- Quality materials
Belt driven metal platter with Victrola silicone slipmat - Keep your records as good as new
Aluminum tonearm with adjustable counterweight and anti-skate features - New Vinyl Stream Technology
Vinyl Stream technology allows you to stream to any Bluetooth speaker - Premium Victrola Cartridge
Victrola VPC-190 High-performance moving magnetic cartridge - Customize your sound
Built in switchable pre-amp with RCA outputs and included premium connection cables - Bluetooth Capabilities
Bluetooth connectivity for wireless playback from your phone or other devices - Connect to any system
RCA and Auxiliary inputs with premium cables included to connect to any audio device - Removeable speaker grills
Removable magnetic speaker grills for multiple design looks in your room or office
-52%
Victrola – Premiere T1 Turntable System – Espresso
$144.00 Save:$155.00(52%)
Available in stock
Description
Additional information
| Weight | 24.9 lbs |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 17.32 × 19.69 × 19.88 in |
| Product Depth | 17.32 inches |
| Record Player | Yes |
| Color | Espresso |
| Manufacturer's Warranty - Labor | 90 days |
| Manufacturer's Warranty - Parts | 1 year |
| Input(s) | 3.5mm audio |
| Product Weight | 24.9 pounds |
| Model Number | VTTS-1-ESP |
| CD Player | No |
| Drive Type | Belt drive |
| Operation Type | Manual |
| Product Height | 19.88 inches |
| Product Name | Premiere T1 Turntable System |
| Brand | Victrola |
| Cassette Player | No |
| Color Category | Brown |
| Product Width | 19.69 inches |
| UPC | 810033111006 |
Reviews (43)
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Christopher –
Amazing. Beyond amazing. The sound is spectacular. It doesn’t support 33 1/3, but honestly i don’t care. You can’t notice on most of my vinyls. My home is 3129 sq ft and you can hear it throughout the house. Trust me once you have it set up. Love at first site.
ebk02 –
This arrived well packed with everything protected. I unpacked, re-did the tone arm static balance, and set the VTF (vertical tracking force) and anti-skate to the book specs. Completed the rest of assembly which was easy and straight forward. The finished setup is nice looking with the dark wood look. Now to the musical testing and pros / cons….
On the pro side, paring was quick and blue tooth worked well. I paired the turntable to my home system, and had a fairly good sound quality.
I then tested the powered speakers with both blue tooth and the line inputs. I did not see much difference in sound.
However, when connected with line input, the speakers had a slight 60 cycle hum at loud volume. When the turntable was turned on, the hum was mostly gone and replaced with white noise. This was only evident at near max volume with no sound input, so probably will not be heard during playback. Only indicates a good ground could be helpful.
I have an extensive record collection – dating from the late 60’s up. I have kept all in pristine condition, no scratches, pops etc. I chose an easy rock band – Toto – and a Beethoven symphony as the test albums.
My impression of sound is, I guess, what can be expected from very small 2 way speakers. Little bass, and muted highs. They did put out more than enough volume – easily fill a room. Would have been good to have bass and treble controls.
Keep in mind the stylus physically rubs in the groove of the album, and always causes some wear. I feel 2 1/2 grams VTF could accelerate record wear. And, you cannot just lighten this cartridge as it will not track properly. The good news here is the cartridge can be replaced with one that tracks at a lighter weight. I also noticed the turntable seemed a bit more sensitive to bumps on floor causing skips. I did not notice any wow or rumble from turntable.
Overall, I was not impressed with sound quality, although playing through a home system on blue tooth provided large improvement. It does play records, and would be a good addition for an extra room or den for those that have albums laying around and want to revive them
Webzpinner –
Put this system through two days of heavy listening to all genres of music, and have a torn view on the system. The turntable is fantastic. 5/5. Quiet, great playback, decent quality arm. The M1 speakers are below average at best. 2.5-3/5. The Bluetooth on them drops constantly, and the sound is very harsh and way too bright. An example would be listening to Celine Dion. Her voice has range and resonates on a good pair of speakers. On the M1s, her voice sounds more shrill and flat. A side-by-side comparison between the M1 and a similarly sized Kef hooked up to a 45W parasound Zamp 3 and the Kef blows them out of the water. So noticeable that even my wife could tell the difference, and told me she didn’t want the M1s even for a guest room sound system.
We hooked the turntable up to our main living room B&W tower system and it sounds beautiful. Just a smooth like butter sound. Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” has a warm, wide soundstage. The Beatles’ “Sgt Pepper” was a cacophony of sound, and the audio was rich and clear. Definitely proves the speakers were holding this system back.
As a set, this is a decent value for a start into hifi. I highly recommend upgrading the speakers as soon as you can, because it opens up the sound of this fantastic record player. It’s a night and day difference. The M1’s really need more design time. They do a disservice to their turntable.
Hope this helps. Really wish I could review the components separately.
JC1503 –
Iv’e never owned a record player before but when I saw the Victrola T1, I took a pause and texted the wife. We are decorating a new house and looking for unique statement pieces…AND we are music lovers…and the Victrola Premiere T1 is just breathtakingly beautiful. Wife was on board!!
Got the unit and opened up the box and it was well packaged nice and secure. It was a little more complicated to set up than I thought it might be (which was not hard just more than I thought). The quick start quite talked about adding the counter weight and adjusting the “anti-skate” control. You have to put the belt on the turn table etc. NOTE: The counter weight came preinstalled but I only knew that from a little sticker on the counter weight on the unit itself. That was a little confusing but just take your time and look at the stickers and follow along. Don’t force anything. soft touches from putting on the dust cover to making sure the needle drops on the vinyl.
Got it all set up and it really is just breath takingly beautiful the dark espresso finish is just gorgeous and luxurious . I like that you can take the magnetic speaker covers off for a more industrial look. Something to consider, depending on where you plan to set up, that I was not used to is all the wires!! RCA left and right plus two power chords one for the unit and the speakers. You can go Bluetooth to other sound systems but the speakers and the table really pair together and create the whole vinyl experience. Going Bluetooth to my Sound-bar is cool and adds a ton of overall room volume but surround sound just seems to take away from this amazing turntable and speakers authentic vinyl sound just a bit. Plus we wanted to showcase the Victrola and not hide it in a cabinet. So I will need to do some wire maintenance and concealment on the wires. So worth it.
Previous to getting my Victrola the wife and I went vinyl shopping at the local antique market. That was a blast!!!! It was like time travel all the decades and generation. We went with classic country Patsy Cline and Johnny Cash, The Doors, Blondie and some Hawaiian music and a few others. Then we hit the new vinyl best of Queen and Elton as well from a local store.
Victrola was ready, I grabbed Johnny Cash and pulled the record out of the sleeve and gently placed it on the turn table, raised the arm and moved the needle over track one and dropped. The record starts spinning when you lift the arm. Note the arm has small little levers that help raise and guide the arm which is nice.
The needle dropped and floated down to the vinyl and that iconic hiss/crack that only a record gives. Authentic raw sound. It is not some computer decoding bits of data and playing it. It is analog authentic music and it’s very cool to experience your favorite music in a totally new way. I felt like I was transported back to the Whisky go go in the 60’s to hear the Doors and transported into the studio with Freddy when he was belting out Somebody to love in the 80’s! Just a really cool way to listen to my favorite music.
Victrola also has a record store to browse! But you can find records everywhere now!
Overall: The beauty, the history, the awesome sound and the rediscovery of all my favorite bands and songs…ABSOLUTELY WORTH OWNING THE VICTROLA! Show piece audio for sure!
So much fun!
MemphisTechieRN –
While I admit I was not alive during the first wave of vinyl popularity, I did catch the tail end and am now lucky to be around to experience the unexpected second *massive* wave of interest in Vinyl.
Have our ears collectively gotten tired of the sterile digital mediums and now long for the warm analog sounds of yesteryear? Perhaps. And There are many brands of turntables to choose from.
