Lenco L78 vs Sansui SR-222
Side-by-side specifications and a plain-English account of the recorded differences. Full profiles: Lenco L78 · Sansui SR-222.
| Specification | Lenco L78 |
Sansui SR-222 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £120 (used) | Highlighted difference. £110 (used) |
| Category | Vintage | Vintage |
| Status | discontinued | discontinued |
| Years | 1970–? | 1977–? |
| Drive | idler drive | belt drive |
| Speeds | Highlighted difference. 16/33/45/78 rpm | 33/45 rpm |
| Operation | semi-automatic | manual |
| Cartridge supplied | None | None |
| Phono stage | No | No |
| USB output | No | No |
| Bluetooth | No | No |
| Platter | dynamically balanced zinc alloy, approx 4 kg | aluminium |
| Tonearm | Lenco knife-edge bearing arm | S-shaped arm with detachable headshell |
| Wow & flutter | — | — |
Practical differences
Highlighted cells show a lower reference price, support for more listed speeds, or the presence of a convenience feature. They are not an overall score.
There's a real gap here: £10 separates them, with the Lenco L78 the pricier of the two.
The Lenco L78 spins its platter via idler drive; the Sansui SR-222 uses belt drive instead. Neither is objectively better — a rubber idler wheel driving the platter rim directly, giving huge torque and a punchy, immediate character that's become a specific taste among collectors versus a motor that's mechanically isolated from the platter by an elastic belt, which is the usual route to a quieter noise floor — the default choice across most of hi-fi.
Operation differs: the Lenco L78 is semi-automatic, the Sansui SR-222 is manual.
Bottom line: the Sansui SR-222 has the lower reference price; the table shows which documented features change with the £10 gap.
Merchant searches
2 UK merchants handle used or discontinued decks like this — each outbound link searches the deck on that merchant’s site.
| Merchant | Type | Delivery | Product search |
|---|---|---|---|
| eBay UK | used marketplace | Varies by seller | Search at eBay UK ↗ |
| Vinyl Revival | music retail | UK delivery | Search at Vinyl Revival ↗ |
Merchant searches
2 UK merchants handle used or discontinued decks like this — each outbound link searches the deck on that merchant’s site.
| Merchant | Type | Delivery | Product search |
|---|---|---|---|
| eBay UK | used marketplace | Varies by seller | Search at eBay UK ↗ |
| Vinyl Revival | music retail | UK delivery | Search at Vinyl Revival ↗ |