Does a Turntable Need a Speaker?
September 18, 2022

It’s a no-brainer that all-in-one record players with built-in turntables are expensive. If you are working on a budget or you want to build a high-quality home audio system, you should get a turntable with separate speakers. They offer better quality sounds and a better listening experience than a record player with a limited built-in speaker.

There are so many reasons why a separate speaker is better and idler for your turntables than built-in ones. Here are a few reasons why a separate speaker is better for a good and engaging listening experience.

Pros and cons of record players with speakers.

Record players with built-in speakers usually come in two main types. The suitcase and vintage style.

Poor production material: The suitcase speakers are comfortable and easy to move about, but these devices were not made to last. They should not be considered as high quality audio equipment to play sound as the materials used to make this product are usually below-quality.

High needle tracking force: record players with built-in speakers are known to come with a high needle tracking force. This needle tracking force is to prevent your needle from jumping or skipping. But this high needle tracking force can cause damage to your records. The weight of the force of the needle can begin to dig into your records. So if you still want your records to be in good shape, you should be cautious when using a record player with in-built speakers.

Turntables without speakers’ pros and cons.

Turntables that don’t come with built-in speakers to hear your records, you will need to connect your turntable to an external speaker. These speakers can be powered to have built-in amplifiers, or you can choose to just use passive speakers with a separate amplifier. If something is wrong with your home audio, this will be easier to fix.

Since there is no in-built speaker in the cabinet, there are minimal vibrations. This will give the needle more room to record with better precision, meaning a better sound quality.

The main disadvantage to buying a turntable with a separate speaker is that it will cost more money than buying one with an in-built speaker. While a record player with an in-built speaker can be bought for less than $100, a turntable with a set of speakers will cost around $200. The sound quality and maintenance of the turntable will be far better.

How to connect a Turntable to a speaker

You can use the RCA Signal cable to connect the turntable to the amplifier or the speakers.

To sum it up, Yes! Turntables need speakers. That’s the only way you get to hear your records. Like I mentioned earlier you can choose to use a turntable with built-in speakers or get a Turntable with separate speakers.