Victrola’s cheaper Sonos turntable looks like a modern vinyl winner
In 2022, audio technology company Victrola impressed us with impressed us with Victrola Stream Carbon. This Wi-Fi- proud turntable is “Works with Sonos” certified, allowing it to connect directly to the speakers of a multi-room audio system.
Easy to integrate and featuring a belt-driven turntable with carbon fiber swingarm, it has created a big gap for users. best Sonos speakers in their setup, but it also has a premium price tag of $799 (about £720 / AU$1200). Gladly, Victrola launched a second set of Sonos-friendly decks at CES 2023 at a less intimidating price tag.
The all-new Victrola Stream Onyx maintains the same connectivity features as its more expensive predecessor but has some cheaper components as a compromise. The key concession is an aluminum tonearm in place of the luxurious carbon fiber found on the Stream Carbon. And the Onyx is equipped with the Audio-Technica VM95E or the Ortofon OM 5E moving-magnet box instead of the higher-end Ortofon 2M Red.
Features the same belt-driven, two-speed turntable configuration on the Onyx, as well as easily adjustable counterweights for the swingarm – and to make life easy, the swingarm has indicators whether the counterweight needs to be moved depends on the cartridge you purchased .
The Onyx also has a built-in illuminated control knob similar to the Stream Carbon for centralized volume control, allowing you to tailor output for the entire Sonos system and selected playback groups. Meanwhile, regular stereo speakers can also be used in tandem with a Sonos sound system via the turntable’s RCA output.
The Stream Onyx is currently available for pre-order in the US from Amazon and direct from Victrola.com for $599 (about £490/AU$870) and will start shipping next month – so though it’s still not cheap but will certainly be easier to afford than its predecessor, for a relatively small change in sound quality.
Keep an eye out for our Victrola Stream Onyx review to find out if it makes us a choice. best turntable of year. Victrola says it also plans to distribute its new turntable in Europe by the end of 2023 with a price yet to be confirmed.
Analysis: Cheaper Stream platform could be Victrola to shoot
We appreciate the pure argument that wireless recording decks negate the notion of analog vinyl playing in the 21st century, although if you are buying new vinyl it can be more complicated than that. But there’s no denying that there’s a huge market of Sonos users who like to simply integrate the record player into their multi-room setup.
The Victrola Stream Carbon is a great solution, but its hefty price tag puts it in the category of luxury hi-fi and out of reach for many potential vinyl players.
Onyx makes much more sense. The removal of the carbon fiber tonearm and the cheaper pre-installed cartridges are reasonable concessions to the 25% discount.
Factor in that Onyx’s moving magnet box can easily be upgraded at a later date for extra clarity for aspirants, and we’d suggest the newest deck on the block could be the best deck out of two decks.