CDs initially replaced cassette tapes and vinyl in the nineties because they sounded better and were easier to take care of. The latter is undoubtedly true; vinyl does need some taking care of. However, with that care, you are rewarded with rich and warm sounds that are absent from CDs.

Once you have your turntable and favorite vinyl records, what else do you need to keep your records sounding great and in good condition? There are plenty of turntable accessories that can help to enhance your experience, from headphones to amplifiers.

Here are the best turntable accessories available today.

Our Top Record Player Accessories for 2023

Goldstone has been manufacturing high-quality cartridges for decades. It provides options throughout the price scale from budget-friendly to luxury. The entry-level E3 cartridge is affordable yet offers the well-balanced sounds the company is renowned for. It’s an excellent choice to pair with a price-appropriate turntable, so this is the cartridge to use if you have an affordable to midrange deck.

The E3 features an aluminum cantilever with a 0.3 x 0.7mil super elliptical tip. The bottom edge of the cartridge is a rather eye-catching violet color that distinguishes it from its E1 and E2 siblings. It’s relatively lightweight at 0.24oz and maintains stable tracking at 2.0 grams.

Sound quality is well-balanced and controlled. Low frequencies have a good energy level but without the extra strength that more premium options can deliver. The mids provide vocals with depth and emotion, while the highs are detailed. All in all, there are more premium options from Goldring with sound to keep even the fussiest audiophile happy, but the E3 is among the best options for most vinyl lovers.

Appreciating your vinyl records is all the better when you can shut out the noise and bustle of the outside world. Noise-canceling headphones, such as a pair of Sony WH-1000XM5 cans, will go a long way to helping you wander off down that rabbit hole of vinyl bliss.

With their strong bass response, getting out those old soul, funk, and reggae records is a joy. For more contemporary music, these headphones give house, drum and bass, techno, hip-hop, and other low-frequency-saturated genres all the punch they need. Audiophiles will appreciate the 4Hz to 40kHz frequency range. But, they may feel a little let down that the USB-C port is for charging only and offers no wired digital playback.

You can set aside a whole day to get through that vinyl collection, too. The battery life is 30 hours with ANC on (40 hours with it off), enabling you to chill out for an entire day. If you also listen on the go, the ANC adjusts to your environment, ensuring maximum effectiveness whether walking busy streets or traveling on a train or plane. However, switching to Ambient Sound Mode is definitely advisable when walking busy streets.

The comfort of these cans also contributes to your extended day of listening to your records. The memory foam earcups and headband are soft and covered in faux leather, with the band offering a gentle but firm clamp. They are among the most comfortable headphones you can buy right now.

In order to maintain the longevity of your vinyl and stylus, you must ensure that the correct tracking force is applied. You will find the sound quality compromised if it is too low. However, if it is too light, you run the risk of the stylus skating across the record, which won't be pleasant for either the stylus or your precious vinyl records. Investing in an economically-priced stylus force gauge will give you the best and easiest results.

You will need to know the cartridge manufacturer's recommendation on the force. You then place the stylus onto the force gauge and adjust the counterweight on the tonearm if necessary. Then, you can simply check and maintain the pressure every so often for healthy and happy vinyl.

The Digitnow stylus force gauge features an easy-to-read, blue LCD screen and high-precision readings of up to five grams. With the recommended force for most styluses falling between one and three grams, this gauge will give precise readings every time and is a handy tool that won't break the bank.

Your turntable may not already have a built-in phono stage, or it may have one of inferior quality. In either case, you will be best served by buying a first-class external phono stage. With the Rega Fono Moving Magnet Mk5, you will have a preamp that performs at just about a premium level but at a more agreeable price.

It’s small, compact, and relatively lightweight, and you can easily place it out of sight. It offers limited features and connectivity options, with simple RCA ins and outs and a power button. However, it punches above its weight in build and audio terms for one in this price range.

