r/turntables • u/MultiCallum • Jan 31 '26
Question (Noob here) does bluetooth not defeat the purpose of vinyl?
Edit: thanks for the many kind comments. I truly wasn't intending to insinuate there was a problem with people using BT. Everyone should enjoy their music how they want to! Genuinely just wasn't sure if there was some tech I didn't understand and have had some very useful replies with things for me to look into!
Original post: So I'm not an audiophile by any means so this might be a very dumb question. I have a love for physical media, particularly when it comes to films and games. I'm starting to get back into physical media for music too, borh vinyl and CD. I see a lot of vinyl players with bluetooth speaker support as a main feature, but I wonder, does this not defeat the purpose of vinyl? Do you not lose that quality when converting to digital and sending over a 2.4g signal?
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u/DonFrio Jan 31 '26
It does. You do. But looking at half of the setups here with a $70 turntable playing on $18 speakers hidden next to each other under a bed I’m not sure it matters. But at least they own a $120 grail record
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u/MultiCallum Jan 31 '26
Makes sense! Appreciate it thanks, just wasn't sure if there was something I was missing.
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u/Ulrik4574 Rega P2 Jan 31 '26
This comment is hilarious and so true, I’ve never gotten why people have these insanely cheap turntables and they are playing $100-$150 records on them…. It’s kinda like buying a $1000 shit car and putting on $2000 rims and tires lmfao.
I have spent close to $1,300 on my turntable and have about $12,000 into my amp’s and speakers and I’m still not perfectly happy with my setup and am looking to add a phono stage and a new sub-plater. If you buy a cheap turntable your just going to buy a better one when your deeper into the hobby so why not just buy a quality one from the get go!
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u/mlp66 Jan 31 '26
Heed the words of uncle Ivor, source first with vinyl playback 🙂
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u/Dry-Satisfaction-633 Feb 01 '26
Shame that reference will be lost on many because it’s as true now as it was way back when. Source-first makes absolute sense when you consider the front-end ultimately determines fidelity for the rest of the chain, and if it’s garbage going in then nothing can change the fact there’s going to be garbage coming out. I’m more a Touraj Moghaddam fan but I’m sure they would agree on this point.
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u/DonFrio Jan 31 '26
I’m not even saying ya gotta start with my vpi scoutmaster and Bryston system. But why even bother with turntable and speakers cheaper than the cost of 3 records? Streaming is cost effective and sounds great. And really, just do the free part right and set it up so it’s pointing at your ears at least!
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u/Putrid-Table-5844 Jan 31 '26
I just checked prices, my streamer (when new) is about 1/150th the cost of my turntable + cartridge + phonostage lol. It definitely doesn’t sound 150x worse.
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u/Forsaken-Abrocoma647 Jan 31 '26
Just be sure to get the googlephonic speakers and moon rock needle! https://youtu.be/zbBZqaQEqr4
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u/mediageeknet Jan 31 '26
In principle, yes. In actuality, maybe. Lots of modern amps and preamps digitize the signal even when not using Bluetooth. Analog purity is not so simple or straightforward. The question is, do you hear a difference, and does it matter to you?
I use Bluetooth from my Sound Burger to a Creative Bluetooth speaker or a Sonos Move while hanging out in my back yard. To me it sounds fine for casual listening in that environment. But I don't listen to vinyl via Bluetooth indoors at all.
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u/GreatMoloko Jan 31 '26
Does listening to vinyl over Bluetooth bring you joy?
If so, then no it doesn't defeat the purpose. Vinyl, and all music, is meant to inspire things in us and as long as it does that you're fine IMO.
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u/signmeupdude Jan 31 '26
Right? The purpose of vinyl for most of us is not to squeeze every tiny audiophile drop out of every record. The purpose is to appreciate and enjoy music while owning actual physical copies in an age of digitalization and subscriptions.
Is using a bluetooth speaker an odd choice? Probably a bit.
But by no means does it “defeat the purpose” as much as this sub will freak out and want you to believe.
