Tag Archives: Vinyl player

Arcade Game-shaped Wooden Cabinet Plays Vinyl Vertically and Cassette Tapes

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There’s something genuinely exciting happening in the world of audio design, and it comes packaged in warm wood and a beautifully nostalgic aesthetic. Swedish artist and craftsman Love Hultén has just unveiled a wooden music cabinet that does something no one really asked for, but everyone immediately wants: it plays vinyl records vertically while also housing a full collection of cassette tapes.

Yes, vertically. Your records, standing upright, spinning in a way that feels both physically unlikely and somehow completely right. It’s the kind of design move that makes you stop scrolling, tilt your head, and go, “Wait, how?”

Designer: Love Hultén

Hultén has built a reputation for creating custom, handcrafted audio devices that sit at the crossroads of art, furniture, and technology. His past work includes a synthesizer housed inside a wooden cabinet, retro-inspired tape players, and all manner of beautifully tactile objects that feel more like heirlooms than gadgets. The wooden music cabinet is very much in that tradition, except it’s one of his most complete visions yet.

The cabinet itself is built from rich, natural wood, giving it the warmth and weight you’d expect from a well-made piece of furniture. But the front panel around the record player breaks from the organic material and shifts into light gray metal, a nod to an older vision of futurism. It’s a contrast that works surprisingly well, the wood grounding the piece while the metal gives it a certain retro-industrial cool.

Sound control comes through a row of small, round knobs at the top of the panel, each one labeled for high, mid, and low. Flanking them on both sides are speaker holes arranged in a clean grid pattern, the kind of detail that feels satisfyingly considered. Nothing is there by accident. Everything has a place.

Below the turntable, the cabinet opens up into storage for cassette tapes, with several colorful ones arranged neatly in rows, also stacked vertically to mirror the record player above. The storage section holds up to 12 records. The whole layout feels like Hultén thought carefully about the ritual of listening, giving both formats their own dedicated space without either one feeling like an afterthought.

The design draws clear inspiration from the Rosita Commander Luxus, a 1970 audio unit with that signature high-chair silhouette and a decidedly mid-century European flair. Hultén’s version carries that same upright, almost architectural posture but updates it with his own sense of craft and intention. The result is something that belongs in a well-curated living room or a design studio, not tucked under a TV stand or shoved in a corner.

What makes Hultén’s work so compelling is that it refuses to be just one thing. It’s not purely nostalgic, leaning entirely on the romance of physical media. It’s not purely modern either, chasing specs and wireless connectivity. It lives in the middle, treating analog formats as something worth celebrating rather than merely tolerating, and wrapping them in an object that demands to be looked at as much as listened to. Hultén himself has described his practice as playing with preconceptions about the distinct realms of art and design, breaking patterns of function and aesthetics.

There’s also something worth noting about the moment we’re in. Vinyl sales have been climbing steadily for years, and the cassette tape revival has moved from niche curiosity to genuine cultural moment. Hultén’s music cabinet arrives at exactly the right time, when people aren’t just listening to physical media again but actively thinking about how it fits into their spaces and their identities.

A music cabinet like this isn’t just a player. It’s a statement about what you value, a rejection of invisible, streaming-era audio in favor of something you can touch, organize, and display. It’s the kind of object that starts conversations, the kind people notice the moment they walk into your room. No price or availability has been announced yet, which tracks for a piece this considered. Love Hultén’s creations tend to be custom or limited, made with the patience and intention that mass production simply can’t replicate. Whatever the wait turns out to be, it might just be worth it.

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Gorgeous Audio-Technica Turntable Concept is worthy of being in an Art Gallery

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If you’ve ever looked at your turntable and thought it could be on a museum shelf, you’re not alone. Hive Industrial, a design studio with a real track record working with Audio-Technica, went ahead and made that thought into a full concept. And once you see it, it’s genuinely hard to look away.

