The vinyl revolution is less of a revolution nowadays, and more of a new status quo.
The format has comfortably carved out a place in today’s music market, growing since its late-Noughties revival and even outstripping CD sales.
A combination of factors is at play here, from the (at one time) counter-cultural vogue of crate-digging and charity-shop-hauling to the incredible investment artists like Adele and Taylor Swift have put into marketing collectable versions of their hit records. Either way, records are here to stay.
Groove is in the heart (of your hi-fi)
As with many things, there are a few ways you can listen to records, some more prohibitive than others. Regardless of the approach, there are fundamentals to a vinyl-friendly system: a turntable, an amplifier, and speakers. The turntable takes the physical grooves of the record and translates them into a minute electrical signal, which is amplified before being re-translated into glorious sound.
Many set-ups treat these elements as individual and modular; you buy a separate turntable, hi-fi amplifier and set of speakers, enabling you to upgrade any one unit without needing to change the others. This, though, can be costly, and a daunting project if you’re not already well-versed in hi-fi lingo.
When three (or more) become one
All-in-one turntable systems have existed since the earliest days of the format, and today’s iterations are more feature-rich than ever.
Some turntable systems have integrated amplifiers, and include their own bookshelf speakers; this empowers you to upgrade your speakers. Others are completely integrated hi-fi systems, with amplifiers and speakers in-unit; these are often portable offering freedom and flexibility.
What to look for in a turntable with speakers
The trick is figuring out which kind of turntable with speakers will work for you. Integrated all-in-one hi-fi units are compact, plug-and-play and often on the lower end of the cost spectrum, making them extremely beginner-friendly.
On the other hand, units that come with separate speakers often benefit from a proper stereo image and better sound quality in general, appealing to the fussier new record collector. The following suggestions take in the wide variety of useful, fun and versatile turntables available at present, presenting the best-featured and best-priced for your perusal.
Best turntables with speakers to buy at a glance
- Best overall: Victrola Revolution GO Rechargeable Record Player - £49.99, Gear4Music
- Best for sleek versatility: Steepletone Camden 2 Bluetooth Turntable System With Bookshelf Speakers - £169, Amazon
- Best for starting your turntable journey: Lenco LS-101 Belt Drive Turntable - Black - £119.99, HMV
- Best for a turntable which does it all: Victrola Empire Turntable With Bluetooth - Walnut, £192.99, Argos
- Best for gamer-chic rooms: Gemini TT-900 Bluetooth Turntable with Stereo Speakers - Black - £169, Currys
- Best for taking to university: Crosley Discovery Portable Turntable (Black) - £69.25, Amazon
- Best for modern living spaces: Victrola Eastwood Dual Bluetooth Turntable -£109.99, Amazon
- Best for style-conscious travel: Lenco Classic Phono TT-120 Portable Belt Drive Bluetooth Turntable - £89.99, Currys
- Best for upgrading from a starter turntable: Crosley T150 Turntable with External Speakers and Bluetooth (Black) - £179, Amazon
- Best for compact hi-fi action: Fenton RP165B Record Player with Speakers & Bluetooth - £119, Amazon
After careful consideration, we’ve rounded up the best turntables with speakers to shop now
Victrola Revolution GO Rechargeable Record Player
Best: overall
Victrola’s Revolution GO is a neat portable unit, less fussed than other such record players with the pretensions of nostalgic mid-century design. If the Revolution GO is referencing anything, it’s the boombox boom of the late 70s and 80s; the turntable-come-stereo is a pleasingly boxy affair, with a formed plastic chassis, fold-out full-width boombox handle and removable lid (with itself features grooves for standing your currently-playing record sleeves up in – a neat and friendly touch). There are also many different colours to choose from, making this also a highly expressive model range for vinyl fans.
