Victrola Stream Carbon: High-end turntable for Sonos lovers
Victrola Stream Carbon. Pictures: Noel Campion.
It’s bonkers to think that in an age where we can stream almost any tune we want, anywhere we want, a medium such as vinyl not only still exists, but is thriving. In 2022, the sales of vinyl records outperformed CDs in the US for the first time since 1987 according to RIAA revenue statistics. While streaming still accounted for 84% of the revenue in the US in 2022, revenues from vinyl records grew 17% to $1.2 billion – the sixteenth consecutive year of growth – and accounted for 71% of physical format revenues.
There are many specialist record stores now where you can flick through record covers to see if something strikes you as worthy of a spin. For those who still have a large vinyl collection, there must be a feeling of vindication for sticking with the format when others discarded them like frisbees or at best, abandoned them to the loft.
The Victrola Stream Carbon is a niche turntable that features high-end materials and build quality along with a premium price tag. Its features are limited to those who have bought into the Sonos ecosystem although it does come with RCA outputs so you can also play your records through an analogue sound system.
For the purposes of testing, I was kindly loaned a Sonos Roam speaker by Currys.ie. Although this is a review of the Stream Carbon, I was mightly impressed with the incredible sound and feature set of the small, but powerful little speaker. The Roam is jam-packed with incredible features including WiFi and it was perfect for testing the Sonos capabilities of the Carbon Stream. Of course, the larger and more expensive Sonos speakers will offer an even better sound experience. If you’re interested, check out Currys massive range of Sonos speakers.
The Stream requires little effort to assemble out of the box and is highly elegant. It is belt-driven, so care has to be taken to ensure you put the belt onto the pulley beneath the disk platter properly. You also have to install the carbon-fibre tonearm and attach the headshell mounted with an Ortofon Red 2M cartridge. Metal turntable parts and a die-cast aluminium platter are placed on top of a solid MDF body.
The front panel is textured aluminium and features a large multifunctional knob that controls volume and toggles between two inputs. The knob is made from the same matte aluminium finish but features an LED light ring that changes colour to orange to indicate an issue with the network but it shines white by default. The brightness can be dimmed via the Victrola app or turned off completely if you prefer. The large knob feels great to the touch and I love the analogue control over pressing buttons on the Sonos speaker.
The one design choice I’m not a fan of is the removable lid. It creates a unique look to the already stylish turntable but the issue is the lid is completely separate from the turntable and when you take it off to play a record, where do you put it? Standard lids have hinges and can protect and keep dust off when in use but this isn’t possible with the Stream. I know it’s not a dealbreaker, but I wish Victrola would rethink its design choice for the lid.
The Stream is a turntable first and foremost and can be used via the RCA connections directly to an amp in the traditional way. Everything about this turntable feels premium and refined with quality materials. The metal lifter arm has just the right amount of weight to it and the solid aluminium arm locking mechanism is smooth and solid. The only other controls include a metal dual-speed dial and an anti-skating knob.
Unfortunately, there’s no auto return for the tonearm — the platter starts spinning when you move the arm over the record and stops when it reaches the end of the last track.
Using the Victrola app, I connected the Stream to Wi-Fi and my Sonos system, which consisted of a single Sonos Roam speaker. The app is basic with only a few options and features that essentially allow you to connect the Stream to the same WiFi network as your Sonos speakers — it supports both Sonos S1 and S2 speakers.
In essence, simplicity is the beauty of the system as it takes the fuss, complexity and wires out of the equation. Play your records on your Steam and seamlessly play through your Sonos speakers throughout the house.
Again, I was very impressed by the sound quality from the Sonos Roam and more especially, the Stream Cabon. I did have a few streaming issues at first, but a quick change of the streaming setup in the ‘Additional Settings’ in the app soon sorted those out. The internal analogue-to-digital converter converts audio from the Stream Carbon into a digital signal with a sampling rate of up to 48 kHz for the Sonos system.
To fully appreciate the quality of the sound coming from the Steam I also connected the RCA outputs to my amp and B+W tower speakers. In terms of sound quality, the Stream is excellent and everything from my old James Taylor and Elvis records to Daft Punk sounded sublime.
The Victrola Stream Carbon is a niche product that will suit those who love their vinyl records and want a convenient way to play them through the Sonos ecosystem. After only using a single Sonos speaker I now get what all the fuss is about and see the attraction but unfortunately, at €995 the Stream Carbon is an expensive turntable with a limited user base. However, those willing to invest in the world’s only Sonos-certified turntable won’t be disappointed.
Victrola Carbon Steam - €995 Richersounds.ie
Sonos Roam - €200 Currys.ie
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