This brings us to the Victrola Premiere T1 Turntable System. First I have to mention what a massive box this came in! It is obvious Victrola have taken great care in making sure this system gets to you without a scratch on it. I know it’s important to alot of people. It is to me.
Unboxing the Victrola Premiere T1 Turntable System – I immediately gasped. I was instantly transformed back to my childhood as I gazed at the beauty of what was in front of me. it is apparent that Victrola wanted this system to not just look good, but spectacular. The deep espresso finish on the system instantly makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside. Everything is solid, you can tell it is quality and meant to last, unlike other systems. The speakers and turntable have quite the heft. That’s not a problem for me as the Victrola Premiere T1 Turntable System has found a permanent home on my glass-top L-shaped desk.
Assembly was a little more difficult than I expected, but nothing to scare off the average Joe by any means. Very easy to follow instructions are included, and they are miles ahead of some of the others I have seen.
As I already have a “Main” sound system elsewhere utilizing a turntable, I will be testing the sound of the Victrola Premiere T1 Turntable as a standalone unit. As I feel it was meant to be. The speakers are powered and there is no need really for a phono amp. The heft of the speakers have raised my expectations a bit as to the sound quality.
To test the sound, I use my trusty copy of “Dark side of the Moon”. I have heard that this sonic masterpiece has been used thru the decades to test audio systems, and I have done so on different mediums already.
My initial high hopes for sonic excellence were squashed when the record began with the heartbeat. What is meant to be a rich, full booming sound is left sounding a bit dull. It doesn’t sound horrible – don’t get me wrong. But it doesn’t sound as good as I was hoping the Victrola Premiere T1 Turntable System would sound. It is definitely not the fault of the record, as I tested out a few others. Highs are muted and mids slightly muffled. But the good news is the above is said with the expectation of an audiophile sound quality. So my “muffled, muted, dullness” is STILL light years AHEAD of big box brand “all in one systems”. And after a few spins of more titles from my rather eclectic collection of vinyl I actually started to become fond of the sound output of the Victrola Premiere T1 Turntable System.
All in all I am very happy with the Victrola Premiere T1 Turntable System. It looks like a work of art, and after getting used to it – it sounds pretty darned good also.
If you are jumping on the “Second Wave” of vinyl’s popularity, do yourself a favor and get the Victrola Premiere T1 Turntable System. Your eyes and ears will thank you.
Farns –
Apparently, as someone in my early 40’s I’m not qualified to be a music appreciator if I’m not listening on vinyl. I have whole heartedly embraced the convenience of having all the digital music I could possibly want stored on my smartphone. Yet I found myself on the outside looking in. My former classmates now resigned to Facebook friendship showing off their growing collection of LP’s and bragging about their transcendent experience. I wanted in!
Knowing that I wanted a system that offered everything I needed without breaking the bank I was immediately interested in the Victrola T1 system. It seemed to have everything I needed and I liked the appearance so I gave it a shot.
Unboxing: I was impressed by the sheer size and weight of the package that arrived on my doorstep. First rule of audio equipment – if it’s heavy it HAS to be good! Well if that’s true, I was in for a treat! I unboxed each component piece by piece. Each component carefully packed in a black dust cover and protected in shipping. I opened all the accessory boxes and carefully removed the foam arm holders and the plastic needle cover.
Set Up: The instructions said that I needed to balance the arm so I attempted to do that. In reality I feel like it was pretty well balanced anyway. I don’t really think I adjusted it much anyway. I plugged in the RCA cables and the cord connecting the two speakers and powered everything on.
First Try: I loaded my Jayhawks album purchased for the artwork and gently placed the needle on the edge of the record. I could hear the faint whispers of ‘Come Crying to Me’ so I found the sound know on the speaker and cranked it up. Big mistake! All of a sudden I heard the song blaring from a speaker UPSTAIRS where my wife was working! No joke! Impossible you say? I kid you not. Apparently, the turntable is bluetooth compatible and I have a sounder connected to my TV that annoyingly broadcasts its location as a bluetooth speaker so when you have two devices looking to pair – they just assume that they want to be together! Super cool feature of the turntable, but it scared the crap out of me!
Next Try: After switching the knob from stream mode I was immediately treated to the melodic sounds of Back Roads and Abandoned Hotels, though by now I was firmly in the middle of Everybody Knows. I was immediately impressed by the clarity of Gary Louris’ vocals that were clearly centered between the two speakers. A faint hum could be heard between tracks but did not distract from the experience. I was immediate returned to the Bowery and the feeling of live music. The album I’ve listened to hundreds of time felt different.
Sound Feedback: I didn’t have high expectations from a complete system at this price point but I was quite impressed. I queued up the same album on my stereo pair of streaming speakers and played the same tracks back to back. While my streaming speakers packed more punch, the reaction was that it was artificial punch. The vocals now seemed crammed and muddy. If you’re a Jayhawks fan, you know that you don’t want Marc Perlman’s voice stepping anywhere near Louris. The other interesting result is that I could actually work with this album playing. Generally, I have to listen to instrumental albums when working in my office because the vocals are distraction, but perhaps it’s because the music from my streaming speakers is too overpowering. I type this review as I listen to Don’t Cry and it’s soothing to my soul.
Nit Picky: The knob that switches between On/Off/Streaming doesn’t have any indicator so it’s difficult to know what’s what. The system turns itself off after it’s done playing which is great, but it would be amazing if it would ‘Wake Up’ when adjusting the arm or replacing the record. Even if it’s ‘ON’ I have to switch it off then back to ‘ON’ again. The speakers have a physical on/off switch but also a push button on the volume knob. One time the ring power was off on the speaker and I couldn’t figure out how to to turn it back on! I flipped the switch and adjusted the volume – nothing. Finally I pressed and held the volume button and it came on. Not intuitive.
Final Thoughts: Again very impressed with the value in this package. It’s versatile with the included speakers that were clear if nothing else. I will note, that I loaded Soul Asylum’s latest album and I was decidedly less impressed with the speakers. These aren’t speakers that you’re going to rock out with, but in this case I used the bluetooth that connect to my main stereo system in the next room and sounded much better. To me this is a great starter system to whet your vinyl appetite that’s a step up from the record player in a box systems you see during the holidays in the clothing section, but it’s likely not a system that a true audiophile would brag about. I’ve definitely loved messing around with it so far!
NAMO –
INTRODUCTION
The Victrola T1 is positioning itself to be a one stop shop for people wanting to get into vinyl, or already have an existing vinyl collection that need a player at a reasonable price. The Victrola turntable has line outs and a phono pre-out that connect via audio cables to a set of their powered monitor speakers. A simple, yet complete approach to vinyl playback.
USE
I would not consider the Victrola a Premium product by any stretch of the imagination as most of its parts are plastic. That is not all bad, though. The turntable, while plasticky, is made well enough. It operates smoothly and efficiently. I had no trouble with the table skipping, jumping, or not precisely tracking the record. Victrola adjusted the weights and the arm prior to shipping to make the end user’s experience infinitely better and much more hassle-free. Aside from connecting the speakers via the included RCA cables, there are really only 4 notable steps needed to begin use: 1. Slip the platter on the spindle, 2. Slip the belt on the drive motor, 3. Remove the protective packaging, 4. Install the dust cover.
Victrola has taken a lot of the hassle out of setting up a turntable, making the assembly and initial configuration easy. The only issue I encountered during assembly was having the belt on the drive motor improperly. The gear on the drive motor is stepped and I had the belt on the wrong step causing all my albums to sound like an Alvin and the Chipmunks concert.
NEGATIVES
The biggest drawback to this entire system is the speakers. To be frank and to the point, the monitors really aren’t all that good. For a set of speakers that appear to have a soft dome tweeter, these monitors are overly bright. Much brighter than any other soft domes I have. There is no way to take the harshness out while listening to albums, so I hoped I would be able to fix the issue streaming via Bluetooth. Even using Ultra HD material, the harshness was still there. Applying equalization settings only make the vocals sound that much worse and totally unnatural.
