9 Best Speakers for Turntable

I wish I knew what turntable you got so I can suggest the best speaker for your case. Instead, I decided to make a selection of the best speakers out there, that suits any possible scenario.

This includes different budget options for both Passive or Active Speakers, speakers with subwoofers, and multiple brand choices.

Read on to learn more!

The Best Speakers for Turntable Reviewed

In this list, you can find active and passive options for the best speakers for turntables as well as a good recommendation for a pair of speakers with a subwoofer. 

1. Audioengine HD6 150W (Best Active Speaker)

• Built-in amplifier
• Dual audio inputs and full-range variable output
• 24-bit digital optical (SPDIF) input
• Custom 5.5” Kevlar woofers (Mids)
• Custom 1” silk tweeters (Highs)
• Hand-built cabinets with furniture-grade finishes
• Detachable magnetic speaker grills
• Threaded inserts to secure speakers to stands
• Solid aluminum remote control

These are in my opinion the best vintage speaker for vinyl lovers out there. Four color options to choose from (Black, Cherry, Wood, Walnut, and White) without price variation and amazing sleek retro-looking speakers from Audioengine.

The sound is great and that is not only to the premium material but also thanks to the integrated DAC (Digital to Analog Converter). This improves the quality of sound coming from the Turntable and saves you money as you won’t have to buy an external one. 

Connect them through RCA cable directly to your Turntable (if it has a built-in preamp) or to any and you are ready to play. That is the good side of a pair of powered speakers. They make life easier and save you extra cash for a receiver. 

The Speakers come with a black grid that is attached by magnets. They look more classy and retro with it. If you prefer them without you don’t get the usual holes and still look great. Apparently, the sound improves slightly without it. You can connect them wireless or wired.

My recommendation is to use them wired for better quality sound, but it’s good to have the option. If you want to improve the overall sound and put them on stands, the company suggests Sanus EF28B be the best option.

Pros

• High-quality speakers
• Hand-built wood cabinet
• Gorgeous look with outstanding fit and finish
• No distortion no matter how loud you play
• Wireless works with any device and app
• 100-foot range Bluetooth
• No latency when connected to Bluetooth
• Remote control and cable included
• Input option to pair with a subwoofer
• 3-year warranty 

Cons

• Bluetooth is “too good” (can get hijacked by neighbors’ devices)

2. Audioengine A5 Plus Classic (Best Active Speaker)

• Built-in power amplifiers + Remote control
• Improved thermal management
• RCA and mini-jack audio inputs
• Front panel volume control
• USB power charge port
• Variable preamp audio output
• Gold-plated connectors
• Full-size 5-way speaker binding posts
• Cables included
• Stand-mount 1/4″ threaded inserts

The real Bamboo look drives me completely “nuts”. However, check out the price for the black or white options. It drops down quite a bit and you may like those colors more.

These are powered speakers, which means you can plug them directly into the wall socket as the amplifier is already built-in. If your turntable has a built-in preamp you are all set to go with these speakers.

Particularly heavy and possibly not ideal if you want to mount them on the wall. To raise them up at ear level (good height for better performance) you can buy stands separately.

Otherwise, a solid bookshelf will do. Remote control and wireless capability. All cables included. Use the RCA cable (red and white) to connect them to your turntable.

Pros

• Easy to connect with RCA cable (red and white) or 3mm input
• Trendy look
• 3-year warranty
• Excellent build quality
• Not too big yet very powerful
• Over 100 feet of Bluetooth connection
• Save money if you like the white or black colors option
• Microfiber Speaker bags included
• USB power charge port
• Subwoofer output

Cons

• No treble, mids, or bass adjustments
• The Bass sounds decent but not great (pair with a subwoofer if you need some extra bass) 

3. Edifier S2000pro (Best Active Speaker)

• Built-in Amplifier
• Wooden Paneling Matte-black Finish
• Flat Diaphragm Tweeters
• 5.5″ Aluminum Cone Woofers
• Bluetooth 4.0 with aptX
• On-board Playback Adjustments
• Upgraded Wireless Control

Great pair of speakers from Edifier. This company is coming out with amazing products and they are particularly keen on audiophiles.

These are a pair of Powered Speakers. Just connect them with the RCA cable, to the amplifier, or directly to your Turntable if it has a built-in one. Fewer cables around and more space in your room.

