This turntable is my first high-quality turntable, and I gotta say, this thing SOUNDS AMAZING! The low end is incredibly rich and thick, the highs are pleasing to my ears -- just an overall pleasant experience! My Van Halen LPs have never sounded this good!
Bought this one a week or two ago as an upgrade from my old suitcase. I'm currently really pleased with it, never skips and I really enjoy the manual feel of just the basics being included with the tt. There's not much here but I wanted something more than the LP60 as my upgrade since I wanted a counterweight
Just bought this and awaiting for delivery. I knew it did not have a speed adjustment BUT with todays small DC motors, the accuracy of speed is amazing. I, after having speed control on my Visonik, that it was more of a hassle than a positive.
I ordered this after watching your video it is a huge upgrade from my previous turntable. My previous turntable was good because it had the same Audio-Technica cartridge but I really appreciate how solid this turntable feels all the way around.
It is important to remember, of course, that the speed issues may differ/correct slightly after some usage. All electronics (not just record players and turntables) require some general usage before they 'settle' into their optimum performance/state. (I know it's been said before, but sometimes it needs to be pointed out especially as this can be overlooked occasionally. It is also something to note that this particular model can be used for conversion of your records to an MP3 format via a computer; thus you can use Audacity (or similar software) which is available for free with no subscription or cost to the user, for archiving your music, or playing it via a phone or tablet, etc. (Again, just pointing this out, as it can be overlooked sometimes).
The record itself was punched off-center, so to anyone who's pitch-sensitive, like me, that record was almost unlistenable. Not a fair test. Also, the strobe wasn't marching at a constant rate, but given how off-center the record was, I don't know if the turntable has an unacceptable level of wow.
I love the Audio Technica AT3600L 🎉. It's one of the best budget cartridges out there! I own higher end cartridges but I still like the 3600L for its smooth easy going sonic properties! I am glad that a lot of entry level turntables include this over the cheaper red ceramic needles!
An entry level Dual from the 70s had a platter that didn't wobble and an arm that didn't have bearing play. It also ran on speed. And no anti-skate? Of course, this thing is dirt cheap, so what can you expect? Seems like most of the cost went into the "wet look" plinth. At this price point, you're really compromising quality.
What would be the best turntable - with wood grain and Bluetooth output? I’m having a tough time finding one. That’s how I came to this post but although you gave it a thumbs up, it sounds like maybe not the best. Thanks for your review. This was very helpful
Is there a chance you can use a record that’s a little better centered? Listening to that is the equivalent of epileptic motion sickness! Find a record that’s a little more perfectly centered!
Those feature descriptions on the box though... Especially the last one. "...using the tonearm counterweight according to the record weight" - what?! :)
Hi, I know this is an old video but I just bought this vinyl and can't figure out how to turn off the bluetooth. I had paired it with a portable speaker while my bookshelf speakers for this turntable setup were arriving and now it keeps connecting to my amp which has bluetooth ability. I hooked the rca cables up, but I think it's still connecting wirelessly... I'm not sure what to do, did you have the same issue and/or figure out how to turn off the bluetooth?
MDF is like Spam. I like Spam. Fried Spam is good with eggs, or fried in a sandwich with squishy white bread with French's mustard. Num, num! Have a good week, my friend.
$170? I just picked up a cherry Yamaha YP-B4 for two bones, minus cartridge for 200 bones. That’s my ‘retro life’ for the next six months while I fully service it and an SX-780. Let’s hope I don’t have to replace the channel transistors. Till then, Fluance TT and tsr-700 are getting it done. Nice review, though-here’s yer’ upthumb.
LIKE 54 which is 53 plus one more. Haha! I was pleasantly surprised to hear that the turntable sounded pretty decent. Plus, I got a kick out of Enoch Light's orchestral version of The Beatles' 'Yellow Submarine' song at the 15:21 mark. :)
Nice looking unit and i love the 'groovy baby!' 60s instrumental music, but that Chinglish-covered box is unintentionally hilarious. A few yuan spent on a native English-speaking proof-reader would make for a much more professional image.
