More and more people are turning back to the superior sound quality of vinyl, and with that, people are digging out their old record players only to find they don’t work anymore. Or if they are from the younger generation of music lovers, then they are looking to buy their first record player. The Lenco L-85 is a good place to start, choose from 4 colourful designs, black, grey, red and white, to bring a fun and contemporary way to play your vinyl collection. To get you up and running as quickly as possible the L-85 has an integrated stereo pre-amplifier which means there’s no need for an additional amplification taking up extra space and costing you more money, but you will need a set of speakers (the RAC cables are included.) Features include an integrated dust cover, direct MP3 encoding that allows you to record the vinyl straight into a digital format via a USB connection with automatic track splitting.

Other features include the belt drive, 2 rated speeds 33 RPM & 45 RPM, a moving magnetic cartridge, a mechanical arm lift and auto return. First impressions were the striking colour of the L-85, when anything comes in this many brightly decorated varieties I can’t help but think they are trying to cover something up with that bold colour, but Lenco certainly know what they are doing when it comes to record players. It is very light weight which is often perceived as bad sign, but every hinge, button and finish is good quality. The sound is reasonable, ideal for beginners, its best suited for lighter tunes. The treble is lovely and clear although the bass is lacking a bit of bite, though it is still a lot better than I expected. The Lenco L-85 is an awesome choice for people looking for a low-cost record player to either blow the dust off their old record collection or to test the waters of the world of vinyl without committing too much of their pay check to it. RRP £99.99 (recently reduced from £139.99)

4 out of 5

Buy now

Pros

Plug in and play

Low cost

Good sound quality

Compact and light

Integrated stereo pre-amplifier

Direct MP3 encoding from vinyl to USB

2 rated speed settings 33 RPM & 45 RPM