James Williamson There is no doubt that one of the reasons behind the resurgence of vinyl is the popularity of suitcase record players.
The cute design with a retro feel catches the eye of many people.
However, design is the least important thing to consider if one is serious about this format. These all-in-one units offer a retro vibe with multiple color options and themes, ease of use, affordability, and portability, but fail to deliver good sound quality.
Along with sound quality, people are also concerned about the damage they might cause to the records and whether beginners should go for these units or not.
Today, we will discuss everything about these all-in-one units. I assure you that after reading the article, you can decide whether to buy it or not on your own.
Let’s start with the first and most important question.
Are suitcase record players bad?
Yes, these record players are bad if you’re serious about the format.
Although it’s your decision whether to purchase it or not, here is my advice.
As an audiophile, if you’re looking to purchase, keep in mind it won’t sound as good as your turntable setup. As a beginner, you should not expect these units to provide a real vinyl experience that a good-quality turntable setup would.
Here, my point of view is based on facts and testing that I’ve done with one of these units.
Reasons why suitcase players are not considered good?
Before proceeding further, if you are looking for my advice on popular brands such as Crosley and Victrola, I recommend reading these articles:
I have also compared units from both brands. If you’re curious about results, I recommend reading: Crosley vs Victrola.
Now, let’s proceed further and talk about the reasons.
Sound quality
These units don’t produce a sound quality that people desire from their setups.
The quality of the setup depends on the quality of the record player’s parts, such as the cartridge, stylus, tonearm, etc.
And in these players, these components aren’t of good quality. As a result, you will hear distortion in sound. Trust me, the loss of high and low frequencies is real.
Let’s discuss how these components affect sound quality.
Cartridge
A phono cartridge and its engineering play a crucial role in sound quality.
The role of a cartridge is to convert the vibrations sent by the stylus into electrical signals and transmit them to the phono preamp through the tonearm wiring.
There are different types of phono cartridges. These units come with ceramic cartridges that are considered of bad quality and nowhere near the magnetic cartridges used on an entry-level turntable setup.
These types of cartridges have a pretty bad reputation in the vinyl world in terms of sound quality and durability.
Stylus
The stylus is the only component that comes in contact with record grooves.
It is a part of a phono cartridge that is attached to the end of the cantilever.
For beginners, a cantilever is a small metal rod that connects the stylus to the cartridge, which transfers the vibrations generated by the stylus to the cartridge’s mechanism.
The stylus attached to the ceramic cartridge is made of sapphire. A sapphire needle doesn’t fetch audio signals and lasts for up to 50-60 hours of playing time.
Some units do come with a diamond needle, which improves groove tracking, but still, it’s nowhere near entry-level turntables.
Tonearm
In these units, the length of the tonearm is a little short, which increases the sound distortion when the stylus reaches near the end.
Due to its shorter length, when the stylus reaches the record’s end, it doesn’t stay in the center of the grooves, which is a part of a vinyl record.
As a result, the stylus stays in touch with the right channels. This causes the stylus to not fetch audio information from other channels, resulting in increased surface noise, and you hear distortion in the sound.
These components are the reasons for bad sound quality.
Build quality
The build quality is not good. Many cost-cutting measures are happening in manufacturing.
The plinth is made from MDF wood, which is good, but the material used to manufacture the platter, buttons, dial, and plinth is of poor quality.
You can feel it by touching it.
Although the build quality is understandable. The manufacturers sell these units for under $80 (depending on models), and they also need to secure their profit.
Still, the build quality is not up to the mark for a device that you have so many expectations from.
Prone to vibrations
The main USP of suitcase players is that you can take it anywhere with you. Thus, these units are lightweight.
But the lighter weight added one of the major cons to this unit.
The lighter weight makes the unit prone to vibrations, and the built-in speakers generate the vibrations when playing that cause the stylus to vibrate.
Although manufacturers have attempted to eliminate it by adding a shock-mounted mechanism, vibrations can still travel up to the stylus very easily, which causes frequent record skips and sound distortion.
Some record players don’t come with rubber feet, which adds instability to their position.
Wow and flutter (Speed)
While researching, I noticed many people facing inconsistent speed issues.
Not on all units, but some may have wow and flutter issues. The reason can be related to the belt, motor, or platter.
Damage records
It’s one of the main questions that pops up whenever someone mentions suitcase players.
The answer is yes. The suitcase units do damage the records.
All record players and good-quality turntable setups indeed cause a small wear to the record grooves each time a record is played, but these record players do the damage to a greater extent.
The main reason behind the damage is the tracking force.
The tracking force is the weight that a stylus puts upon the record.
The average tracking force of these units ranges between 4 and 6 g, which is way above the recommended levels.
The heavy tracking force forces the stylus to run deeper inside the grooves, which restricts the stylus from moving freely and staying in continuous touch with the grooves, causing damage to the grooves and the stylus tip.
FYI: A good-quality phono cartridge needs a tracking force of around 1.5 to 2.5 g.
Missing important adjustments
Additional features, such as anti-skate settings, counterweight, and height adjustment dial, help in cartridge alignment.
Cartridge alignment plays a crucial role in helping the stylus to fetch audio signals from the grooves efficiently and effectively.
These features are not present in all-in-one record players.
As a result, we are left with the settings optimized by the manufacturer during manufacturing, and we can’t adjust them accordingly.
Incorrect adjustments restrict the stylus from maintaining its position inside the grooves. Therefore, it can drag alongside the channels while running, causing damage to both the record and the stylus.
Durability
These record players aren’t durable at all.
The low-quality components used to build these units don’t let them last long, and you may cause issues such as the platter not spinning, not turning on, the record player being quiet, and sound distortion.
It is one of the reasons why I have only posted individual troubleshooting articles on these all-in-one units, such as Crosley record player problems.
So, these are the reasons why suitcase players are considered bad.
I admit, suitcase/all-in-one record players are the most affordable way to enter the vinyl world, but if the vinyl community rejects playing records on them, then there’s no point in investing in them.
I recommend investing in a real turntable and going for an entry-level turntable such as the AT-LP60X.
It will cost you a few extra bucks, but I assure you it will be worth every single penny spent and make your journey enjoyable.
Please share this guide with your friends planning to enter the vinyl world by purchasing these units.
