The 8 Best Vintage Turntables

Of course there are better turntables in the Rega lineup than the P3, but in terms of value for money, the P3 remains the best turntable in terms of value for money till this day. At the time of this article being written, the Rega turntables are the best turntables available for value for money in the present-day.Acoustic Research XA/XBThe Acoustic Research early model turntables were magnificent achievements when they were released in the early 1960s. Sonically, they were ahead of their time thanks to excellent engineering. They look very nice in an understated way, and can still produce some pretty solid performance. Compared to something a little further on chronologically, an XA or an XB won't stand up as well to a Thorens belt drive (TD-125 and beyond), but it will still provide the user with a great deal of listening enjoyment. This turntable makes our best vintage turntables list because it is such a hallmark table, but it won't provide a listening experience anywhere near the LP12. Also, the tonearm on these turntables are awful and need replacing.Technics SP-10The suffix after SP doesn't matter all that much - the SP-15 could have easily made the list as well. What the SP-10 represents is sheer direct drive brilliance. When the direct drive vs belt drive war was at its peak, direct drive fans pointed to the Technics SP and SL series as cases in point. No one got it quite as right as Technics did with direct drives and the SP-10 is the best of the bunch. In contrast to many turntables on this list, in this author's view, the SP-10 is downright ugly. Looks matter, but nowhere near as much as sound, which is lucky because the Technics SP-10 is the ugly nerd with the brilliant mind.

Technics 1200The Technics 1200 ranks slightly below the SP-10, but it is still a brilliant turntable that is consistently underrated by audiophiles. Perhaps this is because it is so popular as a DJ turntable. The Technics 1200 does not take much set up to be an excellent hi-fi turntable, and its durability is fantastic. Those of us who are not DJs will find the price a little much these days, especially when compared to other contenders on this list. A base level LP12 is nearly the same cost as a second-hand Technics 1200 these days.Sansui SR-838Japan sure can do direct drive turntables, and the Sansui SR-838 is a fine example. Originally made in 1979, the SR-838 is a lot more modern looking than most turntables on this list, and its unique looks will probably be what makes you love or hate this turntable. Unfortunately this turntable and its cousin the SR-929 are found very rarely on the second-hand market so getting hold of one is a wooden house difficult task. Incidentally, the SR-929 is preferred by some listeners but if you surveyed enough people, the SR-838 would be the overall winner.Vintage turntables sound great, but have a unique flavour.If you ask me, the turntables on the best vintage turntables list above have a great deal more character than modern-day turntables. The sleek designs of Rega and Pro-ject look great, but in a different way.