The Revolution GO’s USP is its complete portability. It features a rechargeable and capacious lithium-ion battery that can give you up to 12 hours of active use. We were unable to run the battery dry in our time testing the unit, demonstrating the rings it runs around other battery-equipped hi-fi systems of its ilk (and even many built-for-purpose Bluetooth speakers). This, coupled with the extensive Bluetooth functionality of the integrated amplifier and speakers urges you to treat the Revolution GO like a boombox - slung over-shoulder or strap-worn courtesy of the guitar strap buttons attached to the fold-out handle’s hinges.
Using the Revolution GO is easy, with an elegant one-knob control system for power, volume and modes. The pre-amp is a genuine surprise, as is the presence of an Audio-Technica moving-magnet cartridge; together, they provide a uniquely full and high-quality sound, unlike other integrated systems which can suffer slightly for the use of ceramic cartridges. Victrola’s proprietary Vinyl Stream tech lets you add up to an even louder Bluetooth speaker should you wish – and is, again, extremely easy to operate.
Quite simply, the Revolution GO has little right to perform as well as it does, nor look as cool as it does for this price. It blows many more expensive alternatives out of the water, all while being fully portable. If you want a turntable with speakers, start here.
Buy now £49.99, Gear4Music
Steepletone Camden 2 Bluetooth Turntable System With Bookshelf Speakers
Best for: sleek versatility
Steepletone follows in the footsteps of Crosley, providing low-cost and highly-accessible audio products to entry-level-ish consumers making their first steps into record-playing (or buying gifts for those who are). The Camden 2 is a strong entrant, being a striking turntable with an integrated amplifier and external bookshelf speakers.
The Camden 2’s design references the vinyl record itself, with its left-hand side curving to follow the form of the platter. This is a striking chassis, against a sea of identikit budget turntables at similar prices. The turntable’s tonearm is curved, too – a neat and welcome touch which improves the tracking of the stylus. The tonearm also features a twist-adjustable counterweight, a feature not commonly found in systems on the cheaper end of the scale.
Feature-wise, there’s a two-speed motor for 33 and 45RPM records, and a two-way Bluetooth system which allows you to send your vinyl to an external Bluetooth speaker and receive audio from a Bluetooth-enabled device. This way, the Camden 2 becomes a truly versatile starter hi-fi.
Buy now £169.00, Amazon
Lenco LS-101 Belt Drive Turntable - Black
Best for: starting your turntable journey
Swiss brand Lenco has quietly cornered the market on quality hi-fi at the entry level, with their catalogue of nostalgia-hued products from radios and speakers to ‘Discman’ portable CD players. Their turntables run the gamut, from briefcase-y affairs to bundled turntables with speakers and beyond. The LS-101 is Lenco’s cheapest bundled set, and a great introduction to both the brand and to hi-fi.
The most striking thing about the LS-101 is its black wood-veneer-effect finish, which calls to mind the popular finish of many 80s hi-fi systems and consoles. The unit’s functionality is as you would expect from the £100-150 range of modern turntables, with two-way Bluetooth transmission for either sending vinyl signal out or receiving audio signal from elsewhere. A nifty auto-stop function protects your records from damage, though there is no fine-tuning the performance of the tonearm; the sound, still, is clear and bright.
The LS-101 is a great entry-level option in a saturated space that holds well against competition. If money’s a tad tight, and separate speakers non-negotiable, this is a great introduction to hi-fi ownership.
Buy now £119.99, HMV
Victrola Empire Turntable With Bluetooth - Walnut
Best for: a turntable which does it all
Victrola’s Empire turntable is an extremely versatile turntable with speakers – on account of being far, far more than those two essential elements. The Empire boasts numerous sources and outputs, being, at once: a record player; a radio; a Bluetooth receiver; a CD player; and even a cassette tape player, with aux-in and RCA out connectors to boot. There isn’t much the Empire can’t play, particularly given its ability to play at 33, 45 and 78 rpm.
The Empire is an art-deco beauty, combining a walnut veneer-style finish with a black control panel and brass accents. The hinged lid that covers the record player is held up by a neat little brass support hinge, which handily locks itself in place as you engage the lid and adds a sophisticated touch to the unit as a whole.
