hi-fi turntable group
SUMMARY
JBL TT350 Classic
Price: $1999
+ Clean and neutral sound
+ Lovely looks
+ Upgradeable styluses
– Phono-level only
– Prominent silver cankles
From the other turntables in this group it's a bit of a price jump to our final vinyl spinner this issue. But this TT350 comes within our group's price ceiling by a whole dollar — and besides, this is a deck of particular interest.
We've already seen the JBL Spinner BT perform admirably at its price level of around $650 (see p60-62). But that youth-orientated Bluetooth-equipped turntable was preceded in its announcement, if not its Australian arrival, by this more upmarket TT350 Classic. And that makes this the first-ever turntable released by the Harman/ Samsung-owned US marque in all of its 78 years.
It was launched as part of the company's ‘Classic’ series, specifically with a line-up of JBL separates components around a new SA550 Class integrated amplifier which purportedly takes its cues from a 1966 SA600 amplifier designed by Bart Locanthi. The Classic range also now includes three sources: an MP350 high-res music streamer, a CD350 CD player — and this, the TT350 Classic turntable.
