Best Turntables Under $200 Of 2023 – Top 10 Picks

So you are in the market for a turntable. Maybe you are a first time user or someone who still has the shelf full of vinyl and for years have had no way of playing it. But vinyl is back at every level, from the budget ranges to the sell your house versions.

Possibly you looked at our reviews of the best turntables under $100 but decided you wanted to go a little more. There are plenty of options available.

We don’t like referring to them as cheap turntables because that implies the build quality is poor. So let’s instead say we are going to have a look to see if we can find you the best turntables under $200…

Top 10 Best Turntables Under $200 Of 2023

1 Music Hall USB-1 Record Turntable

We have reviewed Music Hall turntables before and found them to be well made and of consistently good quality. They use quality materials in the manufacturing process and are creative with the way they design their products.

The USB-1 is a two-speed turntable running speeds of 33 and 45rpm. It includes a 45rpm adapter for interchanging between the two options. It has a classic static balanced S-shaped tonearm with a detachable head and an Audio-Technics AT3600L moving magnet cartridge.

Pitch control is adjustable at +/-10% and to increase stereo balance an anti-skating control is included. They have included as much efficiency and control over the tonearm and actual playing systems as you find it turntables with a much bigger price tag.

To take performance a stage further there is a built-in phono preamp and 3.5mm RCA stereo outputs. You can interchange between the two to get the best amplifier response.

It has two other interesting features that must are definite plus points. There is a USB connection, and Audio-Technica has included Audacity software. Using the USB output and the turntables internal analog systems and the Audacity software, you can make digital copies of your vinyl recordings. Decent quality as well, running at 16bit, 44.1kHz (CD quality) or 48kHz, which is even higher.

We use Audacity software, and while it is not the easiest to understand at the outset. Once you get your head around its main features, it will produce quality results with lots of options.

It is a well-made turntable, designed and developed in the US and France with an aluminum diecast platter, slip mat and dust cover. What it doesn’t have is any damping material, which means if you like your music a little on the loud side, you may pick up some feedback.

Nevertheless, at the price great value.

2 Stanton T.62 MKII Professional Direct Drive DJ Turntable

Stanton has been established since 1946 and based in Florida. They specialize in producing turntables for DJ’s and are now owned by Gibson. Yes, The Gibson.

This turntable is suitable for home use as well as the DJ market. It is a direct drive turntable that is easy to operate. It comes with the Stanton 300 cartridge, with the stylus attached, RCA cables and a slip mat.

It has a straight tonearm that provides excellent tracking and a finely tuned counterbalance weight. Because it has been designed with DJ’s in mind, it has two start/stop switches and a very high rate of torque on the turntable motor. It has playback facilities for 33 and 45 rpm.

Taking this into consideration, this is designed for use in conjunction with another turntable, and maybe a mixing desk, so basic operations are a little different. As an example, it doesn’t come to a stop at the end of an album and has to be checked manually.

For ease of use, there is a guiding arm for lowering the tonearm to the track, and it is fully manual with no arm return. It has a phono switch that you can set to phono or line out whichever suits your requirement.

Interestingly it doesn’t come with a plastic dust cover, and it has a cloth cover.

It is well made with metal construction and therefore has a rugged appearance and is designed for travel and movement rather than being based at home. It’s a good turntable but does carry with it a lot of the facilities a DJ might use and if that’s not for you, then maybe this machine isn’t.

In our price range, it is quite expensive as nearly all of these things are these days. At the moment, it is made in China.

3 House of Marley, Stir It Up Turntable

This turntable from the House of Marley is not one that could have the description cheap turntable applied to it. Not in the way it looks anyway.

It is not often you see a turntable with a solid bamboo plinth, but that is what sets this machine apart from most of its competitors in the price range. This is a belt-driven machine that includes an auto-start and an auto-pitch feature as well as anti-skating control.

And it has a metal tonearm and been fitted with a replaceable Audio-Technica MM cartridge and is supplied with a silicon slip mat. It plays 33 and 45 rpm records and comes with a seven-inch adapter.

A thoughtful design inclusion is that it has a power down function. Should it be inactive for a period of time, it will just turn itself off. It is fitted with a preamp that will connect it to an RCA input on an external amplifier. This can be switched off to connect to a dedicated phono input.

The USB port gives connection to a laptop so that you can digitally store your vinyl on your computer.

It doesn’t have a plastic dust cover but a fabric version. Nevertheless, it covers the machine, so it does its job.

You get the impression from House of Marley that they have a conservationist policy in their design and construction. Bamboo wood, which is plentiful, for the plinth, power down functions, a fabric material dust cover instead of a plastic one. Good ideas and no bad thing,

This is a turntable that is built with thought and care. It does its job well enough in its price range. And while it may not compete sound wise, with some of its competitors, it has a lot going for it in the materials used and its construction.

We think it will be a turntable some will be proud to own and show off and is easily one of the best Turntables Under $200.

