Ed Lansink
This guide looks at a range of the best vinyl record accessories. These have a range of functions, some improve the sound of your setup, and others are more concerned with making the experience smoother overall.
All of these vinyl accessories will be appreciated by record collectors. Whether you are buying record player accessories for yourself or someone else, as a serious collector, I highly recommend all the products on this list!
If you own a record player, chances are you’ve experienced the annoyance of dust build-up. LPs naturally collect dust and grime from playing, which clings to the needle/stylus, muffling the sound and even increasing the occurrence of skipping.
I’d recommend cleaning your vinyl before and after playback; however, you should always use proper tools rather than an old t-shirt. I always recommend an anti-static record brush.
You can’t go wrong with the Turntable Lab triple-function brush/pad – I’d say these types of brushes are essential turntable accessories. This record brush lets you safely and effectively clean your records, and they also have anti-static qualities, which help to prevent further dust build-up.
Plus, the easy-to-clean pads and brushes won’t accumulate static or dust like other brushes. Keep those dust particles at bay with this easy and safe tool to clean your LP surface. There are a bunch of turntable brushes out there, but this is by far one of my favorites!
This Fluance Cleaning Brush/Pad is another strong choice!
Have you ever tried cleaning your records with just a dry cloth or tissue? If so, you’ll know that it doesn’t work. Keeping your records clean makes them sound better, creates a better listening experience, and extends their life. It also prevents a build-up of dirt and dust in other parts of your record player.
This Groove Washer 6-in-1 kit is easily the best cleaning bundle out there and contains everything you need to take care of your collection – including a velvet pad, record cleaning solution, G2 fluid, a label protector, and stylus brush, cleaning cloth, and even a stylish display block.
All the pieces are top quality – this is all you need to make your records sound great!
For more info, check out my full guide → Best record cleaning tools and kits.
For some collectors, it can feel a little overkill, but if you are somebody who likes to take the utmost care of your records and loves to keep them as clean as possible, then a record cleaning machine is a worthy investment.
The Pro-Ject VC-E is my weapon of choice for wet cleaning. It’s straightforward to use, uncomplicated, does the job well, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s arguably the best record cleaning machine in this price range.
It strikes the right balance between sturdiness, size (I need space for more records, after all!), and the end result, which is great.
The Record Doctor VI is another recommended cleaning machine that’s more budget-friendly, but in my opinion, the VC-E is worth the extra money in that it’s quicker and easier to use.
These cleaning cloths are a super useful accessory that helps to keep your records and turntable clean whenever you do any kind of wet cleaning. This pack of 5 is an affordable bundle and offers a quick and easy technique for removing dust from your vinyl surface and turntable station.
These record cleaning cloths are made of super-soft microfibre, which is lint-free and won’t leave any marks. These are designed to be used with records – and are a much safer choice than an old t-shirt or rag to keep your records scratch-free.
If you have a large record collection, you probably know how important organization is. There’s nothing worse than a chaotic record collection – sometimes, you can spend longer looking for an LP than it takes to listen to it.
These alphabetical record dividers are a lifesaver and save a lot of time when you search for that album you’re craving to hear. They make it much easier to sort your vinyl records and maintain a good level of organization. This product also felt very durable and will last for years.
The tab positions are staggered so that when your collection grows, you can easily find what you’re looking for!
For more tips, see my full guide → How to organize your record collection.
If you’re not keeping your records in inner sleeves, you’re asking for trouble. Inner sleeves are the best way to protect vinyl albums, 45 singles, and LP picture discs, keeping them in good shape and scratch-free.
Moreover, some types of paper inner sleeves make records dirtier, can easily cause micro-scratches, and end up covering them in annoying paper fibers – that’s another reason I recommend using these rice paper lines sleeves. They offer more protection to your records, keeping them clean, extending their life, and preserving their sound quality.
You’ll find this particular type (“rice paper”) from various brands, including Mobile Fidelity (an audiophile brand).
Whether you are a new vinyl hobbyist, a vinyl DJ, or the most fastidious record collector, investing in premium quality outer sleeves is the best way to ensure your records stay fresh for years to come.
These plastic vinyl outer sleeves are perfect if you want to take care of your collection. They keep outer jackets in top condition, protecting them from wear, tear, and damage.
They are designed with a strong and resilient, lightweight material with anti-static properties. The material is non-stick and non-abrasive, meaning it won’t damage any part of your covers. These 12” sleeves fit both single and double album covers too!
Even the best turntables and record players can benefit from a few of these accessories:
Record weights are one of those often overlooked turntable accessories that can make a large improvement to the quality of your turntables playback at a low cost.
The Femeli Turntable Weight is designed to stabilize your record as it’s spinning. This record weight pins the disk to the platter, reducing unwanted vibrations and increasing the grip. This reduces the chance of the needle slipping, and the isolation creates smoother audio quality.
The Viborg Record weight is a similar device that includes a built-in spirit level, which lets you check whether your deck is aligned correctly.
These turntable accessories are recommended for beginners and pros alike – anybody who enjoys spinning vinyl will love using them! You can learn more about the benefits of using a record clamp or weight in this guide → Are record weights and clamps worth it?
Turntable platter mats and slip mats are great accessories for customizing your deck – and they enhance the sound quality of your turntable for a small cost.