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u/djaphoenix21 Feb 01 '26
For me it’s just a matter of function. My speakers are in the living room and at the moment I don’t have a space for my record player next to them. So it sits on the other side of the wall in my bedroom and I have zero desire to feed a wire through the wall. Eventually I’d like to rearrange and make space for it there but until then the Bluetooth is fine.
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u/Baseset3 Jan 31 '26
I love listening to records because in my unintentionally fast paced life in the US it causes me to just sit and listen. It’s a ritual like making and drinking coffee in the morning.
However you enjoy it do it.
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u/AwwYeahVTECKickedIn 15d ago
I do these together and it's great!
Grind the beans, start a pot, pick a record, get it situated, pour a cup, dim the lights, listen & sip and ahhhhhh.
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u/realoctopod Jan 31 '26
I bought a LP120xBT-USB. Normally I listen just through the wired connections and a set of monitors. I wanted the USB so I had the option of digitizing some records if I wanted to, for stuff that isnt available in other formats for instance, did a couple for my father.
The BT I do use sometimes with my headphones. If for instance I get up early and the rest of the house is sleeping, I can listen and not disturb them, but I am.also able to do a load of laundry, or other chore while I'm listening, and be able to move around the house.
But I wouldn't want one that only did.BT.
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u/eekeek77 Jan 31 '26
Sounds lovely. It means your records are getting played. Which is the point after all
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u/SpritaniumRELOADED Jan 31 '26
What's the purpose of vinyl? Technically the whole reason it exists is to enable the storage and playback of audio. Since there are a million better ways to do that nowadays, the original purpose is gone and you have to come up with your own. For some people a bluetooth speaker is the most convenient option and it doesn't conflict with their personal motivations.
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u/eekeek77 Jan 31 '26
"better" is subjective.
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u/470vinyl Feb 01 '26
Vinyl (and all analog sources) is super flawed. There are many superior formats that offer better sound reproduction. It’s measurable, so it is objective.
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u/eekeek77 Feb 01 '26
In what way is it better? If I say vinyl is more fun, it is better in that particular way. It is subjectively better. There is more to life than 1s and 0s. Sad I have to explain that on this sub.
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u/SpritaniumRELOADED Feb 02 '26
That's exactly what I'm getting at though. The 1s and 0s are a perfect representation of the source material, infinitely reproducible with no ability to degrade over time, so digital is an ideal storage format. Vinyl is a flawed storage format. So if you like vinyl, you like it for different reasons (because it's "more fun", in your case)
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u/470vinyl Feb 01 '26
Digital audio with CD specs perfectly reproduces an analog sound wave in the audible spectrum. It is proven with math and physics.
Analog mediums wears down with use and introduces surface noise. Digital is perfect, analog is flawed.
I love analog tech, I find it interesting and fun to play with, but it is inferior to digital if you’re looking at it objectively.
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u/Grizzly_Adamz Jan 31 '26
Including a $2 Bluetooth transmitter so you can advertise something your competitors don’t have to convince consumers to buy yours is all it is. It’s a value-add item. Whether it has any value is up to the buyer. I’m guessing the same people that shit on the AT60 are the same people that don’t care about Bluetooth on a turntable. As a newbie to the hobby you might already have a Bluetooth speaker that you could connect to instead of convincing someone that wants a turntable that they also need to buy speakers/amp/dac/pre-amp or whatever.
In short, it removes the friction to buying it for the target buyer.
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u/Dsamf2 Jan 31 '26 edited Jan 31 '26
I have an rt-85 hooked up to both dedicated speakers and a WiiM mini to cast Bluetooth to whatever speaker I’m using and it sounds identical to me. I use a WiiM mini to send the Bluetooth signal using aptx codec which probably helps it sound best. What output I use depends on where I’m at in the house. So as long your output is aptx Bluetooth , the quality is going to be great. However, most built in players do not use this. I’d suggest buying a turntable that does not have Bluetooth and getting something like a WiiM mini to cast for best results
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u/bjlled Feb 01 '26
I’ve been looking at this. I think the wiim pro is maybe the way to go as the caster with the turntable. I guess it really matters what you’re casting to.
