11 turntables that look weird and sound insane

By Caleb Denison December 6, 2013

In case you haven’t heard, vinyl is in the midst of a big comeback. And you might be surprised to learn it’s not just the hipster and DJ crowd responsible for its resurgence. Vinyl records, both used and new, are experiencing some healthy sales online and in local record shops, and the people who are buying them are just like you and me. What newcomers to the classic music medium may be unaware of, however, is that there’s always been a an underground group of audiophile elite – call them the 1 percent of audiophiles – who never gave up on vinyl. In fact, they may never have loved anything else.

To call these people eccentric might be a bit of an understatement. These are enthusiasts who spend most of their time in their wood-paneled libraries, sipping expensive whiskey and listening to records on insanely expensive turntables through equally opulent tube pre-amps and headphones that cost more than your car. But before we go too far calling their priorities into question, let’s give them thanks, because if it weren’t for them, nobody would make turntables as outrageous as these. Enjoy our pick of the most out-of-this-world turntables ever made.

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Victrola’s Stream Onyx turntable makes listening to vinyl over Sonos more affordable

The Victrola Stream Onyx Sonos-ready turntable on a wood cabinet with a Sonos Five.

Time-honored audio gear pioneer Victrola is continuing its foray into the wireless record player market, today unveiling the Victrola Stream Onyx turntable at CES 2023 in Las Vegas. An updated and more affordable continuation of its popular Stream Carbon turntable launched earlier last year, the Works with Sonos-verified player allows vinyl lovers to spin their records and wirelessly stream the audio over their Sonos speaker system via Wi-Fi. The new player will retail for $600 and will be available for preorder on January 7.

While Bluetooth-enabled turntables offer the convenience of being able to wirelessly play your records through headphones and speakers, Bluetooth is not the ideal way to do this, as you can lose a lot of the details and accuracy from the vinyl because of the digital file compression needed. Most people wouldn't notice the difference, but using a higher-fidelity wireless system like Sonos to do this is a much better option (especially for audiophiles), one that Victrola started making a lot easier with the Stream Carbon turntable last year.

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The Sound Burger is back. Audio-Technica revives its vinyl Walkman for a new generation

Audio-Technica AT-SB2022 Sound Burger portable turntable.

Update, November 8: Well that was fast. Quicker than you can say "I'd like fries with that," the newly revived Sound Burger has completely sold out. In less than a week, Audio-Technica received orders for its entire 7,000-unit run of the retro record player. Digital Trends will update this post if the company decides to reward people's enthusiasm with a new release of inventory.

If you're old enough to remember the birth of the first portable cassette players, you might also remember Audio-Technica's AT727/770, a quirky portable record player that was better known by its other name, the Sound Burger. It hasn't been made in decades, but that's about to change: Audio-Technica (A-T) is bringing the Sound Burger back in all of its retro glory as a $199 limited edition model, to celebrate the Japanese audio brand's 60th anniversary.

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Drop the needle like a pro: How to play vinyl records

Putting a vinyl record on a turntable.

If you know someone who's into turntables and playing vinyl records, it's very likely you've heard them prattle on about the tactile experience they provide versus digital audio — blah, blah, blah — and how dropping the needle on a crackly black disc is a satisfying part of the whole record ritual. Guilty as charged. But even as vinyl holds its ground at the top of the physical music format heap, I still find it interesting how many of my friends won't go near my turntable when asked to throw on a record out of fear of doing it wrong or messing something up.

Granted, turntables and their associated polyvinyl discs are sophisticated, delicate analog devices, susceptible to skipping, scratching, and making a variety of horrific sounds if not handled correctly. But if you approach them less like a stomping gorilla and more like a soft-footed cat, and you'll be rewarded with some of the sweetest sounds you've ever heard. That's where we come in. From taking it out of its sleeve and giving it a clean to lowering that tonearm, here's how to correctly play a vinyl record.