If the overly harsh sounding tweeters weren’t bad enough, the monitors 4” bass drivers lack excursion, while the amps lack the power to properly power the woofers. It is just a one / two punch that makes for a flat and uninspiring bottom end.
CONCLUSIONS
There is nothing bad to say about the Victrola turntable itself. The table seems well-built and has worked flawlessly for me to this point. The arm tracks well without skips or any other annoyances commonly found in record players.
I can’t say the same for the powered monitor speakers, though. They just don’t do music justice. If it were me, I’d buy the Victrola turntable, but look elsewhere for a quality set of powered monitor speakers to go with it like, some AudioEngines, Golden Ears, or Def Techs.
InspectorGadget –
Pay close attention when setting the counterbalance weight and antiskate adjustments. Follow the manual instructions. On mine the counterbalance weight was locked in place with an allen screw so loosen it with the included wrench to allow it to turn. The manual doesn’t mention this. Don’t assume that it was set at the factory since mine was set way too heavy out of the box. These adjustments can be critical over time as too much stylus force can cause premature wear on your albums and stylus while setting it too light will cause skipping and tracking problems. If you’ve had a turntable with counterbalance and antiskate adjustments in the past you may already know this. However the calibration on this one seems different from my older ones since the manual recommends a setting of 1 for the counterbalance which equals 3 grams of force where my older turntables directly equal the number of grams (1 equals 1 gram, 2 equals 2 grams, etc.). If you’re really picky you may want to use a stylus force gauge sold separately to measure the actual force applied. Be sure to remove the stylus cover before adjusting as it adds weight to the cartridge. If you just don’t care to set this properly maybe you should consider a cheaper turntable without these adjustments.
Ok, now that the lecture is over let’s get on with my review. This is a decent turntable with adjustable counterweight and antiskate. No pitch control but maybe not needed so much with today’s more modern motors. Certainly not DJ quality you probably won’t want to be scratching on this but great for listening to and revisiting my old album collection. I have over 150 albums that I mostly bought before cd’s were available plus a few new ones. I still have my old Technics direct drive turntable (about 45 years old now) but haven’t used it in a long time since most modern receivers don’t have a turntable input. I bought a preamp for it but haven’t really used it because of all the hassle of connecting it all up.
So I thought I would try this out to maybe bring some of my vinyl back to life. It’s well packed and much more convenient with built in preamp and bluetooth. You can connect to the included speakers with bluetooth or the good quality cables included. No receiver required. I prefer the cables over bluetooth for max quality.
The turntable and speakers look nice. Belt drive, 45 and 33 1/3 speeds, and soft rubber feet (only 3 though) to dampen shock and resist feedback. Good replaceable cartridge, matches the system well. Mine had a bit of hum till I turned on the turntable power and it went away.
The speakers were a pleasant surprise as they sound really good to me. They accept rca input and 3.5 mm as well as bluetooth. They even have a subwoofer output if you want more bass but they have good bass already. Easy pairing with my phone for mp3’s and they get pretty loud.
Overall a nice convenient system for those with an old album collection or new users wanting to try out some vinyl.
Capshroud –
Although I’m more than old enough to still have a collection of vinyl from the analog days, I no longer have a system set up with a turntable. With that in mind, I thought this might be an answer. Was it a good solution? Here’s what I found while exploring the strengths and weaknesses of the Victrola T1 system.
All 30 lbs. of this turntable and speaker system came well packaged in a large box. The build quality is acceptable and solid but not audiophile look or quality. Some seem to think the walnut finish is cool, but to me, it has the look of shiny Formica from the past which is not my idea of elegance. The assembly was simple but a bit finicky. The first time I pulled the platter’s rubber belt over the capstan, it ended up with a twist. You must be careful to get it right. The next issue was the tonearm counterweight. Although the instructions said it had to be screwed on, it came pre-installed and seemed fixed in place. It took a bit to realize there was a very small set screw that was preventing adjustment and balancing. The included but never mentioned, hex wrench was the clue, and soon the arm was balanced and secured in place. These are minor but annoying issues. After you separately plug in both the turntable and left speaker and connect all the RCA plugs it’s ready to play.
The sound was clear. The stereo separation was good. However, it was harsh and overly bright for vinyl. If you know anything about old LPs, they tend to have more than a fair share of snap, crackle, and pop from years of use and can sound a bit muffled without good highs. This was the opposite. The crackling was exaggerated, and the bass was muted. I experimented with the Bluetooth capabilities of both the turntable and speakers and found that the speakers were part of the problem, but even when listening with studio-quality headphones, the sound remained overly bright with wacking not booming bass. It’s almost as if they failed to build this system with the RIAA equalization that’s needed for vinyl.
My final assessment is that the turntable is decent, but the speakers are a disappointment. The T1 is offered standalone, so if you have a good stereo system or Bluetooth speakers, just go that way. Also, this needs to be used with some type of equalization hardware or software to balance the sound. I would only recommend it was those qualifications.
Titan5178 –
I’ve never had a vinyl record turntable before but have a few vinyls from an inheritance, so I’ll admit this was a learning experience for me. We did inherit the player too but it’s very old and broken so never got a chance to actually play any, so I was excited to give this a spin (pun intended!)
Upon taking everything out of the box there’s a few things to put together, which for a newbie like myself was a bit daunting but not difficult. I made sure to study the instructions thoroughly, so I did not miss anything. Mainly you put the big metal platter onto the turntable deck and the silicone slip mat on top. There is a belt under the platter that needs to be stretched so that it goes around the motor on the top left of the deck. They provide a piece of ribbon taped to the platter that will help you get the belt attached.
Once that is attached then I was confused because the manual says you need to adjust the tonearm “or damage may occur to the unit or records” (scary!) but there was another note that says this is already done for you so I just skipped that step, removed the shipping foam from the weight and tonearm, and connected the monitors via the line out cable included. It would be nice if the manual itself mentioned that everything is setup for first time use.
The dust cover is easily attached via removable hinges or can be completely left off if you’re installing in another cabinet. Again, I found a discrepancy in the instructions as they say the hinges come preattached to the back of the unit but mine were found in a small box labeled accessories.
At this point I’m impressed with how the system looks and nothing seems out of the ordinary except for that there are only 3 rubber feet on the bottom which due to my inexperience with turntables I’m not sure if there’s a reason to not include 4 but it makes the whole thing a bit wobbly. I don’t think the feet are adjustable and couldn’t find anything in the manual about it, which seems odd because I would think you would want adjustable feet so things could be made level
Now, when it comes to playing records I found that the included monitors sounded ok, but are not wow by any means. They can fill a medium sized room but are a little bright and uninspiring. There’s not much bass at all. I actually settled on using the vinyl stream feature and listening on a good pair of Bluetooth headphones. The monitors themselves also support Bluetooth if you needed to use them with a different source.
Now here’s where both my inexperience and the poor instructions hurt me. I didn’t realize until SEVERAL DAYS of using this thing that there is a small little lever (called a cueing lever thanks to Googling) to help you gently move the tone arm precisely on and off of the record versus dropping it by hand. I scratched a perfectly brand new record (yup heard that authentic record screech sound and all) because I was unaware of this feature. The instructions said use the “lift lever” which I thought was just the little lever on top of the cartridge for your finger.
Pros:
Beautiful Espresso Aesthetic
All-in-one System
Weight and anti-skate tuned out of the box
Phono Output Switch
Cons:
Instructions could be better
Is not stable, bit wobbly
Monitors are bright
Overall – The turntable is great for anyone who wants a good midrange setup: affordable, produces great sound and the overall package just looks great. However, for a more pleasing experience you could just get the turntable instead and pair it with better monitors or a stereo system.
Caladbolg –
Excellent turntable, poor speaker performance.
