What turntable setup for a non-audiophile?

My Mother in Law has just discovered a large box full of vinyl that belonged to my wife as a teenager. The cool thing is that I know about this discovery, but my wife doesn’t. She has has a birthday coming up so I thought  it would be nice to get a setup so she can listen to them as she did 30 or so years ago. Mrs S is definitely not interested in perfect sound, gold speaker cables etc. So looking for a simple, nice setup, ideally for £250 or so. Starting from scratch with everything.

We don’t have loads of space so compact is good

Any ideas or should I just rock up at Richer sounds and take it from there?

Do you already have any speakers setup in the house that you can piggy back on?

Audio Pro speakers allow you to plug a deck in and have stereo and multi room sound for example or do you definitely want to make this standalone ?

This might be what you’re looking for. https://www.richersounds.com/denon-dp-29f-silver-cambridge-audio-axa25-lunar-grey-with-wharfedale-diamond-9-0-black.html

we got one of the Denon decks for one of our children a couple of years back. Works well. Fancier decks are available. My SO has been exploring their childhood records with it and pronounced it good.

Do you already have any speakers setup in the house that you can piggy back on?

Only a selection of different Alexa units

For a very compact set-up…

Edifier R1280T & Audio-Technica LP60X Turntable with Speakers

This is very nice, sounds good and compact although a bit out of budget

I’ve just the speakers and the sound wonderful.

https://dougbradyhifi.com/products/pro-ject-e1-phono-turntable-with-ruark-mr1-mkii-speakers

Only a selection of different Alexa units

One option is to get a Bluetooth record player and pair this with the Alexa speakers. I’d prefer the player/amp/speaker bundles people have linked above, but I’m speaking as something of an audiophile.

bluetooth record player would be a 1 box solution that doesn’t clutter the house. That would suit my wife better, apart from the fact she’s a bit of a technophobe so would prefer something analogue she could just turn on and play.

cool gift idea btw.

I bought the Richer Sounds setup mentioned above for my son for Xmas, he seems very happy with it.

Yeah, just rock up at Richer Sounds with your brief. This sort of thing is what they are good at. Fwiw I have the basic audio technics turntable and it’s fine with my budget/old set up.

And +1 for this being a great idea/ surprise.

Another vote for audio pro, they had an outlet sale this weekend, I ve bought direct from them in outlet I couldn’t tell the difference, think it was a damaged box, half price, well worth it.  Really good sound quality for the money.

Some great suggestions here, thanks. I like the setups without the separate amp, nice and neat.

Has output to run to an amp or active speakers if you want to add them later.

“https://www.amazon.co.uk/Numark-PT01-Touring-Connectivity-Rechargeable/dp/B015FJZZZA”

Spend a small sum on a second hand Dansette.
That’s a simple and fun way to meet the brief and if you then get the vinyl bug, you can start again from scratch.

Rega turntable for a start. I’d get wired speakers. Have a chat to your local Richer about an amp.

I just picked up a planar 3 to replace my Systemdek I sold a few years ago

Sounds good and feels so solid with no scratches whatsoever on the cover

It probably won’t get used too often but now have to get rid of my Dual, Ariston and Rotel turntables just gathering dust but all work as they should

Tbh, I’d +1 for the bluetooth turntable option and utilise the speakers you already have.

Are you buying this so you can listen to the old and no doubt scratched/dirty LP’s or do you think it’ll actually get used by your wife?

People need to read the OP’s post! 🤣

* “Wife not interested in perfect sound”!

* “Starting from scratch”!

* £250 budget!

* Needs to be compact!

* No existing speakers or amp!

* It’s a nostalgia purchase!

…I think a Linn Sondek feeding pure sound to a £3k amp and £2k floor standers will suffice!