Verdict
It ’s undoubtedly a bit odd but Audio Technica ’s update Sound Burger truly allows for vinyl group playback on the move and is probably the most compelling Bluetooth turntable you may purchase . Throw in respectable pumped-up performance and there ’s a set to care .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Audio Technica is best know as a detergent builder of very talented phono cartridges and headphones , but the party is n’t afraid of trying different matter when they finger so inclined .
right smart back in 1983 , they decided that portable cassette participant sound a morsel lame and launch the AT-770 and also give way it a name ; two to be exact . In the US , it was called Mister Disc but in the rest of the world it rejoiced in the name Sound Burger .
You probably wo n’t be too surprised to hear that the general public were n’t completely win over by the mind and , after a few class on sale , it was discontinued . The premise was sufficiently cool though that the Sound Burger became something of a cult classic in the intervening class .
As a result , when Audio Technicacelebrated their 60thanniversary , they decided to produce a limited run of Sound Burgers . This being the 21stcentury , the young models were update to include USB point andBluetooth . The reception for the update Sound Burger was wildly enthusiastic and they sold through in a calendar month .
befittingly boost , Audio Technica has re ( re ) release the Sound Burger ; now feature the modelling number AT - SB727 as a lasting framework in the range of a function . This is a lovely redemption arc but how does the Sound Burger sustain up in 2024 ? Is this a genuinely useful object or a bit of nostalgia that should have stay put in the eighties ?
Availability
The AT - SB727 is available from the Audio Technica website for £ 199.95 . In the US it retail for $ 199.95 and in Australia it can be incur for $ 400 AUD . Something to bear in judgment is that the Sound Burger re - set up first as the AT - SB2022 , and these simulation can also be found for sale through resellers .
These command a insurance premium as they were a limited variation and red ones especially are rather sought after . This also applies to yellow versions of the current AT - SB727 which were uncommitted at launching but are currently out of stock .
The Sound Burger is – have ’s be honest for a instant – rather recess . you’re able to buy turntable from a few different companies for £ 200 but one that ferment on barrage fire and stow into the shape and size that the AT - SB727 does are rather flimsy on the primer . If you genuinely want aportable Bluetooth lazy Susan , this is passably much the only plot in townsfolk .
Design
The AT - SB727 is belt driven turntable that alters the motor and and fortify geometry so that when no book is present , the whole meeting place stow in a minute housing that can be post in a handbag and does genuinely warrant the term ‘ portable ’ ( whether the push-down stack of records you ’d also need to behave deserves the same description is something I leave to you to adjudicate ) .
Some aspects of this packaging are authentically cunning . There ’s no on and off transposition for representative as the limb simply clicks into a recess at the oddment of its travel to keep it off the disk when you vary it which also cuts the motor out . As the bang is a point of habiliment , there are two tiny trim pots on the underside to ensure that you’re able to ensure it always spins at the right speed .
Less brainy is the transportation system fuck that should be fit when the Sound Burger moves any great distance . As this comes away wholly from the unit ( rather than being on a retainer or stay ) , I ’ll wager most are lost in the first week .
launch the clamshell lid and you ’ll find a 90 millimeter aluminium phonograph recording . This can play at 33 and 45 RPM and , irrespective of the size of the record book you elect to play on it , the record will overhang both the phonograph record and form , sitting in loose blank . To see that the record is held in place , a caoutchouc arranger is rate on top of the record book which mates to an upper spindle when the chapeau is shut .
It ’s important to mention that the Audio Technica needs to be on a monotonic surface to make for and ca n’t be played on the move . A significant update for the newfangled model is the erstwhile C batteries are break and in their place is more innovative lithium - Ion battery that bearing ( rather slowly it has to be say ) via USB - C. Audio Technica take a assault and battery living of 12 hours and this feel manageable in use .
Audio Technica has n’t tinkered with the aesthetic of the Sound Burger and what results is unquestionably characterful and , once it ’s got a record in it in special , nerveless in a way that simply selecting a Spotify playlist wo n’t ever be . It also feels astonishingly solid given the comparatively low price and demand for it to be portable . It ’s a cunning and invoke affair .
Features
The original Sound Burger connect to the outside world via a 3.5 mm socket that was overdraw by an internal phono stage . This is retained in the updated adaptation and Audio Technica also supplies a 3.5 millimeter to RCA line to connect it . raw for the 21stcentury models is a Bluetooth 5.2 transmitter that can send substance wireless to a suitable receiver ( not at the same time as wire connection though ) .