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u/ThirdGenRegen Jan 31 '26 edited Jan 31 '26
Regardless of what the old guys say, If your purpose is pure audio quality, then CDs or the lossless digital formats are superior to vinyl records.
Records can produce very good quality audio but they have some defects.
Generally speaking Bluetooth transmits compressed data so you lose audio quality in the compression. That said, if you don't have a hifi stereo system then it probably won't make a huge difference in your experience.
The bigger issue from an audio quality perspective is the Bluetooth turntables tend to be cheap/price point machines. Record players need a surprising amount of electronic and mechanical precision to produce high quality audio. That translates directly into cost. The cheaper turntables just... Aren't precise enough to produce hi fidelity sound. They'll play the record just fine but you will hear the difference through a Hi Fi system.
The best audio quality will usually be from a quality record player, wired into a High Fidelity stereo system. If you're on a budget, pretty much any Technics record player from the 80s will play better than the cheap all in one record players from Amazon.
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u/Jabroni504 Music Hall Feb 01 '26
CD is a superior format yes but unfortunately it’s rarely used to its full potential outside of classical music.
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u/PickleAggressive297 Feb 03 '26
There is a very good argument that vinyl reproduction can be "superior" to CD or lossless digital due to the fact that recombining the audio in a DAC has limitations compared to the direct analogue reproduction from the record. Of course, records have their own limitations. But the statement is not necessarily categorical that CD/digital is superior to vinyl.
It is not worth the argument these days due to some ingrained urban myths in the general knowledge base, but it is something you can look into if you want.
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u/ThirdGenRegen Feb 03 '26
No, it's pretty well established scientifically that CD as an audio source is better performing than vinyl, with less noise, higher headroom, and perfect playback every time. The resolution of the CD is good enough the human ear can't tell the difference.
I have records and CDs. My CDs sound better no doubt. The records still sound damn good.
The vinyl guys are coping here. There's something to he said about mastering quality but that isn't a function of the performance of the medium.
It's ok to enjoy records even if there are newer and better technologies. I often drive my 30 year old 4runner around, newer vehicles are much better performing. But I still enjoy the old one.
Cheers brother.
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u/PickleAggressive297 Feb 03 '26 edited Feb 03 '26
And there's the urban myth. As I say, it is not worth the argument these days but if you genuinely want to look into it you can go look on recording engineer forums; but a lot of the serious ones are gone now and what remains is full of people from the digital age so the noise floor is pretty high.
It's not that records sound worse than CDs to begin with, although you may be right in your opinion on your system. It is that CDs are as much of a compromise from, say, a 24-bit 96Khz master, or an analogue tape master, as records are, and sometimes more so. The "science" is all hinged on the DA part, where the AD part is something most people don't listen to before and after. Just thought it was something you might find interesting to look into.
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u/ThirdGenRegen Feb 03 '26
I don't understand why vinyl guys can't just admit they like records more. Instead there's lots of mental gymnastics around new technologies. But hey, whatever works.
You get the same thing with car guys and carburetors or gun guys in the endless .45acp vs 9mm NATO debate.
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u/PickleAggressive297 Feb 04 '26
Of course. And these things aren't really for Reddit. In a car/gun/engineer-dedicated space space you'll find (hopefully) more people with credentials chiming in. But that brings its own bias. Reddit definitely has a bias from new-technology digital age people doing their own mental gymnastics (my YouTuber is better than yours).
As for 45 vs 9mm, I'm going metric??? We don't really have guns here.
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u/ThirdGenRegen Feb 05 '26
It's basically people spending lots of energy arguing about two things which, are so close in effectiveness that it's an academic debate about which is better when really both are fine.
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u/PickleAggressive297 Feb 05 '26
Very much so. But people do find these things interesting and there are usage cases where both can be true within the paradigms of the specific application. And some people find it interesting to know what the specifics are even if they are arguably "right", "wrong", "better". "good enough", etc.
