Is it possible to buy a quality turntable at Walmart or Best Buy?

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[henrym]

I got my LP-120 from Best Buy 7 years ago and it’s still going strong!

[mannis]

Got an LP60 over 5 years ago at best buy as my first record player. Along with Discovery by DaftPunk. Unfortunately broke during a move, but went back to best buy and found the same model on clearance for significantly less than what I originally paid for.

Got into this channel and many others recently trying to upgrade my setup. Last thing I haven’t upgraded is my turntable, not sure if I really need to at this moment. I have over 100 records now, but I worry I’ll splurge on TT that doesn’t sound different enough. And considering the prices of a high end one, doesn’t seem quite worth it for me. If your looking for a dependable entry into vinyl, LP60 [which is usually at best buy] is the way to go in my opinion

[MattCoykendall]

Great Video! I know my Barnes & Noble tends to have the best selection for this sort of thing over Walmart for sure and in most cases our Best Buy but options are still quite limited. Support local like you said if you can, if that's not possible thankfully we live in a world where we can get anything in 3 days ha.

[larryhoffman]

Also, if you have an audio store in your area, they may have something that's worth condidering also. Or, you can consider Fluance and U-Turn turntables that are great bang for the buck, sell on line and have excellent customer service.

[edwardgonczy]

It will be interesting to see if Walmart will stock the new Audio-Technica AT-LP70x, their newest turntable that everyone is raving about as the new entry level table. Record-ology does an unboxing and he puts the turntable through the paces, and it is spot on. Just for reference, I own a Linn Sondek LP12 (32 years old) and a Thorens.

[jim]

You should review the new LP70 from AT. It's looks interesting. Best Buy has really gone down the drain as far as Home Audio goes. Great work on the video.

[gotham]

Some Best Buy stores used to have a more high end department called Magnolia Home Theater, that included better turntable options, but I think they stopped that a couple of years ago.

[marcparsons]

Crosley is like the new Bose, everywhere and all garbage! Gotta love the Walmart vinyl record section! Online is different

[JerryHickey-]

This If You Want to buy a High End Turntable, the Best Option might be a Linear tracking turntable, they from what I heard brings out the best audio from the Record and also is easiest on the records as well like records may ware down slower, that part is a guess on my part . They had some Linear tracking Turntables when there is excessive vibrations the turntable arms will automatically raise off the record and I guess lower back down on the record when the excessive vibration stops .

[eric_in_florida]

Walmart is notorious for having companies change the model number slightly for goods only they sell. I assume its for some sort of tracking reason.

[Henry-W-Schlemmer]

About Bluetooth. To mute or change volume as a record plays, do that with the remote for the amp or the receiver. Maybe you can use Bluetooth to command the turntable to stop playing. That's it. The only reason Bluetooth is added is to look impressive on the box.
The negative: When my bro was visiting, he walked over to flip a record. His phone had Bluetooth on. I guess what happened was a "sync" connection was made, somehow. So now if I try to use the turntable, it searches for that particular phone and can't find it. And it won't play, ha, ha.
That's why I strongly recommend skipping Bluetooth (unless someone can suggest a good reason).

[MitchGurowitz]

This past Monday was National vinyl day and Barnes and Noble had all turntables at 25% off. The records were buy one, get one 25% off (which is only 12.5% but if you carefully buy two at the same price). I don’t know if the sale is repeated, or just once a year. I was interested in the LP70 as it is the newest model, the stylus that is red, is the microline (?) and sits further down in the groove than the stock stylus. I understand it makes the beginner TT into a much better sounding experience.

[driversk]

Best Buy used to have the Insignia NS-BTST21 in store. Not sure if I'd pay $130, but it used to drop down between $60-70 which is a ridiculous deal for a turntable with a ATN3600L with cartridge.

[stevezeidman]

Best Buy lack of real audio equipment is shocking isn’t it?

[chadmobbs]

Online .. Uturn orbit! Great turntable

[davepounds]

I wouldn’t go shopping for anything other then a beginner turntable at Walmart or Best Buy an LP 60 is a fair start for a beginner! If you’re shopping for something more advanced don’t shop at those stores! Online or at a hi fi shop is better

[Mike.Macmyazka]

So I haven't watched your entire video yet. I stopped it after the Walmart stop to come comment before I forget...might add more info. And I might say something that you say or I might not because I haven't watched the BB section yet.

As for the LPGO at Walmart...I believe it is an exclusive deal they have to relabel the LP60 into something that is only sold there. One of their biggest ways of fighting returns without receipts. If someone gets an LP60 and doesn't have a receipt (no matter how they get it...gift, bought on FB marketplace/CraigsList, stolen, etc). It can't be returned to Walmart because it's not technically the same model. It's also a way they fight price matching. Ways to save a buck. They might charge less than someone else does, but they want to make sure that if it goes on sale elsewhere, they can turn you away.

Now...with that said. On to my other comment. I bought my first turntable from Best Buy because I wanted to get into something legit (not suitcase), but also wanted a cheap as possible entry without wasting money in case I decided it wasn't for me. I'll be honest, my vinyl collection is growing and we are up to maybe 50 albums tops in the past year or year and a half. I just received my pre-order for LP's Meteora limited pressing on splatter translucent red/gold last week...the latest in our collection. I will be honest, it's a lot of work. I like streaming due to simplicity, but I do feel that there is a difference in sound and I'm building my system around both streaming and vinyl. Sorry to drift off topic. I bought the Insignia NS-BTST21 on a deal of the day for $79.99. It is far from amazing, but it's on par with the entry-level AT tables I believe. It is only sem-automatic with autostop, but it does have anti-skate, counterweight, and a decent albeit cheap build. It has BT and built-in phono pre which I could care less about. Wow and flutter isn't very good at 0.35%, but the AT 60 is 0.25 so it's not a lot better. I don't know the S/N of this table off hand...or if it's actually listed anywhere. But for $80 plus the cost of an acrylic mat and a cheap upgrade for the stylus (AT CFN3600LE), it is decent enough.

Lastly, I just won an auction on Shop Goodwill for $179 shipped for a Denon DP-400...will be receiving that tomorrow. Hoping it's a decent upgrade for the price. I will go through it and probably upgrade the cartridge on it. Hopefully it works as it should. If I don't care for it, I can sell it and make my money back and then pick up a Fluance or something else.

[abcdme]

I bought my AT-LP120 at bargain hunt for $80

[markrowe]

pretty poor selection in both stores and nothing displayed "out of the box", here in the UK we have HMV and my local store has a good selection including Audio Technica and others, best thing is they actually have them out on display so you can see them up close (and even touch). 😀

[punkhillbilly]

Best Buy is sad. I went a few weeks ago for a coaxial cable. They didn't have one in stock but they could order it and I could pick it up in less than 10 days. No thank you. It is more of a computer store now. Whatever makes them money I guess.