Last year, the market for vinyl records grew by 10.5 per cent, with 6.7 million discs sold last year. It’s reason enough for Toshiba to launch the portable vinyl player Aurex AX-RP10, which offers competition to Audio-Technica’s Sound Burger.
Stripped back in terms of design, Aurex AX-RP10 comes with a built-in battery of 2,000 mAh capacity. Toshiba says the battery should last up to 10 hours. The portable turntable is compatible with both 33 1/3 and 45 rpm records and uses MM-type cartridges. The belt-driven turntable relies on Bluetooth speaker for output and there is also a stereo mini audio jack for plugging in wired headphones or connecting it to a sound system.
The player even comes with a carry case for easy transportation to, say, a beach picnic. When you are travelling with records, you would like to put on display the sleeve of the LP that’s being played. The machine comes with a “jacket holder” that props your record’s sleeve for all to see.
Another winning feature is the arm lifter for easily raising and lowering the needle and an auto-stop function that stops the turntable spinning when vinyl playback ends.
The pop pick among portable record players remains Audio-Technica’s AT-SB727. Better known as the Sound Burger, it was Audio-Technica’s answer to the Sony Walkman for vinyl records. The limited edition from 2022 maintained the original slim clamshell that anchors only the centre of the record, exposing the record grooves and the tone arm.
Toshiba has not announced the pricing for Aurex AX-RP10, which is arriving this month.