- Lenco is unveiling a high-end turntable and stereo speakers at IFA
- Refreshingly, ‘high-end’ for Lenco now means ‘more than $500 / £500’
- IFA is a huge tech trade show running from Fri, 5 Sept – Tue, 9 Sept 2025
Lenco’s IFA press release states: “The LBT-515 and SPB-240BKGY create a bold new step for the brand” and on this occasion, I couldn’t agree with the turntable specialist’s marketing strategy more.
The LBT-515 is a new direct-drive – yes, direct-drive – record player sitting pretty at the top of Lenco’s IFA showcase (IFA is a famous tech trade show in Berlin, but don’t worry if you didn’t know that) and it comes equipped with an Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge and a quartz-controlled direct-drive motor for rotation at both 33 and 45 RPM.
The LBT-515 also offers boasts adjustable pitch control, anti-skating, a mechanical arm lift, gold-plated connectors, a switchable preamp and built-in RIAA equalizer to make for simple system integration.
And that’s not all! Bluetooth 5.3 with volume control means you can play your vinyl on nearby wireless headphones or speakers, making it a very flexible choice (and might I say a good-looking one, if you like the slightly retro vibe).
The Lenco LBT-515 will be available from November, priced £579.99 / €599.99, which will make it around $785 or AU$1,195, give or take a few dollars. Not what I’m used to from Lenco – and actually, I don’t mind it one bit.
Lenco hasn’t made it into our roundup of the best turntables you can buy yet, but we really liked the company’s recent $359 LBT-215BK at a listening session earlier this year. It’ll be interesting to see whether this deck – and this new price bracket – is a hit for the company where its budget offerings haven’t quite made the cut.
Need a set of Bluetooth-enabled (but also far more versatile) stereo speakers to go with your deck? Meet the Lenco SPB-240BKGY bookshelf speakers! With an 80W RMS total output (2 x 40W), a built-in Class D amplifier and Digital Signal Processing (DSP) and Bluetooth 5.3, you could stream from your phone, tablet or laptop – but the RCA, Optical in, USB and Subwoofer out should make it easy to integrate TVs, consoles or of course that new turntable. A remote control and RCA cable come included and you’ll be able to buy them from November, priced £149.99 / €169.99 (so around $203 or AU$310).
Lenco’s been busy ahead of IFA
Lenco launched three turntables at CES at the start of the year, and the company is clearly sticking with that ‘three’s a charm’ strategy for IFA 2025.
Moving on to the second of the trio then, what if you’re hoping for a fuss-free purchase and would prefer your vinyl separates already matched and in the box? The LS-700BK is designed for you. Lenco tells us “This complete system combines a premium turntable with a 200W speaker setup (2 x 100W RMS) for room-filling audio right out of the box”, and at its core is the rather highly-regarded Ortofon 2M Red cartridge.
The LS-700BK includes a built-in stereo amplifier, Bluetooth 5.2, digital speed display, automatic speed adjustment and anti-skating. Two handcrafted wooden speakers and a brushed aluminium casing complete then design. It’s out in October for the princely sum of £699.99 / €749.99 (approximately $949 or AU$1,445).
Last up, the space-saving solution. If you want an all-in-one experience, the LS-60BK boasts “vintage character in a compact, approachable design”. Under the wooden MDF cabinet you get integrated stereo speakers, and the deck itself plays 33, 45, and 78 RPM records via a belt-drive system. A pre-fitted Audio-Technica AT-3600 MMC cartridge handles playback quality.
Another perk here is two-way Bluetooth, meaning you can stream the vinyl on your deck wirelessly to your Bluetooth headphones or speakers, but you can also play music directly from your phone or other source device through the turntable’s built-in 2 x 5W speaker drivers. RCA outputs mean expansion for larger setups is possible too and I think the LS-60BK could make vinyl simple enough for new users to become hooked. The Lenco LS-60BK is out imminently in September, priced £149.99 / €169.99 – which is much more Lenco’s tried-and-tested wheelhouse.
How do they sound? Bear with us, we’re in Berlin at IFA and we’re working on giving at least one of them a spin, very soon.
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becky.scarrott@futurenet.com (Becky Scarrott)