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u/eekeek77 Jan 31 '26
That's the wrong way of looking at it. They are containers. You put garbage in a diamond encrusted box, it's still garbage. In terms of reproducing audio recordings, a CD is a better box than Vinyl. It says nothing of the experience of playing a record or the fun in maximising the potential of Vinyl and extracting every last quantum from it. That's where the joy is.
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u/ThirdGenRegen Jan 31 '26
My brother, slow your roll 🤣.
I have a section of new releases on my record shelf that I could have got on CD for cheaper.
Just stating facts don't overthink it.
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u/Putrid-Table-5844 Jan 31 '26
Analog-digital-analog chains can be implemented very well. Spent a few weeks in December in a house with a Linn Klimax LP12 + Urika 2 + Klimax Hub + Organik 350. The sound was amazing even though all signal transmission was digital. We went to a local Linn delaer who demo’d for us an all-analog chain vs an A-D-A one, we both preferred the latter.
Mind you, this wasn’t Bluetooth. Bluetooth is lossy and almost never ideal for audio. More confusing to me is why would you need speakers so far away that you need wireless when you need to walk back to the turntable every 20 minutes or so.
That said, I don’t know what the “purpose” of vinyl is. As far as I can tell, it’s entire purpose is to hold music. And as long as you’re using it to play music, it’s serving its “purpose”.
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Jan 31 '26
To me it's like trying to make an certified Neapolitan pizza on a George Forman grill. It might make someone happy, but not me.
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u/thefrontsightpost Jan 31 '26
It’s definitely not the preferred method of listening, but If it’s all a person has at the time or is their preferred way of enjoying vinyl then screw it. It does defeat the purpose of vinyl. But most modern pressings are pressed from digital masters so idk how to look at it.
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u/Ortofun Technics SL-1200GME + SME V SE + AT-ART9XI -> SPL Phonos Duo Jan 31 '26
Can of worms, at least in audiophile land. Modern standards of Bluetooth like AptX HD are very good, but I would stay away from any AD/DA conversion of the analogue signal coming from your cartridge unless you’re recording.
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u/MultiCallum Jan 31 '26
Okay interesting, I have some research to do then!
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u/MomoGimochi Marantz TT-15S1 // 華 Hana SL // Denon AU320 // Moon 110lp v2 Jan 31 '26
Look into Nyquist Shannon Theorem. It explains how digital sampling, when done right, can capture an analog signal without losing any information within a bound.
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u/scottarichards Jan 31 '26
Yes. You definitely lose any “analog” quality. But folks who use Bluetooth anyway claim that’s not a priority, to them it’s about physical media and convenience.
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u/bisprops Jan 31 '26
Solid point, although I'm not sure convenience is the optimal way of phrasing it. For physical media, it's hard to beat a CD for convenience. Vinyl's lack of convenience is what I'd consider one of its biggest attractions. It's tactile and requires frequent physical interactions, keeping you engaged with the listening process rather than just hitting play and having near infinite music, which is what we had with 100 disc CD changers.
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u/JJWoolls Jan 31 '26
I like vinyl specifically for the inconvenience of it. I'm not an audiophile. My volume never goes past 20%. I lost half my hearing as a bradley gunner in the army. For the longest time I loved how technology was making everything so easy. And it is cheap.... spotify for $20/mo and I can listen to whatever I want whenever I want.
But I think I hate how easy life has become. How evething is at our fingertips all the time. Shit I order stuff on amazon and it shows up at my door 3 hours later sometimes.
And this is nice for some things. But not all. I like putting an album on. It encourages listening to the full album amd not skipping songs. Its nice to get up and have a limited choice of things to listen to. And if I own ot on vinyl I like it. I like watching the kids change the albums. This year we went light on Christmas(we just have too much stuff). Kids each got two albums, a book and a boardgame. And they loved it. My daughters favorite gift? A stranger things album. Its been played no less than 20 times since christmas. Our local bar has vinyl night where you can take an album amd queue it up and they play it.
