A turntable with built-in speakers is worth buying if convenience is everything: one box, nothing else to buy, records playing within minutes. It is rarely the best way to hear them. Speakers built into the player sit a few centimetres apart in a small cabinet, on the same surface as the stylus, so the sound is usually narrower, thinner and more easily upset than the same records played through a separate pair. A turntable that sends its signal to speakers of your choice asks for a little more thought and usually gives much more back.
Do turntables come with speakers?
Some do and many do not. A turntable is a source. It reads the groove, and the cartridge turns that movement into a very small electrical signal. To hear it you need a phono stage to boost the signal, an amplifier and speakers. Our guide to what speakers you need for a record player goes through each part.
An all-in-one player puts all of that in one case. A turntable without speakers leaves the last part for you to choose, which is usually where the biggest improvement is.
What do you give up with built-in speakers?
Three things, and they all come from the same cause: the speakers are inside a box that was designed to be compact.
Stereo width. Records are mixed to two channels. Speakers a few centimetres apart cannot spread them across a room, so the sound tends to come from one small point. A separate pair placed either side of you can. We cover why in stereo vs mono speakers.
Bass and volume. A small cabinet limits how much air the drivers can move, so low notes are the first thing to thin out as you turn up.
Stability. Sound from speakers on the same surface as the deck can travel through the plinth to the stylus. At higher volume that can blur the sound or cause a low rumble.
Many all-in-one players are also hard to improve one part at a time. If the speakers are the weak link, there is often nothing to swap.
What do you gain by using separate speakers?
You get to choose the part that matters most and to put it where it sounds best. Speakers can go either side of the TV or the listening chair, away from the deck, on furniture of their own. Our guide to where speakers should be placed shows how much that helps. You can also upgrade the speakers later without touching the turntable, and the same speakers then work with your TV, your phone and anything else you connect.
How does a turntable connect to external speakers?
There are three common routes:
Powered speakers with the turntable’s own phono stage. Switch the phono stage on, connect the turntable’s RCA outputs to the speakers, and you are done.
An amplifier with passive speakers. The turntable goes to a phono input on the amplifier, or to a line input with the turntable’s phono stage switched on. Use only one phono stage in the chain.
Bluetooth. The turntable sends the music wirelessly to a speaker or a pair. Our article on whether Bluetooth turntables sound as good as wired ones covers what, if anything, you give up.
How does the uStream TT1 work with external speakers?
The uStream TT1 is a Bluetooth turntable built to send your records to the speakers you choose. It streams them wirelessly to any Bluetooth or wireless speaker, including every uStream speaker, with no receiver and no phono cable.
It is a belt drive deck with an Audio-Technica AT-3600 moving magnet cartridge, plays 33⅓ and 45 rpm and has auto-stop at the end of a side. It also has a built-in phono preamp, switchable from a slide switch on the back, and RCA left and right outputs, so you can use a cable to powered speakers or an amplifier whenever you prefer.
What if you want everything in one box?
That is what the uStream Groove is for. It brings a pair of uStream Cube speakers and a uStream TT1 together in one box: a complete wireless stereo system for your records. The uStream Cube speakers give 70W RMS for the pair and pair with the turntable automatically. There is no wire between the turntable and the speakers, or between the speakers themselves, so you place both speakers where they sound best instead of squeezing them into the deck.
Frequently asked questions
Can I connect my turntable directly to speakers?
Yes, if the speakers have amplifiers built in and the signal has been through a phono stage. Many turntables, including the uStream TT1, have a built-in phono preamp. If yours does not, you need a separate phono preamp or an amplifier with a phono input.
Do I need speakers for a turntable?
Yes. A turntable only produces a small signal, so it always needs a phono stage, an amplifier and speakers, whether they come built in or separately.
Are turntables with built-in speakers any good?
They are good for convenience and casual listening. For sound quality, the usual route is a turntable and a pair of separate speakers that you can place well.
Can a turntable play through Bluetooth speakers?
A Bluetooth turntable can. It streams to any Bluetooth speaker you own, and you can still use its wired outputs if you prefer.