The ID Concept for Audio-Technica isn’t one turntable. It’s a family of forms, all sharing the same design DNA, all pushing the question of what a vinyl player can be when you stop treating it purely as audio equipment and start treating it like a sculptural object. The concept explores three distinct configurations: a flat tabletop version that opens like a precision box, a wall-mounted version where the record faces outward behind a tinted panel, and a vertical format where the disc and player stand together like a piece of framed art.

Designer: Hive Industrial

What makes it immediately striking is the geometry. Hive Industrial built the whole concept around a T-shaped extrusion, a form language that is clean and architectural without trying too hard. There are no soft curves begging for your attention, no retro-inspired wood paneling chasing nostalgia points. The shapes are confident and geometric, almost brutalist in their directness, which is exactly what makes them feel both modern and collectible.

The colorways are doing a lot of heavy lifting, too. The terracotta red version reads bold and warm, the kind of piece that anchors a room the moment you place it down. The forest green edition has a more muted, considered quality that would sit comfortably alongside design-forward furniture. The gray and silver variant is crisp and precise. Then there is the wall-mounted orange-tinted version, which looks less like audio gear and more like something you would find at a gallery opening with a four-digit price tag on the label. Each colorway feels like a deliberate creative decision rather than a marketing checkbox.

The controls are minimal by design. Along the side spine of each unit, you get a volume slider, a start/stop toggle, a 33 and 45 RPM selector, and an open mechanism. That is it. Nothing clutters the surface. The speaker grille, punched with a tight grid of circular perforations, sits flush into the body and reads almost as texture rather than hardware. The Audio-Technica triangle logo appears on each version, etched or applied with restraint, which is exactly how branding should be handled on a piece this considered.

The wall-mounted interpretation is the one that really challenges your expectations. Getting a turntable off the desk and onto the wall is not a new idea, but presenting the record itself as a visual element, visible through a color-tinted panel that doubles as the lid, is genuinely fresh territory. The record becomes part of the display. When the player is in use, you would be watching it spin behind that translucent orange surface, which is the kind of detail that takes something from useful to memorable.

Hive Industrial has a real history with Audio-Technica. The studio’s portfolio includes several actual products for the brand, including headphones that have shipped to real consumers. So this concept is not just a fantasy render from someone who has never held a stylus. It comes from a team that understands Audio-Technica’s design vocabulary and is asking, quite deliberately, what the next chapter of that vocabulary could look like.

Vinyl’s so-called revival has been going strong for well over a decade now. Sales have climbed consistently, and the audience has expanded well beyond classic rock collectors and dedicated audiophiles into a much broader group of people who simply want something more intentional than a streaming playlist. That audience, which has grown up caring about how things look as much as how they sound, is exactly who a concept like this speaks to.

Whether this ever makes it to production is an open question. But that is almost beside the point. Concepts like this matter because they move the conversation forward and remind you that even an object as established and beloved as a turntable still has room to surprise you.

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Sony releases two new Bluetooth turntables to spark Gen Z’s love for vinyl

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Sony is revisiting the vinyl arena with two new Bluetooth turntables, and for me, it’s resounding confirmation that records have made the comeback we were only speculating about over these years. The new models, the PS-LX3BT and PS-LX5BT, aren’t designed solely for established vinyl audiophiles. With their easy-to-use approach, these Sony turntables are aimed at Gen Z listeners who are just beginning to explore classic record players and CDs.

This is Sony’s first adventure in the vinyl market since the launch of the PS-LX310BT. Released in 2019, the turntable ensured hassle-free Bluetooth connectivity and reliable performance sans complex setups, and the new options are built on the same formula; adding a refined design approach and authentic vinyl sound.

Designer: Sony

Sony PS-LX3BT and the PS-LX5BT do not have biases. Both the turntables are targeted at first-time vinyl listeners and audiophiles, according to the company’s press information. The units thrive on advanced wireless connectivity options and craftsmanship, standing out visually thanks to the transparent dust cover over the platter. This not only protects the gorgeous thing from dust but also protects the components underneath from accidental damage.

