Lenco L85
Despite the fact that the vinyl and record player technology is quite old, the Lenco L85 is smoking hot fresh from the factory. Yes vinyl record players are still made today, even more so the last few years as the trend is coming back. More and more people start collecting these records again and the amount of record players out there won't be enough.
So companies like Lenco continue to design and create new record players for those consumers that are new to this or would like to come back to the record playing community.
For me it's a matter of coming back as I haven't had a vinyl record player for around 15 years now, even though jumping forward to the conclusion here, I must say it was amazing to hear the sound of a vinyl record once again.
So, the Lenco L85 that we have on the test bench today is made of a beautiful red plastic with a wooden sort of base. There are also other colors available to match your taste.
With the player we get a CD with manual on it, a paper manual / quick guide, RCA cables and the vinyl adapter, as well as the power adapter. Moon Audio who provides this review unit were also kind enough to include a carbon fiber brush as well, which is great for keeping your vinyl records clean.
The L85 is belt driven with two speeds available, 33 RPM and 45 RPM, is semi-automatic with auto return. It features a mechanical arm lift and the pickup is a Moving Magnetic Cartridge (MMC). It has audio output, however not at phono levels but at "computer" levels. So you could plug this directly into your computer's line-in jack and listen to or record the audio, this thanks to an integrated stereo pre-amplifier.
Something that the "old" record players didn't have, for sure, that this new player has is a direct MP3 encoding feature, converting your vinyl records directly into MP3 files on a USB stick. In the front of the L85 there is a USB connector, if you insert a USB memory stick here you can start the recording of whatever vinyl record you have playing, it also features track splitting so that you can easily split the songs into separate MP3 files.
Once again the audio will get compressed and loose some of its fidelity, but for those records with songs that just aren't available on your favorite online music library, this is more or less - perfect.
You can of course also connect the audio output directly to your computer's line in jack and record it that way, so you can control what kind of compression is done on the music files.
The platter on the L85 is made out of plastic but the whole construction feels really sturdy. The base of the player is fitted with four rubber feet that might not be the best, but they get the job done with reducing vibrations to the stiff parts of the player.
Even though the old and newer wooden players that are available looks fantastic, due to the wood, the L85 looks awesome as well. Just have to make sure that you dust it off now and then and perhaps keep your fingers away from the glossy finish, and then it's perfect.
The testing of the Lenco L85 is quite simple, just throw a record on and start the playback. For our tests we have both old and newly bought records and the feeling of unwrapping a brand new vinyl record, it's like opening a Christmas present times ten, or somewhere along those lines. Personally it's amazing.
Well, the records for this review will be two Elvis photo records, they not only sound awesome but look awesome as well. Then we have Dire Straits with their Brothers In Arms album which still is my fav between all of their albums. Those are old with 20-30+ years of experience in standing up in the shelf. We also have a newly produced vinyl which weighs in at 180 grams, making it more durable and resistant to warp compared to thinner records, the Arrival album from ABBA.
The music on the ABBA record is of course not newly produced, however the vinyl disc is. I don't have any old Arrival record to compare with, so I can't really say if it's a better or worse copy of the album. It might of course be exactly the same as the old version, but for the moment I can't say for sure.
The records are mass produced and if you listen to five copies of the same album it should sound pretty much exactly the same. Some imperfections might and will exist, but they should sound the same. So the only thing that could make the audio experience different - is the player itself.
So when we throw this record onto the player and start the playback, the experience begins. The sound, is something totally "new" to my ears. Bear in mind that I haven't listened to a vinyl record in at least 15 years, so it's like a new experience to me all over again.
For the first test I decided to hook up the audio output of the Lenco L85 to my computers line in jack so that I can more accurately compare the audio from the record player and compared to various online music libraries through the same set of speakers.
The sound, when it starts pouring out of the speakers, is amazing. I get the exact same feeling when writing this as when I first heard the sound coming out of the speakers for the first time, playing the ABBA album, I get tears in my eyes.
Take me right here, the Lenco L85 with its specific moving magnetic cartridge and built-in amplifier is perhaps not the best on the market, but hearing the sound that comes out of the speakers tells the truth. Right then and there, that sound, is better than any online music library or any compressed song on your computer, period.
A song on the computer, most always compressed, could be much cleaner than most vinyl records but it lacks the fidelity of a vinyl record.
Immediately after the first song ended I fired up my favorite online music library and searched for the exact same song, played it and the audio that comes out of the speakers is like comparing a freshly opened soda with full carbon dioxide inside; it tastes as good as it can, with a soda that has been open for a few hours; it doesn't taste as good when it's flat.
That is the comparison, the online music library on its own sounds really good. But if you compare it with a vinyl record, it doesn't come close at all. A vinyl record will most probably always beat the online music library. I have read that the online music libraries are working on better codecs and compressions to make the sound even better and more accurate compared to for example vinyl records, but for sure, it's a long way to go still.
So what is the conclusion of the review on the Lenco L85? I believe that, even though I'm positive to the whole vinyl category of products, this is a really good product. It does perform very well and the features it offers are great for the price that this player costs.
At around SEK 2 000kr, €200 EURO, USD $215 this is a very affordable and great sounding player. Lenco has its roots way back in the record playing history with all sorts of audio equipment, it is not the same company as it was but they still produce great products.
Can I recommend this product? I certainly can, it is available in countries around the globe and of course available in Sweden, where I work from.
