Verdict
A salutary all - round choice for those looking to get into vinyl scuffle - free .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
After launching thePS - HX500 , Sony came out swing with the PS - LX310BT , an low-cost record role player that have Bluetooth for connection to a wireless talker , soundbaror headphones , this is a record player with approachability and convenience in thinker , bring the barrier for those looking to get into the world of vinyl radical .
Vinyl records are a pain in the neck , are n’t they ? Big , sound , tricky to store , light to damage , cumbersome … You love them , do n’t you ? You bed the way they look and feel and sound . We all do .
Record players , if anything , are even worse . Some need intricate systems to even be audible . Some expect you to get out the scales , pliers and safety goggles before they ’re ready to play .
Sony ca n’t do anything about the shortcomings of vinyl records , but with the PS - LX310BT it takes a decent stab at deliver a straightforward and super - convenient disc player .
Design
No surprises here . The 310BT is a rectangular box with a traffic circle on it . The plastic twist feels lightweight , but prove perfectly sturdy . It looks smart in its matte - black polish , and the clear dust - cover version is in no way fragile . The way of life the 20 cm tonearm is offset somewhat in its pin adds a brief – and welcome – design oddity .
Features
Convenience is the name of the game here , and the 310BT does plenty to make your vinyl experience as painless as possible .
The moving - attractive feature magazine is attached , lay to a sort - of acceptable 3 M tracking weight unit and with bias and anti - skate all ask care of too . All that ’s required is for you to put on the aluminium platter and put the drive belt around the motor pulley .
The Sony has start / discontinue button and arm up / down release on its front panel , and two selector dials next to the branch itself : one to swap between 33.3 and 45rpm , and one to select 7 - in or 12 - in disc size of it .
On the opposite side of the plinth is a big orotund clit for Bluetooth pairing . Around the back you ’ll find substitution for telephone line / phono ( so the 310BT can link to any amp or speaker , regardless of whether or not they have their own phono gain ) , and for low / mid / mellow gain ascendancy ( trigger off when the Sony is outputting at “ line ” stage ) . There ’s also a power on / off controller and intemperately - telegraph left hand / ripe RCA line .
The Sony does n’t quite take your record from their sleeves itself , but it does somewhat much everything else . The vinyl radical experience does n’t get any more hassle - free than this .
Sound Quality
In broad condition , the 310BT does everything it should – and with a degree of panache . No , it ca n’t compete with purist £ 200 - ish turntables that do nothing but spin record , but that ’s hardly the item .
Hard - wire to an amplifier and with the phono stagecoach engage , the Sony gives a adequate chronicle of Radiohead ’s In Rainbows . There ’s very satisfactory drive and momentum to its display , becoming heft at the bottom end , and a nicely detailed presentment of the vocal ( and the rest of the mid - range information , too , for that thing ) .
The top of the frequency range is played safe , with the Sony favouring smoothness over outright attack , but it never gets excessively warm . Everything moves along at a respectable magazine , and there ’s a pleasant mesmerism of the timing and single of presentment for which the vinyl format is so acclaimed .
It ’s deserving comparing the Sony ’s onboard phono amplifier to the one in your amplifier ( should your amp have one , of course ) . This is because the 310BT has a piffling more to give , in terms of soundstaging and stereophonic focus , than its own phono stage reveal . When hard - telegraph to an authentically up to phono stage , the Sony is a little more open and has greater rigour when describe the start and stop consonant of individual Federal Reserve note during the clattering 15 Step .
It ’s the “ BT ” part of the PS - LX310BT that will occupy the legal age of users , however . There ’s a lot to be aver for simply park a turntable wherever is most commodious and then wirelessly linking it to a speaker or a pair ofwireless earphone .
Connected this elbow room , the Sony loses a little of the vigor and item it enjoys when intemperately - wired . Reproduction of the gamy relative frequency shift from “ safe ” to “ quite dull ” – but in general terms the Sony does a sterling job . It still punches its way through Cassius ’s 1999 manly , still has golf shot and drive , still lays out a soundstage in a passably coherent fashion .
So if there ’s a damage to be paid for all this convenience , it ’s hardly catastrophic . As long as you approach the Sony PS - LX310BT on its own terms – as a record player that ’s been designed to be as benignant and user - friendly as possible – you wo n’t fail to be gain over by it .
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Should you buy it?
TheAudio - Technica LP60 - XBTcan be had for interchangeable money , and is every bit as competent as the Sony in terminus of usability . However , it ’s a soft listen and does n’t punch as meaningfully as the Sony .
Pro - Ject ’s Essential III BT is a best all - rounder than the Sony , and does n’t have such a big differential between its pumped up and wireless sound – but it costs half as much again as the 310BT
Final Thoughts
While there is n’t much competition at this price , Audio - Technica ’s LP60 - XBT offer like features for around the same price – but its softer performance means the Sony PS - LX310BT inches beforehand . Wallet - friendly , prosperous to use and with a o.k. auditory sensation , the PS - LX310BT is a good all - pear-shaped choice for those depend to get into vinyl radical fuss - free .
Trusted Score
How we test
We test every lazy Susan we review thoroughly over an extended catamenia of time . We employ industry standard test to compare feature properly . We ’ll always secernate you what we retrieve . We never , ever , accept money to retrospect a Cartesian product .
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FAQs
The only speeds the LX310BT can play at is 33.3 and 45RPM .
Full Specs
