House of Marley Revolution review: a good-sounding budget turntable for first-timers with sustainable style
Marley House Revolution: A Two-Minute Review
A good starter deck should be easy to use and sound good, without breaking the bank. The House of Marley Revolution does both and adds sustainable style, making it one of the best value Bluetooth turntables we’ve tested.
The Revolution is made from eco-friendly components, unlike the plastic construction of regular budget turntables. Its construction has a reassuring weight, while the materials give it a high-quality feel that belies the cost. The base is wrapped in fabric woven from recycled resources, while the unique bamboo base makes a statement wherever it’s placed.
Pre-calibrated out of the box, setting up the Revolution is as easy as placing a felt pad on the turntable and attaching the weights to the tone arm. You can connect for simple analog audio or press the Bluetooth button for wireless pairing. Then you’re good to go. It’s all very simple. This plug-and-play approach won’t appeal to hi-fi enthusiasts, but it makes for a hassle-free vinyl experience that’s ideal for first-time listeners.
The same goes for the audio output: this isn’t the kind of turntable that needs to be paired with a high-end hi-fi splitter. If you have a picky ear, there’s plenty to pick out. For example, the mids can be quite muddy, and we sometimes detected some distortion in the treble. Then again, connected to House of Marley’s Uplift bookshelf speakers (sold separately – although you’ll find tempting bundle deals), the sound is dynamic enough for everyday listening, and the low frequencies in particular are surprisingly full.
Won’t cause you any trouble best turntable for audio quality. But if you want an entry-level Bluetooth device that looks good, sounds good, and is simple to operate, we think the Revolution offers great value.
House of Marley Revolution: Price and Release Date
- Launching in September 2024
- Available now for $169.99 USD / £149.99 / AU$199
The House of Marley Revolution turntable is released in September 2024. It joins the Stir It Up and Stir It Up Lux turntables in the sustainable brand’s range of turntables. Priced at $169.99/£149.99/AU$199, it’s an entry-level product.
The Revolution turntable can also be paired with House of Marley’s wired Uplift bookshelf speakers ($179.99 / £199.99 / AU$349) or get together duo UK wireless stereo pair (£249.99).
Audio-Technica AT-LP70XBT review: Specs
| aspect | 112×389×328mm |
| engine | Belt drive |
| platter | plastic |
| phono preamplifier | Yes |
| USB | No |
| Bluetooth | Yes |
| speed | 33 1/3, 45, 78 rpm |
| stylus | Audio-Technica AT3600L |
| Additional features | Dust cover, felt pad, 45 adapter |
Marley Revolution House: Design
- Base made from renewable bamboo
- Dust cover made from post-consumer plastic
- the installation is wrapped in sustainable rewind fabric
House of Marley Audio equipment made from sustainable materials ——Revolution is no exception. This is a carousel that does its bit for the planet. The built-in dust cover is made from post-consumer plastic, while the unmissable base is made from renewable bamboo. The body of the installation is covered in Rewind fabric, which is woven from recycled cotton and hemp with recycled rPET.
These materials are not only stylish, but make the Revolution a truly unique turntable, especially compared to the generic plastic construction of many cheap turntables. The textured pattern on the base may not appeal to minimalists, but it gives the Revolution an organic look rarely seen in modern audio products. Likewise, the fabric wrap gives the base a nice tactile feel, although it may attract dust over time.
There are still signs that this is an entry-level turntable: the bottom part of the tonearm is plastic, and there’s more flex there than you’d get from a turntable twice the price. But in general, revolution is not cheap. The unit has a good weight to it, which helps. It’s also obvious that the design team at House of Marley paid close attention to detail, right down to the subtle red, yellow, and green stripes on the headstock.
Marley Revolution House: Features and Settings
- Plug and play setup with arm balance
- Wired or wireless speaker connection
- Pre-calibrated tracking and anti-skid forces
As you’d expect from a starter deck, Revolution is a breeze. The only real assembly required is sliding the counterweight onto the tonearm and screwing it into place. Otherwise, revolution is the definition of a plug-and-play turntable. Tracking and anti-skid forces come pre-calibrated out of the box, so all you need to do is hook up a set of speakers and you’re good to go.
You can connect a pair of independent lines using the rear RCA line outputs or passive speaker jacks for a complete analog setup. Alternatively, the Revolution’s Bluetooth support lets you output audio wirelessly. House of Marley offers the Revolution bundled with Uplift (wired) or Get Together (wireless) bookshelf speakers, but it works well with your existing audio kit. Put the Bluetooth speaker into pairing mode, press the Bluetooth button on the dial, and in our experience it will find and pair within 10 seconds.
Controls are kept to a minimum, with the power knob doubling as a volume control in addition to the three-speed playback settings and tonearm lift lever. There’s also a switch to turn Bluetooth on and off. With Bluetooth set up as an input, you can pair it with a source device, allowing you to stream music via the turntable to wired hi-fi speakers – useful if you have no other way of connecting a detached device to the streamer functional services.
