Fun, but Not as Portable as a Bluetooth Speaker

Portable record players are nothing new. You’ll find plenty of suitcase-style turntables, but they’re all missing something: a speaker. The Victrola Revolution GO is a truly portable turntable, as it includes a built-in speaker and a battery to let you listen to vinyl records anywhere.

That’s not where this moveable music machine stops, either. You can plug in headphones, use it as a Bluetooth speaker, or instead, stream your records to other Bluetooth speakers or headphones.

Sure, it’s unique, but is this actually something you need? Or would you be better served by a simple Bluetooth speaker? That depends on your needs, but don’t discount the Revolution GO as a novelty.

Build and Portability

• Dimensions: 12.99 x 12.83 x 4.84in (32.99 x 32.59 x 12.29cm)
• Weight: 6.83lbs (3.1kg)

One of the first things you’ll notice about the Victrola Revolution GO is its quirky, fun aesthetic. It’s got a retro flavor that the Blue color of our review unit added to. The Revolution GO is also available in black, with colors like citrus, green, pink, yellow, light blue, and slate coming soon.

The speaker isn’t exactly lightweight at 6.83 pounds, but it feels a good deal lighter than I was expecting. It doesn’t feel flimsy, but it definitely feels less sturdy than most turntables I’ve used. That said, this lightweight build never led to skipping while I was listening to records.

Portability is obviously a primary factor here, hence the light weight. To help you carry the turntable with you, there is a fold-out handle that balances the weight fairly well. If you’re not a fan of the handle, Victrola also includes a strap, and this one has a unique twist.

Instead of a standard carry strap, Victrola used a guitar strap, complete with standard strap buttons on the turntable. This is both practical and fun. Using a guitar strap means that you can replace the included strap if it breaks. This also lets you customize your turntable more, as you can buy any style of guitar strap you want to replace the included one.

Victrola continued this unique approach to the design of the Revolution GO with its dust cover. Normally, the lid flips back to reveal the turntable. If you wish, however, you can remove the dust cover and flip it upside. This turns it into a record stand, capable of holding three normal albums and two double albums.

Connectivity

• Bluetooth version: 5.0
• Outputs: RCA Line-Level Output, Vinyl Stream, Headphone Out
• Inputs: Bluetooth input

For wired connectivity, the Victrola Revolution GO includes an RCA line output that lets you use the turntable with another stereo system or speakers. If you’d rather listen with headphones, there is also a headphone jack here.

For wireless connectivity, the Revolution GO has Bluetooth 5.0 built-in, using the SBC and AAC codecs. If you’re new to listening to vinyl records, you may not have many records yet. With Bluetooth, you can stream music from your phone to the Revolution GO.

On the other hand, if you’re starting to build a vinyl collection, you may be looking for more ways to listen to your records. Victrola’s Vinyl Stream feature turns the Revolution GO into a Bluetooth source, letting you stream your records to Bluetooth speakers and headphones.

All of these options expand the Revolution GO’s utility as a player. If it was limited to the built-in speaker, you may not have much use for it. With the connectivity, you can use it on its own or integrate it within a larger system.

Turntable and Playback

• Speeds: 33RPM, 45RPM, 78RPM
• Cartridge: Audio-Technica AT-3600LA
• Features: Auto-stop

Looking at the turntable, this is a belt-driven model, and as mentioned above, the suspension system does a good job of isolating noise The cartridge is an Audio-Technica AT-3600LA, a fairly common cartridge within this price range. It isn’t fantastic, but it’s far from bad sounding.

The tonearm has a lever to lift and lower it, making it easier to accurately place the stylus on the record. Especially if you’re new to vinyl, this is far less likely to damage your records or stylus than simply dropping the needle by hand.

This is a variable speed turntable, with a switch next to the tone amp selecting between 33, 45, and even 78 RPM settings. There is another knob here to toggle the auto-off feature, which stops the turntable at the end of a record.

Aside from those two switches, you control every other aspect of the Revolution GO with a single knob. Press it in and hold to turn the player on or off, press it quickly to switch between playback modes (Vinyl, Vinyl Stream, and Bluetooth), or turn it to adjust the volume.

Sound Quality

The Victrola Revolution GO pushes sound out of a pair of five-watt drivers. This isn’t the loudest speaker, nor is it the most high-fidelity sounding speaker I’ve ever heard.

That said, there may be a reason for the sound signature of this portable player. Because the turntable is sitting directly above the speaker, too much bass would cause the needle to bounce. Because of this, the speaker sounds slightly less bass-heavy than you may expect, but it doesn’t sound thin.

There’s a certain grit to the sound of the Revolution GO, and it seems to favor the lower midrange, which gives it a distinct sound. This doesn’t sound like a Bluetooth speaker in the same price range would, for better or worse.

Listening to Guided by Voices’ “Show of Hands” feels like I’m listening to music that was meant to be played on this speaker. This is a firmly mid-fi recording, and while the bass and kick drum are present, they’re more in the background than they would be on a normal Bluetooth speaker.

Similarly, the bass guitar and bass drum in David Crosby’s “Cowboy Movie” are present, but they’re far from up front in the way they usually are. I also notice that certain elements, namely Crosby’s vocal and the lead guitar, sound more distorted than they would on another system. Here, it works.

Moving away from my record collection, I listened to Moderator’s “Jazz Tales” over Bluetooth. The clearer sonic picture this sound paints doesn’t benefit from the speaker the way the other songs did, but it sounds better than I thought it might.

One other aspect of the Victrola Revolution GO that surprised me was the headphone amp. I’d plugged my Sennheiser HD650 headphones in for a test, assuming that they’d be too quiet to listen properly. While I probably wasn’t getting the best out of them, they were loud and sounded far better than I’d expected.

Battery

• Battery: 7.2V 2,500mAh, 18Wh Li-ion

Because this is a relatively unique product, I didn’t come into it with any expectations for battery life. All I could do is compare it to Bluetooth speakers, while keeping in mind that a turntable has significantly more moving parts.

Victrola states that you’ll get between 8 and 12 hours for vinyl playback, or from 9 to 13 hours for Bluetooth playback. This would be on the low side for a Bluetooth speaker, but I can’t imagine using this for that long without plugging it in.

In my testing, I would use the Revolution GO for around six hours, and when checking the battery by turning the power off and back on, I would still have medium battery life. The low battery warning can be aggressive, so you might want to consider eight hours a rough guide.

Fortunately, Victrola built a handy stash for the charger into the bottom of the body, so you shouldn’t need to worry about forgetting the charger.

Should You Buy the Victrola Revolution GO?

The Victrola Revolution GO is a product that isn’t for everyone, and it certainly isn’t audiophile material. That said, between the unique look, fun touches, and its crunchy but very enjoyable sound, there’s something I can’t help but like about it.

If you’re looking to get started listening to vinyl, this is a great entry point. It gets the job done on its own, plus you can always plug it into a better system. If you actually want to start digging through crates to build your collection, it’s a great way to hear records before you buy them (assuming the seller agrees).

This isn’t a practical product, but I get the feeling it’s not supposed to be. If you’re interested in the Victrola Revolution GO for what it is, not what it could or should be, you’ll likely love it.