Speaking of bad "Chinglish"! I needed a good external enclosure to mount an M.2 NVME SSD drive and I found a really nice Thunderbolt 3/4 one that got good ratings and excellent speed performance. However, the user's guide that came with the unit contained some horribly translated English. This was not a cheap unit! It cost nearly as much as this turntable featured here. I've actually went and sent an e-mail to their customer service pointing out all those issues and provided "correct" translations as well as indicating that as much as this unit costs, they really should do a much better job with the written documentation as it just did not look very professional. I actually got a reply and they said that they were indeed re-doing the user's guide! They even sent me a proof via PDF of what the new user's guide was going to be and I looked over it and corrected a few other issues I found. We actually went back and forth a couple of times until we got it all right. They were so thankful that they sent a $50 Amazon gift card to me for helping them out with that!
was hoping you would review this brand it is very nice looking and the look is great makes me want to get one the price is a great deal for a starter TT very tempting ,I noticed on the speed issue you say once u place tone arm on record it will slow it down ,respectfully I will say no it does not ,on your last review of the 1 by one TTwith built in speakers and blue tooth ,your review was great by the way that I got one for my self new but I got it for way less and I have to say this sounds great it has bass your review cwas spot on but as I set it up it was running fast but stylus being 3.5 grams does not make a difference ,even if it was 6 grams it would not ,I tried this on a bsr that I have that runs a little faster and I stacked 5 records on it it did not slow down but being it had a heavy metal platter I tried this on my 1 by one with a Hudson hi fi strobescoipe disc and tested on the blank side with a record weight that has the strobe markings and this disc is thicker and heavier than a record it did not slow down sorry to say ,I wanted to test out that idea so i just had to try it and I also noticed on a review of one these TT with counterwieght but no antiskating it as u were balancing the tone arm it kept drifting toward arm rest u suggested it had no anti skate but I also tried this on TT,s with anti skate if I balanced tone arm on my 2 dual TT's and garrard TT and my atlp-120 TT with anti skate left on they all drifted toward the arm rest ,when I zeroed the antiskate they all stopped drifting toward arm rest ,so I know u reviewed several U-turn brands of TT and u did say they all had built in antiskating set at factory but they do not have a antiskate setting so maybe when they are built in china they could be setting the antiskate for that specific cart cause i can see when u are setting up tonearm balance they are drifting toward the rest so I would use a blank side of a record or blank side of the hudson strobe disc and test it out ,me being picky and if I saw that I would think twice about buying one ,and I just bought a recordology 45 adaptor in orange ,I have it on display I wish I waited to get the glow in the dark one that would have been cool to have ,how long will this be out so that in a given time I will have to get one thanks for this review you kind of do them better JRo
It doesn't compare in my opinion. That AT-LP60 has an established record of reliability and performance. I don't see why anyone using critical thinking would choose Retrolife over Audio Technica. Not to mention by taking more time and patience to budget, for just $70 more one could acquire the Fluance RT-80 or a U-Turn Orbit, both of which allow for growth along with quality & reliability.
The sound demo with Enoch Light's record is definitely not stereo. Please check your cabling. Maybe you recorded only one channel or both channels are bridged to mono somewhere in the signal chain.
I know this is an old video but i just bought one myself. I love the look and feel. Love the features too. But i am getting very inconsistent speed out of it. I first notices a deep distortion as it slowed down occasionally when listening to a record. This made me do some testing with an rpm testing app. I know its not as accurate at a strobocope disc but i cant really spend on setting one up buying florescent lighting and the disc just to use once but an app is at least consistent and repeatable and gives a ballpark. It was ranging between 32.xx and 34.xx for the entire test and showed a WOW of over ±1. Is there any way to reduce this with this turntable or will i need to exchange it?
Thanks for the reply. I have been trying to run it an hour or so a day for the last several days. It has not really gotten any better and is very jarring when it comes through.
@@silentping890hey what did u end doing mine was doing just fine but now in the 2nd month it’s slowing down I’m assuming my belt for from only 2 months?
$129.00 But looks don't mean quality. For that amount of money one could get the reliable Audio Technica AT-LP60. Is it as attractive? Nope. But it will outperform the Retrolife. For $70 more one could get the Fluance RT-80 or a U-Turn Orbit. Time & patience will benefit anyone's budget with a better product that has a good track record of performance and reliability and some looks to go with it.
Are there set screws on the bottom of the deck or something? I just bought one today and after first playing it sounded great. But after an hour or so it sounds like the pitch is going a tad off now, I was told this had an electronic pitch control built in.
i got mine last week. im about to throw it in the trash. The pitch and speed is way off no matter what i do. I just wasted my money. my AT-LP60x sounds way...WAY better
Thanks for this insightful video. It's pretty cheap, but I still cannot get over the question why you'd buy a substandard new if there are so many good vintage players around, with anti-skating, easy pitch control, auto-return etc for about 50€ Well, at least it's not a record cutter like those horrible suitcase models...
