Sony is dusting off its vinyl chops with not one but two new turntables, the PS-LX3BT and PS-LX5BT — its first fresh decks since 2019, aimed squarely at people who want vinyl’s warmth without the faff, plus modern Bluetooth convenience. They land at $399.99 and $499.99 in the US, slotting in above the long‑running PS-LX310BT and effectively rebooting Sony’s home audio story at a moment when the company is handing its TV and audio business to a new joint venture with TCL.

On paper, both turntables are very “Sony in 2026”: fully automatic, slick, and clearly designed for people who would rather drop a needle with a button than learn the dark arts of tonearm balancing. One-button full auto playback handles the entire ritual — start the platter, lift the arm, lower it onto the record, then bring it home again when the side ends. There’s support for 33⅓ and 45RPM, so your 12-inch LPs and 7-inch singles are covered, and both models throw in a transparent dust cover that doubles as a display case for your favorite colored vinyl while it spins.

Where things get more 2026 than 1976 is connectivity. Both decks bake in Bluetooth with support for aptX, aptX Adaptive, and even Hi-Res Wireless Audio, which means you can send your records straight to wireless speakers, soundbars, or headphones without taking a single cable out of the drawer. If you do like cables, there’s a built-in, switchable phono EQ that lets you flip between traditional phono out and line-level, so the same deck can talk to a classic stereo amp or a modern powered speaker setup.

Sony also clearly knows that “discovering vinyl” in 2026 often means “I want backups.” Both the PS-LX3BT and PS-LX5BT add USB output, letting you digitize your records to files from the same turntable you’re listening on. There’s a three-level gain selector — low, mid, and high — which is a small but genuinely useful detail if you’ve ever tried to rip a quiet jazz press and then a brickwalled modern reissue into the same library.

From there, the two models fork off in subtly different directions. The PS-LX3BT is the approachable one, the deck you could drop into a living room without scaring anyone, including whoever ends up setting it up. Its RCA cables are permanently attached, which is less glamorous but very “plug it in and you’re done,” and it sticks to a moving magnet cartridge tuned for a 3.5g tracking force — nothing exotic, just safe and forgiving for new owners.

The PS-LX5BT, meanwhile, is the one Sony hopes will catch the eye of people thinking “I’m not an audiophile, but I care.” It swaps in detachable, gold-plated RCA jacks so you can use your own interconnects, and adds a lightweight aluminum platter topped with a rubber slip mat to keep vibration in check. Under the hood, it leans on better-grade electronic components to shave down noise and distortion, and its higher-precision moving magnet cartridge tracks at around 2g, which should translate to both gentler record wear and more detail when paired with a half-decent amp or speakers.

Sony is being cagey about who actually makes those cartridges, which matters to the hardcore crowd who love to debate stylus profiles and generator designs. But the overall package reads less like “entry-level plastic toy” and more like a midrange deck for people who want a reliable appliance that still sounds grown-up — especially if you consider that the older PS-LX310BT, despite launching in 2019, is still considered a cult favorite budget Bluetooth turntable and is often recommended as the default “I just want something that works” option.

There’s also a slightly bittersweet subtext here. Sony’s home entertainment business — the bit responsible for TVs and home audio products like these turntables — is in the middle of being carved out into a new joint venture where TCL will hold a 51 percent stake. Officially, that move is about marrying Sony’s brand and AV engineering with TCL’s manufacturing muscle and scale, but it also means the PS-LX3BT and PS-LX5BT could be some of the last turntables designed under Sony’s current in-house structure before that whole division changes shape.

In a way, though, these decks are a neat snapshot of where vinyl itself is at in 2026. The format is no longer a quirky resurrection; it’s entrenched enough that big brands like Sony can take a six-year break from new models and still come back to an audience ready to spend $400–$500 on a “proper” turntable that talks happily to a Bluetooth soundbar. Many younger listeners are perfectly comfortable streaming all day and then treating a favorite album on wax as a kind of ritual, and Sony’s pitch — effortless automatic operation, hi-res wireless, optional USB archiving — is clearly tailored to that hybrid lifestyle.

For anyone weighing up a first deck or an upgrade from an all-in-one suitcase player, the appeal is pretty obvious. You can start simple — auto mode on, Bluetooth into whatever you already own — and then grow into the gear by experimenting with different speakers, maybe swapping cables on the LX5BT, and eventually plugging into a dedicated amp without needing to replace the turntable itself. That “on-ramp” vibe echoes what made the PS-LX310BT a slow-burn hit, and Sony seems keen to double down on that formula rather than chase the ultra-high-end audiophile niche dominated by specialist brands.

Availability is staggered just enough to tease. The PS-LX3BT goes up for preorder first, with units expected to land in February 2026, while the PS-LX5BT follows a little later in April — timing that quietly positions the pricier model as a potential “upgrade season” buy for anyone who gets hooked on the cheaper deck. If nothing else, it’s a sign that even as the corporate structure behind Sony’s TVs and speakers shifts, the company still thinks there’s plenty of life — and business — left in the simple pleasure of dropping a needle and letting a record spin.