Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Full disclosure: I'm a vinyl enthusiast and have been using turntables for over 30 years. I also rebuild and restore vintage turntables. Pros: * It's cute! The cosmetic design is really quite charming and I can see why people are attracted to it. * It weighs nothing. Seriously. The dust cover on my Technics turntable weighs more than this thing. * It's completely plug-and-play. Easy to understand why newcomers are less intimidated by Crosleys than by more sophisticated turntables. You literally just plug it into a power outlet and start playing. There is absolutely no setup required. Cons: * Sound output is pathetically weak. Even with the volume turned all the way up, the Cruiser's two speakers aren't as loud as my cell phone's tiny single speaker. * The quality of the sound is also substantially worse than my cell phone. Stereo 33s sound like mono 78s. * This record player will destroy your records. How? Keep reading. Out of curiosity, I dug out my digital stylus force gauge to find out if the tracking force is really as heavy as some reviewers have claimed. Yes, folks, it is. So heavy, in fact, that it wouldn't even register on my gauge (which maxes out at 5 grams). (For those of you who are new to all this: anything over 3 grams is likely to cause premature wear and damage to your records, ESPECIALLY if the stylus is of poor quality -- which is the case with the Crosley Cruiser stylus.) The sapphire stylus, attached to a crude plastic cantilever, is enormous. I can't imagine that it would be much safer than playing your records with a rusty nail. It might be okay for playing some trashed old 78s but it'll chew up your 33s and 45s quickly. PLEASE, folks: if you are spending 20 or 30 bucks each on brand new records, do not play them on this record player. You might as well just toss your money in the garbage. There are a handful of Crosleys that come with a gentle and respectable Audio-Technica 3600 cartridge with diamond stylus, such as the Collegiate, the Advance, and the Spinnerette. It would be safe to consider those a MAJOR upgrade over the crude cartridge/stylus used on the Cruiser and most other Crosleys. (Also, the tracking force on the Collegiate/Spinnerette/Advance can be adjusted, but I can't find any practical way to do this on the Cruiser or its similar siblings.) There is an "upgrade" stylus you can buy for the Cruiser, with a diamond stylus and metal cantilever... but that'll run you about $20. If you're already planning to spend $80-$100 on a Cruiser, plus $20 for a better stylus, you might as well just buy the Collegiate instead, thereby getting the much better AT-3600 included in the price AND the ability to adjust the tracking force. Better yet, spend an extra $70 on a nice hand-built Made-in-USA U-Turn Orbit... or, if you don't mind pre-owned stuff, find yourself a good vintage turntable, easily obtained for less than the price of a Crosley. I realize this doesn't answer the question of what to buy if you want something portable and plug-and-play. If those are essential requirements, I would grudgingly recommend the Crosley Collegiate. Its quality and reliability aren't much better than the Cruiser, but at least it's less likely to destroy your records.