Mini Stereo System with Turntable

Exclusionary tactics

Listening to records is cool.  People who have bothered to accumulate a sizeable collection of vinyl tend to have high standards in music and sound, often scouring the internet and thrift stores for their ideal turntable. 

Considerations like brand, preamp, speeds, and the tonearm usually precipitate price for these nostalgic connoisseurs.  Unfortunately, most of the new mini stereo systems not only dismiss the turntable, but prohibit connecting traditional tables by excluding a phono input. 

The answer to this apparent swindle has been to manufacture new turntables of questionable quality with circuitry that allows playback via mini stereo inputs.  Choosing one of the best mini stereo systems now leaves you with an obsolete turntable and scant replacement options. 

The high quality and corresponding prices of some mini stereo systems indicate that producers cater to discriminating listeners with a significant stereo budget - why not make them a decent turntable?  External preamps can connect any turntable to a line level input, but can get very expensive and are normally unnecessary.  It would appear that most mini stereo producers are purposefully neglecting the most passionate audio enthusiasts.

Old, reliable nostalgia

Companies like TEAC and Crosley offer kitschy mini stereos stylized like old radios equipped with all the modern trimmings - CD, station presets etc.  Prices top off at around 400 dollars but most are quite affordable and unexciting.  Made under the assumption that the turntable is a novelty and those that use them lust after all things "retro," they are likely to insult their finicky demographic rather than entice them.

Arguing for the alienated hipsters

The mini stereo system just may be considered incompatible with vinyl lovers.  After all, nothing is going to decrease the space that a turntable occupies on your shelf.  Though, when compared to component systems, mini stereo systems save considerable room even with a turntable. 

Producers must know that they are passing the cost of a preamp to vinyl listeners to keep prices competitive for minis.  But plenty of folk dig records, so adding a phono jack might prove more lucrative than offering bargain turntables. 

More information on turntables