The aesthetic is ok for my personal taste but the sound it’s great and that is what speakers are for. Love the extra flexibility with the Tremble and Bass adjustment on the back. Bluetooth connectivity and remote control for extra comfort.

Important to say is that they do not have a Subwoofer output. This means that if you are not satisfied with the bass sound you cannot add an extra Subwoofer.

Pros

• Impressive quality build 
• Real wood cabinet
• Aluminum woofer for clearer sound
• Incredible sound
• Bluetooth connectivity
• Remote control
• 2-year warranty 
• XLR inputs for advanced users
• 16-foot cable to connect left to the right speaker

Cons

• Not Subwoofer output (cannot add extra bass)
• Bass and Treble adjustment not on the remote control

4. Fluance Ai40 (Best Active Speaker)

• Built-in Amplifier
• Bluetooth aptX Codec for better connection
• INPUTS RCA L/R (white/red cable)
• TWEETER 1 inch Silk Soft Dome Ferrofluid Cooled
• WOOFER 5 inch Woven Glass Fiber Composite Drivers with Butyl Rubber Surrounds
• FREQUENCY RESPONSE 40Hz – 20KHz
• POWER Input: 100-240V; Output: 19V 3.15A

Four cool colors to choose from without price change (Black Ash, Lucky Bamboo, Natural Walnut, White Walnut).

Fluance makes every product look so sexy. On top of that, they deliver quality at a fair price like these pairs of Powered Speakers. Easy to use and ready to plug into your Turntable through the common red/white RCA Cable.

If you do not have much budget and you still want to have a decent sound to listen to your vinyl, you may have found what you were looking for. You also get a remote control and Bluetooth.

Listen to your mobile, or laptop music without having to disconnect the Turntable. Great option at an amazing price. The Bluetooth switch is on the back of the left speaker. Very easy to connect. 

I have noticed that not everybody likes the led light on speakers. And yes sometimes can bother. The good news is that with these speakers you can turn it off through the remote control with the luminosity button (half-moon looking sign).

Other useful options included on the remote are the Tremble and Bass adjustments and obviously the volume and tracks changing. 

Pros

• Hipster look
• Incredible value for the price 
• Excellent quality of sound
• Great imaging and well balanced high, mid and low 
• 2-way Speaker with powerful deep bass
• Bluetooth option (quick connection, no trouble)

Cons

• Don’t have grid cover

5. Edifier S350DB (Best with Subwoofer)

• Built-in Amplifier
• Frequency Response 40Hz –160Hz
• 8-Inch Subwoofer for Deep Lows
• Side Panel Bass Reflex Port
• Titanium Dome Tweeters
• Wireless Remote Control

Edifier took to the next level the 2.1 all-in-one speaker system. That is the 2 speakers (Left and Right) and 1 subwoofer on its own. The quality of the 2 speakers is great and you can adjust the volume, treble, and bass from the Left Speaker.

Cute and solid wooden format to simply connect with an RCA cable or with Bluetooth directly to your turntable. These are powered speakers and they don’t need an amplifier (have one built-in).

Great budget option for any audiophile. The quality of the sound is outstanding for such a price and you still get the extra punchy bass. They don’t take up much space and can be easily placed on a bookshelf. You can also operate them with wireless remote control. They come with a two-year warranty. 

The only thing with these speakers is that their cabling is a little limited. The cable that connects the right speaker to the subwoofer is 6 feet long. If you are planning to move them more than 6 feet apart look for other options.

Pros

• Great look 
• Professional sound
• Easy to connect 
• Great value for money
• Bluetooth connectivity
• Small and easy to connect

Cons

• Short cables from Sub to Speakers (6 feet)

6. ELAC Uni-fi UB5 (Pair) (Best Passive Speaker)

• Custom-designed Driver
• Speaker type: 3-way
• Sophisticated Aluminum Woofer
• Sophisticated crossover
• Balanced Three-way Design
• Custom-designed Binding Posts

Designed by Andrew Jones these are a pair of fantastic Passive Speakers. Great if you already own an external receiver or amplifier if you are thinking to buy one just for them. ELAC suggests a minimum amplifier power of 40 to 140 WPC (Watts Per Channel).

These are 3-way speakers to deliver High, Low, and Mid-range sound for a full analog experience. Particularly good for vocals thanks to Twitter (High frequency) and the Midrange speakers being assembled together below the Woofer.

