Hi-Fi: Cambridge Audio TT50 Turntable – Review – 74
The audio industry is heading into the all-digital, all-downloaded future at a frightening speed, but even in an ultra-convenient iPod world, ye olde long playing record is enjoying a resurgence. Vinyl’s newly regained strength is based mostly on the brilliantly satisfying and engaging way a turntable makes music. The fact that the record playing experience is so tactile (and, dare I say it, charming) doesn’t hurt either).
Cambridge Audio’s first foray into the turntable game is built by Pro-Ject, the company that reinvented the entry-level turntable market. The TT50 is no mere exercise in badge engineering, though, being assembled to Cambridge’s own exact specifications, including aspects exclusive to Cambridge, such as the platter material, which is a special inert compound designed to match the acoustical impedance of a vinyl record.
The TT50 is a looker in gloss black and it’s about as plug and play as turntables get. The cartridge is already set up and aligned – just pop on the belt, counterweight and platter, plug in a few cables, hit the switch and drop the stylus. You’ll need a solid, level surface, and a phono stage is mandatory of course (see breakout box), but you can be up and running in less than 30 minutes.
Sonically, the TT50 showed that it’s got “the rightness of vinyl”, as I like to call it, sounding unforced, smooth, natural and gloriously analogue. The Cambridge has a deft touch on the entire musical spectrum and everything from bass to vocals to treble is balanced and clear. It may not be the last word in resolution or dynamic ability, and the upper treble is a tad rolled off with the supplied cartridge, but a wide variety of music proved enjoyable and, at the price, I have no complaints.
Out of the box the TT50 is a great little performer, but as others have noted, it’s fundamentally sound enough that it could definitely be upgraded with a better cartridge. The importer has tried it with a Sumiko Bluepoint cartridge and claims that “it rocks along waaay better”.
There’s immensely tough competition at this level from Pro-Ject itself, but as an introduction (or reintroduction) to vinyl, the TT50 makes a strong case for itself. It sounds sweet, is well built, looks good and is simple to use, and the fact that it could easily support a cartridge upgrade only makes it a better buy.
BRETT GIDEON
TECH SPECS
TT50
Turntable
$899 (with Audio Technica AT95E moving magnet cartridge)
SPEEDS: 33 1/3 and 45 rpm
DOWNFORCE RANGE: 
1 to 3 grams
CARTRIDGE OUTPUT: 3.5mV (@1kHZ, 5cm/sec)
TONE ARM: 218.5mm
DIMENSIONS: 365 x 415 x 
405 mm (lid closed)
WEIGHT: 5.5kg
CONTACT
PROS
- Not digital
- Plug and play
- Black is the new black
CONS
- Supplied cartridge is limiting
- Strong competition
VERDICT
- Perfect way to get vinyl back into your life
This review is from Tone issue #74.
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