This is SO much better than my AT LP60x and less expensive. 😖 It also features an adjustable counterweight. Do your homework before buying a tt peoples. 😓
When comparing this particular turntable to Audio Technica's AT-LP60 which sells for that same $129 price point, the Retrolife turntable is an easy pass. I see the AT-LP60 as the Honda Civic turntables within that $129 threshold. It's a proven reliable product. And here's the thing about budgets. The epicentre of any budget is not money , even though that's the fuel a budget needs. It's time patience, that's the epicentre. For just $70 dollars more, one could acquire the Fluance RT-80 or a U-Turn Orbit turntable. $70 can get you a turntable that can grow with you and get you that Honda/Toyota experience regarding performance and reliability. All one needs is time, patience and perhaps a smidge of creativity if needed to aim a bit higher or....choose a more reliable product that has accumulated a trusted performance record that can provide more confidence in such an investment.
This turntable is my first high-quality turntable, and I gotta say, this thing SOUNDS AMAZING! The low end is incredibly rich and thick, the highs are pleasing to my ears -- just an overall pleasant experience! My Van Halen LPs have never sounded this good!
Bought this one a week or two ago as an upgrade from my old suitcase. I'm currently really pleased with it, never skips and I really enjoy the manual feel of just the basics being included with the tt. There's not much here but I wanted something more than the LP60 as my upgrade since I wanted a counterweight
Just bought this and awaiting for delivery. I knew it did not have a speed adjustment BUT with todays small DC motors, the accuracy of speed is amazing. I, after having speed control on my Visonik, that it was more of a hassle than a positive.
I ordered this after watching your video it is a huge upgrade from my previous turntable. My previous turntable was good because it had the same Audio-Technica cartridge but I really appreciate how solid this turntable feels all the way around.
Great to hear!
It is important to remember, of course, that the speed issues may differ/correct slightly after some usage. All electronics (not just record players and turntables) require some general usage before they 'settle' into their optimum performance/state. (I know it's been said before, but sometimes it needs to be pointed out especially as this can be overlooked occasionally. It is also something to note that this particular model can be used for conversion of your records to an MP3 format via a computer; thus you can use Audacity (or similar software) which is available for free with no subscription or cost to the user, for archiving your music, or playing it via a phone or tablet, etc. (Again, just pointing this out, as it can be overlooked sometimes).
The record itself was punched off-center, so to anyone who's pitch-sensitive, like me, that record was almost unlistenable. Not a fair test. Also, the strobe wasn't marching at a constant rate, but given how off-center the record was, I don't know if the turntable has an unacceptable level of wow.
Also, the LP cover says stereo, but the audio clip was mono.
I now have/ordered all ur 45 adaptors!!
I love the Audio Technica AT3600L 🎉. It's one of the best budget cartridges out there! I own higher end cartridges but I still like the 3600L for its smooth easy going sonic properties! I am glad that a lot of entry level turntables include this over the cheaper red ceramic needles!
Nice review. Personally I would not buy a turntable without an easy manual knob for speed adjustment. I love my Pioneer PL 990.
Yes what an awesome turntable And a great price
An entry level Dual from the 70s had a platter that didn't wobble and an arm that didn't have bearing play. It also ran on speed. And no anti-skate? Of course, this thing is dirt cheap, so what can you expect? Seems like most of the cost went into the "wet look" plinth. At this price point, you're really compromising quality.
What would be the best turntable - with wood grain and Bluetooth output? I’m having a tough time finding one. That’s how I came to this post but although you gave it a thumbs up, it sounds like maybe not the best. Thanks for your review. This was very helpful
I have a 3600L cartridge in my micro seiki mb-10 turntable and it tracks perfectly well all at 3 grm. Decent cartridge for the price.
Thanks for this! Enjoyed the review!
The 45 speed strobe seems stable when the TT is set to 33. Also, that record seems to be slightly off centered. You can hear it in the music.
I noticed that strobe issue there too. Just saying!
Is there a chance you can use a record that’s a little better centered? Listening to that is the equivalent of epileptic motion sickness! Find a record that’s a little more perfectly centered!
Sounds good from my side and it looks nice too.
👍🏻❤nice very awesome record player very cool 😮loved the review 👍🏻
Those feature descriptions on the box though... Especially the last one. "...using the tonearm counterweight according to the record weight" - what?! :)
Cool Turntable - Austin Powers Music!
That record is spectacularly bad-good. I could ironically love that records for hours and hours.
