Andover Spinbase MAX Turntable Speaker: A Blogs & Little Things Review

It’s also the new and improved version from the original Spinbase that was released a few years back. Packed with Bluetooth input and output, more power, and larger bass drivers to match; is it worth the $500 asking price? Let’s find out!

Listening Setup

• Headphones – JBL Tune 710BT
• BT Source – iPhone 13 Mini
• Turntable – Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Evo

Sample Music

• Valiant Hearts – Alaska
• PVRIS – White Noise
• Young Medicine – Living Fiction

Setup is really no fuss; there is no remote or app to deal with, although a remote would have been nice for at least volume control. Bluetooth is easy to connect and control with this unit, there are two simple buttons near the front on top. On the back are all the necessary connections, with a phono input and RCA input. It’s basically plug and play with no worries.

Depending on which turntable you pair this with, hopefully it’s one that will fit on top. The space is large, but is just a square, so larger tables with an isolated motor may not work here. But most tables under $10k should work without issue. It supports both moving-magnet and moving-coil cartridges and also has an output for a sub. I did find one concern, the wall wart and the wires from the wall wart to the unit seemed quite small and thin for models of this size and power, my much smaller desktop amps have far beefer power supplies, but if it works, it works.

Power is boosted from the original Spinbase, what was 36 watts is now 60! That added juice feeds larger 3.5-inch woofers and the same 20mm tweeter. There is a new high pass filter with bass and treble controls on the back for making those final tweaks to the sound. Just be aware these are all on the back, so getting to them is not easy if it’s pushed against the wall. The Spinbase doesn’t disappoint, clearly, a lot of work went into making it sound great. Highs are crispy clean and the mids have punch. Bass is as expected for the cabinet size, but with the extra output, you can add a subwoofer to gain back the lower end. I noted that it definitely sounds bigger than it really is. Placing the unit somewhere higher up, at chest level, makes it sound taller and more present in the listening space. Listening to female vocals, the Max stays bright and lively, with male vocals it is centered and tight.

The front knob is the only way to control the volume and it is very smooth. The chassis has a good bit of weight to it, at just over 21 pounds. A solid base to prevent control vibration is important for any turntable. The Spinbase MAX seems well up to the task of preventing any interference. I will note that it is the simplest system I have ever seen for listening to vinyl with Bluetooth headphones. It just makes great audio simple!

The Andover Spinbase MAX has some huge improvements over the original Spinbase, more power, bigger drivers and better features. If you love vinyl, but not the headaches of building a system to listen to it, this is the solution. Minor annoyances like no remote or app control are there, and the power supply seems cheap. But the listening experience is superb, and the always welcome sub out saves the lower end. It’s worth a look if you love vinyl and want the simplest and most convenient listening experience.