4 Audio-Technica AT-LP60XUSB-GM Fully Automatic Belt-Drive Stereo Turntable

Another offering from Audio-Technica. This company has other manufacturers use their cartridges for their own turntables. This is a very good indicator of how highly Audio-Technica are regarded in the production of good audio equipment.

This machine is a belt-driven, fully automatic turntable with a DC servo-controlled motor. It will play your vinyl at either 33 or 45 rpm. It has a diecast aluminum platter that has been built to be anti-resonant helping to cut down feedback being one of the benefits.

As they have upgraded this machine, they have made some changes. They have improved the tracking and reduced surround resonance with a redesign of the tonearm and head. They have also made a dual magnet phono cartridge an integral part of the structure. The diamond stylus is replaceable if need be.

They have also decided to move the AC/DC conversion to an adapter, therefore, removing it from the actual chassis of the turntable. This reduces unwanted noise.

It features a USB port that will allow you connection to a laptop. You can then download the Audacity software direct to your computer and transfer your vinyl to digital files to be stored. There is an RCA output cable that is detachable and a built-in switchable phono preamp so you can change to your speakers at home if you want a better sound quality.

The turntable comes with a removable dust cover.

This is a classy looking turntable with a classy performance. Well-built and with high-quality parts included, it is certainly a machine that has a lot of plus points.

At the price, it is great value for money — a very good turntable by a very good manufacturer.

5 Audio-Technica AT-LP3BK Fully Automatic Belt-Drive Stereo Turntable

Another turntable from Audio-Technica. It’s not a surprise; they do make quality products at a variety of price points. So when we are looking at machines at the price level, they are certain to have a few options to consider.

THE AT-LP3 has been given some advanced features for a turntable at this level. It is a fully automatic belt-drive machine. It has straight tonearm with balance and a ½” mounted headshell.

And Audio-Technica has included their respected AT91R dual moving magnet cartridge. It is worth noting that it is a very high-quality cartridge, and very similar to those in far more expensive turntable. And it produces excellent high fidelity sound.

The turntable may operates either automatically or manually. Simply pressing the start button will begin the play action. And choosing the stop button will lift the tonearm and return it its rest point and shift off the turntable.

If you want to use it manually, then you can use a hydraulically controlled lift. This will allow you to place the stylus at any chosen point on the record. To remove it you will just use the same lift which will raise it. Should you choose to play the record to its end, the automatic stop will cease the operation of the turntable automatically.

It has a diecast aluminum platter and anti-vibration damping materials and a rubber damping mat, all of which will help to reduce unwanted resonance and feedback. And will play 33 and 45 rpm records.

It has a switchable phono preamp and RCA cable and comes with a removable dust cover.

It’s a quality turntable and tremendous value for the price tag. And has many features you would expect to find only on higher-level machines.

6 Fluance RT80 High Fidelity Vinyl Turntable Record Player

Fluance might not be the very first name that you think of when you think best turntables under $200, but this machine is going to make you think again.

Based in Canada, Fluance manufactures most types of audio from home turntables to home theatre systems. They try to achieve that delicate balance between providing quality systems with a cost-effective price without placing themselves in the budget range of suppliers.

And they don’t like to cut corners in terms of sacrificing quality and certainly haven’t with their RT80.

A quick look at this turntable and you will see quality materials and craftsmanship that will impress in any home with its style. It might be classed as an entry-level machine, but that is not what it looks like. Good looks are only a part of this, so let’s look at the sound and technical qualities.

It is a belt-driven turntable. Of course, it will play 33 and 45 rpm using a balanced ‘S’ shape tonearm that allows smooth movement of the stylus. Any unwanted noise reverberation is reduced by the unit’s feet. These are designed for isolating sound along with the aluminum platter. A felt slip mat is also included to cut down on static.

It is fitted with an Audio-Technica cartridge with a diamond-tipped stylus to ensure that the sound produced by the turntable is crisp and clear and there is a Texas Instruments preamp. Gold plated RCA line outputs ensure the quality transfer of sound. Also included are a tinted dust cover, six-foot RCA cable, and a power adapter.

It is clear the people at Fluance are out to produce a quality turntable.

The unit itself is made from beautifully engineered wood and finished in piano black.

A great sound, a great look, a very good turntable, especially when you consider how little you pay for it.

7 Teac TN-300SE-WA Analog Belt Drive Turntable

Teac, we all know, of course, for producing quality products. They operate at all ends of the market, and this turntable is designed and manufactured very much as an entry-level machine. Having said that, Teac does not make low-quality audio, so cheap turntable as a description is certainly not in our description.

This is a belt-drive turntable with an aluminum platter with a neoprene mat. It will play 33 and 45 rpm records. And has a static balanced straight tonearm with an anti-skating device and is fitted with an Audio-Technica cartridge that delivers quality performance.

The high torque drive gives a stable and consistent speed. Connectors are gold plated to ensure the best transfer of sound, especially when you are using external features.

