Lenco L-85 Grey | 33 & 45 RPM Semi-Automatic Belt Drive USB Turntable for Vinyl with Integrated Stereo Pre-Amplifier and Moving Magnetic Cartridge (MMC) - Grey Record Player

I bought this simply because I have hundreds of old vinyl albums and haven't had anything to play them on for a while. I had an old early computerised deck that gave up the ghost when the microchip failed (it's purpose was to ensure the deck's constant speed). While I agree to a certain extent that vinyl sounds better than CD, in general CD wins due to its ease of use (you don't need to get the album copied to a format you can play in the car, you don't have to keep turning it over ...), however I did want to listen to some of my old stuff. Converting it to MP3 is also a great bonus since getting a 'car' format is a lot easier.I realise from reading other reviews that there are a lot of people who don't understand hifi, so here's the best way to set up this deck. Firstly you will need a decent amplifier and even more important, decent speakers. If you don't have good ancillary equipment you will probably not get any of the pluses that come from vinyl recordings. I have a pair of 1970s Celestion speakers that reflect the high standards required of audio equipment during that era (people would never have stood for MP3 quality for listening at home - acceptable for car but when you want to sit down and listen to music, never).Now I will mention something that appears to have caused some difficulty with amplifier owners. Most amps will have a 'phono' socket for record decks. The reason for this is that the signal that comes out of a record deck is insufficient for an amplifier to pick up, so the phono input of an amplifier uses a 'preamp' that literally 'pre-amplifies' the signal so that the amp puts out an acceptable sound level. The problem people have experienced is that the L-85 also has a preamp for the purpose of sending the output to the USB drive. This means that you cannot plug the deck into the phono socket because the deck preamp will send an amplified signal to the amplifier's preamp which will make an awful racket. You will need another amplifier socket for the L-85 (AUX if you have one, but I use the tape input). Incidentally the L-85 comes with a standard RCA connection which is the standard for record decks and unlike some people's assumption has nothing to do with the manufacturer's country of origin. There are those who seem to think that it should have come with a 3.5mm jack plug for their set of (very likely) substandard speakers, however you won't see a 3.5mm jack socket on a decent amplifier.So, properly connected I have to say that I'm impressed with the sound quality for what is a low priced deck. My understanding is that the cartridge tracks at around 2.5g, which means that it shouldn't carve gouges out of your records, which some of the cheap stuff out there probably will. The deck itself does look a bit plasticky (which after all it is), but not too bad, and anyway the most important thing is the sound. I would have preferred a deck where I could change the cartridge and tracking weight, but then I'd have needed to spend a lot more money which I couldn't justify just to play a few old records.The ability to record to USB is great so you can get your records to play elsewhere such as in the car. There is a 'Split' function which enables you to separate the tracks, however that is a manual process which gets quite laborious if you have an album with a lot of tracks, since you have to press the button at the end of each track. I found that Audacity (freeware) is a lot easier to use to do that, since it's quite easy to spot the 'troughs' in the recording which usually indicate a change of track (of course you might be recording a Pink Floyd album so this isn't always true). Audacity can also be used to name the tracks, although you can also do this on a PC via the 'additional' file attributes. Incidentally, if you are an Audacity user, because the signal is going through a preamp you don't need to equalise it, and there's none of the fiddling about getting the sound level right.Overall, an excellent buy although may not meet the expectations of the hifi purist. However if, like me, you listen to the prolific TV ads using old 60s and 70s music and say to yourself, 'I've got that' and go off looking for it, then you could do a lot worse (literally) than this deck.

Easy to set-up, Phono lead straight into my Micro Sys. Performs very well. Sound is good. Auto stop/return & reject button. Lever gently deposits stylus onto the record. Not tried recording to MP3 though maybe one day, if time permits. Lovely shiny colour + nice build for the pennies. Picked up when price curved in my favour!

I imported this TT from UK to India. Amazon helpline assured me that it will be packed in Amazon box for more safety but they delivered it only with company box. Thnx to my luck and courier every thing came in one piece. Bad amazon service.now about the TT. It is nice full plastic toy like. But sound good with my old vinyls. After a week its auto return function failed and tone-arm stuck in endless loop. I have to switch of power to stop it. Three emails to Lenco service but they don't even replied. Poor Lenco support. I previously ordered Audio technica LP 60 but cancel that after I show What hi fi review and awards for L85. But now I believe it is all biased and paid review.Any way this my First TT just to check how it will preform with old second hand vinyl but surprisingly it worked well. So any one want TT go for Pro-ject or something else.

Great clean sound, easy to use and easy to convert to mp3, bought as a replacement player for elderly parents to use to spin their records, good feedback from them. Nice case styling too. Would have given 5 stars if there were options to purchase with compatible speakers or spare stylus as was a bit of a hack with adapters to get our speakers working.

When item arrived box was damaged and item did not work.However seller agreed refund

Im very happy with the purchase, this was highly recommended by WhatHiFi, and plays and sounds great with a pair of Mackie speakers. Greater starter kit for our daughter who now enjoys the wonder of vinyl! Very positive experience with product service/delivery. 5 Stars!!

I was recommended this record player by WhatHiFi, on the basis it was one of the best value for money record players and it did not disappoint.Excellent Quality record player. Well packaged. It plays effieciently and is paired up well with my sounds system.Dust can be a bit of a nightmare on the perspex cover so be careful when wiping it off as it will generate static electricity.Autostop tone arm is excellent.Much better than the awful Crosley Cruiser i used to own.