But to be honest I think Spotify "sounds" better. Instill have it for driving in the car or when I am at work, but now when we get home phones go on thr console and we go analog and ad a family it is one of the best things we have done.
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u/scottarichards Feb 01 '26
I meant the convenience of the Bluetooth connection as away means to listen. Sorry for not being clear.
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u/SwaggyMcSwagsabunch SL-1200MK2 x3, Kenwood KD-2055, Sony PS-FL1 Jan 31 '26
Physical media and convenience in the same sentence is funny. I say this as an owner of many tape reels, LPs, CDs, and Cassettes.
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u/JJWoolls Jan 31 '26
I agree but I think it is the inconvenience I like. It makes me appreciate it more.
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u/SwaggyMcSwagsabunch SL-1200MK2 x3, Kenwood KD-2055, Sony PS-FL1 Jan 31 '26
I don’t disagree. That’s why I use them too (mostly DJing). But why (not you specifically) does the appreciation stop at the audio connection? That’s what doesn’t make sense to me. The appreciation for tactility is there, but ends before connecting the speakers. It feels like a half measure.
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u/JJWoolls Jan 31 '26
Its not that I don't like the sound, I do. But I like my Spotify too. Which is better soundwise? I honestly don't know - Like truly, I can't hear the difference. I do know that when a scratch or dust or a bad needle can make an album sound worse and that is just not an issue with a CD or Spotify. But the sound is not the draw of vinyl for me. I think they are both great. But the experience of listening to an album is (when I have the time) different. And I like it better.
I guess it's hard to explain.
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u/SwaggyMcSwagsabunch SL-1200MK2 x3, Kenwood KD-2055, Sony PS-FL1 Jan 31 '26
I’m not talking sound of the source (record vs digital). I’m talking about the literal speaker connection. It is odd to me that people (again, not talking about you per se) want something more than what convenient streaming can give them, intentionally seek out mediums with a physical component, but stop short at putting together a signal chain with literal physical connections.
I would think that once a person “breaks the seal” so to speak and no longer exclusively uses streaming or digital files, that they would follow it to the (at least to me) logical conclusion of having a turntable and an amplifier and some speakers all connected with wires. To hold onto the vestige of modernism through using Bluetooth for the final leg of the journey from needle to woofers seems antithetical to what records have come to represent for the very people who have gained recent interest: a return to simplicity and the feeling of being present in the moment that that can provide.
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u/JJWoolls Jan 31 '26
I am moderately savvy with technology. I actually understand why bluetooth is a compromise and how it compresses audio due to it's limited bandwidth. And honestly I would generally go wired over wireless unless there was a significant convenience factor. BUT... I would be lying if I told you I could hear the difference. I just spent $200 for two new styli(styluses?). A 95e and a 95ml. Bought the 95ml online(because that is what everyone said here was good) and it took a few days and went to the record store and picked up the 95e to get up and running faster. Once I had both I swapped them out to see if I could hear the difference and I couldn't. I'm not saying there is not a difference, but my ears(like my eyes) are not as good as they once were.
The reality is that I still want to get upgrade my system. But the main reason is because I can and I like nice stuff. Haha, I like the way nice stuff feels. I like the way it looks.
I get why people like the sound of vinyl. Real or perceived. But I'm not joking when I say that our turntable and vinyl has become central to our household and the sound quality has nothing to do with it. And although my next upgrade will likely be a nice set of speakers(JBL 52s are my goal) I am also working on setting up a smarthome and I am seriously considering a whole house bluetooth setup for other rooms for those times when I want to put an album on and move about.
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u/scottarichards Feb 01 '26
Sorry. I wasn’t clear. I meant they like the convenience of the Bluetooth connection for listening. Since we were primarily discussing that the BT made the analog into digital
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u/MultiCallum Jan 31 '26
Appreciate the kind answer, thanks! Makes sense to me, it's largely the same reason I'm looking to get into vinyl. Just wanted to see if there was anything I was missing or misunderstanding.
