The Crosley Voyager Is a Cute Turntable, but It’s Not for the Vinyl Die-Hard

Did you know Big W sells record players for under $200? Neither did I, until I got my hands on the Crosley Voyager Bluetooth Portable Turntable.

The Crosley Voyager Bluetooth Portable Turntable comes in a number of colours, but there’s also the Cruiser range with a handful more. I picked the amethyst Voyager, because it looked like it was lifted straight out of a 70s diner.

I wasn’t exactly expecting a kick-ass sound, but I was expecting it to look shmick. I got what I was expecting on both counts.

Crosley Voyager Bluetooth Portable Turntable

The turntable does what it promises: it plays records and connects via Bluetooth. The Voyager is one of the more budget models, but it’s not the cheapest system Crosley sells. Here’s the pitch from Crosley:

“Join Crosley’s mission to bring analogue music to the masses with the Voyager three-speed turntable. The clean, vintage-inspired aesthetic fits into any space, while the lightweight design allows this record player to travel ‘further than anyone, or anything in history’.”

Crosley Voyager Turntable
Image: Asha Barbaschow/Gizmodo Australia

Crosley Voyager Turntable specs at a glance:

  • Dimension: 37.4cm W x 29.82cm D x 14.75cm H
  • 3–Speed Turntable (33 1/3, 45 & 78 RPM)
  • Belt-Drive Motor
  • Built-in Bluetooth Transmitter & Receiver
  • Built-in Full-Range Stereo Speakers
  • Headphone Jack (3.5mm aux)
  • RCA Output
  • Cueing Lever
  • Bluetooth Out
  • 9W power consumption | DC power adaptor, DC output 5V 1A

While it’s undeniably cute, the style of the Crosley Voyager Turntable isn’t Earth-shattering, it’s something we’re used to seeing, with the retro-looking briefcase aesthetic picked up by many a turntable makers. But, the number of colour options you have with the Voyager is something Crosley has nailed in the briefcase turntable space.

 

Setup

This couldn’t have been easier, but easy setup is something we’ve all become accustomed to. You simply unbox the Crosley Voyager Turntable, plug it in, switch it on and you’re ready to place your record.

With the record down, the lever allows for easy drop in of the needle. It’s a little slow, but better to be safe than sorry. You shouldn’t have to fiddle with the pitch (but there’s an easy-to-use knob if you want to) and volume is controlled by another button.

Crosley Voyager Turntable
Image: Asha Barbaschow/Gizmodo Australia

I accidentally switched the turntable off when I was adjusting the sound, but that’s because I was doing it above eye-level. There’s truly not that much more to it, which is both good and bad. Good because it’s easy, and Crosley has taken the effort off you, and bad because it takes the power away from the user who knows what they’re doing. But, we’ve got to go at this thing from a vinyl novice perspective. In that case, it’s good.

How does it sound?

It’s important to remember that the Crosley Voyager Turntable is ~$200, so you’re going to get $200-worth of sound out of it, unless you connect it to an external speaker/amp system. On its own, the sound is a little muffled. Again, this isn’t a finely-tuned-for-streaming-Spotify track being played through your Bose noise-cancelling headphones. This is a vinyl. The sound is very vinyl.

There is a 3.55mm male jack into a 2xRCA male audio cable – so you can plug your phone in, if for some reason you wanted to listen to something from your phone through the Crosley Voyager Turntable speaker. But you’ve also got the reverse, allowing you to connect out the sound from the turntable to your TV, to speakers or even a soundbar. Plus, Bluetooth connectivity.

Pairing is super simple: press the Bluetooth button on the turntable and do the same on your device. Only issue is every time the player is switched off, you need to pair again.

The only portable Bluetooth speaker I had laying around was an unused JBL Flip, the OG, so we’re talking circa 2013. Connecting the Crosley Voyager Turntable to the speaker definitely elevated the sound, and despite the speaker being nearly 10 years old, the sound was spectacular. Because it’s a Bluetooth connection, through the speaker you could hear the groves on the record, the crunchiness of the darn thing spinning, and it’s truly a sound that gives you goosebumps. Imagine if I had a proper speaker setup.

Crosley Voyager Turntable
Image: Asha Barbaschow/Gizmodo Australia

While the turntable will play a few standard sizes, anything outside of a standard record width would potentially not fit, as the arm guard is blocking it.

The verdict

The Crosley Voyager Turntable is easy to control, looks adorable and when paired with a speaker, sounds exactly what you want from a vinyl player. It’s not for the vinyl die-hard, but it’s a great piece of kit for someone who wants something that plays vinyls and doesn’t break the bank.

Where to buy the Crosley Voyager Turntable?

Big W $189.95 | Harvey Norman $199 | Kogan.com $189.85