Monolith by Monoprice Belt Drive Turntable
Budget turntables · 2022–present In production
$250 US reference price
Monolith by Monoprice Belt Drive Turntable is a current belt-drive, manual operation, 33/45 rpm playback budget turntable. Documented convenience features include Bluetooth, a built-in phono preamp, USB output. The US reference price is $250.
Decision snapshot
The five things to check first
- Plays
- 33/45 rpm
- System hookup
- No separate phono preamp
- Cueing
- Manual cueing
- Stylus path
- Mapped: AT-VMN95E
- Buying status
- Current model
Setup bottom line: Add amplification and speakers, but a separate phono preamp is not required. Check model-specific stylus evidence →
Monoprice's house-brand hi-fi turntable: damped MDF plinth, carbon fiber tonearm, AT-VM95E cartridge, switchable phono/line output plus Bluetooth and USB ripping. Sold in walnut (600046) and gloss black (600047), with a stripped-down $199 variant (600045).
Regularly undercuts every other AT-VM95E-equipped deck in the US; a spec-sheet bargain from a US direct retailer.
Who it suits
Best suited to: a first turntable for casual, low-effort listening. Less ideal for: an existing hi-fi system where you want to hear more detail — the fixed cartridge and light tonearm are the limiting factors there.
Compatibility and setup
- Manual operation: you cue and lift the tonearm by hand at the start and end of each side — there’s no auto-return or auto-lift.
Good to know
- Has a built-in phono stage, so it can feed a normal line input on an amplifier or powered speakers without a separate phono box.
- Can transmit over Bluetooth as well as a wired output. A wired connection avoids Bluetooth codec compression.
- Has a USB output for recording vinyl to a computer.
Specifications
| Drive | belt drive |
|---|---|
| Speeds | 33/45 rpm |
| Operation | manual |
| Cartridge included | Audio-Technica AT-VM95E |
| Built-in phono stage | Yes |
| USB output | Yes |
| Bluetooth | Yes |
| Platter | aluminum |
| Tonearm | carbon fiber |
| Finishes | walnut, gloss black |
| Years | 2022–present |
How it sits in the catalogue
Its belt-drive mechanism is the majority choice in the database (151 of 183). A built-in phono stage puts it with the 47% of current decks that plug straight into any amp or powered speaker. On price it sits toward the affordable end of its category — 25% of priced budget decks cost less.
Cartridge and replacement stylus
Factory cartridge: Audio-Technica AT-VM95E · replacement stylus: AT-VMN95E · around $49.
Keep the evidence layers separate
Buying evidence for this model
- US reference price
- $250. A dated guide value for comparison, not an offer or availability claim.
- Live retailer offers
- No live offer feed is enabled for this model.
- Retailer links
- No retailer route is published until a relevant relationship is recorded.
An internally verified exact identifier may improve offer matching, but it is not published as a catalogue fact unless independently corroborated. Always confirm the exact model, final price, delivery and returns with the retailer.