This entire unit looks really impressive. The packaging is excellent, the instructions are easily digestible, and the whole unit is very well built. Not only are the accessories high quality but all of what you need (sans a sub cable but does include and aux cable) is provided. The tone arm is the highlight of this unit as it feels like most of the attention went there in the design phase.
As well as this is built, it’s made of rather poor materials. I could stand the plastic a bit more if the speakers performed better and were made with better quality materials. Internal chambering, ports, anything to get this sound better should have been implemented. For what looks like a high-end unit, I can’t say that I feel that’s what it should be categorized as. I want to clarify that all components feel solid and dense like a high-end unit should, but the plastic and poor speaker performance makes it feel much less so.
I would have loved to test this with a smaller sub to see if the additional sound would be enough to complement what the included speakers put out. But I suspect it would not have added enough to change my mind.
I’d say this would be a great turntable alone at about the $200-250 range. Just leave the speakers out of it and stuff all the internals on the table instead.
psyclopps –
Summary: Full of nostalgia, this is an amazing record player that will bring back memories, outstanding audio quality, and make for a great conversation starter with the kids!
Unboxing: This device will require a lot of assembly (for a modern electronic product). The box is large and finely secured with padding, but pretty much all the items are in pieces that will require assembly and some calibration. Pretty much everything on the unit is made of wood and it has a premium look and feel.
Assembly: The speakers are easy enough, plug them into the wall and the record player with a red/white RCA cable and they are gtg. As for the turntable, a quick summary is, attach the platter, stretch the rubber belt to the motor, insert the dust cover hinges and cover, level the arm, adjust the weight for proper pressure on the needle, then you are pretty much gtg. The instructions are easy to follow if read but if you skip them, you might be a little lost. The monitor speakers also have a subwoofer output if you would like to get more bass.
Use: First, I showed it to my oldest kid. He said “Dad, I learned about these in music class!” I tested this record play with three records… Taylor Swift Fearless Taylor’s Version, Red Hot Chili Peppers Unlimited Love and Olivia Rodrigo Sour. I initially realized my record player would skip with the smallest touch of the surface it was on. The issue was I calibrated the arm/weight with the plastic needle guard attached which was enough to throw off the calibration so it wasn’t pressing enough on the disk. After recalibrating, all was good. There were a few instances where the record had a slight “warp” to its shape (common on vinyl) which would cause the needle to loop the audio a little bit.
Sound quality: Outstanding! First, be aware that records will introduce imperfections such as hisses/pops but some people love the character that adds. I need to warn you that most albums are mastered in a high definition digital recording. I highly recommend doing your research on how the record you are interested in is mastered since many recordings might just be a master digital copy converted to analog. The sound quality will still be outstanding, but there is no analog advantage in this case. I did see some websites that compared vinyls that used a digital master to the lossless versions on iTunes and Tidal and they did find less distortion and higher dynamic range on the vinyls in most cases. But… a poorly engineering record will be almost identical to the digital download version.
Fearless by Taylor Swift was an outstanding recording that had great dynamic range and demonstrated the high and low capabilities of the record player. I used Red Hot Chili Pepper to demonstrate the speaker’s ability to handle distortion. I was greatly impressed by how the vocals stood out from the guitars and the drums punch with clear bass. This record was much better than the digital recording. The symbols on the track “Black Summer” shocked me when I first heard them since they sounded almost live, the downloadable digital version pushed that audio into the background by comparison.
Extra features: The unit has a “vinyl output” feature which will allow you to stream the record to headphones via bluetooth. There will be a compressed data loss since bluetooth has limitations but you will get a more traditional record sound with the hiss and pops.
The M1 Monitor speakers also have the ability to output via bluetooth from your phone.
Targeted audience: This is a product for anyone who enjoys music. You will feel as if you are there in the audience for some recordings and it will allow you to rediscover certain songs. Even with its quarks, which I would expect from a record player, I give it 5 stars.
Jacbo14 –
The Victrola Premiere T1 Turntable is definitely a product for those newer to vinyl, or those without an existing audio-system to play records from. This is down, in large part, to the included M1 Monitors, which complete what is essentially an all-in-one vinyl system in a box. You don’t need to buy a separate amp, speakers, or other accessories to make this system work, it truly is plug and play, and it is this which makes this such a strong proposition for many. For myself, I am new to the world of playing vinyl, so I have never owned my own turntable before, although I do own many records which I display. As a result, this was my first foray into playing records, and by and large, was a fantastic experience overall.
To start, the set-up process really is clear cut. You get a large “one-sheet” cutout in the box which walks you through all of the necessary steps, and two separate manuals, one of the T1 Turntable and one for the M1 Monitors. After some quick assembly of the turntable, and ensuring the tonearm is balanced, you can put the cover on the turntable and plug everything in with the included cables. Having known very little about setting-up turntables prior to this set-up process, I was able to get everything set-up, positioned, and plugged-in, all in less than an hour. One of the best set-up procedures for new tech that I have had.
Speaking of the T1 Turntable, this is easily my favorite part of the whole system. It comes fairly equipped with a switchable phono pre-amp, RCA outputs, Bluetooth, and a record speed switch between 33 and 45 RPM. It has a silicon slipmat to place records on, aluminum tonearm, and a clear plastic cover to protect from dust. The turntable is equipped to work with a variety of audio devices, (besides the included the M1 Monitors), and this helps provide a bit of future-proofing if you decide you’d like to move-up from the included speakers (more on that in the next paragraph). On the turntable you get a dial which lets you easily turn the table on/off, and enter bluetooth pairing mode. On the whole, the table looks great aesthetically, functions seamlessly, and has enough features to give you options to set-up the system how you’d like.
So, given the turntable looks and performs great, how does the system sound? This is where there will likely be some controversy, depending on your expectations. This is because the M1 Monitors offer what I would call “acceptable” sound quality, but nothing more. They aren’t bad, at least to my ear, but are far from up to the quality of even good budget stereo speakers. I am not a discerning audiophile, but the speaker’s sound can best be described to my ear as “surface-level”. You get a bit of a bright signature, with sharper highs and a little bit lacking in the mids. There is very little by way of bass depth, and together this results in a sound that is plenty loud, but doesn’t display the true richness of the source material. For casual listening it’s not bad at all, and I don’t want to go so far as to say they sound poor, but having owned several speakers in my time, they feel like out of the box speakers and not something of discernable quality. Personally, I wouldn’t hesitate to upgrade these if budget allowed. This all being said, the M1 Monitors do offer an easy to adjust volume dial, the ability to connect via bluetooth, and the option to add a sub if you wish. I didn’t get to test the sub, but with some EQ and sub adjustments, you may be able to pull out a bit more sound quality, unfortunately, out of the box they are just okay from a core sound quality perspective. As long as you don’t go in expecting miracles, I don’t think you will be disappointed.
In terms of sound quality without the M1 Monitors, I did use bluetooth with other external speakers, and headphones, and found the quality to be largely great. From the perspective of someone who is new to the world of vinyl, I really appreciated the texture and quality of the various tracks, and was quite addicted to playing my backlog of records on the machine. All-in-all, a great experience, but one that you can’t expect audiophile levels of sound quality from with the included speakers. That being said, if you can upgrade the speakers, or just plan to use these for casual listening sessions, I do not think you will be disappointed with this all-in-one kit. Personally, I am looking forward to using it quite a bit in the months to come!
Goncho –
>> Overview
The Victrola Premiere – T1 Turntable System (the T1 turntable and M1 stereo speakers), is a perfect companion for you to enjoy your old (and new) vinyl records. I have a few well preserved and beat-up old vinyl records at home and I was waiting for an opportunity to get a decent system to play them. This system meets my overall expectations, the sound that comes out is crisp and clear, the feeling of the music is just great, it feels alive and brings back so many great memories. The couple of the more beat-up records I had, had noticeable too much background noise so I bought new (remastered) versions of them, and well the sound was just out of this world. Nevertheless, it is amazing how a 30+ year old record, decently preserved, sounds on this device! So, it is time to inherit more of those old records and I’d say it is worth expending on new records as well.