This allows midrange and Highs to merge together and create a more organic sound for the listener. If you want to improve the bass check on this subwoofer ELAC Debut 2.0 to go with. The classic-minimalistic look adds extra value to the overall product. That’s my own opinion.

Pros

• Great Design
• Premium material 
• Robust cabinets
• Great bass performance
• Analog experience
• Warm and rich sound
• 3-year warranty 

Cons

• Some people find them too expensive

7. Klipsch R-41M (Best Passive Speaker)

• 1″ Aluminum LTS tweeters
• 90×90 Square Tractrix Horns
• 4″ Spun-Copper IMG Woofers
• Bass-Reflex via Rear-Firing Port
• Strong, Flexible Removable Magnetic Grille
• Dimensions: 11.3″ x 5.75″ x 7.9″

From Klipsch, you can always expect a great sound. Good Mids and Highs and exceptional Bass response for a 4″ woofer. If your room is not too big you won’t really need a subwoofer. If you are looking for a pair of passive speakers on a budget they can definitely be a great choice. 

The look is great, especially without the grill. That will show the bronze-colored driver and the large tweeter and they can easily be mounted on the wall. Sexy!  The 90×90º Tractrix horn technology reduces the wall bouncing artificial reverb or filtering. 

The aluminum tweeter allows these speakers to minimize distortion and delivers a clear professional sound. Quite tiny in dimension (11.3″ x 5.75″ x 7.9″), thus easy to place them anywhere and not a problem if you have limited space in your room.

Pros

• Great look 
• Powerful Bass 
• Crispy professional sound
• Great value for the price
• Huge customer satisfaction
• Quality build 
• Lightweight
• Removable cover

Cons

• Mids could be improved
• Linear Travel Suspension Tweeter
• Spun Copper IMG Woofers

8. Edifier R1280T (Best Budget)

• 2.0 Stereo Active Speaker
• 2x RCA Input
• 4-inch bass driver 
• flared bass reflex port
• Treble and bass adjustments

Good job for Edifier for these inexpensive yet powerful bookshelf speakers. If you are on a budget and your turntable has a built-in preamp, you are set with these pairs of Active speakers.

You may also make your of the 2 AUX output and plug in another device as well as your turntable. A classy wood finish look and the extra option to take the grid on or off better please your eyes.

It comes with remote control and a two-year warranty. On the side of the Right speaker, you have some extra adjustments such as treble, bass, and volume.

With a 4-inch bass driver and a calibrated, flared bass reflex port, they provide a clean range of highs and rich and deep bass.

I guess that is the way they have to make out for the lacking of a subwoofer connection. if you are thinking to add a subwoofer to your sound system you may want to check out the Edifier R1850DB Active Speakers. They are double the price but allow you to upgrade the subwoofer.

Pros

• Retro minimalist look
• Wooden cabinet
• Clean range on highs and low
• Great value for money
• Two-year warranty
• Remote control
• removable grid cover

Cons

• No connection for Subwoofer

9. Polk Audio T15 100 Watt (Best Budget)

• Frequency 60Hz-24kHz
• Peak Power Handling 100 Watts
• Dynamic Balance Driver
• Magnetic Shielded Enclosure
• Keyhole Slot for Wall Mounting
• Front Mounted Bass Port

Great sound from Polk Audio T15 Passive Speakers with a pleasurable classic look and a removable grid cover for extra versatility. Very affordable and has a great quality of sound. These speakers deliver brighter highs, a wide-open mid-range, and a surprising bass response. 

The body cabinet is in MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard) which reduces resonance and distortion, and provides a detailed and rich sound,

These speakers and the whole T series, as Polk calls it, allow you to build your home studio piece by piece. It is great if you cannot afford the whole shebang right now, but you want to keep options open.

If you do have an amplifier at home and little money to spend that could be the best choice to start spinning that turntable of yours. Apparently, the bass could really be improved and the additional subwoofer really makes a change.

Pros

• Great value for money
• High quality sound
• Classic look
• Upgradable overtime

Cons

• You will need an amplifier/receiver
• a subwoofer is recommended

Passive and Active Speakers Explained

It is quite straightforward to understand if a pair of speakers is Powered or not. If they have any sort of A/C power connector (if you have to plug them into a socket wall), it means that they have a built-in amplifier. We call speakers with a built-in amplifier Powered or Active.