Hi, I know this is an old video but I just bought this vinyl and can't figure out how to turn off the bluetooth. I had paired it with a portable speaker while my bookshelf speakers for this turntable setup were arriving and now it keeps connecting to my amp which has bluetooth ability. I hooked the rca cables up, but I think it's still connecting wirelessly... I'm not sure what to do, did you have the same issue and/or figure out how to turn off the bluetooth?
How do you adjust the speed on this one?
I didn't see holes for calibration pots on the bottom..
MDF is like Spam. I like Spam. Fried Spam is good with eggs, or fried in a sandwich with squishy white bread with French's mustard. Num, num! Have a good week, my friend.
$170? I just picked up a cherry Yamaha YP-B4 for two bones, minus cartridge for 200 bones. That’s my ‘retro life’ for the next six months while I fully service it and an SX-780. Let’s hope I don’t have to replace the channel transistors. Till then, Fluance TT and tsr-700 are getting it done. Nice review, though-here’s yer’ upthumb.
LIKE 54 which is 53 plus one more. Haha!
I was pleasantly surprised to hear that the turntable sounded pretty decent.
Plus, I got a kick out of Enoch Light's orchestral version of The Beatles' 'Yellow Submarine' song at the 15:21 mark. :)
Nice looking unit and i love the 'groovy baby!' 60s instrumental music, but that Chinglish-covered box is unintentionally hilarious. A few yuan spent on a native English-speaking proof-reader would make for a much more professional image.
Speaking of bad "Chinglish"! I needed a good external enclosure to mount an M.2 NVME SSD drive and I found a really nice Thunderbolt 3/4 one that got good ratings and excellent speed performance. However, the user's guide that came with the unit contained some horribly translated English. This was not a cheap unit! It cost nearly as much as this turntable featured here. I've actually went and sent an e-mail to their customer service pointing out all those issues and provided "correct" translations as well as indicating that as much as this unit costs, they really should do a much better job with the written documentation as it just did not look very professional. I actually got a reply and they said that they were indeed re-doing the user's guide! They even sent me a proof via PDF of what the new user's guide was going to be and I looked over it and corrected a few other issues I found. We actually went back and forth a couple of times until we got it all right. They were so thankful that they sent a $50 Amazon gift card to me for helping them out with that!
Excellent Turntable
... and in Australia, Amazon currently has it for, wait for it, $505-aus. That's just crazy.
was hoping you would review this brand it is very nice looking and the look is great makes me want to get one the price is a great deal for a starter TT very tempting ,I noticed on the speed issue you say once u place tone arm on record it will slow it down ,respectfully I will say no it does not ,on your last review of the 1 by one TTwith built in speakers and blue tooth ,your review was great by the way that I got one for my self new but I got it for way less and I have to say this sounds great it has bass your review cwas spot on but as I set it up it was running fast but stylus being 3.5 grams does not make a difference ,even if it was 6 grams it would not ,I tried this on a bsr that I have that runs a little faster and I stacked 5 records on it it did not slow down but being it had a heavy metal platter I tried this on my 1 by one with a Hudson hi fi strobescoipe disc and tested on the blank side with a record weight that has the strobe markings and this disc is thicker and heavier than a record it did not slow down sorry to say ,I wanted to test out that idea so i just had to try it and I also noticed on a review of one these TT with counterwieght but no antiskating it as u were balancing the tone arm it kept drifting toward arm rest u suggested it had no anti skate but I also tried this on TT,s with anti skate if I balanced tone arm on my 2 dual TT's and garrard TT and my atlp-120 TT with anti skate left on they all drifted toward the arm rest ,when I zeroed the antiskate they all stopped drifting toward arm rest ,so I know u reviewed several U-turn brands of TT and u did say they all had built in antiskating set at factory but they do not have a antiskate setting so maybe when they are built in china they could be setting the antiskate for that specific cart cause i can see when u are setting up tonearm balance they are drifting toward the rest so I would use a blank side of a record or blank side of the hudson strobe disc and test it out ,me being picky and if I saw that I would think twice about buying one ,and I just bought a recordology 45 adaptor in orange ,I have it on display I wish I waited to get the glow in the dark one that would have been cool to have ,how long will this be out so that in a given time I will have to get one thanks for this review you kind of do them better JRo
Like this record player
Looks like a good teac turntable
Good sound too
Thanks for the thorough review. How would this deck compare to the Audio Technica LP60X?
It doesn't compare in my opinion.
