Turntables for Beginners: What to Look For and Five Models Compared

What to check before you buy

Start with the equipment you already own, because it decides most of the shortlist. CHOICE, the Australian consumer group, explains that a cartridge's signal is weak and something in the chain has to boost it and apply RIAA equalisation. That job falls to a phono preamp, which can sit inside the turntable, inside your amplifier or in a separate box. Which? says a separate unit costs from about £50 (seen October 2026). With no preamp at all, CHOICE warns, records will sound terrible.

After that, these are the features that separate a sensible first deck from a poor one:

• Cartridge: CHOICE says moving magnet suits most buyers. Which? says ceramic cartridges are best avoided, especially for expensive, vintage or rare records.

• Tracking force: this is the weight the stylus puts on the record. CHOICE says too little makes it skip and too much harms both sound and records. Which? flagged five players for excessive tracking weight.

• Anti-skate: CHOICE says this should match the tracking force. A wrong setting can leave one channel unbalanced or distorted.

• Adjustability: some decks fix these settings at the factory. CHOICE says that if you plan to upgrade the cartridge, you need a model that lets you change them.

• Drive: belt drive isolates the motor from the platter, and replacement belts are inexpensive. Direct drive offers accurate speed, but CHOICE notes that motor vibration can reach the record.

• Operation: on a manual deck you move the arm yourself. Which? says automatic models start and stop the record for you, which can reduce the risk of wear.

• Speakers: CHOICE says built-in speakers almost never sound good and are best avoided.

Audio-Technica AT-LP70X: the simplest start

Turntable Lab listed the AT-LP70X at around $250 to $270 in October 2026, depending on finish, with a notice that stock may be limited. It is a fully automatic belt-drive deck: buttons start and stop it, and the arm returns and the motor shuts off at the end of a record. A switchable preamp is built in, so the retailer says it plugs into any AUX input. It plays 33 and 45 RPM and comes with an AT-VM95C cartridge, and you can swap the stylus for any VM95-series model.

Turntable Lab describes it as a step up from the AT-LP60X, with a heavier three-piece body, a longer J-shaped arm and RCA outputs. GearLab's comparison, last updated in June 2023, does not include it. That test did cover the related AT-LP60XUSB and gave it a Best Buy award, while calling it enjoyable but not memorable and noting limited dynamic range.

• Suits: anyone who wants records playing quickly, with powered speakers or an AUX input and no extra boxes.

• Main trade-off: Turntable Lab lists counterweight, anti-skate, height adjustment and a detachable headshell as not applicable, so stylus swaps are the main upgrade route.

Pro-Ject Primary E: a basic manual deck with a strong review record

UK distributor Henley Audio lists the Primary E at an RRP of around £249 (October 2026). The prices here are UK figures, and the page says the deck is exclusively sold by Richer Sounds there, so check availability where you live. The base model has no phono stage and needs an external moving-magnet one. The Primary E Phono variant builds one in.

The arm is pre-set and the Ortofon OM cartridge is factory mounted, so the distributor says it plays out of the box once you fit the belt. Its page quotes a five-star What Hi-Fi? review from August 2018, which said the deck "confidently nails the basics", and lists What Hi-Fi? awards for best turntable under £200 in 2021 and 2022. Hi-Fi Choice also recommended it in 2018.

• Suits: buyers who want a simple manual deck and have no interest in automatic operation.

• Main trade-off: the listed figures are modest, at 0.29% wow and flutter at 33 RPM and a spherical stylus, and the arm's pre-set design leaves less to adjust.

Fluance RT82: more adjustment for the money

Fluance listed the RT82 at around $350 in October 2026, with its PA10 phono preamp offered for around $100 more. The belt-drive deck uses a DC servo motor that the maker says samples speed 500 times per second. It lists wow and flutter of 0.07% and speed variation of 0.13%. An Ortofon OM 10 moving-magnet cartridge with an elliptical stylus comes fitted, tracking at 1.5 grams.