These mats increase the platter dampening, resulting in an enhanced response of mid and low frequencies. Rubber and cork mats also prevent vinyl from sliding by increasing friction and providing more stable contact.
The sound dampening and absorption are central to these turntable mats’ success in reducing vibration interference.
Platter mats come in a range of materials, each with unique properties. (If you’re interested in more details, check out my full guide → Types of platter mats.)
Isolation feet or spikes can make a big difference to sound quality in many situations and are worth the small price tag. Without proper isolation, turntables are prone to feedback from speakers and interruptions from movement and vibrations in the room. This creates audio interference and can even damage speakers in extreme cases.
A good friend of mine used to place her turntable on a stack of bricks. Whilst it looked cool, it didn’t do much in terms of reducing unwanted vibration. These affordable turntable isolation pads are a much more effective solution than any kind of DIY fix.
They are placed under the feet of a turntable and separate it from its platform. This reduces vibration feedback interference and creates a much cleaner, more stable sound with less unwanted distortion.
These are my recommendations:
To get the best sound out of your turntable, you must calibrate it correctly. Not only does calibration improve the sound, but it also prevents unwanted wear on your collection.
Tracking force is one of the most important areas of calibration, although it’s often either overlooked or set inaccurately. It refers to the amount of downward pressure created by the tonearm on the stylus tip and the groove of the vinyl.
This small device is an essential tool. It accurately measures how much tracking force is applied to the needle so that you can set it to the exact weight required by the cartridge. Any turntable owner should have one of these; otherwise, it’s unlikely they will be able to calibrate correctly.
To find out more, check out my full guide → How to set up a turntable!
Keeping your record player on a stable surface is key to getting a good sound with no interference from vibrations. This type of stand is the perfect combination of form and function – it looks cool and is highly useful.
These stands are designed to hold record players and a record collection on one shelf – it even has room for an amplifier, hi-fi, and your other accessories.
Using a stand like this is substantially more effective than using random bits of furniture. It makes any room look like an audiophile’s den, and it holds more records than you would expect!
Here are a few options to start with:
No turntable setup is complete without a killer pair of headphones, and open-back headphones really add something to enjoy the sound of records.
My pair of choice are these Sennheiser HD650s. (and their younger brother, the HD660S). They have an absolutely stunning sound that makes you feel like you are right there in the recording studio, sitting in the middle of the band. They’re balanced and airy – but also neutral, so don’t expect them to be bass-heavy. That’s not why you would buy this type of headphones in the first place.
These are also the comfiest open-back headphones I’ve tried, and you could probably wear them for days straight without any discomfort. If you want to play your records late at night and really sit down for the experience, then headphones are a must-have, and this pair is one of the best investments you can make.
They are a little pricey, though, so if you want to go for something more budget-friendly, these make for solid choices as well:
A quality turntable cartridge and needle is the foundation of a great-sounding vinyl setup.
These cartridges are a fantastic upgrade over standard factory versions and deliver a much higher audio quality compared to basic models. Compatible with most turntables, these are one of the easiest ways to achieve a massive improvement to your sound.
There is a range of cartridges in this series, catering to a variety of budgets and listening levels:
For a detailed comparison of each type, check out my full guide → Ortofon 2M Cartridges compared.
When playing music from records, not much is more annoying than issues caused by interference and external vibrations. Whether this is distortion from feedback or bumps caused by your neighbors walking around and wobbling your record player stand, decks are highly sensitive to any kind of vibration.
This ZaZen turntable isolation platform is designed to provide extra stability for a turntable or any other audio equipment that requires a stable, isolated surface. It helps to prevent unwanted vibrations from speakers and other movements from interfering with your audio quality when you listen.
Constructed from dense, non-resonant materials, the ZaZen isolation platform is an elegant, precision-made piece of kit that solves a lot of annoying problems. Whilst it won’t stop your neighbors from banging around all day, it will prevent your deck from picking up the interference.
With top-notch performance, it’s easily integrated into any setting and is ideal for a commercial or residential space. It’s also heavy-duty, meaning this platform is built to last.
This was designed in-house at the ZaZen acoustics turntable lab and is one of the top recommended turntable accessories for improving sound.
Without getting too technical, turntables require two stages of amplification – one to boost the phono to line level and another to get the signal to speaker level. Some decks come with a built-in phono preamp, although most don’t.
If you don’t already use an external phono preamp and you have a fine ear for audio, you can really up your game in terms of sound quality. A good preamp can help extract more detail and improve sound imaging compared to a built-in preamp (for which usually cheaper components are used to keep the price of the turntable lower).
The Schiit Mani 2 is a great sub-$200 phono preamp. The small size makes it ideal for installation near the turntable and gets any deck up to line level.
Just plug your turntable into the phono input, then connect the analog output of the Schiit Mani 2 to your amplifier or Hi-Fi line input. This preamp offers excellent performance for the price and is an affordable way to improve the quality of your hi-fi system’s output when playing records.
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I'm a passionate vinyl collector, analog fan, and lifetime enthusiast of most things audio.
On VinyliQ I help fellow vinyl collectors enjoy their hobby to the max, sharing my knowledge about and passion for vinyl.