Both units, Sony affirms, are intuitive and easy to operate. A single-button automatic playback and Bluetooth connectivity are configured to allow detailed output in both wired as well as wireless connections. For this, the turntables support aptX, aptX Adaptive, and Hi-Res Wireless Audio, which allow users to connect their devices – headphones and speakers – directly to the turntables without requiring a fully-fledged amp setup.

Even though both turntable supports 33⅓ and 45 RPM records (7″ and 12″) and include built-in phono equalizers to work with powered speakers, they differ in positioning. PS-LX5BT is more premium of the two. It features a slightly more refined look with a unibody design, rubber mat and an aluminum tonearm, offering a premium sound experience. “Engineered to suppress unwanted vibration and preserve audio purity,” it comes with a high-grade cartridge. Priced at a competitive $500, the PS-LX5BT offers audiophile-level wireless audio and features a gold-plated audio jack for wired connections.

The PS-LX3BT, on the other hand, offers “warm analogue sound with smooth tracking” for those enjoyable everyday moments that are rare to create with the turntable,s otherwise cumbersome to use. The turntable is equipped with an audio cable and phono equalizer to be used straight out of the box, no real setup required, even for those just starting out with vinyl. This unit is priced comparatively lower and is available for preorder at $400. Interestingly, both of Sony’s new turntables will be sold in recycled packaging, reflecting Sony’s commitment to sustainability.

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This concentric turntable with a CD player is the ultimate Hi-Fi system for newbie audiophiles

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Revival of the vinyl records and CD players was inevitable, as we’re seeing a swarm of physical media players that bring the invincible charm of analog music with the twist of modern design and technology. The rich and warm sound of record players is unmatchable, and the resurgence of physical audio is not going to tone down anytime soon.

Mixx Audio, known for their affordable turntables, wants to spice up the audio accessories market with a turntable that lets you have the best of both worlds – CDs and vinyl record players. Driven by the need to create a player that fits modern homes, the Analog Plus 2-in-1, fully automatic vinyl turntable has a built-in CD player. That means you don’t have to buy separate players for both to enjoy your vinyl records and CDs.

Designer: Mixx Audio

Design takes precedence here as the concentric turntable makes judicious use of the space below the platter for fitting in the CD player. The idea is to make it simple for listeners who want to enjoy both their vinyls and CDs with minimum fuss. Analog Plus is inspired by the industrial design of the 80s hi-fi components that weighed heavily into the sharp angular visuals. On the inside, it gets the Audio Technica AT3600L moving magnet cartridge, capable of playing 7-inch and 12-inch records at 33/45 rpm. Apart from this, you can enjoy your digital media as well, since there’s Bluetooth 5.3 and aux output. The included remote makes it convenient to toggle tracks, volume, or other player options.

The physical controls are mounted on the front for ease of use, alongside the small display that shows the current track progress and the mode selection buttons. The CD player of the turntable has a top-loading mechanism at the center. You can play normal CDs, or audio CDs, and RW discs as well. The audio quality output from these digital audio files is quite good, as it plays MP3 and WMA at up to 16-bit/44.1 kHz, and WAV files at 48kHz. Of course, the delivered audio will depend on the audio equipment you hook it to via the RCA audio outputs. That way, you can connect it to traditional hi-fi systems or modern speakers.

Mixx Audio has chosen the minimalist white and black color options for the record player that should go well with any interior. Analog Plus 2-in-1, priced at £299 (approximately $400), is a good starting point for budding audiophiles who want to ease into the hobby. The added convenience of loading your CD into the platter is another big advantage that goes a long way for music lovers.

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The Sleekest Vinyl Player of 2025 Hides Its Turntable Mechanism

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Here’s the thing about most vinyl record players: they’re either trying way too hard to look vintage, complete with faux leather suitcase vibes and knobs that belong in your grandparents’ attic, or they’re sleek modern machines that feel more like lab equipment than music players. The PARON III from Shenyang Orgot Design? It’s neither, and that’s exactly why it works.