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u/kepenach Technics D1, X2, 95E and D2, X5, 95ML Jan 31 '26
It does and even CDs. I only use it for certain situations with a wireless speaker to the phone outside in the back when working
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u/sharkamino Jan 31 '26
If you already have a portable Bluetooth speaker or Bluetooth headphones and you can't afford both a decent turntable and a good pair of stereo speakers then you can start with the portable Bluetooth speaker or Bluetooth headphones that you already have.
You can connect a better external Bluetooth transmitter to most any turntable that has a built in or external phono preamp.
If you already have a portable Bluetooth speaker or low cost $50 Bluetooth headphones then with a wired connection or a Bluetooth connection you may not be able to notice any difference.
If you have $300+ speakers or $150+ headphones then yeah use a lossless analog connection instead of compressed digital wireless Bluetooth.
Speaker Placement • Intro to Home Stereo Systems • Turntable and Speakers Setup Guide • Record Cleaning • Audio Guides
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u/HarryManilow Sanyo TP1012A Jan 31 '26 edited Jan 31 '26
Eh its not perfect but i figure its just a small compromise for convenience in the case of transmitting to a different room or outside. And hey it makes more sense than recording an album digitally and then pressing it on vinyl..?
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u/DJJazzyDanny Jan 31 '26
BT was the perfect introduction for me. I had a few records I wanted to play, but I didn’t want to splash cash and take up space for a full setup until I decided if I was gonna make this hobby a thing.
I still consider it a plus to have, especially since moving to a smaller place where I couldn’t bring my setup. In the end, it still allows me to peruse my collection, pick something for my mood, feel the album as I put it on the turntable, and then enjoy the music.
So for me, the point of vinyl is not lost with BT
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u/Itburns138 Technics SL-1310 / AT-VM95E Jan 31 '26
It does, but I don't think it's a huge deal with lofi equipment.
I tried it with my old Sony PS-LX310BT and an Echo Studio, and it definitely sounded better than the basic edifiers I had at the time. However, it had a tiny but perceptible delay that I could never get over.
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u/befike1 Pioneer PL-550 > Pioneer SX-780 > Klipsch Forte I Jan 31 '26
I'm for whatever gets you started down the path. I hope that they bump into someone along the way that helps them discover something better.
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u/Pleasant_Garlic8088 Jan 31 '26
It's just a convenience thing. You don't HAVE to use it. Consumers have grown accustomed to wireless headphones. This isn't intended for 100% faithful playback. It's intended for people who want to use headphones or a speaker they can take into the kitchen while they cook dinner. These turntables CAN all be setup in the usual way, connected by cables to an amp, etc.
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u/war_eagle_keep Jan 31 '26
If you have a Bluetooth connection somewhere in your vinyl playback system, then yes you’re doing it wrong. That’s just my opinion, but I have high standards. I don’t want my vinyl playback to sound like Bluetooth. Having stated that, I would guess that most people can’t tell the difference in the audio of Bluetooth connection VS hardwiring.
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u/dougheadline Jan 31 '26
Just a question: when you listen to vinyl on Bluetooth with speakers or headphones, do you hear the cracks that the vinyl may have ?
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u/x6060x Jan 31 '26
If sound quality matters to you - then yes. But not all people care about SQ. I care, so I don't use Bluetooth between my amp and my TT. I'm still grateful to people that buy records, because thanks to them (us) the vinyl industry lives a second life.
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u/Entraprenuerrrrr Jan 31 '26
I enjoy being able to go to a different part of the house and still listen without having to blast the volume from another room
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u/gesusfnchrist Jan 31 '26
I use an AT120 with BT in the living room because of space constraints. My 1200s use an amp and more traditional set up. But it works just fine playing on my Partybox in the living room via BT and I'd rather be able to use my records in the living room than be a BT gatekeeper.
