Turntable vs. Record Player: Which is the best?

Turntables and record players are sometimes confused as the same things but in reality, they are different. If you are planning to start your vinyl journey and scratching your head about what makes them different, then you are at the right place.

Both are considered musical wonders as they revolutionized the whole industry and carved out a whole new era of recorded music.

The basic difference between a turntable and a record player is,

“Turntable cannot play music by itself but record player can play music by itself”

To understand it further, we need to deep dive into different aspects like sound quality, types of equipment needed, customization, and pricing and at last I have provided a suggestion help you to decide on whether to buy a turntable or record player

What is a Turntable?

The turntable is a standalone platform that has a platter mounted to spin the vinyl disk, a tonearm to hold the cartridge and control the movement of the stylus and it cannot produce sound by itself but requires extra pieces of equipment such as amps and speakers to produce music. There are two types of turntable present in the market, Manual and Automatic.

What is a Record Player?

Record players are compact integrated units that do not require extra equipment to produce music. It contains all the parts; turntable, preamps, amps, and speakers in a single standalone unit. 

Turntable vs. Record Player: Key Differences Explained

Point of Difference	Turntable	Record Player
Sound Quality	It provides a high-quality music experience.	It has average music quality comparatively.
Additional Equipment	Preamps, amps, and speakers are required.	No additional equipment is required.
Pricing	It is expensive.	It is not very expensive.
Rotation Speed	33 1⁄3 and 45 rpm	33 1⁄3 and 45 rpm
Suitable For	Serious audiophiles as it is customizable.	Casual listeners and beginners.

How Record Players and Turntables are different?

Here, I have compared both, based on some characteristics which is important to understand before buying your first vinyl stereo setup.

1. Build and Components (Looks)

The components of the turntables and record players are more or less the same i.e. tonearm, cartridge, stylus, platter, plinth, preamps, amps, and speakers.

Turntables with added components(amps & speakers) require more space to set up and beginners can find it difficult to set up. It requires an introductory knowledge of how musical instruments work.  But if you enjoy DIY kinds of stuff then turntable is the best option.

Record players are chunky and need to be set up in one place because it is a bit hassle to move them from one place to another. But they are popular for their convenience, you don’t need to worry about other components as amps and speakers are built-in one unit, just plug and play.

2. Sound Quality

Turntables comes with high-quality stylus to capture the vibration from grooves, cartridges to convert these vibrations into electrical signals, tonearms with counterweights, preamplifiers, and amplifiers to boost these small electrical signals and speakers provide the ultimate level of sound quality.

Simply, we want to say that high-quality turntables combined with the best hi-fi equipment will provide a surreal musical experience.

Record players have so many things in one unit, so it is not possible to get everything from it. They have average sound quality as compared to turntables but good quality record players with less vibrations can provide sound which is comparable to turntables.

3. Customization

In terms of customization, the turntable provides various options to personalize the whole setup according to your music preference. A high-end turntable combined with good-quality preamps, amps, and speakers gives the best music experience. It also gives you a choice to upgrade your setup.

Record players come with factory-fitted turntables, amps, and speakers so there is no scope for any customization and that is why, they are cheap compared to turntables. This is the reason why record players are cheap. There is no option to upgrade your setup in the future.

What is suitable for you?

The turntable is suitable for audiophiles who want customization in the setup with high-quality preamps, amps, and speakers and who want to upgrade their setup in the future. 

They are popular among hardcore music enthusiasts who are very specific about their listening choices. 

Turntables are customizable and can be connected to high-quality amplifiers and speakers to get better-quality music.

The record player is suitable for beginner vinyl collectors and it provides difficulty-free music setup.

Record players are for casual listeners who do not want to take care of other equipment as it is a convenient way of enjoying your old music records. 

They have built-in amps and speakers in a single unit, and it is suitable for beginners who are new to the world of vinyl.

Final Thoughts

Both setups have their pros and cons. Turntables are the choice for those who really want to make a unique audio system. It also gives a great learning experience about how the audio system works and how customizations boost the output of the sound. But it is not simple to set up and takes time as well and the cost of the whole is comparatively high.

The record player is known for their hassle-free plug-and-play setup where you only need to put the vinyl record on the platter and with a power supply you can enjoy the taste of music. Record players are cheap which makes them worthy for occasional listeners.

The drawback is that record players can’t really compete with hi-fi systems in terms of sound quality with few customization options.

If you want to upgrade the audio setup then more capable components along with turntable will be needed. I guess, the differentiating points between turntables and record players will help to make the right choice about which one to buy.

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