I would like to thank Lenco for making this possible, but also the Swedish company Moon Radio for supplying us with the review unit.
So companies like Lenco continue to design and create new record players for those consumers that are new to this or would like to come back to the record playing community.
For me it's a matter of coming back as I haven't had a vinyl record player for around 15 years now, even though jumping forward to the conclusion here, I must say it was amazing to hear the sound of a vinyl record once again.
So, the Lenco L85 that we have on the test bench today is made of a beautiful red plastic with a wooden sort of base. There are also other colors available to match your taste.
With the player we get a CD with manual on it, a paper manual / quick guide, RCA cables and the vinyl adapter, as well as the power adapter. Moon Audio who provides this review unit were also kind enough to include a carbon fiber brush as well, which is great for keeping your vinyl records clean.
The L85 is belt driven with two speeds available, 33 RPM and 45 RPM, is semi-automatic with auto return. It features a mechanical arm lift and the pickup is a Moving Magnetic Cartridge (MMC). It has audio output, however not at phono levels but at "computer" levels. So you could plug this directly into your computer's line-in jack and listen to or record the audio, this thanks to an integrated stereo pre-amplifier.
Something that the "old" record players didn't have, for sure, that this new player has is a direct MP3 encoding feature, converting your vinyl records directly into MP3 files on a USB stick. In the front of the L85 there is a USB connector, if you insert a USB memory stick here you can start the recording of whatever vinyl record you have playing, it also features track splitting so that you can easily split the songs into separate MP3 files.
Once again the audio will get compressed and loose some of its fidelity, but for those records with songs that just aren't available on your favorite online music library, this is more or less - perfect.
You can of course also connect the audio output directly to your computer's line in jack and record it that way, so you can control what kind of compression is done on the music files.
The platter on the L85 is made out of plastic but the whole construction feels really sturdy. The base of the player is fitted with four rubber feet that might not be the best, but they get the job done with reducing vibrations to the stiff parts of the player.
Even though the old and newer wooden players that are available looks fantastic, due to the wood, the L85 looks awesome as well. Just have to make sure that you dust it off now and then and perhaps keep your fingers away from the glossy finish, and then it's perfect.
The testing of the Lenco L85 is quite simple, just throw a record on and start the playback. For our tests we have both old and newly bought records and the feeling of unwrapping a brand new vinyl record, it's like opening a Christmas present times ten, or somewhere along those lines. Personally it's amazing.
Well, the records for this review will be two Elvis photo records, they not only sound awesome but look awesome as well. Then we have Dire Straits with their Brothers In Arms album which still is my fav between all of their albums. Those are old with 20-30+ years of experience in standing up in the shelf. We also have a newly produced vinyl which weighs in at 180 grams, making it more durable and resistant to warp compared to thinner records, the Arrival album from ABBA.
The music on the ABBA record is of course not newly produced, however the vinyl disc is. I don't have any old Arrival record to compare with, so I can't really say if it's a better or worse copy of the album. It might of course be exactly the same as the old version, but for the moment I can't say for sure.
The records are mass produced and if you listen to five copies of the same album it should sound pretty much exactly the same. Some imperfections might and will exist, but they should sound the same. So the only thing that could make the audio experience different - is the player itself.
So when we throw this record onto the player and start the playback, the experience begins. The sound, is something totally "new" to my ears. Bear in mind that I haven't listened to a vinyl record in at least 15 years, so it's like a new experience to me all over again.
For the first test I decided to hook up the audio output of the Lenco L85 to my computers line in jack so that I can more accurately compare the audio from the record player and compared to various online music libraries through the same set of speakers.
The sound, when it starts pouring out of the speakers, is amazing. I get the exact same feeling when writing this as when I first heard the sound coming out of the speakers for the first time, playing the ABBA album, I get tears in my eyes.
Take me right here, the Lenco L85 with its specific moving magnetic cartridge and built-in amplifier is perhaps not the best on the market, but hearing the sound that comes out of the speakers tells the truth. Right then and there, that sound, is better than any online music library or any compressed song on your computer, period.
A song on the computer, most always compressed, could be much cleaner than most vinyl records but it lacks the fidelity of a vinyl record.
Immediately after the first song ended I fired up my favorite online music library and searched for the exact same song, played it and the audio that comes out of the speakers is like comparing a freshly opened soda with full carbon dioxide inside; it tastes as good as it can, with a soda that has been open for a few hours; it doesn't taste as good when it's flat.
That is the comparison, the online music library on its own sounds really good. But if you compare it with a vinyl record, it doesn't come close at all. A vinyl record will most probably always beat the online music library. I have read that the online music libraries are working on better codecs and compressions to make the sound even better and more accurate compared to for example vinyl records, but for sure, it's a long way to go still.
So what is the conclusion of the review on the Lenco L85? I believe that, even though I'm positive to the whole vinyl category of products, this is a really good product. It does perform very well and the features it offers are great for the price that this player costs.
At around SEK 2 000kr, €200 EURO, USD $215 this is a very affordable and great sounding player. Lenco has its roots way back in the record playing history with all sorts of audio equipment, it is not the same company as it was but they still produce great products.
Can I recommend this product? I certainly can, it is available in countries around the globe and of course available in Sweden, where I work from.
I would like to thank Lenco for making this possible, but also the Swedish company Moon Radio for supplying us with the review unit.
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