Found: 5 Great Vintage Turntables

Welcome to Found, a series where classic goods, ready for a new home, are handpicked by Gear Patrol‘s writers and editors.

While design aesthetics may have changed over the years, the technology behind the turntable has remained relatively unchanged. Thus, there are some truly great vintage turntables available for sale across the web. To save you time, we did the digging for you. Each of these turntables are worthy of spinning your rare wax and are pretty enough to put on display in your living room.

Pioneer PL-520 Direct Drive

What We Like: At $90, it’s tough to go wrong. Pioneer made some great turntables and the PL-520 offered some handy features like fully automated lowering and playing. With a few touch-ups and some light servicing, this turntable will be ready for long listening sessions.
From the Seller: “Arm needs damper fluid. Overall, seems like a nice easy project.”

Location: Sierra Vista, Arizona

Thorens 125 Belt Drive

What We Like: This Thorens 125 is a gem. Not only is it a high-quality turntable, it’s designated as being made in West Germany under Swiss License. It’ll also play 16s, 33s and 45s.
From the Seller: “Powers on and works. 33 and 45 comes to speed and runs quietly, but 16 seems a bit slow. It will probably need a new belt.”

Location: Wichita, Kansas

Rotel RP-3000 Direct Drive

What We Like: This Rotel direct-drive turntable looks to be in fantastic shape, and at this price point, it’s a steal. Its aesthetics are second to none, with a classic ’70s design.
From the Seller: “In near-pristine condition and good working order, this Rotel RP-3000 is a solid performer. It is a two-speed (33/45 rpm), manual control, direct-drive turntable system with pitch control.”

Location: Easley, South Carolina

Dieter Rams Braun SK6

What We Like: Yes it’s expensive, but this turntable has a lot going for it. Not only is an example of this model on permanent display at the MOMA, but it was designed by Dieter Rams. Owning this turntable is owning a piece of design history.
From the Seller: “This unit has a custom built phase converted added (reversible for other countries), and is ready to use.”

Location: Owings Mills, Maryland

Related Topics