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I began by listening to ELO’s early recording of First Movement (Jumping Biz) because of the host of organic instruments roaming the mix from the lead guitar – a Spanish guitar I think – cellos, violins, percussion and more. If you're used to a more old-school record player, the L-400 can seem a little over-complicated at first. For starters, if you lift the arm, the turntable doesn't start spinning automatically, instead, you have to press the start/stop button. Similarly, at the end of a record, it doesn't auto-return, the record will just continue to spin. You have to manually lift the arm and replace it. The sound quality of the L-309 is the big surprise here. Out of the box, it offers a good performance but dare to upgrade the L-3809 with a VM95E and a better quality headshell and you’ve got yourself a worthy budget turntable contender. In short? The L-3809 is a hidden gem of a turntable that can easily be placed in amongst its direct competition and can be viewed as an alternative for some users. Recommended.
Lenco as you may know, went bankrupt in 1977. Since then, the name has been bought and sold on various occasions. It’s currently owned by Commaxx International NV, a Dutch company responsible for a range of products from kitchen accessories to phones. Lenco turntables are just one product in the range and are made in Hong Kong. In short, for a ‘mere’ Chinese turntable design, the L-3809 is surprisingly good in both aesthetic terms and in terms of ease of use the the feature set. was accompanied by weighty bass. Drums were meaningful and full of character, while the accuracy of the electric guitar added a sense of transient speed. OK, there’s no quartz control connected to the direct drive motor here, so you can’t expect nailed on speed control but it ain’t too bad once you get to grips with the pitch adjustment. The 8-pole, 2-phase design does a decent job considering the price. Do I understand why a modern company is utilising it in the hope of gaining a competitive edge in the market place? Absolutely, yes.
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The body of the model is made of gray plastic and rests on four spring-loaded legs that securely fix the player on any smooth surface. The device weighs 5.36 kilograms. In general, the turntable looks similar to many other models of similar design that have entered the market in recent years. Let’s see how it differs in terms of operation and sound. A dust cover can be fitted on top of the turntable. You even get a bright orange duster with a 75 th anniversary logo on too. A nice touch. First up, the mids sounded a touch more focused on the L-3809. The lead acoustic guitar offered a honed sound, leaner and more agile. Was that because the tonearm was a touch improved over the L-3808?
There is no ground for use with external preamp - which gives off loud hum. The internal preamp is still adequate. There is clearly a noise-gate on board that will cut off during some silence. Let us touch on the design first before saying a thing or two about the quality of sound. The Lenco L3808 Turntable is more of a direct turntable, and this is something worth knowing from the word go. Based on its price, that is something intriguing. The product comes with a dust cover. However, you want to play your record with the lid off to ensure that there is zero noise pollution. If you set your eyes on the turntable for the first time, you will notice its S-shaped arm that comes with an arm lift; it also comes with a headshell that you can easily remove.
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Well, in terms of basic, Chinese-made, belt-driven turntables I agree that the basic performance from a belt-driven configuration does leave something to be desired. I’ve heard Chinese-designed, budget belt-driven turntables featuring badges slapped on the top from Audio-Technica, Dual, Sony and Marantz and all sound relatively poor because they are based on those self-same belt drive motors. Even so, this new design was also undertaken to, as Lenco states, be a “little less bulky providing a unique, stylish modern design.”
Saying that though, if the Lenco appeals to you as a first-time buyer, the L-3809 is easier to find and locate, being the newer model of the two. I wouldn’t spend time trying to locate the older L-3808, unless you’re faced with a great bargain in price terms. The sound from the L-3808 doesn’t provide any sonic advantage over the L-3809, though. Hence, given a level playing field in price terms, the L-3809 is the one to go for. REGA RP1 So what can we expect from the L-3809 and how does it differ from the previous mode, the L-3808? SOUND QUALITYOne of the best things about the Lenco L3808 Vinyl Turntable is that it comes with professional-level features. For example, you can regulate the pitch and adjust the target light. What you need to know is that you should never judge this product by its cover. Take it on a road test, and you will find it quite good.
Looking from the top down, the front-left offers a large, round play/pause button. To the right of that are small, rectangular dual select speed buttons. Moving across to the right-hand side, you’ll find a power knob that sits on top of the light for the strobe. At the far right is a pitch slider. This proved to be very useful, because the speed was not accurate out of the box. I needed to fiddle with this slider (which I saw as nothing but a speed ‘pot’ in operation), in conjunction with my RPM rotational speed app on my iPhone. An app which is a lot better in performance terms than you might think, at least when viewing certain negative comments on the Internet. It’s actually pretty decent and helped me to configure the speed of the Lenco. I believe Android offers a similar app, although I’ve never used that variant.
Lenco L-3808 Direct Drive USB DJ Turntable, Black Overview
With a crisp and clear sound that includes plenty of bass, the L-400 will bring a new lease of life to old LP collections, plus it feels built to last too. We're really impressed with it and although the recommended PC software looks a bit dated, it does the job if you want to make digital copies of your vinyl. Which is why I fitted an AT-95E – also from Audio-Technica – and compared the newly updated configuration with the similarly fitted Fluance RT81. If you are looking for a classic turntable that you can take anywhere, the Lenco L3808 Turntable might be of interest. Even before we look at the details, you should note that it comes in a design that is easy to use and maintain. And there’s nothing wrong with belt drive motors, in general terms. The best turntables I’ve ever heard are based upon belt drive systems. I have many belt-drive turntables in my own collection. Would have I liked to have seen the Lenco brand, full of tradition, retired to rest in vintage peace? Absolutely, sure.
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