just a few basic, finely-tuned components. If you don’t mind the look of its basic frame, this is a great turntable for newcomers, or collectors getting back into vinyl.
$399
3. Sony PS-LX310BT Belt Drive Turntable
MOST VERSATILE
Sony’s PS-LX310BT is a step up from our entry-level pick, but keeps almost all of the same convenience features. It has the same cartridge and stylus as the U-Turn turntable we recommended earlier, which you can easily replace if it gets worn or damaged.
The record player’s speed settings (labeled 33 and 45) can be changed by moving a switch on the top of the turntable. Another switch, located above it lets you change between 12″ and 7″ size settings, so the record player knows where to drop the needle if you hit the start button on the front of the record player. There are also buttons to stop playback, or lift and lower the needle, so you can’t accidentally drop it on the wrong spot.
Sony’s turntable has a preamp built into it, but you can turn it off and opt to use the external amp of your choice by flipping a small switch on the back. This flexibility is great because it allows you to build your system up over time instead of having to get a lot of gear at once. You can also control the gain (volume) of the built in preamp by switching between low, medium, and high settings to compensate for a weak or extra sensitive stereo receiver.
You can connect the PS-LX310BT to your computer via USB to convert your record into digital files for archival purposes, or pair it with a set of wireless speakers by pressing the Bluetooth button on top of the turntable. None of the other record players we’re recommending give you this many connectivity options, which makes this a great pick if you want a turntable with a lot of versatility.
$218.00 $248 12% off
4. Crosley C100 Belt-Drive Turntable
BEST DESIGN
Crosley’s C100 is a true audiophile turntable with a striking design that’s equal parts stylish and modern. My starter turntable was a portable vintage Crosley, and they’re my go-to recommendation for friends and family who want to get into vinyl, but might feel a little intimidated by all the offerings currently on the market.
As the trendsetters of the vinyl resurgence over the past 10 years, Crosley took a step back from minimalist “suitcase”-style replications, designing some turntables with more customizable features. The C100 Plus is a good reflection of that. You have complete control over your vinyl with their handy manual stop/start controls, and with the adjustable strobe pitch, you can change pitch settings on the fly to get the best possible sound.
The company made the C100’s platter out of damped die-cast aluminum, which can improve speed consistency, and it designed its S-shape tonearm to allow the needle to move more easily, reducing skipping and distortion. There are also adjustable counterweight controls, but reviews say that depending on how much damage you have on your records and how clean the grooves are, you may need to apply a little more weight toward stylus to keep it tracking.
The turntable is fitted with preamp & detachable RCA output cables, which makes it immediately ready for you to plug in and rock out to. You can always, of course, bypass the preamp and use your own, as it can be connected to virtually any stereo system. Having tested Crosley’s record players for myself, I can vouch for their top-notch performance, and excellent aesthetics. Every piece of this turntable was chosen and designed to make the best sound possible.
$179.95
5. Pro-Ject T1 Phono SB
AUDIOPHILE PICK
Pro-Ject’s T1 Phono SB is the audio company’s biggest step up in their value category, borrowing a lot of audiophile-friendly features from its previous offerings (the Debut Carbon DC and the Essential III) while giving you the most bang-for-your-buck.
A TPE (thermoplastic elastomer) ring was added on the inside of the platter (the circular piece the record rests and spin on) for a less noisy and fluttery operating sound. The dampening techniques they use reduces the amount the turntable vibrates when music is playing. Vibrations can cause distortion that becomes audible when listening to music on better gear. Most notably, Pro-Ject updated the one-piece tonearm with bearings reduce the amount of friction on the needle for absolute accuracy.
Speaking of, the T1 Phono SB is equipped with an OM 5E Moving Magnet cartridge, but you can swap it out with a different one at any time. The T1 Phono SB also comes with built-in speed controls for automatic switching between 33 and 45 RPM, and a switchable Moving Magnet phono stage, so you can connect directly to a LINE level input or still make use of an external phono stage.
Pro-Ject designed the T1 Phono SB to be a great turntable for those just getting into more serious gear. That meant shedding conveniences like automatic start and stop buttons (though you can switch speeds with a rocker switch on the bottom), or having to manually adjust the tone arm with some awkwardness in the lifting system. It may take a little extra work to use the T1 Phono SB, but the difference in audio quality will make up for it.
If you’d like a higher-end turntable you can likely use for the rest of your life, but don’t want to shell out more than a couple hundred, this is a fine pick.
$449.00 $499.00 10% off
Buying Guide: How We Picked the Best Affordable Turntables
There are many factors to consider when choosing the best turntable record player under $500 online; below are the most important ones, which we considered while we were researching this list.
Upgradability: One major knock against many beginner turntables is that you can’t upgrade their needle. This poses a couple of problems: If your needle gets bent or damaged, you’re out of luck, and you can’t upgrade it later to improve the audio quality of your turntable. The turntables we recommend are modular, so you have the option to swap out or replace their needle whenever you’d like.
Speed Modes: All of our turntable recommendations can spin at 33/3RPM (rotations per minute) and 45RPM, so you can play full sized albums and singles.
Preamp: A preamp amplifies the audio produced by a record player to an acceptable volume for music listening. Some turntables have one built inside, others require you to hook them up to an external preamp before connecting them to a stereo receiver or active (powered) speakers.
Having a built-in preamp is convenient and takes up less space, but an external one is purpose built to do one job, and can be replaced or upgraded over time. Our guide feature a mix of turntables with and without a built-in preamps.
USB: If you want to digitize your vinyl, you’ll want a turntable with a USB port. This allows you to easily connect the record player to your computer, where you can rip (read: convert) your physical albums into digital files, making them easy to access on your computer or phone.