This award-winning turntable is what happens when designers actually think about how modern life happens. You know how we’re all supposed to be downsizing, living with intention, and making every object in our homes earn its spot? The PARON III gets it.

Designer: Shenyang Orgot Design

What makes this player different starts with that lowered platter design. Instead of sitting on top of the unit like a hat that doesn’t quite fit, the turntable mechanism is recessed into the body. It’s a subtle move, but it completely changes the visual profile. The whole thing becomes more compact and unified, with this gorgeous layered depth that makes it actually interesting to look at, not just functional.

The materials tell their own story here. Black wood grain paired with metallic paint finishes creates this interesting tension between warmth and precision. It’s the kind of combination that reads as both reliable and refined without screaming for attention. And that slim transparent dust cover? It does its job protecting your vinyl without adding unnecessary visual weight. The whole aesthetic feels considered rather than calculated.

Let’s talk about what this means for your actual space. Traditional turntables demand real estate. They sprawl. They dominate. They require you to build your room around them. The PARON III’s minimalist square form takes up less footprint while somehow feeling more substantial. It’s the design equivalent of that friend who’s quietly confident rather than loudly insecure. The team behind this clearly understood that people who buy vinyl in 2025 aren’t doing it purely for nostalgia. Sure, there’s romance in the ritual of dropping a needle, but we also want that ritual to fit into homes that don’t look like vintage record shops. We want our tech to integrate, not dominate.

This is part of a larger shift happening in audio design. As vinyl has made its comeback, the market has been flooded with all-in-one players that prioritize convenience over quality or retro reproductions that prioritize aesthetic over integration. The PARON III splits that difference beautifully. It delivers high-quality audio performance (which, let’s be honest, is the actual point) while looking like something that belongs in a contemporary space.

What’s particularly smart is how the design enhances mechanical precision. That lowered platter isn’t just about looks. It actually improves performance by centralizing weight and reducing vibration. Form following function, function enhancing form. It’s the kind of circular design thinking that separates good products from great ones. There’s also something quietly rebellious about this approach. In a market that keeps telling us retro is cool, vintage is authentic, and older is better, the PARON III says: what if we just made something that worked really well and looked clean doing it? What if we stopped pretending we live in 1972 and designed for the homes and lives we actually have?

The PARON III doesn’t need to cosplay as vintage to justify its existence. It’s confident enough in what vinyl actually offers (that tangible connection to music, the intentionality of listening, the superior sound quality when done right) to present itself honestly. No fake wood grain, no retro fonts, no winking nostalgia. For anyone who’s been wanting to get into vinyl but couldn’t stomach another clunky conversation piece, this feels like permission. The PARON III proves that loving analog music doesn’t mean sacrificing modern design sensibilities. Sometimes the best way to honor tradition is to stop trying to recreate it and instead figure out what it means for right now.

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2-in-1 retro device concept brings an AI speaker and record runner together

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The recent retro craze when it comes to devices and even just designs of devices isn’t limited to just the people who actually experienced these things. The younger generation has a fascination with everything “old”, which can sometimes make older people really feel old. We’re seeing all kinds of product designs and concepts that play on this pseudo nostalgia (because it shouldn’t be called nostalgic if you didn’t actually experience it right?) and this trend will probably last for a long time. The best ones are those that are able to bridge nostalgia with modern sensibilities to get something that doesn’t just repeat what was done before.

Designer: Seunghyeon Kim (Focus Studio)

This concept for an AI speaker and record runner plays on the nostalgic feel that people are looking for. This is a 2-in-1 device for those who want to experience the convenience of a regular Bluetooth/AI speaker with the added different old school way of playing a vinyl record. The full device is a minimalist gadget that doesn’t give you a lot of features to maintain the external retro feel that you may be looking for.

