I’m not much of an analog audio guy. I like listening to music, but I don’t get so obsessed with sound quality that I try to optimize every single listening second. So I thought that getting into collecting albums on vinyl wouldn’t be for me. Until I tried the Victrola Stream Onyx, a player designed specifically around a digital streaming experience.
Victrola has a long history of making excellent record players, but the Stream Onyx is a little unique. Its primary distinguishing feature is its ability to stream to Sonos speakers—which sounds a little counterintuitive. Isn’t the point of investing in a vinyl collection to get that rich analog sound?
Well, maybe. And the Stream Onyx still has analog outputs if you want to retain the option of listening that way. However, the addition of Sonos streaming—and the simplicity that the Onyx provides—makes a strong argument that vinyl and digital pair really well together.
The Digital Paradox
The Stream Onyx is a remarkably simple device. It has an analog stereo RCA output, so you can use it like a traditional record player, and it has an Ethernet port for connecting to your network. But it’s only necessary to connect the power cable. Then you can stream audio from the player to any Sonos-compatible speaker in the house.
This isn’t the only record player that can connect wirelessly to speakers, but many alternatives use Bluetooth, which doesn’t capture quite as much detail and richness as Sonos audio, and has more limitations in terms of streaming distance. While it might not satisfy audio purists, I found the sound quality coming from my Onyx—paired with a Sonos Era 300—to be excellent. The clicks, pops, and texture of playing a record came through just as clearly as they would from analog speakers (to my ears, anyway).
However, since Sonos isn’t the only option, there’s still flexibility to get the best of both worlds. The analog RCA output means that you can connect the player to a robust analog system, but still stream music to other rooms that might be less convenient to connect. Maybe you prefer listening to records in your hi-fi den, but there’s nothing stopping you from continuing playback on a speaker in the kitchen.
Beyond the Needle
Photograph: Victrola
It’s also worth keeping in mind how much of the experience of listening to records isn’t just about audio quality. I’m not a huge record collector, but I had the same experience as reviews editor Julian Chokkatu when he first got into vinyl. Visiting a record store, putting hands on a full album, the tactile experience of interacting with a single work is unparalleled in a streaming world.
The interface for listening to music is also very different on a record. One might ask, “If you’re going to stream digitally, why even bother using a record player at all?” My top answer is that you can’t pause a record. Once I put on a vinyl of Queen’s greatest hits, I’m committed. There’s no track skipping, no shuffling. Just listening to an album the way the artist intended. And I’ve got a giant sleeve with album art, photos, and extras to peruse while I do.
It’s hard to overstate how liberating this is, how much more intimately I feel the music when I listen like this. It’s an experience that streaming just can’t touch. When I listen to one song on vinyl, no algorithm is going to try to guess what I’d like to hear next, only to bafflingly follow Van Halen with a song from Bo Burnham: Inside, just because I’ve listened to both recently. (Looking at you, YouTube Music.)