Time-honored audio gear pioneer Victrola is continuing its foray into the wireless record player market, today unveiling the Victrola Stream Onyx turntable at CES 2023 in Las Vegas. An updated and more affordable continuation of its popular Stream Carbon turntable launched earlier last year, the Works with Sonos-verified player allows vinyl lovers to spin their records and wirelessly stream the audio over their Sonos speaker system via Wi-Fi. The new player will retail for $600 and will be available for preorder on January 7.
While Bluetooth-enabled turntables offer the convenience of being able to wirelessly play your records through headphones and speakers, Bluetooth is not the ideal way to do this, as you can lose a lot of the details and accuracy from the vinyl because of the digital file compression needed. Most people wouldn’t notice the difference, but using a higher-fidelity wireless system like Sonos to do this is a much better option (especially for audiophiles), one that Victrola started making a lot easier with the Stream Carbon turntable last year.
With the Stream Onyx, it looks like Victrola is trying to make this vinyl-over-Sonos setup more accessible with a price tag that undercuts the Carbon by $200. This is achieved by making a few minor changes, including switching out the Carbon’s carbon-fiber tonearm for an aluminum one, and opting for a much more affordable Audio Technica VM95E cartridge over the more premium Ortofon 2M Red.
Other than that, and the sleek new black body color, the Stream Onyx appears to be identical to its predecessor — and that’s a good thing. Using an iOS or Android device with the Victrola Stream app, the turntable connects to your Wi-Fi network and integrates with the Sonos app to be controlled from there. Music can be sent throughout your house across any Sonos speakers you have, just like you would normally. Doing this with other turntables requires additional hardware, such as a Sonos Five, Sonos Amp, or Sonos Port, that acts as a gateway to your Sonos system.
The turntable itself is a solid piece of hardware, with a 12-pound MDF plinth for anti-resonance, and an aluminum platter that comes with a rubber slip mat. The aforementioned aluminum tonearm has a removable headshell should you want to swap out the AT95E (an Ortofon 2M Red runs $100 on Amazon, so you’d still save $100 over the Carbon), and it’s attached to an adjustable counterweight for proper downforce. There’s even anti-skate control to make sure the stylus is optimally tracking in the record’s grooves. All of these important parts are covered and protected nicely by a uniquely shaped plastic dust cover that sits atop the deck.
Additional features of this belt-driven deck include two-speed playback (33 1/3 and 45 RMP) and a built-in phono preamp if you also want to connect the turntable to a traditional sound system or powered speakers with the included RCA cables. The Stream Onyx connects over Wi-Fi with 802.22a/b/g/n/ac standard. but also has an Ethernet port should you want the most solid connection to your Sonos system.
The Victrola Stream Onyx will be available for preorder on February 7, 2023, via Victrola’s website and on Amazon, as well as Best Buy, Crutchfield, and more. It has an MSRP of $600, and will be widely available in February.
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