The main part is a rectangular box shaped speaker complete with grills, a slider control for the volume, and the simple play/pause, rewind, and fast forward buttons. The power button and the slider control are the only colored spots in a silver monochrome device. There is a round thing on the left that at first looks like a detachable speaker but is in fact a record runner. This is a small record player that you place on top of an LP. It plays the record by pushing and pulling on the grooves, thereby earning the nickname of the vinyl killer (since some records get broken because of this).

The idea of a retro-looking speaker will most likely interest both those who want to get back to the good ole days and those that wanted to experience it in one form or another. The record runner feature may not be appealing though to those who prefer their vinyls to be played the regular way.

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A turntable for picky audiophiles who crave high-end vinyl playback experience

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Pro-Ject is the first name that pops up when we speak of high-quality turntables. The Austria-based company launched the entry-level T1 EVO range for audiophiles on a budget last month. Now they’ve revealed the flagship Signature 12.2 turntable for music lovers who want the ultimate sonic experience from their favorite vinyl.

This turntable represents the highest-level technology at the most accessible price, even though $15,000 is way beyond any normal audiophile’s budget. The audio accessory is a successor to the acclaimed Signature 12 turntable that made it to the top rankings of the most reliable audio equipment reviewers.

Designer: Pro-Ject

Known for their tenacity to bring high-quality record players to the audiophiles who can spend an exorbitant amount to follow their hobby, Pro-Ject has gone all out on this one. The turntable weighs around 80lb with the high-mass record platter weighing more than 25 lb and anti-resonant MDF made from stainless steel weighting 50 pounds. The platter is dampened underneath, spinning on an inverted ceramic ball bearing having a magnetic support. The use of more than 100 precision CNC-machined components provides stability and dampens any external interferences resulting in sonic sound reproduction that’s very close to how the artist intended.

According to Pro-Ject, listeners are in for a treat as the Signature 12.2 delivers “a deep, full and immersive sound quality that’ll deliver new sonic experiences — even from songs users have heard a thousand times.” The flywheel belt-drive turntable is loaded with a 12-inch S-shaped aluminum tonearm having a 3-point pivot bearing and a removable headshell for easy swapping of phono cartridges. If you are into choosing your preferred cartridge, the Signature 12.2 doesn’t come with one of its own. That said, the player is compatible with 33⅓rpm and 45rpm playback speeds. If you want to be precise between this range, there’s the electronic speed change option too.

The records are hooked onto the platter with a Signature Record Puk that comes included in the package. To enhance the premium appeal sturdiness of the unit, Pro-Ject hand-painted the record player’s MDF plinth in 10 coats, and it’s loaded with steel pellets to further reduce vibrations. With all the advanced tech fitted inside this beautiful vinyl player, you would expect it to do complete justice to your collection of records.

Rather than having a display for all the controls, Pro-Ject has opted to go with a hand-polished aluminum panel to avoid any unwanted electromagnetic radiation. The elegant analog look complements the whole look and feel. The high-end playback record player in piano-black finish will begin shipping in November 2024 for a retail price tag of $14,999.

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Vinyl player concept shows off transparent design

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You would think that in this age when we mostly listen to music through streaming services, old school ways of listening to music would be all but extinct. While we probably won’t see cassette tapes make a comeback soon, we still see CDs and vinyls have a pretty niche but passionate market. So we’re seeing several music players that are able to still play these “relics”, mostly for the vinyls (sadly, I have yet to see excellently designed CD players with great sound quality).

Designer: Vadzim Sadouski

There is no lack of great-looking and great-sounding turntables out there if you’re in the market for one. And there is also no dearth of interesting concepts for vinyl players, ranging from retro to cutesy to premium to sci-fi/out there levels. This concept for a “record player transparent design” is one of those that catches the eye and would be interesting to see as an actual vinyl player (and hopefully it gets a specific name too). From the moniker itself, you probably have an idea of what it would look like even if you don’t see the renders.

