SMC386-C Compact MP3 Encoding 5in1 Music Centre | Silver | Record your LPs, Cassettes or CDs into MP3 (no PC needed!)

Awesome. Bought for my jaded 17 year old who I'm trying to show there's more to life than computer games, Netflix and Facebook. Hooray! Vinyl has won (like I knew it would hehehe). The lad's face when the needle hit the groove - yes there still is magic for young people to discover. It arrived well packed, all in order, was extremely easy to set up. Some reviews have criticised the speakers/sound quality, but for a novice who doesn't expect to annoy their neighbours, this is perfect. Additional speakers are an option, but as an entry level hi-fi, this is a damn fine machine. The fact you can play cassettes (which you can get cheap second-hand) and cds means you can get a good music collection on a budget, as a lot of new vinyl (even of old artists) is quite pricey at the mo. I wish there'd been such bargain machines when I was a nipper, and being able to turn your tracks into mp3s for an mp3 player is truly the icing on the cake. I love Steepletone for making this product, and DIRECT 4 for selling it (one-day delivery, amazing!)

I have no criticism of the supplier, only the Steepletone386 Compact which, to me appears to use a combination of outdated and some fairly modern technology. In fairness I should say that I am slightly deaf in both ears and have a fairly respectable number of years under my beltPoints for: All systems work. It was delivered well packed and on time and in working order.Points against.1. The Remote control hardly does anything. It does not switch on or off. Does not control volume does not change function. Result, lots of getting up crossing the room adjusting whatever and returning to seat.2. The controls are tiny and seem quite fragile, I have to put my glasses on and get right down to the machine to see what is needed.3. The sound from the internal speakers is very muffled. This might improve with separate speakers but if so it removes the point of buying a compact space saving machine and would add to the not inconsiderable cost..After a week of trying I reinstated my 20 year old system which actually has a fully functioning remote and excellent sound {despite my hearing}. and resolved to do without record playing for the present. Sadly, a waste of the purchase price.

Ordered this before reading other reviews so was a little pensive.On receipt, item was packed well and in good order. Tried it out and it sounded a bit tinny on just the build in side speakers (hence only 4 stars) so I added a small sub woofer PC speaker set and two other stereo speakers. The unit now sound good so I am happy with my purchase

Small and compact but turntable sounds a bit 'tinny', don't know how we get a replacement stylus?

I was a little wary of making this purchase in view of some of the more negative reviews, but it was in the right price range so I ordered it with fingers crossed. My caution was totally unnecessary - I am delighted with it! My old music centre gave up the ghost some time ago and I missed relaxing with my "library" of vinyl LPs and EPs (and a few 78s!), as well as old cassettes and modern CDs, collected over the last 50 years. Steepletone have done me proud - the sound quality is excellent, even with my older recordings. If you need a stronger bass (which, of course, is a matter of taste and your musical preferences), there is a facility for adding a sub-woofer. (I went for this, as my CDs include so-called digitally remastered versions of old recordings - these always tend to sound rather tinny and a sub-woofer corrects this. I have reviewed my choice separately). In addition to sounding good, the SMC386 looks good - thoroughly recommended.

Absolutely abysmal. Sound was so poor I had it back in its box within 15 minutes of opening and playing. Also the autostop on the record player is set so early that no 45 I played made it to the end of the song. If you turn the autostop off then the turntable keeps spinning even when the arm is home. Absolutely idiotic design idea. Definitely not worth the money.Edit: scroll forward to Oct 2018, and the player I bought instead of this one packs up just out of warranty...i had a massive brain bubble and bought this model again, in a different colour, by mistake. This time, it sounded good enough, but...the CD player didn't work, and I returned it for a refund. Something is seriously wrong with the quality control at steepletone, and I don't think I will be forgetting just how bad their stuff is ever again.

Player arrived on time packed reasonably well in its own box, but had a big outer box nothing to stop it moving about. That was the best over, the instruction book did not tally with the controls on the player,the turntable did turn, and although there were instructions of how to remove the turntable from the machine and replace the belt which may come off apparently, I did not attempt that on a brand new machine.

I recommend this item thoroughly. The Steepletone is a highly versatile piece of technology that meets the needs of the most needy of music enthusiasts. It includes record player with varying speed options, tape decks, radio, USB and the cd player too. All interacts with one another to play and record from and to different media including memory and sound cards. The built in speakers make this a compact item to have on display and the sound quality and clarity is excellent. It's so simple even my ten year old son can use it with ease, and with the handy remote control you don't even need to leave your chair to operate it. A great, reasonably priced, great quality product.