Audio-Technica’s Sound Burger curbed my vinyl craving with a game-changing audio characteristic

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• The Audio-Technica Sound Burger is $199 and is available in yellow, black, or crimson.
• The Sound Burger has unparalleled portability, an extended battery life, and offers a novel listening expertise. 
• It does not have a counterweight, and in addition does not have an auto-return characteristic. 

Technology is all about embracing the now. So, although I’m a type of individuals who may be caught of their methods (reminiscent of listening to vinyl records with the suitable analog setup), I’m glad this time I branched out to see what’s doable.

I lately bought my fingers on the Audio-Technica Sound Burger Bluetooth turntable. While it initially got here out in 1983, the corporate lately revived it and added modern-day tech like Bluetooth to make it the moveable file participant they envisioned approach again then.

Also: The finest Bluetooth turntables you should buy

While I actually do not suppose it is a substitute for a extra normal vinyl setup, I loved listening to my records elsewhere in the home quite than being tied to the basement. The Sound Burger, in brief, offers a novel expertise of one thing that has remained largely the identical for many years.

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In the Eighties, this moveable participant (initially often called Master Disc) was powered by batteries and got here with a set of foldable headphones, so you would take heed to your vinyl wherever you needed. Now, the Sound Burger makes use of USB charging — which offers a battery lifetime of as much as 12 hours — and Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity, letting you join it to a conveyable Bluetooth speaker, a soundbar, Bluetooth headphones, and extra.

The Sound Burger additionally comes with a wired cable in case you wish to take heed to vinyl the analog approach, though I assume you are shopping for this machine for its portability quite than to make use of as a wired file participant.

Some different notable specs: it has a belt drive, a Die-cast aluminum alloy platter, a frequency band of two.402 GHz to 2.480 GHz, and a replaceable ATN3600L stylus.

The Sound Burger is straightforward to arrange. I had vinyl taking part in on the machine by a Bluetooth speaker in minutes. My common vinyl setup is within the basement, so the Sound Burger satiated my craving (pun meant) to take heed to vinyl in the lounge. I even took it out to my deck one evening, and it was enjoyable to vibe out to an unique Fleetwood Mac file outdoors with a fireplace going.

The Sound Burger could be very delicate — strolling round or by it may well make the file skip a bit. This is as a result of the file participant lacks a counterweight, which might probably injury your records if the monitoring drive is just too excessive. It additionally does not have auto-return, which is not essentially an enormous challenge for me; it is extra of a nice-to-have characteristic.

Also: The finest audio system for vinyl

I might see the Sound Burger being enjoyable to carry alongside on a tenting journey. Since you are already listening to music round a bonfire, why not make that music vinyl as a substitute of the identical outdated Spotify playlist? I might additionally suggest the Sound Burger to those that reside in a small area and do not have room for an expansive vinyl setup.

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

The Sound Burger’s portability is unparalleled, and that is my favourite Bluetooth turntable as a result of it embodies what Bluetooth was meant for — portability. If you intend to take heed to vinyl by way of Bluetooth, that is the way to do it.

Of course, audiophiles or vinyl diehards may argue that this moveable participant is a waste since portability is not the purpose of vinyl. But hear me out: if we will use know-how to take vinyl to the outside or on trip whereas tucked away in a cabin, why not take it for a spin?