There’s a certain fascination with transparent things now and seeing how the inside looks like as it does its thing. This one is inspired by the play of light inside ribbed glass as the light refracts and plays around. The designer says the starting point for the design are things like glass, lighthouse lenses, tableware, and even lamps. What you get is a vinyl player with its base showing off the light inside from the glass grills.

Now as to how the vinyl records would sound like from having a transparent design like this is a problem for another day. But the concept itself seems pretty interesting and is definitely eye-catching. But real music lovers would tell you that no matter how well designed something is, the important thing is the sound quality of course.

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Vinyl player has built-in speaker and high-fidelity belt drive

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In this age of digital music, you still see some true-blue music lovers that collect vinyl records. To be able to fully appreciate the quality of this high-fidelity kind of music though, you also need to have a pretty good vinyl player. The quality though of what’s available in the market can be hit or miss, especially for those that have limited budget. So when we see something that’s relatively affordable but you know can bring you great music, we can’t wait to add to cart.

Designer: 1 By One

1 By One is one such brand that can give you quality vinyl players while not killing your wallet. Their High Fidelity Belt Drive Turntable has a lot of features that will make music lovers pretty happy. This includes built-in speakers so you don’t need to spend for external speakers if you don’t have them already. But it can also be connected to your system if you prefer something more powerful than what is already included in this turntable package. It is also a vibration-damping belt-drive turntable system so you’ll get stable sound.

It can spin both 33 and 45 RPM speeds and has magnet-type cartridge and adjustable counterweight which are necessary to give you “rich and warm audio” and also balances each channel. The Audio-Technica stylus cartridge included here is diamond-tipped and is able to track the vinyl record’s grooves so you get high-definition audio. The turntable uses wood and metal materials while the transparent cover gives it a more aesthetic look.

If you also want to play music from other sources rather than a vinyl record, you can do Bluetooth streaming from your phone, tablet, computer, or any mp3 player. There’s also an Aux-in port so you can connect music sources and other speakers manually. As I am on the lookout for a vinyl player I can afford, this can be an option (well, if it’s available where I live, that is).

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This modular LP player with detachable controller is modernized digital player for your vinyl collection

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Consuming music in digital format is as easy as compressing thousands of MP3 files into your phone storage and playing it with just a few taps on the screen. This is not the case with long play discs that ensure the unmatched sensory experience of sliding a record from the sleeve – featuring an artful cover design, – placing it on the turntable, adjusting the needle on the groove, and then enjoying the clean, clear music watching the disc rotate in visual ecstasy.

With vinyl disc players, you are treated to analog music where sound revibrates unlike any other medium. This fascination in the otherwise digitalized world has triggered a resurgence of record players in the last decades. Now, with the booming sales of vinyl, designers are willing to take the dive, presenting digital ways to playback LP’s and make them time-relevant without compromising the rich sound quality.

Designer: found/Founded

Case in point the Vibrary Digital LP Player that is more than its vibrant orange color and pleasant design. It is a modernized high-quality player for your vinyl collection that features a modular design you can customize with colors and materials of choice to match the artist’s official color and more. Of course, it’s not the most fascinating collector’s item still, but if you’re someone who is generally on the move and wants to carry their love for LPs along, the Vibrary Digital is a remarkable option.

While turntables offer a warm vinyl sound; this new design offers a tangible click-through operation for ease of use, and promises to match the sound experience through its long speaker body that houses the record.  The new Vibrary Digital concept digital album player, as it is referred to, is designed to enjoy your favorite records whenever and wherever you want.

It is envisioned with a detachable – cylindrical – wireless controller stationed next to the speaker (also with onboard controls), which would allow you to play music from the slotted record from a distance. Digitalizing the idea of a record player is not limited to size and altered vertical design, it is presented with state-of-the-art listening modes including spatial sound mode and a voice-specific mode that would allow you to customize sound according to the artist’s content.

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