This Affordable Turntable Proves Beautiful Design and Budget Prices Aren’t Mutually Exclusive

The turntable is aimed at audiophiles and represents a “bold new step for the brand.”

Close-up of a turntable's tonearm and cartridge positioned over a black vinyl record, with a wooden base and metallic control panel visible in the background. The cartridge is labeled "Ortofon.

Published September 4, 2025

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Updated 4 hours ago

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Lenco is a Swiss audio manufacturer that’s best known for record players, speakers and new-age radios, all of which are relatively affordable.

At IFA 2025 this week, the company announced several new products, with the standout being a new flagship turntable: the Lenco LBT-515.

Lenco LBT-515

A vintage-style turntable with a wooden base, a black rubber platter, and a silver tonearm with a blue cartridge. The turntable is placed on a wooden surface with sunlight casting shadows around it. — The Lenco LBT-515 is direct-drive turntable with high-end components that’s aimed at audiophiles.

Quartz-controlled, direct-drive

The Lenco LBT-515 is the company’s most high-end turntable to date. And it’s unique because it’s a direct-drive turntable that’s aimed at audiophiles. According to the press release, it represents a “bold new step for the brand.”

Typically, most high-end turntables are belt-drive rather than direct-drive, because having the motor directly under the platter, a la direct-drive turntable, makes it more prone to unwanted vibrations and, as a result, distortion.

That said, the LBT-515 combats those notions with a quartz-controlled direct-drive motor that, according to the brand, “uses a crystal oscillator to keep the platter spinning at a steady, precise speed, constantly adjusting the motor for accurate, reliable playback.” It supports 33 and 45 RPM records.

The turntable comes equipped with an Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge, which sells for nearly $200 just on its own. It also features adjustable pitch control, anti-skating, a mechanical arm lift and gold-plated connectors.

Turntable with a wooden base, featuring a black vinyl record on the platter. The tonearm is silver with a blue Ortofon cartridge positioned over the record. The record label shows a partial image of two people and the text "Enjoy Music. — The turntable comes with an Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge.

Old school meets new age

Like many of today’s entry-level turntables, the Lenco LBT-515 does come with a built-in phono preamp that has an RIAA equalizer. This means you can easily connect to a pair of powered speakers or a traditional hi-fi system with an amp and passive speakers.

The phono preamp has an on/off switch, which gives you the freedom to add an external phono preamp and build out a more elite audiophile setup around the turntable.

If you don’t to have your own hi-fi speaker setup yet, or just want a more private listening session, the Lenco LBT-515 does support Bluetooth 5.3. This allows you to stream your vinyl to wireless headphones or speakers.

Lastly, the turntable has a bespoke, beautiful design. It has a wood cabinet and features a metal platter, arm and counterweight.

Close-up of a wooden turntable's control panel featuring a silver tonearm base, a large knob, smaller buttons, a sliding pitch control with a rectangular slider, and buttons labeled "33," "45," "START," and "STOP." The wood has a smooth, polished finish. — It features adjustable pitch control, anti-skating, a mechanical arm lift and gold-plated connectors.

Price and availability

The Lenco LBT-515 will be available this coming November.

The turntable comes in one wooden finish and will cost £580, making it approximately $780.

Lenco LBT-515

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About the Author:

Tucker Bowe has been on Gear Patrol’s editorial team since 2014. As a Tech Staff Writer, he tracks everything in the consumer tech space, from headphones to smartphones, wearables to home theater systems. If it lights up or makes noise, he probably covers it.