Crosley’s Cruiser Deluxe ($90) is an updated version of the company’s popular retro “suitcase” turntable. This time around, however, the company has added Bluetooth, to give users another way to listen to music. Cruiser Deluxe can indeed be latched and carried like a suitcase. Two small speakers are built into the front of the case. Inside the case is the three-speed turntable, and next to that are a headphone jack, volume knob, pitch control knob, and the Bluetooth on/off switch. On the back of the case are ports for the AC adapter, stereo line-out ports, and another headphone jack. Turntables are generally not within our purview — we certainly wouldn’t feel right giving a full review of this product — but we figured we could at least give prospective consumers some insight regarding Cruiser Deluxe’s Bluetooth capabilities. We don’t currently see Cruiser Deluxe listed on Crosley’s website, but the product is already being sold on other sites.
Crosley Cruiser Deluxe is a bright, stylish piece of audio equipment, wrapped in faux leather. We received an orange version of Cruiser Deluxe, and we understand why someone would have interest in the product based on looks alone. It’s worth noting that though the turntable system is portable, it doesn’t have a battery — it needs to be plugged in to work. While we can’t speak for Cruiser Deluxe’s complete effectiveness as a record player, we will say that as a portable Bluetooth speaker, it’s poor. The small speakers are tinny and lack detail, lagging far behind any competitive Bluetooth speakers in the same price range. Sound quality ranges from middling to unacceptable. (That likely doesn’t bode well for its performance with records, either, but we’ll refrain from going down that road.) We certainly wouldn’t recommend Cruiser Deluxe as a Bluetooth speaker, nor should the added Bluetooth functionality be enough to sway any undecided consumers.