>> Setup
Note: For the T1 turntable, check whether the Counter Weight and the Arm are installed and if there is any note stating that they are already pre-set, so that you, if so choose, don’t spend time calibrating it.
Reviewing the “Quick Setup Guide” that comes in the package, in the “Turntable Assembly” section for “Tone Arm Setup / Counter Weight Balancing”, there is a sequence of steps to attach the counter weight and calibrate it; however, I didn’t notice the note that mentions the counter weight and anti-skate had already been pre-installed (and precisely set). Also, I didn’t realize that the counter weight was already secured by a screw on its side. And so, I decided to follow the instructions and I tried to turn the counter weight to start the calibration process. I applied some force when I felt some resistance (the counter weight was already secured), which damaged the thread around the arm rode where the counter weight was installed. That was when I took a closer look at the Setup Guide and realized that the unit was already calibrated (and secured). Later I noticed the other note in the foam that held the counter weight, which stated the same (“precisely set” was the wording). Oh boy, I missed that, lesson learnt, pay closer attention to the labels.
Anyways, after loosening the screw that secured the counter weight, I did the whole calibration process and I think I ended up placing the counter weight in a similar position in which it came. I had to move the Anti-Skating knob to get a proper sound, though. I wondered if I just wasted my time plus causing some damage to the unit. But I think, there would be people who might want to make sure to calibrate the Arm themselves. In which case, just make sure to notice the screw securing the counter weight so that damage is not inflicted on the arm.
Additional Note: I almost lost the little rubber adapters/feet that attach to the sides of the clear plastic dust cover. They fell off when taking the different components out of the box. I was about to throw them into the garbage but decided to keep them around, and glad I did, as it became clear they were missing from the dust cover when it was time to assembly it.
>> Sound
The T1 turntable together the M1 set of speakers, provide an amazing sound. Listening to my vinyl music on it was, what I’d say, a more vivid/lively experience than what is provided by “regular” music (at least that is what I felt.) The speakers are powerful enough to fill a whole big room with sound. This was the first time in a while that listening to some of my favorite music made me feel so emotional (the other times are when attending concerts.) Listening to Pink Floyd and Bach, was such a great experience that I just kept quite sitting while listening to them for hours. I hadn’t enjoyed music like this in a while.
The M1 Speakers have a Subwoofer output port. I haven’t tried it yet, but it looks like it’d be worth to buy one, especially to enjoy the bass on those rock records even more!
If you have a receiver with a more complex speaker setup, you can also connect to it and enjoy your music. Well, that’d defeat having your set of M1 speakers, though.
My plan is to keep the T1 turntable in my home office room and I plan on buying new vinyl records for my favorite music and/or replace the more damaged records with some secondhand units that are better preserved.
>> Bluetooth
Bluetooth capabilities are provided for the T1 turntable (output) and the M1 speakers (input).
> T1: Streaming your vinyl music through Bluetooth (vinyl stream)
You can stream the music from the T1 turntable to a Bluetooth enabled speaker or headphones, what is described as “vinyl stream” in the manual. I initially didn’t see the point in doing so, and I was reluctant to even try it, but I see its use if you have other people around and don’t want to bother them with your tunes. Well, it could also happen that very late in the night, and although I have my doors closed, some might hear music coming from my office room, so in that case perhaps having the option to stream to my Bluetooth headphones comes handy.
It took a few tries to connect to a pair of Bluetooth enabled headphones to the device (following the steps in the Setup Guide.) The main recommendation is that, when connecting, to keep the headphones very close to the T1 turntable. Which I did, but it still took a few tries to have the connection (I even removed the Bluetooth headphones from any other device that ever had a connection to it, just in case).
> M1: Streaming music through Bluetooth to the M1 speakers.
Just press the volume control on the side of the right speaker and it would say “Bluetooth”, pressing again, it will say “Analog”. This explains why then when I turned on the speakers the first time, the voice said “Analog”, and in my head I was thinking “what? Analog?”. Well, it was because you can also stream music to the M1 speakers.
I also wondered why anyone would stream music to these speakers while connected to the T1 turntable. But then once the device was in my office room, I realized, depending how it goes, that I might just get rid of my computer speakers and use the M1. Time will tell.
>> Other notes
– When a record ends playing, the arm doesn’t automatically go back to its resting position, it just stays on the record where it finished. I recall my family’s old turntables had this capability.
– It has two speeds: 33 1/3 rpm and 45 rpm; however, I’ve only tested it with 33 1/3 vinyl records.
– It doesn’t have treble/bass controls. I didn’t feel the need to adjust those while listening to records, though. But I’d guess, for some rock music I’d be willing to have some more control on those settings.
kids2 –
This is a nice upgrade from the small box type turntable I was using!
The box is heavy but packaged really well to protect the product. Each piece was wrapped in a protective cloth and then surrounded by cardboard. It would have been helpful if the pieces were labeled.
There is a large cardboard sheet with limited instructions and 2 small booklets to assist with set up. This should have been more specific and with more detail IMO. The instruction regarding the arm weight and adjusting the dials were not good at all – conflicting directions.
The speakers/monitors are nice and are a good sound and size for the room where I have this setup. There are 2 speeds 45/33 with a switch on the back – IMO this should be in the front or on the top. Also there should be a spot to place the 45 adaptor. The power button on the unit is easy enough to use and understand however it took a minute to figure out the power button on the monitors and figuring out Bluetooth. The cover is made well and easy to attach. I would have liked to have a remote for the volume control.
I played a variety of my albums and they all sounded great – even though a few pops were heard I thought the quality of the sound was good.
I do not think that this is worth the $399 price point and not sure I would recommend this to friends.
MommyMay –
This turntable has taken me back to my very first recorder as a kid. It was the Fraggle Rock set that was on some infomercial. Oh the memories this brought back.
I was able to play my Green Day greatest hits record that came on 2 records (front/back) and it sounded pretty awesome. The sound is great and it looks amazing! The set-up was not too bad, but it did take me a bit to figure out the band that was attached to the tape. I did not follow directions and ripped that tape off too quickly and had to search for the band that attaches to a little part on the turntable. Just warning, dont rip the tape off until you look under so you know where the band is. Other than that, everything else was a cinch! Once I got it up and running, it was pretty awesome. I cannot wait to purchase more records. I love that you can bluetooth a laptop or phone so you can create mixes using a record and bluetooth music. You can also connect other speakers via bluetooth to really enhance the sound.
It also is very nice looking system. I love that the front speaker covers are magnetic attached so you can take it off or keep it on depending on your preference. The quality is also pretty nice. This is the first turntable I have seen that resembles my moms old record player that we used to play her Madonna and Michael Jackson albums on. That is just based on my memory and not any picture I have. I love it!
Chris –
Classy little record player and speaker combo. Feels really well put together. Looks great and feels like it’s made from quality materials. The sound is pretty decent at lower volume levels, but distorts above a little over half way up. The instructions are good, but a little confusing when it comes to setting the tone arm counter weight. The instructions say move the weight back until the arm is balanced, then turn in 1.5 turns. However there is a protective foam block around the weight that says it’s preset at the factory. I didn’t know which to believe, so I ran through the adjustments the way the manual said to do it, and ended up right back where it came pre adjusted at. For some reason the player only has 3 legs… two in front, and 1 in the back which makes it hard to adjust the switch for 33 or 45 rpms… I had on a record that was an extended play 45 and didn’t know it because it’s in German, and it looked like a normal 33, but when playing it I realized it was to slow so I switched to 45 and the rear leg being in the center allowed the whole player to tip slightly to the side causing the tone arm to skip across my brand new record… That’s a terrible design flaw in my opinion. It could have damaged both the record, and the needle but luckily they both seem ok. I’m not sure why they only use 3 legs but they should have used 4, or put the switch on the front of the player. Overall it’s a good looking quality feeling record player that gets the job done but is very basic. If that’s what you’re looking for then I would recommend it.