That AT-LP60 has an established record of reliability and performance. I don't see why anyone using critical thinking would choose Retrolife over Audio Technica.
Not to mention by taking more time and patience to budget, for just $70 more one could acquire the Fluance RT-80 or a U-Turn Orbit, both of which allow for growth along with quality & reliability.
I think you mentioned that the stylus cantilever is steel. I believe AT is using carbon fiber for those on this model of cart.
And the elevator music version of yellow submarine said a pretty darn good on that also😅
The sound demo with Enoch Light's record is definitely not stereo. Please check your cabling. Maybe you recorded only one channel or both channels are bridged to mono somewhere in the signal chain.
I purchased a Sony cdp-c315. Do I need a receiver for this item?
For a cd player? Yes or some powered speakers / soundbar.
Does the tonearm add enough, or should I say ENOCH, drag to make the rotation speed accurate?
I bought this same turntable now the hard part is to get it all assembled haven't done this anytime so it's gonna be defecult for me xtra time
I know this is an old video but i just bought one myself. I love the look and feel. Love the features too. But i am getting very inconsistent speed out of it. I first notices a deep distortion as it slowed down occasionally when listening to a record. This made me do some testing with an rpm testing app. I know its not as accurate at a strobocope disc but i cant really spend on setting one up buying florescent lighting and the disc just to use once but an app is at least consistent and repeatable and gives a ballpark. It was ranging between 32.xx and 34.xx for the entire test and showed a WOW of over ±1. Is there any way to reduce this with this turntable or will i need to exchange it?
It may take a few days or weeks use for the speed to calm down as the belt gets worked in.
Thanks for the reply. I have been trying to run it an hour or so a day for the last several days. It has not really gotten any better and is very jarring when it comes through.
@@silentping890hey what did u end doing mine was doing just fine but now in the 2nd month it’s slowing down I’m assuming my belt for from only 2 months?
I wish it would have a polycarbonate dust cover. It is acrylic, however, just like most dust covers.
Wobbling platter equals poopy platter 😅
Looks like the same manufacturer as the similar priced 1 by One turntable and some of the Teacs. I would say Teac uses a better arm.
The look looks awesome, how much?
$129.00
But looks don't mean quality.
For that amount of money one could get the reliable Audio Technica AT-LP60. Is it as attractive? Nope. But it will outperform the Retrolife.
For $70 more one could get the Fluance RT-80 or a U-Turn Orbit. Time & patience will benefit anyone's budget with a better product that has a good track record of performance and reliability and some looks to go with it.
Are there set screws on the bottom of the deck or something? I just bought one today and after first playing it sounded great. But after an hour or so it sounds like the pitch is going a tad off now, I was told this had an electronic pitch control built in.
Which table is better ? Retrolife or 1 by one
They are the same.
Just got this for my birthday and it plays to fast no matter where i place the belt. It baffles me that theirs no manual speed adjustment.
You need to test the record player with steely Dan any of his music will tell you what’s really happening
i got mine last week. im about to throw it in the trash. The pitch and speed is way off no matter what i do. I just wasted my money. my AT-LP60x sounds way...WAY better
Originally released in 1967.
Thanks for this insightful video. It's pretty cheap, but I still cannot get over the question why you'd buy a substandard new if there are so many good vintage players around, with anti-skating, easy pitch control, auto-return etc for about 50€ Well, at least it's not a record cutter like those horrible suitcase models...
Why don't these turntables have anti skating?
Because they are cheap. You pay peanuts, you get something that sounds awful.
Where’s the volume
This is SO much better than my AT LP60x and less expensive. 😖 It also features an adjustable counterweight. Do your homework before buying a tt peoples. 😓
When comparing this particular turntable to Audio Technica's AT-LP60 which sells for that same $129 price point, the Retrolife turntable is an easy pass.
I see the AT-LP60 as the Honda Civic turntables within that $129 threshold. It's a proven reliable product.
And here's the thing about budgets. The epicentre of any budget is not money , even though that's the fuel a budget needs.
It's time patience, that's the epicentre. For just $70 dollars more, one could acquire the Fluance RT-80 or a U-Turn Orbit turntable. $70 can get
you a turntable that can grow with you and get you that Honda/Toyota experience regarding performance and reliability.
All one needs is time, patience and perhaps a smidge of creativity if needed to aim a bit higher or....choose a more reliable product that has accumulated a trusted performance record that can provide more confidence in such an investment.
This is why I don't buy belt driven players most of em are off on the speed
I stick with direct drive