It is a fully automated turntable and therefore can be left to play until the music finishes, at which point it will revert to its rest position. It has a lifting device, so if you want to operate manually, you can. Controls on the top are neatly laid out and simple to operate. It just needs to be set up with care to achieve the right balance to avoid skating problems.

Common to most the best turntables under $200 these days it has a USB port for transferring the content of your vinyl to a computer or other devices.

It is well-built with a sturdy chassis and a nice cabinet with a dust cover that is removable.

People see the name Teac, and they may automatically expect incredible performance, as the majority of their range delivers. But this is a budget level turntable, and if you expect it to be that, you won’t be disappointed.

As an entry-level machine, it is very good.

8 Numark PT01 Scratch

Numark is a company specializing in producing turntables for DJ’s. They have been manufacturing for over 40 years and are very well-known in DJ circles. They are innovative and can claim to have been the first to introduce certain features to DJ’s.

Whether those features will interest the ordinary buyer remains to be seen. It might be? And we may have some budding ‘record spinners and scratchers’ here.

The design is certainly eye-catching. It is a compact turntable and weighing just over four pounds, and there are no problems with its transportation. The turntable itself actually sits inside a tough hardened plastic casing with a removable lid with a carrying handle, so every aspect of its operation is protected.

It is a belt-driven three-speed turntable, 33,45 and 78 with a 45 rpm adapter, scratch and slide switch, and a built-in speaker. Power comes from either an AC adapter which is included or six batteries which are not. It has a ⅛” aux input that has an adjustable volume and RCA line outputs and also, ¼” and ⅛” headphone sockets.

It’s ready for immediate use having a pre-balanced tonearm. It also has a replaceable cartridge and a pitch adjustment of +/- 10%.

The USB port will allow you to record your vinyl to your laptop using the downloadable software which is free. It is class-compliant for recording to PC.

It is not particularly expensive, with some interesting features and has a very tough build. If you are into DJ’ing, then it is going to be a turntable that is going to interest you, but if you want a machine just for home use maybe not.

Whether it is for you or not, you cannot fault the construction and materials used which are very good.

9 Pioneer PL-990 Automatic Stereo Turntable

Most people won’t need any introduction to Pioneer. Formed in 1938 and still based in Tokyo, they are one of the world’s largest manufacturers of home audio equipment. We can remember a time when if you had Pioneer anything then you had really cracked it.

Not so much now, of course, as the competition has grown and in many cases overtaken them. But they are still producing a quality product at all levels.

This PL-990 is an entry-level turntable with 33 and 45 rpm capability. It is fully automatic and at the push of a button will start and play your record and then shut itself off at the end. And it has an arm elevator so it can be used manually if you so choose.

It is a belt-driven turntable with a low vibration design with feet that absorb unnecessary rumbling and a rubber platter mat. It has a hinged dust cover. Simple controls dominate the front of the unit with play, stop, and elevation, and the speed adjustment.

The tonearm is a straight arm low-mass design which is resistant to unwanted resonance and very sensitive. It has a moving magnet cartridge that provides quality reproduction and a phono equalizer.

A decent turntable at an affordable price by an established manufacturer.

10 Numark TTUSB

Numark might be a company specializing in turntables for DJ’s, but here they have produced a version for home use. They have used a lot of their expertise and included some good features. This is a belt-driven turntable. And it plays at 33 and 45 rpm.

To increase stereo balancing, they have included an anti-skate control and a +/-10% pitch control. It has a balanced ‘S’ shaped tonearm.

There are a ⅛” stereo line input and RCA line outputs and a USB audio interface to allow connections to either a PC or Mac. It comes with all the necessary cables for connections. However, it must be connected to your computer to operate. What it does not include is a dust cover?

It is not an expensive machine, and of course, comes without any speaker configuration. And it plays directly through the USB into your computer where you can also download all your vinyl. It has not got the capability to plug in headphones neither can you attach speakers so it purely down to using a computer.

Some will see that as a disadvantage and will prefer a machine that will connect up in a conventional way.

Numark is a reputable manufacturer of turntables in a competitive marketplace, but they do tend to specialize. And this is an example of how they have designed a machine that is a specialist turntable.

It has a visually tough-looking design, but it is all made of plastic.

So What Are The Best Turntables Under $200?

Buying one of the best turntables under $200 is a tricky thing. You want it to have certain features, but those features often are only found on the more expensive products.

There are some good examples here of what you can buy for a reasonably modest amount. And it is surprising how good and packed with features they are. There are good solid, dependable brand names who are making some quality products within the price frame. With one or two less well-known and even a company specializing in DJ turntables.

We wanted a solid, well-made turntable that we accept would not be a high-end product, but that would still deliver a decent sound with some good features. We decided, therefore, to go for the…

A new name to us, but it certainly looks nice and does all the things we wanted it to very well.

This for us is the best turntable under $200.

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