Andy –
We haven’t had a record player for quite a while, years ago the kids ruined the needle on our old one and I haven’t found a replacement for it. When I got the chance to get this one, I was pretty impressed by the complete package. It has a nice set of speakers that can also connect to Bluetooth devices and automatically synced to my soundbar.
The speakers sound pretty good and the record player itself is very easy to operate. I had picked up a new record (all of our old ones are packed away) and it worked perfectly. It was nice to hear the old sounds from a record player. The anti-skate mechanism makes it simple to pick up the arm and position it over the desired track on the record. Then, just drop the little handle and it lowers onto the record where you chose.
Assembly was pretty straightforward, just follow the pictures and instructions on the large board that covers everything when you open the box. After taking all the soft covers off of everything, and emptying the accessory boxes, all the parts are well labeled and plug in quickly. In a few minutes, the system is up and running.
For a complete system, this seems to fit the bill pretty well. It has a good sound, can connect to other devices and looks nice sitting on the table.
WSohn –
My better half has always liked to collect records whenever we saw a second-hand shop as a pet hobby
even though we didn’t have a record player. I had gotten a cheap retro looking record player from Target
a while ago so she can play these records that have been sitting around being neglected. It never
sounded great with the built-in speakers and even when it was connected to another output via the
3.5mm AUX jack. It looked cute enough for the wife and she could play her unused records so it was
good enough for the time being. One night we had a musician friend over and they saw the records and
asked to play a few. He mentioned how good records sound when played on proper equipment. I haven’t
really listened to records since I was young and have since been spoiled the ease of digital music. But I
guess it was time to get a decent record player. I showed my wife the Victrola and she like the simple
clean looks and was interested and jumped at the chance to get rid (gave to our kid for her playroom) of
the Target special.
The Victrola came nicely packaged with clear instructions on a large piece of cardboard (nice touch). I
appreciated how the belt on the platter had a piece of ribbon on it to aid in placing it over the drive on the
platform. The player is very classy looking plater on a wooden base with squishy rubber dampers that
keep the unit free from shocks when someone walks by in front of the console table causing excessive
vibrations. The speakers are clean looking with magnetic screens which are held in place well enough
but slide right off. They also sound infinitely better than the previous player or the shelf CD player unit
speakers we have on our bookshelf. Bluetooth connectivity means we can use wireless headphone or
portable speakers and have music anywhere within range. That is pretty great. Magnets and Bluetooth.
Everything needs magnets and Bluetooth. To my friend’s credit we were doing ourselves a disservice by
listening to the records on a cheap player. The music does sound better and it much better fills the room
making it much more enjoyable. The only annoyances I have found is the hinges on the acrylic cover are
rather cheap feeling plastic to an overall classy looking unit, but it works smoothly, just doesn’t look great.
I worry that the cover could get scratched rather easily. Function wise, I don’t like that the turntable shuts
itself off at the end of the record and the dial needs to be turned to off then on again to restart it. Aside
from those small issues, I love the look and it is a welcome addition to our living room.
DocCupCake –
Victrola has brought forth a package that takes you back in time with crystal clear sound and a music experience like none other.
Upon getting the package home and opening the box you are greeted with a great rod it that screams quality from the materials and look of it.
The two speakers and the turntable are just gorgeous to look at. Once you set them up in the room of your choice they are a showcase just by themselves.
Setup was very simple and intuitive. I pulled everything out and had it up and connected in five minutes. Then came the hard choice what vinyl should we play first? Pulled out Queen and placed int table and let it go.
The sound made me feel like I was right there with them singing in Such clarity I would expect from very high end speakers. They music quality was perfection and that’s being modest. I tried over twenty vinyls and every single one played smooth and produced exceptional audio quality that even my friends and family were impressed.
It’s a beautiful musical producing machine that take you back in time. Being able to play my vinyls in such a modern time with a very modern player is an amazing feat.
Highly recommend this package!
mrcarnut –
I have been a vinyl listener for years and enjoy playing them on my home theater system. This Victrola T1 system now allows me the flexibility to listen to my vinyl collection in my living room. This system consists of the T1 turntable and M1 speakers. The system comes in a large box and is very well packaged. All of the components come in their own bags including the turntable, speakers and dust cover. There are 2 individual boxes marked accessories which include the cables and power cords along with a 45rpm adapter. There are 2 manuals for the turntable and speakers. Once everything is unpacked the turntable manual directs you to install the plater and belt and balance the tonearm. This is not very well explained as there is a set screw on the counterweight that needs to be loosened in order to turn the weight. There is a hex wrench included with the accessories. Once the counterweight is loosened you can balance the tonearm and tighten the hex screw. You then set the anti-skate dial. There is an online video that really helps with this whole process. You also want to make sure you remove the plastic cover from the included cartridge before balancing the tonearm as this will add weight. There is a sticker on the table to alert you to doing this. Once the table is set up you can place it along with the speakers in your listening area. There are 2 ways to connect the speakers to the turntable. Bluetooth or analog cables which are provided. A single analog cable is needed to connect the 2 speakers together. As these are powered speakers there is also a power cord required. The main speaker also has a sub output if you choose to use a powered sub with the system. I tested both the Bluetooth and analog cables and both work perfect. This is a great looking system. The finish is well done and blends nicely in my room. I have it set up on an antique wooden console table and it looks great. So how does it sound? I did not have high expectations for the speakers as a lot of powered speakers out there cost as much or more than this whole system however I was really impressed with these. They are a little bright depending on the source material but actually do a really good job overall. They don’t go super low but that is to be expected from only a 4” woofer which is why you can add a sub if you wanted. There are no tone controls so you cannot adjust bass or treble. I have a large collection of Master recordings and Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs albums. After listening to several albums, I put on Donald Fagen’s The Nightfly and it sounds amazing. Overall, this is a very good sounding and attractive system. If you are new to vinyl or someone that has been listening for a while the Victrola T1 system makes a good system to enjoy vinyl.
hahanson –
The Victrola – Premiere T1 Turntable System is just that – a system the contains everything required to play vinyl records. Complete setup required removing the protective packaging, placing the platter on the turntable, slipping the platter belt over the motor, connecting the speakers, and installing the dust cover. The turntable tonearm and counterweight came pre-adjusted, ressulting in the setup experience pretty much hassle-free for me, taking only about 15 minutes.
The turntable features many plastic parts, but the overall build quality seems good. It operates smoothly and I experienced no issues with skipping or not tracking the record. The tonearm requries that you manually move it and place it over the record. A lever with dampened action allows you to lower it onto the record gently. I was disappoinged that the cartridge arm does not automatically return to its resting position when the record ends. Even the budget systems from 50 years ago did that.
One thing my turntable didn’t do 50 years ago is stream the audio over Bluetooth. Bluetooth capabilities are provided for turntable as well as the speakers.You can stream the music from the T1 turntable to a Bluetooth enabled speaker or headphones, referred to as “vinyl stream” in the accompanying manual.
While there are many reasons for having a vinyl audio system, real and organic sound is often mentioned as a primary reason.
“Somebody was trying to tell me that CDs are better than vinyl because they don’t have any surface noise. I said, “Listen, mate, life has surface noise.” ~ John Peel (DJ)
It’s for that reason that I find The Victrola – Premiere T1 Turntable System a little disappointing, and the primary reason for that are the amp/speakers, even though being an “all-in-one” system, my expectation for the sound quality was not estremely high. The amp lacks the punch required to drive the woofers, and the tweeter are overly bright. This combination takes away the richness that one might be looking for from an analog system. Even more limiting, the Victrola does not have treble/bass controls, so the only audio adjustment available from the sytem is volume. Overall, the sound experience was just okay.