Bass is tight and punchy without being overpowering, while it fluidly drives energetic music by revealing small details and nuances. There are more premium phono preamps with wider and more spacious soundstages, but the Rega Research Fono MM Mk 5 achieves more-than-acceptable results that you will find difficult to better at this price point.

A phono stage alone is not sufficient to drive your speakers. For this task, you need a quality power amp. The power amp is the final stage of audio enhancement before it gets to the speakers and onto your appreciative ears.

However, many power amps have built-in phono stages, like the Denon PMA-600NE Integrated Amplifier. It significantly improves the sound quality of vinyl sourced from a moving magnet cartridge. Additionally, you can turn off all digital inputs by using Analog Mode. This mode reduces background noise and distortion and takes the sound quality to another level.

The PMA-600NE is compatible with a wide range of speakers and drives them at 70W per channel. The built-in 24-bit/192kHz DAC also allows you to experience the highest quality of audio from digital formats. Additionally, you can fine-tune the sounds with rotary bass and treble tone controls.

In terms of care, a record-cleaning machine is an excellent addition to any vinyl junkie’s collection of accessories. The Project VC-SU ALU record-cleaning machine doesn’t exactly charm with its name, but it does with its performance.

Whether new to vinyl collecting or a seasoned pro, this machine will give your records and styluses much longer lives. On top of this, your listening experience will improve tenfold. The sturdy vacuum arm sucks up all the cleaning fluid in just one or two simple rotations, delicately yet deeply cleaning the grooves. The result is an enhanced listening experience free of surface noise.

The long-lasting motor and highly durable aluminum body offer excellent build quality that ensures your machine will clean your records for years to come. However, it manages to be lighter than previous iterations, and with a running noise of 86 decibels, it’s also quieter.

Another benefit, especially for those long-time vinyl gurus, is that this machine will clean your shellac 78s, too. However, to clean 7-inch records, you need to buy another vacuum arm separately.

Another way to get the most from your turntable’s audio potential is to use premium audio cables. With low-quality interconnects arguably the biggest culprit for poor sound quality, the resulting shift toward sonic bliss with these excellent interconnects will justify the price.

There are recorded sounds that exist but are never fully heard when using most audio systems. You can fix this with these excellent QED Reference Audio 40 Interconnects. Subtle reverb and hissing cymbals come into their own to give a more immersive sound and a touch of detail that may otherwise be lacking.

These interconnects enhance audio quality by using two conductors with different diameters. QED claims this prevents time smear by offering high-frequency signals a secondary path. Additionally, the gold-plated copper conductors that feature in the Analoc2 technology cut down on the eddy currents that affect the micro-timing of the audio signals.

In short, these interconnects will be the final piece of the puzzle in your search for audio perfection.

What Turntable Accessories Are Good for You?

Audiophiles require the best possible sound quality and often ignore the price of equipment and accessories that will help them achieve audio nirvana. However, most of us don’t want to pay the prices they do. And let’s be honest, you may be a vinyl junkie, but most of us can’t quite hear what the seasoned audiophile does, either. In this regard, it’s not necessary to overpay for turntable accessories.

Caring for your collection is as crucial as getting the perfect audio. Accessories such as the Digitnow Stylus Force Gauge and the Pro-Ject VC-SU ALU Record Cleaning Machine ensure your vinyl has longevity and also contribute to improved audio quality.

But, of course, listening to your vinyl collection is the greatest joy of having a record player. A quality set of headphones is imperative. To get the most out of your listening time, active noise-cancelation in headphones is a luxury many can’t do without. The Sony WH-1000XM5 ANC Headphones offer superb audio quality and class-leading noise cancelation.

However, some accessories provide noticeable audio improvement. An excellent cartridge is a good start. For vinyl novices and noobs, the Goldring E3 Phono Cartridge is an ideal entry-level choice. As your ears tune in to subtle details, you can move up in the cartridge world as you splash out on more premium turntables. But for most, the E3 is an excellent cartridge.