Roberts RT200
An attractive, easy to use turntable that looks great in your living room – but don't expect class-leading audio
Roberts describes its own RT200 turntable as an “intuitive set-up for easy listening”; really, we couldn’t have put it better ourselves.
If that sounds a little scathing, it isn’t meant to be. The three-star rating reflects a sonic performance that is quite some distance away from par for hi-fi at this price, but as an easy listening, plug-in-and-play deck, the RT200 could be a lot worse.
It has everything you could ask from a first-time turntable, including a built-in phono stage that means you can plug it into one of Roberts’ Award-winning radios. Though that would never be something we would recommend, being hi-fi purists, it is a reality that could suit this deck quite well.
Unintimidating tech
The RT200 is direct drive, so no need to worry about fiddling with belts or manual speed changes – in fact, it is semi-automatic, so there’s no need to worry about much at all – and its carbon-fibre tonearm, with upgraded bearings from the company’s last deck, is a nod to Roberts’ intention to make this turntable both high quality and reasonably unintimidating.
That blend of quality and simplicity is evident too in the budget Audiotechnica cartridge (pre-mounted on a headshell), the plug-and-screw application of which is one of the few things you will need to do in order to get the RT200 running. After that, it is really just the platter and counterweight that need to be added.
The RT200 certainly looks the part. Its brushed-metal front and wood veneer elevate it aesthetically beyond the audio-only focus of many of its competitors at this price; consider how much you’ll be interacting with your turntable and its looks become only more important.
That’s backed by decent build quality. You won’t be fooled into thinking you’ve spent twice as much as you actually have on this deck, but it’s unlikely many will be disappointed by it either.
But whether you’ll be disappointed by how the RT200 sounds depends really on where you set your expectations. By creating a deck in this area of the market, Roberts is going up against some serious competition from highly established turntable manufacturers. Compared with decks from traditional hi-fi brands, such as the Rega Planar 1 or even Audiotechnica’s AT-LP5X, and the RT200 doesn’t come close to matching them for timing, dynamics or organisation.
The performance is confused, to the point that, through a class-leading mid-range system, you might end up trying to find the records that will sound most coherent rather than finding out how the Roberts treats your favourites.
Poor dynamic expression can leave your music sounding disinterested, lacking any sign of impetus, and without the human qualities that you’d expect to hear after having spent a few hundred quid on a turntable.
It’s not quite a complete mess, but even before pitting it against direct competition, we quickly come to realise that the RT200 is not operating at the levels it would need to for us to recommend you buy it.
That doesn’t mean it is completely devoid of talent, nor is it without a place in the market. Despite its flaws, the RT200 is actually an easy listen as long as you temper your expectations.
The balance is good, with no hard or sharp edges, and there’s decent weight to the sound that gives a pleasant roundness to the midrange. In a word, it’s smooth – not without detail, but smooth all the same.
Fuss-free presentation
Not assaulting our ears is not enough to gain the RT200 four stars, but it may be enough for those who simply want a good looking, easy to use first deck. Combine this fuss-free presentation with the easy set up and built-in phono stage, and it could be an ideal proposition for those who just want to plug it into a wireless speaker, too.
Of course, you can get the Audiotechnica AT-LP5X deck with built-in phono stage for the same price and with improved sound quality. But it would be wilful of us to suggest the AT-LP5X matches the Roberts as a piece of lifestyle tech as much as it is an audio component.
Essentially, if you heart was already set on taking home this Roberts turntable, you probably still will. And that is something we can understand. If you’re looking for a hi-fi turntable, however, this is definitely not it.