I love to spin records on my turntable, but my setup doesn’t leave me much time to use it. My schedule and notes are currently in my living room next to the TV, but I’m usually in my office working in front of the computer. After work, my friend and I will watch something (wrapped up Andor!). These habits don’t give me much time to sit down and enjoy music. That’s usually why I use my cleanser on the weekend mornings after I wash or while I’m drinking hot coffee.
One solution is to move my turntable setup, but it has become so important when we have guests over that I don’t want to do that. Another fix? Find a second player. But then I have to wrangle another speaker and build it all in my already cramped office, all of which also sounds expensive. Of course, the answer this time is the suitcase player.
Victrola’s new Re-Spin turntable is affordable at $100, lightweight, and easy to put away when I don’t need it. It has a built-in speaker so I don’t have to connect anything else, and I can take it to a friend’s house, channeling my inner Brooklyn hipster.
Record Scratch
Re-Spin is a play on suitcases, meaning it looks like a small suitcase, handle and all. It’s pretty plastic — it’s made from 25 percent recycled plastic, with 100 percent recycling — but that’s what makes it so light at just 5 pounds. Victrola offers four colors: gray, red, blue, and green.
Open it and you will see a place to put your note and tonearm (yes, the note will go over the edge while playing, don’t worry about it). Pieces like the tonearm have latches to keep them in place so you don’t have to worry about them falling while you’re on the go, and there’s a plastic cover to protect the stylus. However, I had to be careful. Try to avoid putting it on a curve when trying to ride the subway.
You can take the cover off and use it as a color display (it can fit up to five notebooks), which is nice and all, but there’s no single way to carry multiple notebooks. and Re-Spin. I have to carry a separate bag for my vinyl, but I would love it if I could carry two or three records and Re-Spin in one bag.
Image: Victrola