Getting this to pair is a minute of a miscellaneous bag . The review sample was n’t keen to talk to a pair ofPhilips Fidelio L4wireless behind but instantly got up and running with a JBL Authentics 300 speaker . As Audio Technica has n’t really alter the mechanical design , you do n’t get many clues as to what the Bluetooth is up to which makes this trickier than it call for to be . Something that is also a minuscule disappointing is the absence of any high bandwidth encoding on the Bluetooth ; SBC is your sight .
One aspect of the conception that is significant to mention about both these output is that the Sound Burger has no volume ascendency . Any spirit level readjustment you make to the sound has to be done via the unite gimmick so , if you are eyeing this up for use with wireless headphone , ensure you may conform the loudness on them otherwise your only choice will be off or max which I mistrust would get wear off reasonably promptly .
Something that the Sound Burger has retained from the pilot which is n’t a yield at this price is electronic speed controller . It will happily play 33 and 45rpm records at the push of a button ( and the gum elastic adapter can handle heavy cutout 45s as well . The stylus is a ATN3600L which is the line end of the AT-91 cart and easy enough to secure replacement for as well . Living with the Sound Burger daytime - to - Clarence Day is usefully painless .
Sound Quality
It takes a little bit of clock time for the joy you feel that the Sound Burger works at all to fatigue off before you could make much in the way of an objective rating about the way it sounds . When it ’s run , the vapourous unlikeliness of its design is enough to win a fair few hearts and minds . The interesting matter is though , once the novelty fall apart off , the Audio Technica in reality does a fair bit to impress .
For a pregnant amount of testing , the sample distribution was link up to aMoon 641 integrated ampwhich is a brisk fifty - five times the toll of a Sound Burger and extremely telltale . Even so , the Audio Technica give a safe score of itself . There ’s more underlying noise than with more mellow - end designs but once it ’s up and running with Knowledge , Freedom , Power by the Slow Readers Club it handle to get all the basic principle veracious .
This is an gumptious sounding gadget that does a neat job of delivering the rhythmical force-out and passion in this collection of songs . Bass university extension is n’t seismic , but it has laudable speeding and lightsomeness to it . If the music has the way to get your forefront nodding , the Audio Technica will likely get you nodding along to it .
The upper registers are passably undecomposed too . heed to the Sound Burger side by side with the consecrate ( and rather pricier ) base turntables that last here , you become aware that there is fine detail in recordings like Fink Meets the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra that the Sound Burger is n’t finding and the top end is a little harder but it ’s never anything other than engaging to listen to .
Over Bluetooth into a suitable speaker though , the Sound Burger unfeignedly shines . Yes , it would be nice if it hadaptXand a fraction more gain would n’t go haywire either but , listening to Dr John ’s Right Place , Wrong Time via the JBL Authentics 300 without a conducting wire in sight is joyous in a way of life that mostly transcends typical hi - fi thoughtfulness .
If you do center on the actual performance rather than getting lost in the mo , it ’s interesting to note that the slightly bass heavy presentation of the JBL ( shared with a few verbaliser of this type ) is absolutely perfect for give the Sound Burger a little extra low - end weight . Connection on test has been stable and the two devices have dutifully paired each time .
The only area where the Sound Burger has fall slightly scant of expectations is used with Bluetooth headphones . even so it fought pairing with the Philips every step of the direction , that underlie noise level that end to be an effect through normal speakers is more of an issue with normal headphones . It works ( and you ’d certainly get some looks on public transport ) but it ’s realistically the weak domain of the Audio Technica ’s public presentation .
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Should you buy it?
For some of you reading this ( and , if I ’m reliable for a here and now , me too ) , the Sound Burger is sufficiently good at appealing to the heart that the head does n’t get a look in . If you want to be the centre of attention on your next mean solar day misstep out , the Sound Burger knocks pretty much everything else into a cocked hat . The fact it ’s really midway decorous to live with is a bonus .
As a gently updated forty - year - old design , the Sound Burger does a few things that might irritate you . The limited Bluetooth fitment and fiddly pairing can be thorn and matter like the passage ass and obtuse charging are things that could maybe have been done well with a punishing refresh . If you do n’t need a portable lazy Susan , more capable purpose are useable at this price too .
Final Thoughts
The Sound Burger was n’t something that everyone need back in 1983 and it certainly is n’t now but it ’s such a charming thing that many multitude will drop whether they require it and plump for one . If you do , it ’s a truly enjoyable thing used at family and on the move .
Trusted Score
How we test
We test every turntable we review thoroughly over an extended period of time . We use industry standard tests to compare feature decent . We ’ll always tell you what we find . We never , ever , accept money to review a ware .
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FAQs
you may get the Sound Burger in dark , blank , or chickenhearted versions .