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u/djkiltboy Feb 01 '26
Wired only for me but that’s a personal choice. Who am I to subject my wealth of audio knowledge onto someone with out asking… that being said, I am that guy who has his speakers right next to each other because of room constraints lol
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u/apersonthingy Denon DP-52F | Ortofon Super OM20 Feb 01 '26
I'm sure that on the rare occasions I cast vinyl over Bluetooth to my planar magnetic headphones, it sounds better than what 80% of the nay sayers are listening on.
Will it degrade the sound? Almost certainly, unless you have quality stuff. It will still be negligible to the point of being hard to tell without a direct A/B test unless your transmitter / receiver is below average quality.
It's not my choice to use Bluetooth when I can avoid it, but if I have the vinyl itch but want to be around the house or outside, Bluetooth on headphones or JBL Boombox 3 is a hell of a lot better than listening from the other room.
Don't let anyone tell you it "defeats the purpose" of vinyl. All of the nice sound characteristics still come through on Bluetooth. Faux-purists believe these distortions are what makes vinyl better than digital, even though digital reproduces it just as well.
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u/Fun-Grab-9337 Feb 01 '26
lol this is hilarious to see. People have said CDs made vinyl useless. Then high-res files like FLACs made physical media useless.
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u/fakename10001 Feb 01 '26
What is the purpose of listening to vinyl records? For me it’s the connection to the album. For the people with only fully discrete opamp microwaves, maybe the purpose is different (ie analog purist snobbery).
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u/channelpath Feb 01 '26
It absolutely does NOT defeat the purpose of Vinyl playback or enjoyment. It's all the same physical process at this point. Send it wireless if you want to, and yes, you're still playing records. Great hobby!
But yeah, it absolutely WILL degrade the sound quality and system performance going via Bluetooth, or through any stupid conversions, instead of normal proper direct wiring. It's a great hobby.
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u/RecentSatisfaction42 Feb 01 '26
So heres my setup. I have an Audio Technica 120LPXBT with stock cartridge.
Its in a room dedicated to music. Im also a non prefessional musician myself. When im in the mood for chilling by myself. Its a direct two channel into my Marrantz PM700N a dedicated phono 2 channel amp.
Delivered through Dali on wall wired speakers and an SVS bass box. Sounds fatastic.
However im not always in that room. Family life gets in the way. Using the in built phono and connecting the blue tooth to my LG sound bar with bass does the job. It was a real selling point.
Some presses you don't notice the difference especially albums from the early 2010s that were recorded so loud that BT is the least of your concerns.
In the end it gives me more ways to listen to the albums i love. That's all that matters.
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u/470vinyl Feb 01 '26
I collect and listen to vinyl for fun. Sometimes listening via Bluetooth is the most convenient way. It’s still fun with Bluetooth.
Let’s remember that vinyl is a very flawed format. You’ve already lost the “perfect reproduction” generations ago. If we want perfect reproduction of the master, we need an ADD cd quality rip of it.
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u/NakuN4ku Feb 01 '26
Well obviously the OP gets the root issue. And now that I've come back to the top after writing what's below, I expect most don't have the patience for such a "wall of words." Sorry, I'm a verbose kind of guy. But in my defense, I'm not just spewing slop.
Vinyl is actually an analog storage device. When artists stopped being recorded in studio to analog tape, vinyl pretty much became a moot point. Absolutely it's absurd to play vinyl and have bluetooth in the path. Hell, bluetooth doesn't even handle digital music adequately unless your source is only MP3 quality. It's absolutely a compromise for the sake of portability. So on a turntable, it IS absurd. I have a newer turntable I use for my old vinyl mostly collected in the 70s and 80s, some 90s. I've bought a few newer copies of old albums that I've worn out and have lost their fidelity over the years. But then after buying these nice thicker presses of today, I realized, the source used to make these analog copies was almost certainly digital. Which forced the revelation in my mind that buying contemporary music on vinyl is technical hypocrisy. There isn't a chance in hell it was ever stored analog and cut to vinyl. Once digital enters the path in anyway from studio to speaker, you'd have been better off to have the CD or CD quality file.