- Features and settings score: 4/5
Marley Revolution House: Audio Performance
- Replaceable Audio-Technica AT3600L stylus
- Stream to Bluetooth devices
- The sound quality is very good and suitable for daily listening
Lift the tonearm onto the record and the turntable will automatically start spinning. Turn it down and you get surprisingly rich audio for a budget deck. The speakers you choose will naturally have an impact on the sound signature, but the Revolution’s output quality is great for everyday listening.
Played with energy when connected to House of Marley’s Uplift bookshelf speakers. Albums from Radiohead across all genres sound dynamic good computer arrive rumor Produced by Fleetwood Mac. There’s also a surprising amount of low-end weight, meaning your records are never at risk of sounding flat. Playing as Barry can’t swim When will we land? On Friday afternoon, the house was indeed moved.
when with JBL Authentics 200 Via Bluetooth. House of Marley may have tuned the output to suit their speakers, but the lower frequencies are too powerful to be enjoyed in that particular setup, crowding out the higher frequency range. That’s not the case when the Revolution is connected to the Uplift speakers, which provide a relatively balanced listening experience.
All of this is caveated by the fact that the Revolution is by no means a hi-fi quality turntable. Audiophiles will find plenty to chew on. For example, the midrange can easily become muddled, especially on complex tracks. listening yes The greater number of details quickly fade away due to the attacks of the Arctic Monkeys. Treble can also be quite harsh at times, and we found quite a bit of distortion at high frequencies.
This isn’t a speaker that competes with high-end stereo speakers, but it doesn’t cost as much either. More expensive turntables will give you a fuller, more dynamic listening experience, but if you want an affordable first turntable to spin records every day, you could do a lot worse than the Revolution.
Interestingly, we found that the Revolution ran slightly slower than the Digital Track, though not enough that you’d notice unless you timed it.
- Audio performance rating: 3.5/5
Marley Revolution House: Values
- Unique design and decent build at a reasonable price
- Sound quality is reasonable for the cost
If you’re looking for a simple and affordable spinner, we think the House of Marley Revolution is close to the sweet spot for value. There are some cheaper Bluetooth turntables on the market, but none have the same style and build quality as the Revolution.
It’s not a perfect product by any means. This isn’t for serious audiophiles, but it ticks all the boxes for a reasonably priced starter kit. You get sturdy construction, simple setup, and a unique design, along with the flexibility of wired or wireless connectivity.
There are many better-sounding turntables out there, and if used with certain turntables, the Revolution’s audio shortcomings will be exposed. best stereo speakers. But pair it with House of Marley’s companion kit, and you’ve got a reliable setup for playing records every day with rich, easy-to-listen sound.
Should You Buy a Marley Revolution Home?
| property | notes | grade |
|---|---|---|
| design | Sustainable materials give the Revolution a unique look and feel, while the weight of the base doesn’t feel cheap. | 4.5/5 |
| Features and Settings | Extremely simple to set up and operate, Revolution makes everything simple and provides seamless wired or wireless speaker connectivity. | 4/5 |
| audio performance | The mids can be muddy and the treble harsh, but overall the sound is surprisingly rich, dynamic, and lively for its price. | 3.5/5 |
| value | Bundled with a set of matching speakers, the Revolution is a great-value starter kit that makes everyday listening easy. | 4/5 |
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
Audio-Technica AT-LP70XBT: Also Consider
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | marley revolutionary house | Audio-Technica AT-LP70XBT | Carbon fiber project debuts |
| aspect | 112×389×328 mm | 110×400×330mm | 415×118×320mm |
| engine | Belt drive | Belt drive | Belt drive |
| platter | plastic | aluminum | Metal |
| phono preamplifier | Yes | Yes | No |
| USB | No | No | No |
| Bluetooth | Yes | Yes | No |
| speed | 33 1/3, 45, 78 rpm | 33 1/3, 45 rpm | 33 1/3, 45 rpm |
| stylus | Audio-Technica AT3600L | Audio-Technica AT-VMN95C | Zhengfeng 2M red |
| Additional features | Dust cover, felt pad, 45 adapter | Dust cover, felt pad, 45 adapter, 1m RCA cable | Dust cover |
How I tested House of Marley Revolution
- Tested for three weeks
- Used as the main turntable in the living room
- Tested with House of Marley’s Uplift bookshelf speakers
I installed the Marley Revolution House in my living room where I spent most of my time for a month. It is used every day for recordings of all genres. I paired it with House of Marley’s wired Uplift bookshelf speakers and tested its wireless capabilities by connecting it to my JBL Authentics 200 via Bluetooth. I listened keenly to tracks I knew well to get a feel for how Revolution handled specific details as well as its overall character.
First review: December 2024
