SUMMARY
Lenco LBT-225 turntable
Price: $695
+ Great looks and build
+ Solid fundamental sound
+ Internal phono stage
+ Bluetooth and USB out
– Rear switch for gain
– Some noise on USB output
From first sight, this seems like it is a lot of turntable for the money. Lenco's LBT-225 is a belt-driven fully-manual turntable, with a substantial plinth in a very nice walnut finish, fitted with a glass platter, a carbon-fibre tonearm no less, and the ever-reliable Audio-Technica AT-VM95E moving-magnet cartridge to track your tunes.
As if that wasn't enough for your $695, under the platter hangs an electronics section which includes a built-in phono stage, so you can take the output at full line-level into any amplifier, rather than at the phono-level which would need either a special phono input on your amplifier or a standalone phono stage to pre-boost the signal. And you still retain the option to switch back to phono level if you have your own superior phono stage.
And there's more — a Bluetooth output, which can pair with headphones or a Bluetooth speaker (or anything else that can receive Bluetooth, such as a smart amplifier) for easy vinyl replay without the cables. In addition to headphone listening this option might allow more versatility to site the Lenco turntable anywhere in the room that you can plug it in.
And what's this USB-B socket on the rear? That's to connect with a computer and record your vinyl digitally. Handy.
At this price — again, just $695 —credible. Yet here it is, sent to us by the enthusiastic importer and distributor Audacity Australia. We got straight into it.
