Sharp RP-TT100 review

Even with our Nostradamus-like powers of prognostication, we freely admit that the arrival of a new Sharp Bluetooth turntable was not on our 2026 bingo card.

It’s been around 20 or so years since Sharp, the brand we now more readily associate with TV and home cinema gear (and sponsoring Manchester United in the early ’90s), put out a new record player. Yet the established Japanese manufacturer has clearly been keeping one eye on the surging vinyl revival as it unveils its new RP-TT100 deck.

Sadly, you don’t simply get to walk back into the arena after a long absence and expect to dominate the competition. It just happens that Sony has also decided to get back onto the proverbial turntable horse in 2026, with its five-star Sony PS-LX3BT and PS-LX5BT also offering automatic operation, Bluetooth powers and built-in phono stages, albeit at higher prices than the Sharp.

Comebacks can be tricky things – just ask Katy Perry – so it’s time to find out if Sharp still has that cutting edge, or if it’s been left behind by the ever-spinning world of turntables.

Build & design

Considering its entry-level price tag, the Sharp RP-TT100 is a rather nice turntable to behold, and we’re pleased with the levels of quality the Sharp manages to exude.

It’s arguably a more attractive proposition than the Sony PS-LX3BT (£249 / $400 / AU$469) – whereas the Sony can come across a tad ‘Fisher-Price’, we can see the appeal of the RP-TT100’s more compact and sleeker profile.

That modest aesthetic appeal is paired with lots of user-friendly simplicity. Sharp’s slender turntable is well laid out and simple in its set-up and operation, with the only tasks required to get it started being to attach the rubber belt to the platter and place said platter, along with its mat, onto the main plinth.

Once that’s done, you’re pretty much ready to rock and roll. The cartridge comes pre-attached to the tonearm, and this being a fully automatic model, there’s no tinkering with tonearm tracking weights, either.

The budget-friendly turntable features an aluminium platter and a metal tonearm, as well as a matte black housing and a Perspex dust cover which can be attached via a series of plastic clips. The supplied cartridge is an Audio-Technica AT3600L moving magnet that tracks securely at 3.5g.

Elsewhere, the Sharp’s combination of clean design and usability makes operation a breeze. A host of buttons in the bottom right corner are available for power, Bluetooth pairing, returning and then lifting/lowering the tonearm, and playback – all of which are responsive and nice to use.

What we perhaps didn’t expect to find is a dial in the left-hand corner which will skip forward or backwards on your record by around a minute via left or right turns respectively. Better still, there’s an included remote control (yes, with a turntable!) for putting your deck into pairing mode, switching it on/off, skipping forward and back and returning the tonearm to its original position.

You may use the slim remote and think it’s not working, but bear in mind that the buttons need a really firm, deliberate press if you want to get the desired response.

Features

On the RP-TT100, you’ll also discover twin toggles for switching between record sizes – either 7 or 12 inches – and selecting either 33⅓ or 45 RPM speeds, both accompanied by small LEDs to let you know which option you’ve selected.

Bluetooth 5.4 is on the menu for streaming to compatible Bluetooth speakers and wireless headphones. Although, there’s none of the hi-res streaming codec support for the likes of aptX HD or Adaptive that you might find on the Sony PS-LX3BT or PS-LX5BT turntables.

Still, connecting to standard Bluetooth is hardly a chore. It’s a simple process to get the deck into pairing mode: just press the button with the large Bluetooth rune emblazoned upon it, and your nearby device should connect automatically.

If it doesn’t, make sure your receiving Bluetooth device of choice is also in pairing mode, something we manage by pressing the Bluetooth icon on our trusty JBL Charge 6 speaker and waiting a few moments for it to make a connection.

Despite its modest outlay, the RP-TT100 is fitted with a built-in phono stage, which is always useful if your amp or active speakers don’t happen to have one.

You can, of course, just bypass the Sharp’s phono output to use either a separate phono stage or your amplifier’s, making sure to toggle the switch on the back of your turntable from ‘line’ to ‘phono’ if you’re using an external phono stage.

Last but not least, a USB-C port is available for converting your records into digital files via a computer.

