For music enthusiasts, the sound quality, and nostalgia, of the best vinyl record player can never be matched. The problem, however, is that many players are too bulky and cumbersome on top of expensive.
Although the advancement in technology has done little, if anything, to the quality of sound from a vinyl record player, modern models come with a number of features, functionality, and convenience unseen in traditional models. One such convenient type is the suitcase vinyl record player. With such an option, getting a full sized vinyl player may not be practical especially if you are just a music enthusiast looking to take your experience to another level.
Digging through a number of vinyl websites is definitely not what you had in mind when you thought vinyl record player. For this reason, we handpicked the top 10 best suitcase vinyl record player in 2021 for you, based on customer reviews.
List of Best Suitcase Vinyl Record Player in 2021
Contents
- List of Best Suitcase Vinyl Record Player in 2021
- #10. Musitrend Suitcase Record Player with Built-in Speakers
- #9. Victrola 50s Retro Vinyl Record Player
- #8. Crosley CR704C-PA Record Player
- #7. Electrohome Wellington EANOS502
- #6. 1byone Suit-case Style Turntable with Speaker
- #5. Electrohome EANOS700 Vinyl Record Player
- #4. Teac MC-D800-BLK Vinyl Record Player
- #3. Victrola Nostalgic Record Player
- #2. Jensen JTA-230 Record Player
- #1. Teac LPR 550 Record Player
- Suitcase Vinyl Record Player’s Buying Guide
- Conclusion
#10. Musitrend Suitcase Record Player with Built-in Speakers
For an inexpensive option with recording capabilities, this is the ideal one. It supports all types of records in all speeds and comes with a ceramic stylus and two diamond needles.
The Musitrend has a beautiful wood finish that adds a vintage touch without seeming overbearing. Its fabulous design aside, Musitrend sacrifice some very important features such as radio, CD and cassette support. It tries to make up for these through its auxiliary output and USB input support that allows you to digitalize your records if need be.
The output on its 3 built-in speakers is not as strong as one would wish. There is a workaround for this, however, as it allows you to output the audio to external speakers.
#9. Victrola 50s Retro Vinyl Record Player
Thanks to the modern features integrated in the retro design of this vinyl player, the Victrola 50s stands out from the rest on this list. It supports all playback speeds and although you will often need to replace the sapphire needle, it works exceptionally well with playbacks.
This player features radio and CD players and has Bluetooth capability to connect to wireless speakers. Although not the best quality when compared to digital playback, the factory speakers are pretty amazing when compared to stereo speakers. Victrola 50s is also reasonably priced, packing quite a bang for your buck.
#8. Crosley CR704C-PA Record Player
The Crosley CR704C-PA record player supports 12, 10, and 7 inch records at all three standard rpm speeds. It comes with a diamond stylus and dual stereo speakers to produce a full bodied and rich sound.
It has a beautiful design features a wooden frame to perfect the tenor, and a vintage paprika veneer finish to give it a beautiful luster.
However, it has an analog radio that requires manual tuning and so it doesn’t have a recording feature. It compensates for that, nonetheless, through its CD and cassette support, and a 3.5mm headphone jack to connect to your phone and other devices.
#7. Electrohome Wellington EANOS502
This beautiful retro style player functions just as good as it looks. It supports the three playback speeds, features a CD player, and an analog radio.
The best thing about the Wellington EANOS502 is its automatic retracting arm. Although you have to cue it manually, you can switch it on go, leaving it completely unattended with no worries. Its internal speakers produce a warm treble and an incredible bass, perfected by the echo from its mahogany wooden frame. The auxiliary inputs let you play digital music and its recording feature allows you to digitalize records.
The only shortcoming for this unit is the lack of lineout ports and headphones jack, leaving you only the built-in speakers as your only option.
#6. 1byone Suit-case Style Turntable with Speaker
This among the most convenient turntables on this list. It is exceptionally portable and thanks to its reinforced suitcase design, it’s well protected from all bumps.
Though not filled with audio capabilities, it has all the important aspects of a record player. It gives you the option of connecting to other audio devices using Bluetooth, an RCA jack and auxiliary inputs. It can also handle all three playback speeds with ease.
The 1byone record player allows you to record vinyls using a USB to a computer, digitizing your collection. The only shortcoming for this unit is that it comes with neither a CD nor a radio player.
