LENCO L-85

Great features make this a highly recommended budget plug-and-play deck

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This Lenco is a semi-automatic, belt-driven turntable with a built-in phono stage that even supports USB recording. It’s a beginner’s turntable that gives you all the basics with promise of more exciting things, while still being enjoyable in its own right.

Lenco has tried to make the turntable experience as easy as possible, and this is by far the best plug-and-play machine we have come across at this budget price.

At first glance it looks and feels like a toy. It is made predominantly of plastic, and is very light – but on a closer look, we don’t have any complaints with build quality.

The plinth, platter and tonearm are all nicely made, they all fit together neatly, and once we start using it there aren’t any wobbly or creaky parts – it’s an encouraging start. The plastic buttons for changing the speed (33⅓ and 45rpm), and to record are responsive. The analogue outputs are also tucked away at the back, right next to the power switch.