House of Marley Stir It Up turntable
MSRP $199.99
“The sustainably built House of Marley Stir It Up Turntable is one of the best looking and sounding entry-level turntables on the market.”
Avg
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Warm, dynamic sound
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Unique and attractive design
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Quality built-in phono preamplifier
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Easy to set up
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Built from sustainable materials
Against
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It seems slightly less robust than some competitors
Updated 04/20/2017 by Parker Hall: Updated to announce the official release of Stir It Up on the House of Marley website just in time for Earth Day and Record Store Day.
Bob Marley’s son Rohan has spent the last five years assembling sustainability-focused audio equipment for the House of Marley brand. We have had positive experiences with a company that has offered audio equipment with great looks and solid performance at affordable prices from the very beginning.
Given the Marley family’s history of quality products, we were excited to get our hands on the company’s first turntable, which we briefly glimpsed at CES 2016. An affordable player with a sleek and innovative design, the Stir It Up Belt Drive Turntable is a quality offering that is pleasing to the eyes and ears, and a solid new option for burgeoning vinyl collectors everywhere.
Out of the box
The Stir It Up comes in an attractive recycled cardboard box in several easy-to-assemble parts, with an easy-to-find tray, base, belt, 45rpm adapter and counterweight. RCA, USB and power cables are also in the box, along with a cloth dust cover. As with most turntables, there’s nothing particularly magical about this unboxing experience, but the packaging conveys a quality experience.
Set
Once all the parts are removed from the box, the Stir It Up is very quick to assemble. The plate and belt easily slide into place over the center spindle and motor spindle, and the skid plate is placed over the top. The counterweight pivots over the end of the crank, where it can be quickly balanced.
RCA, USB and power cables plug into the back of the desk, at which point you can choose whether to use the built-in phono preamp or your own with a simple selector switch — a handy feature for those who want to plug directly into amps and receivers without a phono input.
Features
The Stir It Up comes with a solid number of features for its price, but the first thing you’ll notice is the table’s beautiful design.
The upper part is made of beautiful bamboo, while the sides and bottom are covered with fabric made of hemp, organic cotton and recycled plastic. The tray itself is made from recycled aluminum, and even the sliding base is made from a proprietary blend of recycled plastic and rubber — the same material that makes the table’s soft, noise-insulating legs.
The top is made of beautiful bamboo, while the sides and bottom are covered with fabric made from sustainable materials.
Everything looks and feels solidly built, with subtle accents like red, green and yellow stripes on the head shell and a nicely etched House of Marley logo in the lower left corner of the table, all serving to convey a higher quality product than the table’s $200 price tag suggests.
The Stir It Up’s listening options are also varied, including an analog RCA output, a digital USB output for transferring your collection to your hard drive, and a built-in headphone jack on the front for easy solo listening.
The table operates at two speeds — 45 and 33 revolutions per minute — which are selected via a stylish recycled aluminum switch in the lower right corner. It lacks features such as pitch control and a needle light or strobe, indicating that, like most players at this level, the Stir It Up is not suitable for DJ applications.
Stir It Up comes with an Audio-Technica moving magnet cassette and a ½-inch stylus. Those looking to upgrade their sound can easily replace the setup with affordable favorites like the Audio-Technica AT-AT100E or Ortofon 2M Red for an additional $50 or so. A new stylus and cartridge are worthwhile investments for the budding enthusiast, as is an external phono preamp like the U-Turn Pluto — accessories that can raise the Stir It Up a few notches on the audiophile totem pole before you decide to jump into the world of ultra-expensive gear.
The mechanics of Stir it Up Table are simple and logical. The table motor turns only after the needle rises over the edge of the plate, and stops playing when the needle reaches the end of the side.
Performance
Out of the box, House of Marley’s Stir It Up Turntable sounds as good as almost any quality entry-level competitor we’ve heard. There is a small amount of tonal distortion that becomes more apparent at higher volumes, but it lends a pleasant warmth to classic rock recordings like Bruce Springsteen Born to runas well as jazz efforts like Clifford Brown with stringsunless music is absolutely playing through your speakers.
Bass-heavy tracks from hip-hop acts like Run The Jewels don’t drop the needle and come through with clarity, especially when paired with a quality setup like the Bowers and Wilkins CM8 tower speakers and Peachtree Nova 220SE stereo amplifier we’re blessed with in our the testing room.
The Stir It Up keeps up well with even more expensive competitors like the flagship Audio-Technica LP-120, though the desk itself has much less mass and offers less sound insulation thanks to its rubber feet (a worthwhile consideration for those planning to upgrade pads and advertising external phono preamplifiers in the long term).
Bill Roberson/Digital Trends
Bill Roberson/Digital Trends
The only real issue with the desk is its cloth dust cover, which can be washed when dirty, but doesn’t seem to offer the same level of dust protection as a traditional plastic one. However, this is in line with the company’s sustainability policy — plastic is one of the most unsustainable materials.
Our download
The House of Marley Stir It Up Turntable is a beautiful and intuitive entry-level turntable with good sound at a great price. Adding upgrades like a new stylus, cartridge and external phono preamp could keep the desk happily occupying your hi-fi shelf for years to come.
Is there a better alternative?
Those considering the House of Marley Stir It Up will want to check out other entry-level desks with built-in phono preamps like the Crosley C200 and Audio-Technica LP-120. The former costs the same price but comes without a USB output, and the latter costs $50 more, but is slightly more sturdily constructed and matches the Stir It Up’s USB output.
The Yamaha MusicCast Vinyl 500 is a new option that can stream your vinyl records throughout your home. However, it is much more expensive, $700.
How long will it last?
With proper treatment and occasional maintenance like belt, needle and cartridge replacement, the House of Marley Stir It Up should last for years to come.
Should you buy it?
That. The Stir It Up turntable offers high functionality and sound quality for entry-level buyers, and can be easily upgraded if needed to compete with higher-end turntables. Stir It Up is available now on the company’s website and will launch at retailers nationwide just in time for Record Store Day and Earth Day.
Article originally published on December 21, 2016
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Categories: GAMING
Source: newstars.edu.vn