2-in-1 turntables aren’t unique, but the Mixx Analog+ was the first I’d ever seen that completely disguises its hybrid nature once a vinyl is spinning. The top-loading CD player neatly integrated into the record platter promised to simultaneously scratch both my itches for physical music media, without needing twice as much space in my home Hi-Fi setup.
British brand Mixx has also ticked plenty of boxes for my TikTok-addled brain’s need for instant gratification: fully automatic playback. Bluetooth connectivity. A remote control. Oh, and the £299 price (the Analog+ has yet to launch in the US) is practically pocket money territory compared to some audiophile-grade hardware.
After living with it for a month, however, I’ve spotted more than a few trappings of a first generation effort.
It’s got a CD player (player, player, player)
While the Analog+ is also sold in black, I tested the white model as it was a better match to my bookshelf speakers. It’s a delightfully minimal player, with just a row of rubber domed buttons on the metal front panel flanking a simple LCD display. The plinth is MDF that’s sturdy enough for the money, as is the boxy plastic dust cover.
The bundled remote isn’t colour-matched to the player, but covers all the basics. It has the sort of squishy rubber buttons I take as a given for affordable audio kit. Depending on what you have the Analog+ plugged into, the volume and tone controls may not actually do anything. I ran it through my Rotel S14 network streamer and out to a pair of Bowers & Wilkins 607 S2 speakers.
It has RCA wired outputs and Bluetooth support, but you’ve got to pick one by flicking a switch on the back of the unit; pressing the Bluetooth button on the remote doesn’t do anything if you have the hardware set to RCA.
I like that the CD tray is transparent, so you can see the currently playing disc spinning away. At first I thought the window had a frosted glass effect, then kicked myself when I realised it was just a protective covering. With it peeled off I could see Bjork’s Debut a whole lot more clearly. The tray itself opens quickly with a prod and shuts again with an audible click. An electronic eject would’ve made the player feel a bit more premium, but could also have turned the Analog+ into a vinyl catapult. Sensible thinking, Mixx.
Power on the player and it’ll instantly load the CD and begin playback, rather than default to the last played format. There’s no way to change that behaviour either. As someone with more vinyl than CDs I found it irritating. Digital sound quality is also far from the last word in dynamism or excitement. Records sound better, though still very much in keeping with the lower end of the turntable price spectrum. There’s more sense of width here, but it still lacks a bit of the subtelty you’ll find from rivals that make vinyl their singular purpose.
The vinyl countdown
The belt-drive mechanism and pre-fitted Audio-Technica AT3600L are both budget turntable standards at this point. Don’t plan on swapping the cartridge out for anything but a like-for-like replacement, as the tone arm can’t be adjusted at all. Like any player worth its weight the Analog+ can handle 33.3 and 45rpm playback, as well as both 7in and 12in vinyl.
Short of physically swapping over records, vinyl playback is entirely automatic. You set the size and speed, and the tonearm moves into place by itself, eventually returning to base upon reaching the end of the record. The motor that lifts and returns the arm could stand to be quieter, but I can’t fault it for convenience.
I found the repeat mode more useful than the fast forward and rewind buttons, which only move a set distance with each button press. Holding down the buttons gives you a bit of extra finesse, but you’re ultimately still eyeballing it – or guessing entirely, if sat on the other side of the room.
For adding another string to my Hi-Fi’s bow without needing two separate bits of kit, the Analog+ is a winner, though I wish it wasn’t so keen to serve up CD playback when I’d prefer to put on a vinyl record. More well-heeled audiophiles may not get past the slightly cheap-feeling buttons and remote, but the sensible pricing and automatic playback are sure to appeal to music fans with modest physical media collections.
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