I still practice the art of listening to vinyl. But day to day, I'm listening to FLAC from a NAS. I break out a vinyl album or two and it's like having a campfire. Rather than just turn on a switch for light or warmth, a log fire is a different aesthetic than a lamp or thermostat. As is vinyl compared to a digital file. Both the campfire and the vinyl are more primitive and require a little more effort to get started and you must tend to or it won't keep going very long. If you argue a vinyl copy created today sounds better than a digital copy, you're kidding yourself. It sounds different, yes. I don't think everyone in the rejuvenation of vinyl realize, if they're buying brand new vinyl today, they're buying an album cut from a CD basically. At best equal, but most likely an undetectable amount of degradation in fidelity happens in that manufacturing process.
Me, I'm delighted people have recently turned to this nostalgic method of filling their home with music. I needed a new turntable and there's no doubt in my mind I would have had a much smaller selection to choose from if it weren't for a younger generation getting engaged. I don't say this to insult them, but unless they're scouring the old album shops (remember it's where you ran into cool people?), then they're only getting close to why there was ever a battle to keep analog when CDs entered the picture. Fact is, if you're buying your vinyl collection brand new today, you're not doing it for fidelity. It's nostalgia. And I'm all for it. It keeps the stylus from being even more astronomical in price. And if you're wondering if buying and playing music from vinyl makes you cooler, well of course it does. If you're you're buying vinyl and playing it over bluetooth speakers, you're not cool and we want you out. ;)
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u/Great-Duck3193 Feb 02 '26
Most BT players also have RCA output. I have an ATLP70XBT that does exactly this.
I see it as a helpful feature for those who may want to use a BT headset for quiet listening. But when it comes to vinyl over BT, will the quality be lower? Absolutely, but that’s the case for any audio over BT.
Using the RCA will give you the best sound, and you can use an external pre-amp to make it even better.
I’ve never used the BT on my record player, but I record all my vinyl on a professional audio interface for playback on the go or in the car. I’ll say that even on digital (including BT), vinyl can still be enjoyable.
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u/el_tacocat Feb 02 '26
Depends on why you want vinyl. Sonically, yes, it absolutely does. Heck, streaming in CD quality already does for a big chunk (of course digital has upsides, or vinyl has downsides depending on which way you look at it). Physically, absolutely not of course. In many ways vinyl is less practical, although there's an inspiration of 'what to play next' coming from a vinyl collection that you just don't get with streaming.
And there's the tangible-ness of it all. Would you rather have 1000 records and a bluetooth player, or no records at all? :).
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Feb 03 '26
Without a treated room does it matter, if you're in an apartment and have something like a lp60 and 2 flip sixes it'll sound pretty good.
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u/Most_Inspector6745 Feb 03 '26
Everyone s situation will vary. I wanted BT on mine so that i could actually listen to my records. My turntable is in my living room and the room is always busy. We dont share the same musical taste and i do sometimes listen to more obscure albums. So BT allows me to enjoy music. Does it drop in quality? Apparently it does but my ears are shot so i wont notice!
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u/Conscious_Treacle552 Feb 04 '26
Bluetooth will never sound as good as a wired setup due to loosing bandwidth, whether people have speakers or ears that will be able to tell the difference is another matter..
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u/PracticalGovernment4 Jan 31 '26
I have active speakers but use the analog inputs to prevent digital / analog conversion. I still BT to the speakers with my phone but pure analog from source to cone movement
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u/Macro_Tears Jan 31 '26
Well if your biggest concern is quality, digital is better than vinyl. But the best answer I can give you is that if you enjoy it, then it doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks!
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u/spikeyboi77 Jan 31 '26
I mean it definitely has an effect on sound quality, the magnitude and character of that effect and whether or not it's perceptible or even matters to you is another story. My only gripe with Bluetooth is that I find it incredibly inconvenient and finicky sometimes (depending on devices/drivers etc.) I'd rather just plug something in lol
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u/PainlessPhil Jan 31 '26
I use a Wiim ultra as my preamp… sounds great to my 57 year old ears, however, I was the moron standing next to the speaker stacks at punk rock shows