Sound

We want a revealing system to get the measure of the Sharp RP-TT100, so most of our listening is done with the turntable’s line-level output connected to the Arcam A5+ (£749 / $1200 / AU$1595) integrated amplifier to test the player’s phono stage. The speakers we use are the five-star Epos ES-7N (£1890 / $2850), and we also partner it with the more price-appropriate Ruark MR1 Mk3 (399 / $579 / AU$899) desktop powered speakers.

We place our first record – Will McNicol’s Volume Two series of folk/jazz recordings – onto the RP-TT100 with a little trepidation. This is Sharp’s first turntable in a long time, one stuffed to the brim with plenty of features for under £200. In the back of our minds, we wonder how much of the budget was left over for focusing on actual sound quality.

This feels like the scene in Oppenheimer where the team of scientists are nervously performing their nuclear ‘Trinity’ test for the first time, yet our trepidation soon turns to relief as we discover a budget turntable that is, at the very least, competent. It makes a sound and doesn’t gash our favourite records, so that’s a good start.

Will McNicol makes for a nice, easy place for the RP-TT100 to begin, and the Sharp deck makes a solid account of itself as it clearly and efficiently runs through each acoustic track with stability and composure.

No, these aren’t hugely complex arrangements, but they’re delicate and subtly emotive, all characteristics which the RP-TT100 just about reveals as it goes about its business with quiet confidence.

Detail levels are reasonable for the price, and while lesser decks at this level can sound coarse or hard-edged, the Sharp reins itself in admirably. Leading edges of violins, acoustic guitars and cellos are defined yet not over-etched, with the RP-TT100’s composed, uncluttered temperament giving McNicol’s Before The Light space simply to exist and shine.

This is all rather positive, so it’s time to see if we can push Sharp’s low-cost player a little further. Lukas Graham’s sincere and emotive Happy Home comes next, and this is where issues begin to arise.

The Sharp struggles to track the song’s dynamic swells with any real gusto, all while failing to bring out enough of the emotion from Tom Jones’ Did Trouble Me to make the Welsh crooner sound sufficiently engaging.

As we load up Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony, we further expose the Sharp’s limitations. The RP-TT100 gives it a good go, but it simply doesn’t have the dynamic stretch or the sense of presence or scale to give Ludwig his due. Rhythmic patterns aren’t teased out with any real clarity or verve, leaving much of the drama of the piece to fall by the wayside.

Switching over to the slightly more costly PS-LX3BT reminds us just how good Sony’s five-star competitor is at this level. Across all aspects, it proves itself a punchier and more dynamic contender, with the Pastoral Symphony sounding lively and engaging thanks to the rival Sony’s more adept handling of rhythms and dynamics.

We’ve been listening to the RP-TT100 via its built-in phono stage, and as you might expect, moving over to our Arcam A5+ amp’s phono stage does make everything sound better.

The Arcam's phono circuit is simply more detailed and spacious, making tracks such as Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams or Bach’s Siciliano in G Minor sound more layered and musically sophisticated, even if the Sharp’s core limitations still remain.

Elsewhere, the RP-TT100’s Bluetooth performance is solid, and even with the standard codec, we’re pleased to discover that records such as Leon Bridges’ Gold-Diggers Sound and Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours are cohesive and reasonably detailed when beaming out to a pair of Sony WH-1000XM6 over-ear headphones or a JBL Charge 6 Bluetooth speaker. All other things being equal, we’d struggle to ask for much more at this level.

Verdict

On paper, the RP-TT100 is a lot of turntable for not a lot of money, something which gives it broad appeal to vinyl newbies who want a cheap turntable that’s easy to set up and simple to operate.

Sadly, there’s a certain level of sonic performance that we look for in any product, regardless of budget. The RP-TT100 may be sonically competent for the price, but its fundamental sonic limitations make it hard to recommend, especially when spending a little more cash on a Sony deck will reap far greater sonic rewards.

SCORES

• Sound 3
• Build 4
• Features 5

MORE:

Read our Sony PS-LX3BT review

Also, check out our Pro-Ject T1 Evo BT review

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