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Majority Folio: Two-minute review
Given that vinyl records often feel like they belong in the Smithsonian, actually using them for music can seem like a scary proposition, and what doesn’t help is how fiddly and delicate some of the best turntables can appear. Newbies to the vinyl sport can discover many causes to remain away, however I’m right here to supply one good motive to come back over: the Majority Folio.
This file participant – for amplification and speaker are each onboard, squirrelled away into the bottom – is right here to downplay these causes, and make listening to your assortment (comparatively) easy.
This is the joint-third turntable from British audio company Majority, following the Majority Moto 2.0 and releasing concurrently with the pricier Stylo.
Like its predecessor, the Folio is an affordable turntable, and it additionally totes a built-in speaker, which suggests you need not purchase a separate one (or certainly any phono stage or pre/energy amplifiers) to listen to your music. These details alone make the machine very easy to purchase for individuals scared to make the leap.
But past that it is easy to arrange and use, and will not be scary for brand new customers to experiment with. And when you determine to flesh out your hi-fi setup, the Majority Folio’s assist for a lot of outputs and inputs signifies that in contrast to many low cost vinyl gamers, it truly can stay a central a part of your equipment and will not have to be changed any time quickly.
You could need to improve issues although, as a result of the Folio’s speaker does not truly sound that nice; it is advantageous as a starting-off level, or for individuals who aren’t already too used to the improbable audio that high-end equipment can put out, but it surely retains all the problems of its predecessor in that it lacks a strong, weighty and impactful low-end and does not present high quality audio general.
Another gripe I’ve with the Folio is that a couple of design decisions present an absence of precision. The mud cowl does not match completely, and the turntable’s wood floor confirmed up bumps and scratches very easy. These did not have an effect on playback, but it surely’s nonetheless not perfect.
One novel characteristic I must deliver up within the introduction is which you could plug a USB stick into the Folio and rip/file your vinyl file onto it. This might be nice for digitizing your file assortment, however you could possibly additionally use it to create your personal mix-tapes (you possibly can break up the recording and break it up by monitor, altering vinyl whilst you do) or re-record your favorites at a shifted pitch… for some motive. It’s a characteristic with admittedly restricted enchantment, however I can see it being a game-changer for some music creators.
Majority Folio review: Price and release date
- Announced on April 12, 2025
- Sells for £169.95 (roughly $220, AU$340)
- No US or AUS availability
The Majority Folio was announced on Record Store Day, which was April 12, 2025. It went on sale shortly afterward.
You can buy the turntable for £169.95 (roughly $220 / AU$340), although it’s only available in certain regions, including the UK. Majority’s turntables don’t tend to go on sale in the US, and while they do in Australia, the Folio isn’t currently offered in the region.
That price puts the Folio as one of the more affordable turntables on the market, a great budget buy for people who don’t have the big bucks to invest in a fancy home hi-fi system but want something solid to play vinyl.
Majority Folio review: Specs
|
Dimensions |
41.2 x 32.3 x 14.2cm |
|
Motor |
Belt drive |
|
Platter |
Die-cast metal |
|
Phono preamp |
Yes |
|
USB |
Input & recording |
|
Bluetooth |
5.3 |
|
Speeds |
33, 45RPM |
|
Stylus |
AT3600L |
|
Extras |
45RPM adapter, RCA cable, rubber mat, replacement belt |
Majority Folio review: Features
- Easy to set-up and use
- Range of connection options
- USB recording feature
The Majority Folio seems designed as a plug-and-play dream; thanks to having its own speaker you don’t need to fuss over connecting other devices or extras, and simply plugging it into a power point is your first and last act to get it running. Well, you’ve got to add the record too, and it’s not an automatic turntable so you’ll need to place the needle yourself; the record begins to spin as soon as you lift the arm.
Despite having its personal speaker, and due to this fact being much less reliant on exterior audio system to work, the Majority Folio gives fairly a couple of connection choices. You can pair to close by Bluetooth audio system or wi-fi headphones with Bluetooth 5.3 (to transmit your vinyl wirelessly for playback, thus bypassing the Folio’s inbuilt speaker), play through an AUX twine, output music from a USB stick or plug in different gadgets with RCA, and so the Folio can stand alone or be the nexus of a hi-fi set-up. Most of those choices allow you to output the vinyl music, but in addition use the machine’s speaker for different inputs.
In considerably of a novelty, you possibly can plug a USB stick into the Folio and file your vinyl recording onto it. It’s a neat method of digitizing your music, particularly with the flexibility to separate a recording (ie, break it up by track), though the standard isn’t precisely stellar. If you modify the playback pace of a file, that is mirrored in your recording, however tweaking the quantity is not.
Majority Folio review: Sound quality
- AT3600L cartridge in play
- Build-in speaker lacks quality
- Output sounds a lot better
At the end of the arm is an AT3600L Moving Magnetic Cartridge, a piece of kit Majority has used before. And there’s no shame in that, especially not when the first two letters stand for Audio-Technica; this is a fine-tuned piece of kit. We’ve seen it grace plenty of other budget options and it provides fun audio, if lacking some high-fidelity flair of higher-end options.
One of the unique selling points of the Majority Folio is that it comes with its own speaker as part of the package; if you’re at the first step of your home audio journey and don’t have a hi-fi set-up, you can use the Folio out of the box…
… although I’d recommend against it, if you can avoid it. Music from the built-in speaker sounds a bit tinny, lacking deep bass or crisp treble, and that’s not just true of phono playback but for Bluetooth playing too. I couldn’t help but feel that lots of the depth, detail and nuance that the vinyl format provided, was lost when played through the main speaker. As I write this, I’m listening to Bowie’s Space Oddity, and it’s hard to make out much of the song besides the vocals, strings and cymbals.
