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JBL has only ever made two turntables: the Bluetooth-ready JBL Spinner BT and the subject of this very review, the more purist-minded TT350 Classic. Bluetooth speakers, wireless earbuds, over-ear headphones and party boxes – the US titan has many fingers in many pies, but the world of vinyl is new territory for the established audio brand.
Some manufacturers find the jump from one type of product to another to be seamless, while others take years to nail the transition. Aussie audio brand Røde had been a purveyor of microphones and production equipment before making its first ever pair of wired over-ears – the Award-winning NTH-100 – whereas multi-room masters Sonos found the transition to headphones a smidge trickier, as evidenced by its middling Sonos Ace wireless cans.
Taking the plunge into new territories has its risks and its rewards, but how has JBL fared with its early forays into the resurgent realm of the record player?
Price
The JBL TT350 Classic is officially priced at £999 / $999 / AU$2000, but we’ve seen it drop to around £750 or even £650 in the UK at the time of writing.
At this corner of the market, the JBL is going up against the likes of the outstanding Rega Planar 3 RS Edition (£999 / $1795 / AU$2199) and the Technics SL-1500C (£899 / $1199), both of which are five-star candidates backed by some serious pedigree.
Build & design
JBL’s direct-drive TT350 Classic is a nicely made deck. Combining a sleek aluminium front panel with a well-finished walnut veneered plinth, the combination of shiny silver metal meeting a more earthy wooden surface makes for an attractive blend of the industrial and the natural.
It won’t be to all tastes, but we don’t find it hard to imagine that the TT350 Classic will have plenty of style-conscious admirers.
With its aluminium frontage, chunky metal platter and walnut veneered plinth, the TT350 weighs in at a pretty reasonable 5kg, a kilogram less than its Rega Planar 3 RS Edition rival. Supporting the JBL and seeking to protect your records from unwanted vibrations is a set of four damped and adjustable metal feet.
JBL TT350 Classic tech specs
Type Direct drive
Operation Manual
Speeds 33⅓, 45
Speed change Electronic
Cartridge Audio-Technica AT-VM95E moving-magnet cartridge
Phono stage? No
Bluetooth? No
USB? No
Dimensions (hwd) 15.5 x 45 x 39.5 cm
Weight 5kg
Finishes x 1 (aluminium and walnut)
The TT350 Classic’s front panel is kept nice and simple. There are only two buttons to be found alongside JBL’s illuminated exclamation mark logo on the left-hand side, with the right switch setting the deck to 45 RPM and the latter doubling up as a 33 ⅓ RPM toggle and an on/off power button to get the platter spinning. We don’t mind a single button performing two duties – fewer switches on the front of the JBL means it is nice and uncluttered in looks and in use.
Unlike its belt-driven Spinner BT buddy, the Classic is a direct drive design, a decision made in order to ensure that your records are played accurately and with “powerful, full-scale dynamics”.
The JBL’s tonearm is an S-shaped, die-cast model supporting a supplied Audio-Technica AT-VM95E moving magnet cartridge pre-installed on the arm’s removable headshell, while the arm height is adjustable to allow for differing cartridge sizes should you wish to upgrade your turntable later down the line.
Setting up does require calibrating the tonearm to the recommended 2g tracking weight for the Audio-Technica cartridge.
Sound
As the TT350 Classic doesn’t have a built-in phono stage, we spend our testing time listening to the handsome deck using the JBL’s stereo RCA outputs connected directly to our reference system comprising the five-star Naim Nait XS 3 and a pair of Epos’ talented ES-7N standmount speakers.
To kick things off, we get the JBL started with a freshly unpacked recording of Nas’s hip-hop masterwork Illmatic. It’s a deceptively tricky album which blends smooth, sometimes jazzy instrumentation with a hard-edged energy, making it a challenge for even the most capable turntables to get their teeth into.
The JBL certainly gets some of the job done. The TT350 Classic demonstrates an even-handed, slightly smooth character as it spins, making tracks such as The World Is Yours, N.Y. State Of Mind and Memory Lane sound appropriately laid-back and suffused with that intoxicating feeling of urban haze such tunes tend to evoke.
We notice textural details as we continue to listen, ranging from soft horns to scattered drums, all of which have the density and fullness to sidestep any accusations of this being a thin or lean-sounding rendition.
There’s also a strong feeling of control brought to our selection of test records, be they the aforementioned hip-hop perennial or Portishead’s tightly curated trip-hop classic Dummy. Sonic overspill or slipshod muddying are practically non-existent, and even when rhythmic patterns get tricky or there’s a dense mass of instruments all vying for our attention, the TT350 Classic has the poise and nouse to keep everything in its right place.
The JBL is organised, smooth and coherent, but it struggles to produce a feeling of attack or propulsion. Nas’s bars through the Classic show glimpses of authenticity and genuine personality, but the retro-styled deck’s lack of drive and attack means that much of the power of each track falls by the wayside. Where’s the passion, we wonder? Where’s the feeling of intent?
The TT350 Classic doesn’t give the finest account of itself as we move over to Michael Jackson’s Bad album, either. Here, an ear for dynamic contrasts and a pair of feet for rhythms are essential, yet the JBL doesn’t appear to have brought its dancing shoes. Thanks to its leaden feet and flattened dynamic profile, tracks such as Smooth Criminal and The Way You Make Me Feel are now staid and oddly lifeless, something we didn’t expect to hear from an album packed with zippy, bombastic bangers.
These shortcomings are brought into sharper relief when we switch to the five-star Rega Planar 3 RS Edition. The Rega is a more talented performer, allowing songs to blossom with more space and bringing a greater sense of musicality to the table. The Rega latches onto rhythmic patterns with more insight, whereas dynamic shifts are more noticeable whether we’re playing through Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours or Michael Jackson’s Bad.
Verdict
Our assessment of the JBL TT350 Classic does depend slightly on the price at which it’s available. Given its easygoing nature and attractive build, we can see a case for the JBL if you can nab it at a lower price. After all, £650 in the UK is a very different proposition to £999, and our expectations would be adjusted accordingly.
If you’re buying at full price, however, it’s a different story. For that sort of money, the JBL is up against extremely competent competition, not least in the form of the five-star Rega Planar 3 RS Edition. In this arena, we don’t feel the TT350 Classic has the sonic talents to compete with the market’s best.
First reviewed: April 2025
SCORES
MORE:
Read our review of the Rega Planar 3 RS Edition
Also consider the Technics SL-1500C
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