Crosley Cruiser Bluetooth Portable Turntable in 4x colours for $99, save $69. Seems all colours are $99 if you search for them. This is the new 2021 version with the Bluetooth input/output. Cheapest I've seen it by about $40 even through Black Friday/Xmas.
Why?
Pretty sure these chew records due to heavy tonearm pressure and tracking force
A thing termed the " square law" - normally taught as the "inverse" square law to illustrate propogation.
Simply - if you double the amount of tracking force, you will get ten time the amount of wear. Microgroove records were designed for a maximum tracking weight of 5 grams. My styli track at 1.75 gm [ Pickering XV15] or 1.5gm [Stanton 555] as I like the records I have that are still payable after > 50 years to still be so next week.
My first thought was, would Tech Moan buy this?!
good ol tech moan
I've never been clear on who the target market is for these turntables. The build quality is downright cheap, the tracking is below-average (despite the horrendous 6-7g force to compensate for the horrible stylus) and general sound quality is pretty rough.
At $99 maybe it appeals to the "I just want to know what it's like to play some vinyl….and there's always council cleanup anyway" crowd? Or maybe the "I'm a hipster that wants to be the life of the next picnic" type?
I have a family member with one of these turntables and they do not get to borrow albums from my small-but-well-cared-for vinyl collection.
The ubiquitious BSR ceramic cartridges in 1960's radiograms were designed to meet the microgroove specification of tracking under 5 grams, and were mainly aimed at a market buying "20 Greatest Hit's of ###" or the later "K-Tels 30 Songs That Sound The Same", beautifully conveying the full tonality and ambience of Mrs Mill's Party Favourites" or tonally projecting the gleam off Max Bygrave's teeth as he massacred few popular numbers, but who the heck is grabbing these horrendous lathes when records are direct cut artworks?
It's bizarre though considering the LP60X is significantly better and regularly on sale for under $200. Much better starting place.
I'm here for the audiophile comments.
It's not about audio quality.
I'm here to point out that once you've run one of these abominations along a record groove, you've lost a lot of the information on that record permanently.
I can't see why your getting negged tho - sit back and put your feet up.
If your listening to music on one of these, you may want to grab a frequency modulator, a CRT B&W TV, and read the comments in full mono CGA glory….
Same price on Amazon
Harvey Norman cheated all Australians.
"Plus, in February Mr Harvey confirmed that he won’t be repaying any of the JobKeeper dollars back to the government (and therefore taxpayers) even through the company made over $460 million late last year."
Avoid them.
I wouldn't buy this from Mother Theresa.
What are some good alternatives that wont damage your vinyls?
Thanks
Cheap and cheerful - my pick would be the Audio-Technica AT-LP60XUSB
Solid entry-level option - my pick would be the Pro-Ject Primary E
Friends don’t let friends buy Crosley.
Damn - I was just about to post the same thing…
Are we…friends?
Well well well…
I only have two words….land fill.
If you care about your vinyls you think twice before using this.