Lenco record player has it all-in-one

LS-430 is stylish and well-built and looks great on a large shelf as a decorative piece
Lenco record player has it all-in-one

Lenco LS-430BN. Pic: Lenco

How many of us, of a certain vintage, still have records in a box in the attic or even a great looking collection on shelves that we don’t use anymore? I never had much of a record collection, but I’ve recently started to add to it by buying second-hand classics as well new and more recent vinyl releases.

Design

The LS-430 is finished with beautiful imitation leather and is available in black or brown. My review unit came in the brown variant that has a vintage vibe with a modern twist. It features a transparent dust cover that does exactly what it says on the tin. This can stay open thanks to two strong spring-loaded hinges on the back.

The record player does require some elements to be assembled, but this only takes a few minutes. The only tricky part of the setup is when you place the platter on the turntable and then have to pull the belt onto the brass wheel of the motor. 

Lenco has a ribbon around the belt to make it easy to get the belt over and onto the motor wheel. However, if you need to remove the platter for any reason, you’ll have to use your fingers which is a little trickier.

The LS-430 runs on 12V DC power and comes with a separate adaptor. Even without a built-in power supply, the record player is relatively solid and stands on four large shock absorbing rubber feet.

The front has a retro Lenco label that sits above the large speaker grille. Behind this are the four built-in speakers — two 15-watt and two 10-watt.

Around the back are left and right RCA phono connections, a 3.5mm AUX-in port and a switch for phono or lineout which uses the built-in preamplifier.

Features

The LS-430 is stylish and well-built and looks great on a large shelf as a decorative piece. The built-in speakers mean you don’t need anything extra to play your favourite records. These are both powerful and provide excellent sound quality. 

The speakers can get plenty loud but don’t expect audiophile quality sound and it’s also worth noting that not all vinyl offers pristine sound quality. I found that some of my old records didn’t sound all that great while others were fantastic but this wasn’t down to the quality of the LS-430. For those who want an even bigger sound, you can use the RCA out to play through a hi-fi system.

Even if you don’t have a lot of records, you can still use its built-in speakers via Bluetooth 5.0 to stream music, podcasts or anything else you want from a phone, tablet or laptop.

The record player also features standard playback speeds of 45/33 as well as extras such as tone and pitch controls knobs. There’s also a pause/play button and a large volume control knob. 

However, my favourite feature is the inclusion of a 3.5mm headphone jack. While the LS-430 isn’t an audiophile quality record player, the headphone jack was powerful enough to power some of my more demanding audiophile headphones. This was perhaps my favourite method of listening to my old records. Sit back, relax and just listen in peace.

Verdict

The Lenco LS-430 is a fantastic all-in-one solution for those who want something plug-and-play, that looks stylish and has a far better build and sound quality than the plethora of sub-standard record players with flimsy mechanisms and tiny speakers. The only features missing for me were an auto-return and autostop.

The included Audio Technica needle cartridge ensures stellar sound quality and the adjustable counterweight makes sure you don’t get any skipping.

Available for €291 at Gear4music

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