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What to look for in a record player

If you’re in the market for your first record player, either for yourself or to give to someone special as a gift, you might be feeling a little overwhelmed. That’s understandable; vinyl has come back into fashion as a collector’s item, but listening to records is still something of a niche hobby, and there’s a lot to know beyond hitting the play button and watching your favorite album spin. If you move your tonearm incorrectly, you risk damaging your records beyond repair with a big scratch across the grooves, which leads to some unpleasant skipping and distortion while you’re listening — not dissimilar to what happens when a CD gets really badly scratched.

What many folks might not realize is that buying the wrong turntable (or phonograph, as my dad used to call his old player) can be just as disastrous in the long term. If you’ve ever bought a cheap plastic novelty record player because the price was right, you might already have a horror story of your own. But the good news is that you don’t have to spend your savings in order to get a quality turntable. 

To help you make an informed decision that’s right for your budget, we spoke to some experts in the record store business about what to look for in a turntable, in a needle, and how to get the most from your treasured vinyl collection. We also recommend a handful of great options, starting with the Crosley C6 Vinyl Record Player with Bluetooth, currently $170 at Walmart. In fact, TheStreet editor Carly Kulzer has owned this exact model for several years, and it’s never let her down.

Crosley C6 Vinyl Record Player with Bluetooth, $170 at Walmart

Details to know

• Belt speeds: 33⅓ revolutions per minute (RPM) or 45 RPM.
• Color options: White or walnut.
• Warranty period: 12 months (limited).

The Crosley C6 comes with a clear dust cover, a 12-inch slipmat to protect your vinyl by keeping it in place, an aluminum tonearm and cueing lever, an adjustable counterweight, and anti-skate controls. It’s also equipped with an Audio-Technica cartridge, one of the most popular brands of entry-level and midrange record players out there, and for good reason, so it’s a great sign that the C6 is handling your vinyl with one of AT’s premium needles. The C6 features a preamp, a low-vibration belt-drive motor, and two standard speed options at 33 1/3 and 45 RPM.

When it arrives at your door, it does require simple setup, but it won’t take long thanks to the detailed instructions. All you’ll need to do is assemble the turntable and manually set up the tonearm, which can be done in minutes, especially when you follow along with Crosley’s quick set-up YouTube video for a thorough guide that walks you through every detail.

Whether you’re in the market for your first record player or are looking to upgrade from your old suitcase-style turntable, you can’t go wrong with the Crosley C6 for just $170 at Walmart, which should be noted is about $30 cheaper than what’s listed on the Crosley website for the exact same model, making this an unbeatable deal.

What the experts had to say

“Avoid vague or unknown ceramic cartridges or red-needle-of-death-style players,” Inki Hong, founder of Recordbuilds in San Francisco, told TheStreet. “The cartridge model should be clearly stated by the manufacturer; you shouldn’t have to dig through the user guide to find that info. Anti-skate and counterweight are huge signals that you’re looking at a more engineered tonearm. When set correctly, they’ll greatly reduce uneven groove wear and cut down on distortion.”

That said, you don’t always need a user-adjustable anti-skate or a counterweight to get a decent player. For example, brands like Audio-Technica make perfectly acceptable beginner phonographs with “factory-set” tonearms, Hong said. But you’ll want to prioritize an adjustable counterweight and anti-skate if the long-term health of your vinyl and hi-fidelity audio is important to you.

“I think people should avoid buying record players from big-box stores, and especially the cheaper ones, which tend to be poorly made,” said Tony Assimos, owner of Chicago-based Tone Deaf Records. “They’re cheap for a reason: they could potentially ruin your records, and they won’t sound good. I sell Audio-Technica at my shop; they aren’t cheap, but they are really good and won’t damage your records. Audio nerds will hate this, but you can get a pretty affordable record player and some Bluetooth speakers to go with it if you’re just casually listening to records.”

Related: Amazon is selling a $100 pair of wireless bone-conduction headphones for only $30

Audio-Technica AT-LP120XBT-USB, $499 at Amazon

Audio-Technica AT-LP60XBT (Automatic), $299 at Amazon

Audio-Technica AT-LP5X, $649 at Amazon

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