Ryyvo A30 Turntable with Speakers and 78 rpm

A turntable on a light wood plinth with a full-size hinged acrylic dust cover, supplied with two separate stereo speakers. It plays at three speeds including 78, it has tone controls on the plinth itself, and the manufacturer describes the arm as semi-automatic. That last point is the most interesting thing about this deck and it has a section of its own further down, because the term is used loosely and we have not had it confirmed.

It is made in Guangdong, China, by ELETREE, on a private mould, under the manufacturer's own reference SW-668. We have not renamed the internals and we have not invented the numbers. Where the manufacturer has not stated something, it is written plainly further down this page rather than smoothed over.

Specifications published by the manufacturer

The arm is semi-automatic, and that is the most useful thing on this page

On a fully manual deck, the arm stays where you left it. When the side finishes, the stylus rides the run-out groove and the platter keeps turning until somebody walks over and lifts it. Everyone who owns a manual deck has fallen asleep to that sound at least once.

Semi-automatic normally means the arm takes itself off the record at the end of the side. You still cue it by hand at the start — that part is deliberate, because it is the part people enjoy — but you are no longer required to be in the room when the music stops.

We have not had the exact behaviour confirmed. Some manufacturers use semi-automatic to mean the arm lifts and returns to its rest; others use it to mean only that the platter stops turning and the arm stays down. Those are meaningfully different things and we have asked which one this is. Until the answer is in writing, this page says what the manufacturer says — the arm is semi-automatic — and nothing more.

Three speeds, and a word about 78s

33 and 45 rpm cover essentially every record pressed today. 78 is shellac: pre-1960 records, and a genuinely different object. A 78 groove is much wider than a 33 or 45 groove, and the stylus that fits one does not properly fit the other. Playing a 78 with a standard stylus is a compromise in both directions — it sits too deep in the groove and reads the walls badly.

The manufacturer has not said whether a separate 78 stylus is supplied, or whether the fitted one is intended to cover all three speeds. If you are buying this for an inherited box of shellac, that is the question to have answered first, and we have asked it.

Bass and treble, on the deck itself

The specification table lists bass adjustment. The manufacturer's own photographs show three rotary controls on the front right of the plinth, marked BASS, TREBLE and POWER/VOL — so there is more tone control here than the specification admits to.

Treat the treble control as something we have read off a photograph rather than something the manufacturer has written down. It is almost certainly there. It is not yet confirmed in writing.

What the power supply tells us, and what it does not

12 volts at 2 amps — 24 watts available at the wall. For comparison, a deck that ships with no speakers of its own typically runs on a 10 watt supply, which is enough for a motor, a preamp and a Bluetooth radio and not much else. 24 watts is consistent with a deck that has to drive two cabinets of this size.

What it does not tell you is how loud it goes. The manufacturer has not published an output figure in watts per channel, so we are not going to print one. The supply says there is real amplification in here. The number that would tell you what that amounts to has not been given.

What is visible in the photographs

Read off the manufacturer's own images, not written by them. Treat it as observation rather than specification.

• A rectangular plinth in a light wood finish, low and flat rather than boxy
• A full-size hinged clear acrylic dust cover
• A black platter
• A straight tonearm with a headshell and the cartridge visible at the end
• Three rotary controls on the front right of the plinth, marked BASS, TREBLE and POWER/VOL
• Two separate speaker cabinets with wood-toned tops and grey fabric wrap, noticeably larger than the small satellite speakers usually bundled with a deck
• No CD drawer, no radio dial, no cassette door and no recording controls anywhere on the unit

Not stated by the manufacturer

These are the things we have asked for and do not yet have in writing. Nothing here is a defect; it is simply not confirmed, and we would rather you knew that than read a number we made up.

• Which sockets are on the deck. No RCA output, headphone socket or aux input appears in the specification table or in any photograph. At this price that matters, because it decides whether you can ever run this into better speakers. It is the first question we have asked.
• What semi-automatic does exactly — arm lift and return, or platter stop only
• The cartridge type and model, and whether it is moving magnet or ceramic
• Tracking force in grams — the number that decides how fast your records wear
• Whether the stylus is replaceable, and its part number
• Whether a separate 78 rpm stylus is supplied
• Drive type — belt or direct
• Whether the Bluetooth transmits, receives, or both
• Speaker output power, impedance, and whether the cabinets are passive or self-powered
• Frequency response
• Whether the arm has an adjustable counterweight or anti-skate
• Product and carton dimensions, and weight
• UK plug type and the adaptor supplied
• Exact box contents and cable lengths
• Manufacturer's warranty period

A note on the finish

The factory offers this deck in walnut and in light wood. We stock the light wood. The manufacturer lists the materials as plastic, wood and electronics without saying whether the finish is a veneer or a printed foil over MDF, so we are not going to describe it as either.