The counterweight and anti-skate are both adjustable, and the arm accepts cartridges from 5.0 to 7.5 grams, so there is room to upgrade later. Auto-stop can be switched off. Fluance lists a two-year warranty and a 30-day trial. These figures are the manufacturer's. Independent coverage was harder to confirm: GearLab tested a different model, the RT81, and gave it a Top Pick award for vibration resistance, but the RT82 is not in that test.

• Suits: first-time buyers who want to learn setup and may change the cartridge later.

• Main trade-off: there is no phono preamp, so the real price is higher unless your amplifier or receiver has a phono input.

Rega Planar 1: fewer settings, higher price

Audio Advisor listed the Planar 1 at around $595 in October 2026. It is a two-speed, manual belt-drive deck with a factory-mounted, factory-aligned Rega Carbon moving-magnet cartridge and a hand-assembled RB110 arm. The retailer says bias is preset, so there is no anti-skate dial, and that setup takes less than a minute. That setup time is a sales claim, not a measurement.

The same page lists What Hi-Fi? awards for the deck, including 2024 and 2025. It also says the stylus can be replaced without removing the cartridge, and that a Carbon Pro elliptical stylus is available as an upgrade. The retailer lists a three-year limited U.S. warranty, with a one-year term on the cartridge.

• Suits: buyers with a larger budget who want a respected deck and little setup.

• Main trade-off: there is no built-in preamp, Bluetooth, USB or automatic operation, and speed changes mean moving the belt by hand. It must connect to a moving-magnet phono input, not AUX. Audio Advisor notes that the Planar 1 Plus adds a built-in phono stage.

Audio-Technica AT-LP120XUSB: the feature-rich option

Turntable Lab listed the AT-LP120XUSB at around $399 in October 2026, though its page suggested stock may be limited. This manual direct-drive deck plays 33, 45 and 78 RPM. It has a switchable preamp, a USB output for recording to a computer, and a pre-mounted AT-VM95E cartridge on a detachable headshell. The counterweight, anti-skate and arm height are all adjustable.

GearLab named it Best for Most People in the comparison updated in June 2023. It scored 81 overall and was the easiest model to use in that test, with a cue lever the testers found accommodating for novices. They also found it somewhat more susceptible to skipping than others, and said its sound was a step behind the Pro-Ject Debut Carbon, their top scorer at 85.

The Debut Carbon is a separate step up, at around $600 list in that June 2023 update. GearLab says it needs a separate preamp and can skip if bumped, and that its test did not include the newer Debut Carbon EVO.

• Suits: buyers who want to digitise records, or who want one deck with a preamp, full adjustment and three speeds.

• Main trade-off: it weighs about 8 kg, and it has more controls and no automatic operation, so it asks more of a beginner than the AT-LP70X.

How to choose between them

If you have powered speakers and want the fewest steps, the AT-LP70X is the logical start. If your amplifier has a phono input, the Fluance RT82 and the Rega Planar 1 become easier to justify, because you can skip the extra preamp cost. If digitising matters, the AT-LP120XUSB is the only one of the five listed with a USB output.

Budget for the whole system. CHOICE suggests setting aside an extra A$500 to A$1,000 for amplification and speakers if you are starting from nothing, and puts the start of decent-sounding turntables at around A$500 (seen October 2026). Which? is more forgiving, saying it has found Great Value models for less than £160, but its scores are for members only.

Treat the evidence with some care. GearLab's data dates from 2023, the specifications above come from makers and retailers, and listed figures from different companies may not be measured the same way. Independent measurements for the AT-LP70X and RT82 could not be confirmed for this article. Which? reports testing 30 models between October 2018 and September 2026, and its one publicly described Don't Buy had a ceramic cartridge.

Sources

• Best cheap record players and turntables - Which?
• Turntables and record players buying guide - CHOICE
• Best turntable review - GearLab
• Audio-Technica AT-LP70X Automatic Turntable - Turntable Lab
• Audio-Technica AT-LP120XUSB-BK Direct Drive Turntable - Turntable Lab
• RT82 Reference Turntable with Ortofon OM10 Cartridge - Fluance
• Rega Planar 1 Turntable - Audio Advisor
• Pro-Ject Primary E - Henley Audio