dougiebe's Full Review: Vestax Handy Trax Turntable
I am an avid music listener but never upgraded my old broken turntable from the '80s once I started collecting cd's. Like you, I've got all these great lp's, 45's and even some cool old 78's that I've been carrying around for years but couldn't enjoy. I only wanted to casually revisit my old vinyl collection but didn't want to dedicate a permanent spot in my stereo setup for a turntable (I don't really have the space, anyway)... Get out the turntable, listen to records, and then put it all away. The Vestax Handy Trax is exactly what I was looking for.
I had been eyeing other portables but they didn't quite have the features or possibly the fidelity I was looking for. Here is a list of the features most important to me:
-It's portable... or easily storable. Like I said, get it out, listen to records, put it away. Or take it to a friend’s house and listen to their records.
-It's small. Very unassuming and handle-able
-It has a line out that will plug right into your stereo, no special turntable input required. Plug it into your computer and burn your records to cd! It also has a small mono built-in speaker that I'm sure isn’t all that great (I haven't tried it). It’s probably fine for auditioning tracks but not suitable for hi-fi listening. It also has a headphone jack that probably sounds fine (I haven't tried it either).
-It plays 78 rpm. I don't have too many but it's nice to know I can listen to an old 78 if I wanted to. Many turntables these days don't have that feature. You should really get the 78rpm stylus. I’ve seen it for about $17 on the Internet.
-The sound is very good. Not audiophile quality but great for casual listening and nostalgia.
-It’s totally affordable. I got mine for $129
-Other features I won't use but might be useful for others: battery power (6 D's), tone, pitch and volume controls (set them and forget them), and a line in jack (no idea what for... karaoke through the tiny built-in speaker?).
Here's what I wish it had:
-More solid construction. The body of the unit and lid are fairly flimsy and plasticy, a little scary for a portable. Just be sure to handle it with care. The mechanism and platter have a good solid feel, though. No worries there.
-An on-board place to store the wall-wart. One more ac adapter on the loose that I need to keep track of.
-One of those levers that gently lifts and lowers the tone arm. This unit is totally manual and will not turn off when the record ends. A lever would be nice but I get along without it just fine.
-You'll need to make sure you have some patch cables on hand because it doesn't come with any... stereo rca to rca for connecting to the aux input on your stereo, and stereo rca to 1/8" stereo male mini plug to connect to your computer line in.
I just got the Handy Trax and have only used it a few times so I cannot comment on its reliability over time, but Vestax has a reputable name in the turntable market and I’m sure they stand behind all the products they manufacture. Check out www.vestax.com.
Keep in mind, this is a simple and flexible specialty device for listening to records. It doesn’t have the features of a higher end turntable (adjustable weighted tone arm with anti-skating, audiophile quality, etc.), but with the features it packs and for the audience and applicatons it targets, it is totally worth the price.
I highly recommend the Vestax Handy Trax if you’re looking for a well built, great sounding portable. However, if you are a much more serious vinyl listener and listen only at home on a regular basis then you might want to consider a more traditional turntable.
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