The Record Player That Stands Up for Itself

I was an 80s cassette kid, so I missed the heyday of vinyl, but as a music-centric family—music playing around the clock; streaming devices in every room but the kids' closets—when we moved into a larger home I couldn't wait to scratch the itch of starting up a vinyl record collection.

My first record player was a 1960s GE Porta-Fi cabinet that started to fail shortly after purchase, so I started looking for a short-term solution until I could get it repaired. That's when I stumbled across this beauty on Kickstarter, the Fuse Audio GLD Vertical Record Player.

This player not only sounds great, it effortlessly handles slightly warped records and connects to Bluetooth devices. It's also a show-stopper — everyone asks about it when they walk into the music room. Mine is paired over Bluetooth with an Amazon Alexa and the CoolGeek M1 CD player, so no matter the format, records, streaming or CDs, it comes through the same speakers.

At $349 retail, it's not cheap, but it's a high-quality build and I couldn't be happier with my judgement on this purchase. We’ve owned the Fuse Audio GLD for nearly 18 months with near weekly use, still on the initial stylus and audio quality remains great.

The Mrs. Questionable Test.

Despite her sometimes questionable taste in music, Mrs. Questionable is equal partner in our family’s musical environment and is a huge fan of our music parlor, anchored by the Fuse Audio GLD.