Thankfully, as I’ve mentioned, the Folio has a range of connectivity options, and I’m pleased to report that music sounds better from headphones or other speakers. The low end has a lot more weight (even accounting for the toning of other devices), high-end is crisper and there’s a full-bodied midrange which adds to the sense of detail on a song. It’s not going to wow audiophiles who’ve tested top-end equipment, but I’d question how many such buyers have made it this far into the review anyway!
There’s nothing strictly wrong with the built-in speaker if you’re at the beginning of your home hi-fi journey, but it’s not something I’d rely on in the long run.
It’s worth noting that, according to the website and user manual, the Folio doesn’t support high-quality or low latency Bluetooth codecs. So I’d recommend buying wired speakers (see TechSwitch’s guide to the best stereo speakers right here) if you wish to recognize your music to the very best requirements.
- Sound high quality rating: 3.5/5
Majority Folio review: Design
- Chunky, thanks to built-in speaker
- Lots of dials, ports, switches
- Easily gains knicks
As you can probably expect from a turntable with a speaker built in, the Majority Folio is a little bit bigger than some rivals on the market, and it adds this heft in the height department. It’s 14.2cm tall, 41.2cm wide and 32.3cm length-wise. And if we’re going through dimensions, it weighs 3.7kg.
The device has a classy look, with a nice wooden finish, although this material quickly showed some marks and splintering on my review unit. An S-shaped tonearm is light and nimble, though looks a little too much like a Mechano set towards the needle, which blocked my sight of the needle from certain angles (and I’m bad at placing it at the best of times). The party is at the back though with an easily-manipulated counterweight and RPM toggle hidden away from the plate.
The table begins to spin automatically, as soon as you lift the needle, but the arm cradle wasn’t totally reliable at holding the limb in place; a few times I accidentally bumped the arm and the record began to spin of its own accord. A cradle with a slight edge would fix this problem.
Elsewhere on the body you’re getting an RPM adapter plonked to the side, and then on the right edge a headphone jack as well as dials for the volume, pitch and input method. It’s a little more cluttered than some other turntables I’ve seen, but I prefer ease of use with your many functions, toggles and switches in plain view.
That’s only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the Majority Folio’s buttons and dials. On the right edge there’s a USB slot as well as buttons for recording, splitting and Bluetooth pairing, while on the back there’s the range of connection inputs we’ve already discussed. Perhaps one of the benefits of a big body, is lots of room for ports and buttons.
Like most (but not all) alternatives, the Folio has a dust cover. It does its job but it’s a little wobbly, often not sitting straight on the turntable, and it quickly got quite scuffed up during my testing.
Majority Folio review: Value
Based on the price, specs and feature set, the Majority is a great entry-level turntable for people at the beginning of their hi-fi journey.
It’s a purchase comparable to those guitar starter-packs you can buy, which get you a budget amp, carry case and cables alongside a cheapie six-string; none of the kit is stellar, but you’re getting a nice easy package to get you started. The further you get into your hi-fi journey, the more you can augment your setup with extra speakers.
There are a few turntables on the market that are cheaper than the Majority, but most don’t have the speaker built in, giving this an easy value win.
Should I buy the Majority Folio?
|
Attributes |
Notes |
Rating |
|---|---|---|
|
Features |
A range of connection options, and easy to use. |
4/5 |
|
Sound quality |
Built-in speaker isn’t perfect, but there’s a fun sound in general. |
3.5/5 |
|
Design |
Its big size facilitates its many features; it shows its wear readily though. |
4/5 |
|
Value |
It’s great value for what you’re getting (and what you don’t need to get). |
4.5/5 |
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
Majority Folio review: Also consider
| Header Cell – Column 0 |
Majority Folio |
Audio-Technica AT-LP70XBT |
House of Marley Revolution |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Dimensions |
412 x 323 x 142mm |
110 x 400 x 330mm |
112 x 389 x 328mm |
|
Motor |
Belt drive |
Belt drive |
Belt drive |
|
Platter |
Die-cast metal |
Aluminium |
Plastic |
|
Phono preamp |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
|
USB |
Input & recording |
No |
No |
|
Bluetooth |
5.3 |
5.2 |
5.3 |
|
Speeds |
33 1/3, 45RPM |
33 1/3, 45RPM |
33 1/3, 45, 78RPM |
|
Cartridge |
AT3600L |
AT-VMN95C |
AT3600L |
|
Extras |
Dust cover, rubber mat, 45 adapter, RCA cable. |
Dust cover, felt mat, 45 adapter, 1m RCA cable |
Dust cover, felt mat, 45 adapter |
How I tested the Majority Folio
- Tested for three weeks
- Inputs include vinyl records, Bluetooth and USB
- Outputs include built-in speaker and wired headphones and speakers
I used the Majority Folio for three weeks in order to write this review, and through the whole process it was set up in my living room (which is also my dining room and kitchen; it’s not a big apartment).
I primarily listened to music from my large vinyl record library, though also used the speaker’s Bluetooth playback function and also listened to recordings I’d made with the USB recording function.
For most of the testing period, I listened through the build-in speaker, but for additional listening I plugged in some over-ear headphones and some wireless speakers to get a sense for the sound.
- First reviewed November 2025