Sony PS-LX3BT review

The Sony PS-LX310BT has been sitting proudly on our list of the best Bluetooth turntables for a number of years now, and for good reason. The five-star record player debuted all the way back in 2019, and yet in the years since its release, it’s been nigh-on unrivalled for its hugely appealing blend of simple usability, sonic prowess and outstanding value.

Picking up the PS-LX310BT’s mantle is the new Sony PS-LX3BT which, along with its PS-LX5BT more premium sibling, sees Sony make a much-anticipated return to Bluetooth turntable production.

The new LX3BT model promises the same combination of usability, flexibility and overall value as its predecessor, and if it can juggle a quite impressive number of proverbial balls while keeping costs low, and performance a priority, Sony may be onto another low-cost winner.

Build & design

The Sony PS-LX3BT isn’t the most alluring turntable in the world by any stretch of the imagination. Lift it up and you’ll be surprised by how light and somewhat insubstantial it feels in your hands, while that rather functional all-grey finish isn’t exactly going to set pulses racing unless you happen to be taking a break from watching paint dry.

Yet what were we expecting for this kind of money? At this level, we’re simply seeking a deck that’s easy to operate and simple to navigate, and that’s exactly what Sony has delivered – a fully automatic turntable that you can get playing straight out of the box.

In truth, we find the PS-LX3BT simple and unfussy in its set up and operation. The automatic operation means you don’t even need to touch the tonearm here. Playing and stopping tracks is made easy via ‘start’ and ‘stop’ buttons respectively, and once your record has reached its end, the tonearm will automatically return to its resting start position without the need for manual resetting.

The trio of control buttons on the player aren’t luxurious to the touch – if anything, they feel cheap and a little tacky – but they're so large and clearly marked that even your nan could operate them.

The new player features an aluminium tonearm with a precision pivot bearing, as well as an aluminium die-cast platter and a rubber mat. At the end of the tonearm is a pre-fitted moving magnet cartridge with a tracking force of 3.5g, but as there’s no easy way to remove the cartridge from the tonearm, your options for upgrading are pretty limited – though it is possible to replace the stylus.

This being an automatic turntable, there’s very little for you to do aside from take your new purchase out of the box, set it down onto a stable and level surface, hook it up to an amp and dig out your chosen vinyl. There’s no need to set tracking weights or fiddle with cartridges – plug it in, switch on the power button, release the tonearm from its fastener, press ‘start’, and the PS-LX3BT will do the rest.

Okay, the trickiest task you may have to contend with might be attaching the removable transparent lid, but even then, it’s hardly rocket science. If we were being picky, having the on/off switch at the front of the deck might be a little more user-friendly than having to lean over to search out the power button housed right at the back, and an ‘on’ light might have been nice for indicating when the turntable is powered up, but neither are huge issues.

This isn’t glamorous design, but it is pleasingly functional and well-suited to users who might not have much, or any, previous experience of owning a record player.

Features

Look above your trio of start, stop and up/down buttons on the PS-LX3BT and you’ll see chunky dials for switching between record sizes – either 7 or 12 inches – or picking either 33⅓ or 45 RPM speeds.

The deck also has Bluetooth, offering support for the aptX Adaptive codec for hi-res streaming up to 24-bit/96kHz to compatible Bluetooth speakers and wireless headphones.

Dear old nan might find getting to grips with the nuts and bolts of her new-fangled Sony deck easy enough, but she’s possibly in danger of coming unstuck when it comes to Bluetooth. It’s generally a simple process to get the PS-LX3BT beaming out to receptive headphones or portable speakers – just press the large Bluetooth button to put your record player into pairing mode and your nearby wireless device should connect automatically – but there are a few potential pitfalls to watch out for.

If you’re unwittingly stuck in pairing mode, for instance, you’ll get no sound from your deck. We also found that getting out of said mode sometimes requires a bit of a manual reset, either by turning the turntable off and on again, or by moving away from the connected input on your amp and then switching back.

Quite impressively for a turntable of this type and price, the PS-LX3BT is equipped with a built-in phono stage, which is handy if your amplifier doesn't have one. This also means you can plug the turntable straight into a pair of active speakers, without needing to go down the traditional hi-fi separates route.

Alternatively, you can bypass the Sony phono output to use either a separate phono stage for an upgrade path or one built into a compatible stereo amplifier, such as the one found in the Rotel A8 or Arcam A5+ amps. Just make sure you’ve toggled the switch on the back from ‘line’ to ‘phono’ if you’re using an external phono stage.