For me this is a decent starter system to intoduce one who may have never experienced it to the world of vinyl. The The Victrola – Premiere T1 Turntable System is fairly simple to set up, the turntable performance is solid, and the speakers, while ordinary were not terrible. The good news is if you have (or acquire) a good audio setup, you can wire the Premiere T1 up (or connect via bluetooth) to a capable sound system and not have to compromise on the audio quality.
ladilyn –
While helping my Mom downsize, we came across some great albums from my youth. The problem was that neither of us had a turntable. I looked around but I didn’t want anything elaborate, just something that would help take a trip down memory lane. I found it in Victrola’s Premiere T1 Turntable System. It has all that is needed to get up and running without having to get other items to make it work. It came well packaged and every item was easy to find. The first thing out of the box was a full-size get started guide that even grannies can see and understand. Because it is on cardboard, it can stand up which makes it easier to assemble the turntable. Now I played the helpless granny card and let the kids assemble it for me. While they had no trouble, I think I would have struggle a bit though I still could have done it. One thing I will caution though, all items were covered, even the manuals and the kids, not thinking there was anything there, tossed the manuals at first until I insisted on seeing them and they were found nicely ensconced in the same material everything else came in. While there are bluetooth cables included, we went with the manual. Finally, everything was assembled and the vinyl came out. Elvis Presley, Rolling Stones, Dave Clark Five, Bobby Sherman, Chuck Berry, David Cassidy, yes, and many more from my youth. Even after all these years, they still sounded wonderful. There were no problems with skipping and the sound reminded me of listening to these on the recordplayer of my youth which means the speaker are adequate but not great. While it will play both 33 1/3 and 45s, unfortunately, it doesn’t play 78s from what I can see. I’ve got some great 78s, oh well. It’s also a shame that it doesn’t appear as if you can stack your albums either unless I missed that feature.
I’m so happy I got this. It is either a great starter set for those new to vinyl or a wonderful gift for those seniors who still have the albums of their youth to take some trips down memory lane.
MissyMR –
I’m super impressed with how easy this system was to set up and it sounds great! My dad left me a pretty phenomenal record collection and he’d be proud to see and hear it being played on this turntable.
My husband got me a cute retro looking turntable several years ago but it was time to upgrade and I’m super glad that I did! I know that there are some pretty impressive setups out there for audiophiles, however I can only speak as some who loves the scratchy sound of an old record and this absolutely lets me enjoy every bit of it. Victrola is such a great brand and I can really see this system lasting a long time. I love how classic it looks and how easy it is to set up and start playing!
My favorite function is that we can Bluetooth the sound to an outdoor speaker so while we’re outside enjoying the summer (and a cocktail or two) we can let our kids run wild and my husband and I can enjoy our music without blaring the system in the house or even letting any bugs inside!
If you’re looking for style and ease then this is exactly what you are looking for!
beefrob –
The Victrola Premiere T1 turntable system includes the T1 turntable along with a set up M1 bluetooth enabled speakers. The turntable is the star of this set up. It is capable of playing both 33 and 45 speed records. It can be used as a standalone unit with the M1 speakers that are included in the kit (or according to the promotional material, any bluetooth enabled speakers can be used with the T1 system.) or can be connected to your high fi stereo system. The T1 is a very premium unit. Excellent styling, aluminum platter, quiet operation and fully adjustable arm. It also comes with an attached dust cover. If you are like me and grew up with the distinctive sound of vinyl, you will really appreciate this turntable. The M1 speakers in the kit make this an all around unit, allowing you to enjoy your music without having to own any other stereo equipment. The M1 speakers are not going to give you a lot of bass, but in a small to medium room, they do provide an adequate amount of sound to allow you to sit back and enjoy your tunes. I have not attached a sub to the M1 speakers, but I did notice there is a sub out RCA connection on the rear of the main speaker. These speakers also have the ability to be used as a wired setup if desired. I think Victrola put together a very nice system with this kit. I give 4 stars instead of 5 solely because the M1 speakers could have been just a bit better in reproducing some of the lower frequencies, but don’t let that deter you from purchasing this system. If you like vinyl, I think you will enjoy the Victrola T1/M1 setup reviewed here.
aarondr –
The Victrola T1 system is a combo of the M1 speaker system and their premier turntable. The system represents standalone monitors with line level inputs into a plate amp. It’s finished in a nice wood grain that matches making this quite the style statement. But does it have the sonic prowess to live up to its looks?
First of all, unboxing the product, everything is securely packaged, and the experience feels quite premium. From a brand that makes its money off of vintage looking products, it’s obvious they understand the experience required for this sort of product. The speakers were easy to remove and the turntable very carefully packaged. Setup was easy enough, with only the belt installation being anything that required using more than 2 neurons. Even that wasn’t difficult.
The design of the product is vintage and modern mixed. It harkens back to simple record/speaker setups of the 1970s and early 80’s but with modern minimalistic undertones. Instead of the record player also being the amplifier, it’s a complete separate with modern monitor style speakers. This is a nice blend of modern as it allows the speakers to be paired and positioned apart from the record player. The player itself could also be used with a different stereo, so you could technically split up the components if you wanted. While that may not be aesthetically pleasing, it might be worth doing.
The speakers themselves are handsome looking. The magnetic speaker grills are a nice touch, given that it removes the mounting holes of normal grills if you’re one that leaves the grills off. The woodgrain texture is pleasing, and the volume dial on the side feels good to use and the LED light ring on it doesn’t mar the look of the speakers. A press of the center button will swap inputs, which are announced (bluetooth, analog), and a long press will turn the system off. I got pairing mode enabled by swapping to bluetooth, turning off the unit, and then holding the button The speakers are composed of 2” tweeters and 4” woofers. The enclosures are sealed to improve accuracy and one speaker includes a plate amplifier with RCA, 3.5mm phono, and bluetooth inputs. There is a separate subwoofer RCA jack as well. The speakers are powered by a straight AC power cord, so no wall warts or ugly cables.
The record player similarly is powered by the same style cable. It includes a switch for playing 33 or 45 rpm records. There’s a 45 adapter if that’s your thing, but standard vinyl is probably what you’ll find on store shelves these days. The dial lights up similarly to the speakers and the record player is well engineered. The needle mechanism is well weighted and includes an adjustment weight that’s easy to balance. The release to float the needle to the record is smooth and gentle. The record won’t spin until you move the needle near the record and it will stop when you reach the inside of a record. Overall it’s simple, elegant, and appears to pick up well. I had to adjust the weight a bit to get the proper amount of balance on the needle, as it would produce some pops and skips when improperly adjusted. The needle would also start to get stuck in a groove, but most of this was my mal-adjustment of the counterbalance weight. The feet absorb vibrations well, and keep the record player’s needle in the groove.
It all comes together pretty well at the end. I played a bit of Miles Davis, and this music was smooth and pleasing, as if this set was made to play this sort of jazz. Moving to more modern titles, like Nora Jones, the genre worked well. Bass was accurate if a bit shallow. Highs weren’t harsh, but weren’t overly clear either. Part of this is the nature of vinyl though. Queen probably stressed out of the speakers the most, with a more dynamic punchy sound.
Switching over to a wider genre of music via bluetooth (I just have a small record collection), it’s obvious that we’re dealing with small woofers and mediocre sound quality. Victrola is a company that makes quite a bit of cheap retro kits, and while they shot for the stars here, it’s obvious that their speaker engineering is not living up to its price point. For $200 for the M1 monitors alone, they’re a complete disappointment. There are plenty of self powered speakers in the $100 range that blow these out of the water. Victrola doesn’t publish any detailed specs on the amplifier or speakers themselves, but the total power consumption is rated at 60W. Account for losses, at best we’re talking 20W speakers. Due to their sealed design, mids and lows are accurate, but understated. The rigidness of the enclosures helps, but the sound is just so so. I want to emphasize that it’s not bad by any means, but it’s not what I would expect when throwing $350 at a boutique audio problem. You’re better served by dedicated bluetooth speakers in this price range.
