I have Sonos speakers in each room. Only the two bathrooms do not have them. I love them. Even if, in the past, I have been something like a purist audiophile, I am happy with what I can get from them.
The quality is good enough for me, and my hearing worsens over time.
Since when I installed them, I thought that sooner or later, I would have treated myself to a classic turntable. In the last four years, that never happened.
I found that Victrola has a turntable that can connect directly to a Sonos speaker without needing additional hardware.
The 799 dollars target price is not low, but it is not much if you compare it with the costs of high-end turntables available on the market.
I think that five years ago, I would have already pressed the buy button on the Victrola website. That is not the case anymore.
First, 800 dollars is a lot of money for something I would make marginal use of.
Second, I gave all of my vinyl when I married. I also sold my Anniversary Sportster at the time. I know, two big mistakes. This means I would have to repurchase everything—a big no.
Third, I think the solution would make me miss my old McIntosh amplifier and custom build speakers. This is the biggest reason I haven’t bought a turntable so far. It would never be as it was in the past or, better, it will never be as my brain remembers it was.
I would feel it like a betrayal.
I am convinced that some things have to stay in the past as memories.
I think a classic turntable may be a good technology to have in my house. I would love the form factor and the fact that it may bring me back to the past, where things were, somehow, easier. At the same time, it will be marginal technology that I would not use as often as I would like.
I define marginal technology as those things that have an appeal to be owned but that is doomed to be covered with dust in the long run. I have banned marginal technology from my daily life due to the pandemic we are still in—more attention to what I already have and strict screening of what I buy.