Sound

We want a revealing system to expose the PS-LX3BT’s talents, so perform much of our listening with the Sony’s line-level output connected to the Award-winning Arcam A5+ (£749 / $1200 / AU$1595) integrated amplifier to test the turntable’s built-in phono stage. The speakers we use, meanwhile, are the Epos ES-7N (£1890 / $2850).

For a deck that does a lot on a shoestring, it’s perfectly fair to keep one’s expectations reasonably modest. Even with that in mind, it doesn’t take long before the PS-LX3BT confounds our expectations admirably. A sprinkle of textural insight here, a good dose of punch there – this is a far heartier metaphorical meal than we’d perhaps anticipated.

If our gastronomic metaphors are getting a little muddled, there’s very little that’s muddled about how the PS-LX3BT goes about presenting our music, as we move from classic pop through to drum’n’bass and a bit of good old fashioned prog metal. We’re taken with just how composed, controlled and well-organised the Sony sounds, marvelling at the effortless cohesion and solidity it brings to the entirety of Michael Jackson’s Bad album.

With that solid sonic foundation in place, the Sony deck has more than enough room to further showcase its talents. Jackson sounds like his iconic self as he howls, screeches and croons his way through the likes of Dirty Diana and Man In The Mirror, with the PS-LX3BT granting genuine energy and personality to the King of Pop’s irrepressible vocal stylings.

In fact, the Sony has a genuine sense of musicality, and at this level that was never a guarantee. Rudimental’s recent Rudim3ntal record is appropriately forthright and punchy through the PS-LX3BT, while Nas’ Illmatic walks a satisfying line between hazy smoothness and authoritative punch. The highest compliment we can give? We’ve completely forgotten we’re listening to a fully automatic turntable that only costs £299 / $400 / AU$469.

Okay, there were always going to be limitations. Whack on Avenged Sevenfold’s barmy avant-garde metal workout Life Is But A Dream, and just occasionally you’ll hear the Sony start to creak under the pressure as it strains to keep up with the constant pace changes across what is an often bafflingly bizarre and complex record.

Still, the overall ability displayed really is commendable, and that’s before we’ve tested out Bluetooth performance. We beam some of Illmatic out to a pair of Sony WH-1000XM6 over-ear headphones, a JBL Charge 6 Bluetooth speaker and even a pair of Ruark MR1 Mk3 desktop speakers and, lo and behold, the resultant sound hangs together admirably. Nas sounds alive and characterful, with bolder tunes such as N.Y. State of Mind still punching through with verve and intent.

While playing the Sony via its line-level output connected to the Arcam A5+ produced many nods of appreciation from our testers, switching things over to the Arcam’s built-in phono stage does take things up a notch. Through the Arcam’s phono input, the performance is more open and dynamic, all while adding greater leading-edge precision to the likes of Jackson’s Billie Jean and Man In The Mirror.

That said, switching back to the Sony’s built-in phono stage doesn’t evidence a disastrous drop-off. Music is a little smaller in its scale and loses some of the Arcam’s clarity, but as we quickly readjust, we find that our affections for the PS-LX3BT’s core performance haven’t been dampened much by hearing what the A5+ has to offer.

Sony’s phono stage is still a good one, especially when you consider how much the PS-LX3BT can do for such a modest outlay. To make an impromptu desktop system, we connect a pair of Ruark MR1 Mk3 to our test turntable, moving back and forth between the Sony's phono stage and that of the Ruarks, and discovering that the PS-LX3BT’s phono input is clearer, more open and more detailed than that of the MR1 Mk3.

Verdict

Right now, it’s hard to think of a turntable that does so much so well yet costs so relatively little. If what you seek is a plug-and-play automatic turntable with Bluetooth powers, impressive ease of use and a sound that’s accomplished and enjoyable, the Sony PS-LX3BT is a top-to-bottom delight.

For all those nervously setting out into choppy vinyl waters, this is the boat that will see you sailing blissfully through. Highly recommended.

Review published: 14th April 2026

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Build 4
• Features 5

MORE:

Read our review of the Pro-Ject T1 Evo BT

Also consider the step-up Sony PS-LX5BT

Read our Rega Planar 1 Plus review

Best Bluetooth turntables: wireless record players tried and tested by experts