Victrola reached for the stars on this one and produced a very nice looking, and feeling product. The sounding part might be lacking for the price point. At MSRP, it’s a stretch, but find this on a decent sale, it does an amazing job with jazz and smooth music that doesn’t rely on heavier bass. Bluetooth is a nice touch, and the overall look and controls are on point. If the monitors had been class leading this would have been the perfect setup for a modern stereo that blends retro sound and modern capabilities.
vollmer2010 –
I love this player so much! I used to have a cheap suitcase one, so I’m comparing it to that.
Starting with the look, it’s sleek and classy, from clear color to cover. I also love the magnetic covers on the speakers, which can really change the look.
The sound is unbeatable, really. The cords stay snug, preventing scratchy sound. The only issue I really had with this player was getting the needle to balance well on the record; it was skipping straight to the center at the recommended balance. The instructions on the website or the included ones were not very helpful with this issue. With a quick youtube search, I got it corrected.
The anti-skip mat was new for me, but I love the feature. It really helped the sound, but any of my old (slightly warped) records don’t sound the best.
It did come in a few pieces, but it was fairly easy to put together and get corded correctly.
And finally, price. You’re definitely getting your money’s worth here. With the nice addition of the separate corded speakers, this is great for someone who is looking for an “intermediate” type of player with nice, clean sound.
Nicholas –
The Victrola – Premiere T1 Turntable System is a blast from the past. I had forgotten how I use to listen to music in my younger days. The sound from the system was clear. The speakers are the perfect match for the system. They are powerful enough to fill the area with music, without any distortion at the higher levels.
The system also has some modern features and settings. With Bluetooth you can playback to any enabled device. You can tweak the sound to your preferred levels. The set-up was easy, but longer than I remembered. After plugging in the record player and the speakers, just follow the set-up guide.
What is missing?
1. Auto return. I remember when the record was finished the arm would pick-up and return to its holder.
2. Treble and Bass adjustments. The playback is great; however, some songs just want a little extra bass.
The Victrola – Premiere T1 Turntable System is well designed and would look good in any home. The Espresso finish blends well, but still highlights the system.
I would recommend this system to family and friends.
RacineTechie –
Unpacking the system was interesting, a very good job had been done to isolate components and parts in an order that matched how you would need them in assembly. I basically pulled out a layer and then the next, assembled what I had, and went to the next layer down in an additive way. Very simple, very easy – 15 minutes and I was spinning an LP.
Initially, the speakers had an issue with power up and I contacted support. They had a replacement set on the way in short order. When they arrived, it was plug and play.
The sound quality was very good for the size and profile of the speakers, the pre-amp in the phonograph was awesome and let me run the speakers at a reasonable level with very full sound.
Bluetooth connectivity was easy and sound quality as transmitted was very nice on my ear buds and over the ear sets. I also experienced good range from transmitter being able to wander the house and not drop signal.
The controls took a bit of an adjustment for me as they were a generation better than what I had been using, the first time I heard the speaker announce the mode I was in was a bit of a surprise – rather than a color change, the speaker actually tells you when you switch modes from analog to blue tooth etc.
The size of the system was just right for the space I had and the speaker cable reach was more than I needed but may come in handy. It lloks nice and sounds even better.
All in all, a very pleasant experience.
TrueReviews20 –
Overall I would recommend this set if you are looking for a luxurious design with good features and quality sound, at a high price. Having exposure to turntables for decades now, this is a solid modern player but it comes at a probably unnecessary cost. When comparing against other well known brands in the turntable industry, Victrola is more of a niche brand. Sound reproduction is not audiophile level, but depending on your vinyl collection, it may not and really should not matter. If you are looking to get a great looking set up with matching speakers, no fuss, and don’t care about cost, look no further.
Speakers: I’ll start here since this is the easy part. The speakers are good, they will reproduce the sounds of a brand new record with clarity and enjoyable sound. Aside from that, I have an audiophile set up with a developing ear for the subtleties of music. Simply put, if you’re going to listen loud or less well taken care of records, these speakers aren’t going to support that. If you’re just looking for some easy listening in a moderately sized room, these are wonderful. They are compact, look nice, and will reproduce enough of the valuable frequencies.
Turntable: Simple to use, looks great. Uses a magnetic cartridge which is likely only best replaced by their own OEM cartridge after long use. I honestly don’t have much negative to say about the turntable itself. They should have included an automatic arm with a repeat option.
CMCMom29 –
Out of the box, the Victrola Premiere T1 Turntable System is an attractive product. Sleek, compact, looks nice sitting on a cabinet in my living room. My initial experience, though, was a bit disappointing.
When you open the box, the first thing you see is a large cardboard sheet with the Quick Start Guide. It states one of the first things you need to do is to set the tone arm. I’ve owned many record players in the past and have never had a unit that required this.
The other thing you need to do as part of the installation process is to install the turntable. You have this little ribbon taped to the platter that is wrapped around the belt underneath. You are to hold this small ribbon (after removing the tape) while placing the platter on the spindle, pulling the ribbon slightly as to place the belt on the motor pin. I lost count how many times this took me to do. Anytime I pulled the ribbon at all, the belt would slip off of the platter altogether. I had to figure out a way to hold the belt, the ribbon, and the platter at the same time to get the belt installed.
I then went to adjust the tone arm. I read the Start Guide, then I downloaded the manual from their web site to review. I could not get the knob to turn at first, then got it to turn somewhat. I thought I was doing something wrong, so I went online to review videos (sadly, Victrola did not offer a video on how to do this on their channel) to see how to do this. After viewing, I tried again. This time, I couldn’t get it to budge. After applying more “elbow grease” …I broke the housing for the arm.
Victrola was kind enough to replace the unit for me as they considered the unit defective (great service!). When I opened the new unit, there was a sticker on the packing foam wrapped around the arm saying that the counterweight and anti-skate was already set (picture attached). I was happy that it was so I didn’t have to go through that again, but I wondered why those instructions are included if it was already set up…? Maybe they just set up the second unit? I’m not sure. The first unit I received did not have this sticker.
I also found a finish issue on the second unit (pictured). Minor grievance, yes, but for the price point, I was surprised to see it. The lift lever does not work, either. I had to raise the lifter and push it back down by hand, and it doesn’t quite meet the arm.
After all of that, I finally got to test the unit. I pulled a couple of 33s to use for testing, both from the 1970s. Operation was as expected. I heard some distortion, but it was much clearer than anything I’ve heard on a turntable before. I have included a video clip so people can hear the sound (if you are wearing headphones, you may want to turn your volume down before playing).
I really like the Victrola, but I will take away one star before of all of the issues I had to deal with in the beginning.
Charlie –
Great turntable. Great sound for my old records. Love it
Buddy –
Lots of wires, but easy to set up and sounds great
NintendoRep –
Writing this for thr 25 pojnts. Bought as gift, wont know whag they think til christmas
LAWHOG78 –
We are new to getting into vinyl and we’re wanting to upgrade our record player without breaking the bank. This was the perfect convergence of price point and audio quality. We went from listening to records occasionally to almost daily.
It comes with everything you need straight out of the box and is easy to set up. You will need two outlets, one for the speakers and one for the turntable.
Bronxmid –
It’s definitely worth the money great sound I’m going to add a woofer soon
WilliamB –
Just what I needed! It fits right in my small apartment. The sound is better that expected.
WalterM –
I love best buy store bc they have good stuff and when I buy for internet the delivery is quick thanks
EAGLES2023 –
Awesome Turntable sounds awesome love the look of the speakers and it all perfect
DonnaD –
Love it! sounds Great! Super easy to operate. Finally get to hear my old albums.
AvelinoG –
Enjoying it since I got it out of the box grrsy sound, good going back to old to times
Doworkrandy95 –
Very nice. My fsther loves it and will use for a long time
LynnA –
Perfect gift for my daughter! She loved it for christmas!