#5. Electrohome EANOS700 Vinyl Record Player
The Electrohome is a well-crafted vitange turntable that features a couple of interesting features. With this, you will play your entire collection as it supports all types of records at three speeds. It has a beautiful hardwood frame finished with walnut veneer. Featured in its design are large built-in speakers and a cabinet cover.
Additionally, it comes with a ceramic cartridge with a sapphire needle to add a touch of tone and warmth to your playbacks.
Although it has an analog radio, a CD player, and supports auxiliary cable input, it has neither a cassette player nor a port output to external speakers.
#4. Teac MC-D800-BLK Vinyl Record Player
The MC-D800-BLK player supports all standard rpm speeds plus record sizes and is set apart from the rest by its built-in LCD screen. The CD and radio players are fully digitalized and come with a number of features such as auto-off, and alarm clock.
Apart from its quality built-in speakers, it has an RCA jack and supports Bluetooth. Among its go-to features is the remote control that gives you total control from a distance.
The drawback of this unit is in its lack of a recording feature so you cannot digitize your collection when need arises.
#3. Victrola Nostalgic Record Player
With a history of quality and reliability, Victrola combined digital technology with an antique player to form the Nostalgic record player.It comes with a beautiful wood finish exterior and features a large dial display in the middle.
This player is very versatile and allows playback at the three standard speeds. Although it has great sound quality, when need arises, it allows you to attach external speakers using either Bluetooth, auxiliary input, or an RCA jack.
The Nostalgic features also both cassette and CD players. As a drawback, however, its analog radio doesn’t have recording capabilities. The needle and the cartridge are not sufficiently strong to put enough pressure during playback.
#2. Jensen JTA-230 Record Player
Of all the record players with built-in speakers in this list, this is the most compact and portable. At its price and convenience, the Jensen JTA-230 is considered the “ultimate small turntable”. While this may serve as an exaggeration, it sums up everything about the table.
For starters, this belt-driven record player supports all three standard playback speeds. If you love the 78s, it will serve you well to know that you can get the additional stylus for them. Thanks to its compact design, it is very portable and can be moved around with almost no effort.
The JTA-230 has very high quality built-in speakers and offers additional external speakers support through its RCA output. The 3.5mm jack featured can be used to connect to your headphones.
#1. Teac LPR 550 Record Player
As our top pick, the LPR 550 player is among the most versatile units. It supports all the rpm speeds and features an auto-retracting arm to move back to standby position immediately the record ends. Although you may often need to replace the diamond needle, they are cheap and widely available. It also comes with a digital radio with up to 9 presets and supports both CD and cassette playback. The CD player on it allows shuffled and programmed playlists, and the cassette player takes high and normal tapes.
This unit allows you to record and digitalize records such as cassettes, radio, auxiliary inputs and vinyls to CDs by just pushing of a button.
Additionally, it has quality built-in speakers and includes an RCA port for external speakers. Being one of the most expensive record players, lack of Bluetooth support somehow seems like a cheap move by Teac. Nonetheless, the quality that you get from its built-in speakers is amazing, to say the least.
Suitcase Vinyl Record Player’s Buying Guide
For you to make an informed decision, you should put your suitcase vinyl record player choices through the following checklist.
- Budget: The money you spend for a record player plays an important role in the quality and overall functionality. Most expensive options don’t have inbuilt speakers and will require you to by tonearms, platters, and phone preamp among others, further raising your budget. Inexpensive options are generally retro-styled and have plastic casings and built-in speakers.
- Automatic vs. manual: In terms of the way you place the needle on/off the record, you have a choice between manual semi-automatic, and automatic. Automatic models require you to only push a button while in semi-automatic, you place the neddle on manually, but lifts off automatically at the end.
- Rotational speeds: Most record players play at two rpms, but all-in-one models support the standard three rpms.
- Available upgrades: Some record players give you room to expand with/to other components.
- Digital vs. Analog: Digital features such as Bluetooth support and USB ports make some vinyl record players very convenient. As such, it is recommendable that you go for these units as opposed to their Analog counterparts.
- Placement location: Vinyl record players are vulnerable to vibrations. As such, you should have a sturdy surface in mind, away from all interference.
Conclusion
With the convenience offered by suitcase vinyl record player, we music enthusiasts can enjoy exceptional-quality music wherever we go.
Although “they don’t make them like they used to”, the Teac LPR 550 Player is the best bet if you want the perfect blend of quality and functionality. Apart from allowing you to save your records digitally, it has a digital radio, CD, and cassette support. What’s more, it is automatic, so you can just press play and leave it without any problem.
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