Bauhn Bluetooth Suitcase Record Player

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Not long ago, one of my kids developed an interest in vinyl. She’s become something of a retro soul, with an interest in 50s fashion, 80s rock, and all the history that came in between. When a relative who was downsizing caught wind of this, he passed along his turntable and a collection of records that included the likes of Chicago, Journey, and the soundtrack to Grease. My daughter was most pleased.

She’s not alone in her interest in the classic medium. Vinyl has enjoyed a renaissance: some stores, like Target, currently stock a few records as well as turntables to play them. What’s old is new again.

If you know anything about Aldi, you know that the grocer has a nose for noticing what’s trendy. That’s how some pretty cool stuff winds up in the middle aisle.

Enter the Aldi turntable. Suitcase style.

The Bauhn Bluetooth Suitcase Record Player (Product Code: 712771) is a limited time Aldi Find. Each store gets one shipment, and that’s it. Once they’re gone, they’re gone, at least until Aldi brings them back … if Aldi brings them back. Since you can’t order Aldi products online, if you can’t find one of these in store, you’re out of luck.

In 2024, Aldi sold these players for $29.99. That’s less than any record player I can find on Amazon.

Bauhn, it should be noted, is an Aldi house brand, not an actual manufacturer. The packaging doesn’t note who made the player, other than saying that it is made in China.

The player came in black or gray. We bought this with our own money for review. We went with gray.

It comes out of the box with the following:

• The player
• A plug
• The manual
• A warranty card

The warranty, by the way, is good for one year and is backed by Customer Care USA, a common Aldi warranty service provider.

It’s probably worth looking over the manual before use, although if you’re familiar with record players there isn’t a whole lot new here. If you’re not, look the manual over carefully. Also, if you’ve never used a record player before, here’s one thing the manual doesn’t tell you: you’ll need to slide the white plastic cap off the stylus at the end of the arm before using the player.

The box notes several features. They include:

• 3 speeds: 33, 45, and 78 RPM
• “Built-in full range stereo speakers”
• Built-in Bluetooth receiver
• Built-in headphone jack
• Adjustable pitch control
• Auto-stop switch that will stop the record when it’s done playing
• “Portable and lightweight”

In addition, I noticed a few other features that the box doesn’t mention but are important:

• RCA (composite) red and white output
• 3.5 mm output

These last two are no small matter, as I like it when I can output my record player to something more robust, like a stereo system. In my case, I was able to connect the turntable to a stereo receiver using one of the line inputs. (This particular model, like other modern ones I’ve used, is not designed to be used with the “phono” input some receivers have, but instead is meant to be plugged into one of the other inputs, such as CD.) RCA cables aren’t included, so you’ll need some to make that part work.

The headphone output, meanwhile, is on the face of the player and is designed for headphones.

I tested this record player in a few different configurations.

I first tested out a simple record (my stepfather’s old copy of Van Halen’s Diver Down, in case you’re curious) on the record player. For those with record player history, getting going is easy. Once turned on, the player starts spinning automatically when you lift the arm over the record.

The suitcase has speakers on each side for stereo sound, and it does produce stereo sound. How good is it? It’s comparable to other budget turntables I’ve used, which is to say that the sound is adequate if not stellar. These don’t produce much base, and the sound feels like it’s coming out of small speakers, because … well, it is. I don’t know that these are going to rock the party, but they do okay as portable record players go.

A better option is outputting them to a receiver, which I also did. It was simple plug-and-play: I dug out some old RCA cables, connected the record player to the receiver, and I was good to go. You will want to turn the volume all the way down on the record player in this setup. I had to play a little with the treble and bass to get what I wanted, but overall it was a solid enough sound.

I also had to try out Bluetooth. There’s a switch for toggling between records and Bluetooth, and when you flip to Bluetooth the record player is discoverable. I was able to pair my phone to the player without hassle, and output music from my phone to the player. As before, I found the stereo to be a predictably better sound option than the built-in speakers.

The Verdict:

If you’re looking for a budget portable record player, this does the job. It plays records, outputs to built-in speakers or to other destinations, and can also do spot duty as a Bluetooth receiver. The sound quality on the built-in speakers isn’t great, but it’s good enough as budget turntables go, and things get better when it’s connected to a stereo. Worth a look if you want to wade into records and don’t want to spent a lot, and even more so if you’re looking for something you can pack up and take places.