The Empire is the most easily navigable unit on the list, with all selectors and switches (besides the play speed switch and cassette control/eject button) hosted on the front panel. The oversized tuner knob, with its moving dial and orange-LED-illuminated face, immediately draws the eye; these LEDs are the chief ‘on’ indicator, and impart a warm glow into your space. A satisfyingly clunky on-off switch is your first interaction, and a rotary knob selects each mode of the Empire, letting you seamlessly switch from one format to the other and enhancing the overall tactility of the Empire.
The build quality is solid, as is the sound quality with a 20W amplifier serving bright and mid-heavy tones that fill the room. The Empire is an all-in-one turntable, and arguably more so than practically any other turntable on the market.
Bluetooth connectivity means you can upgrade your output amplifier without having to invest further in separate players for your hi-fi setup. Get this if you’re looking for something that does it all.
Buy now £192.99, Argos
Gemini TT-900 Bluetooth Turntable with Stereo Speakers – Black
Best for: gamer-chic rooms
Gemini Sound is a wide-ranging audio brand with 50 years in the game and a solid reputation off the back of its budget DJ-centred turntable clones.
The TT-900 is a break from this DJ focus, being a beginner-friendly turntable with speakers included. The TT-900 comes with options for outputs, being its own speakers or RCA connection to another amplifier, and puts out a perfectly serviceable sound in the process. It is also Bluetooth enabled, playing non-vinyl music with ease.
The turntable itself seems an edgy relative of Audio-Technica’s lower-range entries, austere controls set within a gamer-esque chassis with angles – lots of angles. The included speakers are just as edgy, with sharp chamfers and angular faces. It’s practically gamer-chic, rendering it an excellent choice for the headset-wearing teenager in your life.
Buy now £169.00, Currys
Crosley Discovery Portable Turntable (Black)
Best for: taking to university
The Crosley brand is practically a coming-of-age one, so often it crops up as the first turntable in a journey of audio discovery. Fitting, then, that this is the Discovery, a briefcase turntable that plays directly into Crosley’s core brand: vintage-style record players with plug-and-play functionality.
Crosley essentially set the mould when it comes to modern turntables with speakers built-in, having cornered the market on chic bedroom-ready portable players. The Discovery is an extension of this, being a be-handled turntable with mid-century design chops and contemporary mod cons.
The unit features a floating plastic platter-and-tonearm assembly, with top-mounted controls speed, volume, fine pitch control and audio outputs – of which there are up to four from which to choose. You can listen through headphones, through the stereo speakers mounted within the Discovery’s body, through the RCA outputs at the back (which can be plugged into any powered speaker, or converted to 3.5mm aux), or via Bluetooth connection.
The basic construction of the Discovery’s record-playing element won’t be setting any worlds on fire, but the charming box it’s mounted within is a winner for style. Besides, its connectivity is a steal at this price! A great starter set for halls of residence, for sure.
Buy now £69.25, Amazon
Victrola Eastwood Dual Bluetooth Turntable
Best for: modern living spaces
The Eastwood cuts a cool, modern form, skirting the line between suitcase player and conventional table-top turntable. It is a more compact than standalone record players, and a lot less bulky than many of the portable or portable-ish suitcase designs, instead taking an elegant, wood-panel-chic stance that blends into minimally-designed living spaces.
It is as easy to use as it is on the eye, sharing many core features with its portable roster-mate the Revolution GO. Here, though, sleek countersunk buttons control power and Bluetooth controls, an LED display talks you through modes, and two control knobs cover volume and audio source. These controls are as enjoyable to navigate as controls can be to navigate, and contribute to an overall sleekness – as does the clear dust cover, which is notched out to make room for 12” records hanging over the chassis’ edge.