The amplifier provides the input signal to the speakers and allows them to function. On a pair of powered speakers, the one with the A/C power connector is the LEFT one. On the same speaker, you will also find the RCA cable output (red/white cables) to connect with the RIGHT speaker.

The preamp of the LEFT speaker “activates” the RIGHT speaker. On a pair of passive speakers, instead, you won’t find any A/C power connector on their back. The only thing that you see is the two input cable connections for standard speaker cables.

As they cannot generate power on their own, you’ll need an external amplifier to connect them to. It is the amplifier that gives the input signal to the passive speaker.

Main Differences Between Active and Passive Speakers

Both Active and Passive Speakers have their pros and cons. It kind of depends on how much you want to spend and the kind of setup you choose to have. Let’s get started.

The advantage of having a pair of Active Speakers is their versatility. You don’t need to buy an amplifier or receiver. You simply plug them on the socket wall and you are done.

If your turntable has a built-in preamp, and if you decide to buy a pair of active speakers, that’s it. Just connect the Turntable to the speakers with the RCA cables and you are ready to choose the first Record to listen to.

Active/powered speakers make your life easier. Only a few cables connect to the setting, therefore, not many cables to hide behind curtains or desks. Choosing Active speakers over Passive also saves you money and space. You won’t need to buy either store the external amplifier/receiver.

How about Passive speakers? Well, passive speakers are more versatile in the long run.  Give you the possibility to upgrade your HiFi system and match components over time. It is way more expensive though.

The setting is more complicated as you need more cables to connect all the components. This can get a little messy now that you have more cable to hide and organize.

Tweeter, Woofer, and Subwoofer Speakers

These are three of the most common types of speakers available. Together they cover the entire spectrum of sound frequency audible by humans in terms of Highs, Mids, and Lows sounds, and the unit of measurement of these sound frequencies is called Herts (Hz).

As all of us humans can hear the frequency of sound from 20 to 20.000 Hertz (Hz), this is also the range of sound provided by the combination of Tweeters, Woofers, and Subwoofers. To be precise here is the exact sound frequency for each one of them: 

• Tweeter: from 2000 – 20000 HZ (High pitch)
• Woofer: 20 – 2000 HZ (Mid-low pitch)
• Subwoofer: 20 – 200 HZ (Low pitch)

How to Recognize Tweeter, Woofer, and Subwoofer on Speakers

Quiet simple. Just look at their size. The Tweeter is the smallest, then comes the Woofer and finally the Subwoofer. To understand it better I will use the image below taken from our selection of the best speakers for turntables: the Edifier S350DB Powered Speakers with Subwoofer.

At the top of the two satellite speakers, you have the TWEETER (the smallest). Below each tweeter is the WOOFER (second smaller). And the SUBWOOFER (the bigger) is the one that stands alone in the middle. 

You can also understand them better only by thinking about their names. 

The Tweeter refers to the sound of a bird (high-frequency sound). The Woofer is an onomatopoeic word referring to the woofing of a dog (low-frequency sound). The Subwoofer (under the woofer) has a lower woofing sound pitch.

If you don’t want to miss the bass line on your favorite song, I suggest you give a little extra thought about buying speakers directly with a subwoofer or at least give yourself the option to add it at some point.

For that, some of the speakers in this article have the connection to add a Subwoofer. It really is a great option to have for a little future update and not all powered speakers have it. 

Final Verdict

All the speakers reviewed (and not) in this article, are valuable products worth every cent. If you don’t want to spend too much, I recommend the Fluance Ai40. They look great, are easy to connect, have Bluetooth capability, and have a remote control.

If money is not an issue, and do not want to struggle with the setting, go for Audioengine HD6 150W Powered Speakers. Vintage design, multiple color choices, and input for the subwoofer just in case.

If you like the possibility to enhance and upgrade your sound over time and start creating an amazing HIFI system, check out the ELAC Uni-fi UB5 Passive speaker. Remember that although the image shows only one, they actually come in pairs.

For an all-in-one set that includes a subwoofer, definitely worth the Edifier S350DB Powered Speakers with Subwoofer. These are perfect if you want to use them in a small room and don’t want to displace them more than 6 feet apart. That is how far the cabling between them goes.