Bluetooth turntables

Stream your vinyl wirelessly

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Record players have undergone a true renaissance in recent years, with listeners appreciating the analogue warmth and depth of the sound produced by vinyl, especially in this era where almost everything seems to be digital. It's far from being a fad - vinyl absolutely has its own character that's quite unlike any other medium. While serious audiophiles might opt for a large and expensive separates system, a Bluetooth turntable provides a more affordable and flexible way to enjoy the sound of vinyl.

Since a turntable connects directly to your Bluetooth speaker, it gets around Apple's lack of support for higher bitrate codecs and so transmits much more data. Remember that these are turntables first and foremost, with Bluetooth bolted on - the engineering all goes into the physical design and the quality of the cartridge and stylus. They all also have RCA connectors for hooking up to separates or other audio hardware, should you wish. The Bluetooth element provides extra flexibility or even a way to use them without any other hi-fi.

How we tested

After assembling each turntable and making a Bluetooth connection to our wireless speakers - a pair of Edifier S3000MKIIs - we played a selection of records ranging from classical through pop and rock, all with different musical characteristics. We also tested connecting a pair of Sony WH-1000MX6 wireless headphones to each turntable and auditioned the same vinyl through them. We assessed any extra features a turntable may have as well as ease of use and general build quality.

Things to consider...

1 Codec support

While most wireless turntables support aptX Hi-Res audio Bluetooth streaming, you will want your speaker to also support at least Codec standard, otherwise audio could be downsampled during transmission.

2 Phono stage