The Eastwood, like the Revolution GO, features an Audio Technica cartridge – again, a win for the unit, as its record-playing output doesn’t suffer from unnecessary distortion or missing frequencies. Indeed, the sound is clear and full, and powerful even when relying on that internal amplifier. Also like the Revolution GO, the Eastwood uses Victrola’s Vinyl Stream tech to allow two-way Bluetooth – giving you more options for your hi-fi.
Ultimately, the Eastwood is a beautifully modern hybrid record player that benefits from the quality sound and practical utility of its brand-mates. If your turntable-less living space tends towards the contemporary, your hi-fi gap is probably Eastwood-shaped.
£109.99, Amazon
Lenco Classic Phono TT-120 Portable Belt Drive Bluetooth Turntable
Best for: style-conscious travel
Of Lenco’s many turntable products, this is arguably the classiest – and not just for being named ‘Classic’. This briefcase turntable with speakers truly fits the ‘briefcase record player’ remit, being perfectly proportioned to camouflage itself amongst genuine items of travel storage – and with a swanky two-tone pleather finish to sell it some more.
The TT-120 has the bells and whistles you’d expect from a portable player. There’s a rechargeable battery for playing out and about, built-in stereo speakers capable of outputting 4W of power, Bluetooth and aux ins, and RCA and headphone outs. The platter and tonearm are on the simpler, cheaper side, but the motor can run at all three record speeds (a boon below £100). The Classic Phono TT-120 is a great travel buddy for the style-conscious, and otherwise a fab fit for the vintage-styled bedroom or living space.
Buy now £89.99, Currys
Crosley T150 Turntable with External Speakers and Bluetooth (Black)
Best for: upgrading from a starter turntable
Crosley’s T150 exists for those looking for a step up from their first forays into vinyl. It is a turntable with speakers, but in a more conventional form; the turntable stands alone, hiding an amplifier within that serves two external (and included) 15-watt bookshelf speakers. The turntable also features RCA outputs, so you can pair the T150 with your own choice of powered amplifier if you like.
Contrary to Crosley’s generally vintage design instincts, the T150 is thoroughly contemporary. The turntable is thin, matte black and features simple knob controls on its topmost surface. The speakers are similarly understated, the full set forming a smart alternative to other budget-range all-in-one solutions.
The T150 is especially smart for featuring an adjustable counterweight and an aluminium platter – things you would expect to see on higher-quality turntable solutions, and which make the thing play nicer in general.
If you’re tentatively looking for an upgrade from your first Crosley, this is a good start – and a stepping stone to better hi-fi pastures.
Buy now £179.00, Amazon
Fenton RP165B Record Player with Speakers & Bluetooth - Black/Grey
Best for: compact hi-fi action
Fenton is a laid-back Netherlands brand with accessibility and ‘fun factor’ at its core; hi-fi and car audio systems share a roster with light-up karaoke microphones, technicolour boomboxes, and, of course, turntables with speakers. Among the vintage-style and LED-imbued record players is the RP165 series, a turntable-and-speakers combo with a unique mid-century design twist.
Where most bookshelf speakers are taller than they are deep, the RP165B’s speakers take a sleeker, lower-profile approach. They equal the depth and height of the turntable (when lidded) itself, the two speakers put together equal its width; as such, they can either sit either side of the turntable or function as its base, something that most bookshelf speakers aren’t adequately sized or shaped to do.
As such, the RP165B is an ideal option for enjoying a powerful stereo image in limited space – and powerful it is, as the unit purports to output an immense 100W. A sleek form, three-speed motor and Bluetooth connectivity make the RP165B a versatile option for different spaces – and not too expensive an option, either.
Buy now £119.00, Amazon
Verdict
Turntables come in all shapes and sizes, and some are much more adept at doing their job than others. For more serious record players, fine control and adaptability is a must – which makes the Steepletone Camden 2 a great all-in-one choice.
However, we found the Victrola Revolution GO to be the best turntable with speakers on this list, for balancing quality components and audio output with unmatched style and versatility.
