The Sony PS-LX3BT is a fully automatic belt-drive turntable with a built-in switchable phono stage and aptX Adaptive Bluetooth, launched as the replacement for the PS-LX310BT. What Hi-Fi gave it five stars for a composed, well-organised sound and called it hard to top as an affordable way to get records spinning; Trusted Reviews scored it 4.5 out of 5 and found it consistent over wired and wireless connections. TechRadar was much cooler at 3 out of 5, objecting to the cheap-feeling plastic chassis, the proprietary built-in cartridge and a $399 launch price it considered too high for an entry-level deck.
Full review
Automatic operation and set-up
What Hi-Fi describes a deck that plays straight out of the box: there is no tracking weight to set and no cartridge to align, and start and stop buttons move the tonearm on and off the record, returning it automatically at the end of a side. Dials select 7- or 12-inch records and 33⅓ or 45 RPM. Its only usability complaints were the power switch at the back and the lack of a power light.
Trusted Reviews had the same experience, describing set-up as slotting in the platter, fitting the belt and attaching the dust cover. It missed a repeat button, which it noted a rival Sharp deck has.
Sound through the built-in phono stage
Listening through an Arcam A5+ amplifier, What Hi-Fi called the sound composed, controlled and well-organised, with a sense of musicality it said is never guaranteed at this level. Complex, fast-changing metal made the deck strain occasionally. Switching to the amplifier's own phono input gave a more open and dynamic result, but What Hi-Fi judged Sony's phono stage a good one and found it clearer and more detailed than the stage in a pair of Ruark MR1 Mk3 speakers.
Trusted Reviews heard rich, weighty but balanced bass and clear vocals through a Cambridge Audio CXA61, describing the tone as warm rather than neutral. TechRadar lists 'decent, warm sound' among its reasons to buy.
Bluetooth and connections
The deck transmits over aptX Adaptive. TechRadar called the Bluetooth excellent and easy to use, and Trusted Reviews found the connection held while walking around the house. What Hi-Fi hit one snag: left in pairing mode the deck produces no sound, and getting out of it sometimes needed the turntable switched off and on.
Trusted Reviews points out there is no AAC support, so Sony's own recent 1000X headphones fall back to SBC. TechRadar noted the RCA cable is permanently attached, there is no 3.5mm output, and a gain switch boosts or cuts output by 4dB.
Build, cartridge and price
All three outlets criticise the build. What Hi-Fi found the deck light and somewhat insubstantial with buttons that feel cheap; Trusted Reviews said it feels slightly cheaper than it looks. TechRadar went further on the cartridge: it is built into the tonearm, Sony states that other styluses are not supported, and the reviewer measured tracking force at 3.7g against Sony's 3.5g specification.
Price drove TechRadar's 3-star verdict. At the $399 launch price it said the PS-LX3BT is undercut by near-equivalent rivals and is not easy to recommend to beginners. What Hi-Fi, testing at the same price, reached the opposite conclusion and said it is hard to think of a turntable that does so much so well for so little.
Strengths
- +Fully automatic: start and stop buttons cue and return the tonearm
- +Robust, well-organised sound with excellent detail levels, per What Hi-Fi
- +Built-in switchable phono stage with a three-position gain setting
- +aptX Adaptive Bluetooth that TechRadar found excellent and easy to use
- +No tracking force or cartridge set-up needed
Watch-outs
- −Lightweight, cheap-feeling plastic chassis and buttons, noted by What Hi-Fi, Trusted Reviews and TechRadar
- −Built-in cartridge cannot be swapped; Sony says only its own replacement stylus is supported, TechRadar reports
- −No AAC Bluetooth, so Sony's own recent headphones fall back to SBC, per Trusted Reviews
- −RCA cable is hard-wired rather than a socket, and there is no 3.5mm output, TechRadar noted
How it compares
The PS-LX3BT is the successor to the Sony PS-LX310BT also listed here and keeps the same recipe: fully automatic belt drive, Bluetooth and a built-in phono stage. Unlike the manual Audio-Technica AT-LP120XUSB and U-Turn Orbit Plus, its cartridge is fixed to the tonearm, so upgrades stop at replacing the stylus.
Rating sources
Counts as 4.54/5 in our score — this publisher's 33 scores on the site average 4.70, so its scores are adjusted down to compare fairly with other publishers.
Counts as 4.45/5 in our score — this publisher's 43 scores on the site average 4.22, so its scores are adjusted down to compare fairly with other publishers.
Counts as 2.92/5 in our score — this publisher's 195 scores on the site average 4.25, so its scores are adjusted down to compare fairly with other publishers.
Our 4.0 score is the average of these published ratings, each adjusted for how strictly its publisher scores. More about methodology.
