The good…First of all, we love the look of this unit. It has a lot of nice features. The speakers have a decent sound. When connected to the surround sound, it sounds even better. The light up dial is very cool and sleek looking. The flip power switch is great! I love that you can close the lid when a record is playing. The front of this unit is very nice and expensive looking. When we ordered this, we chose the farmhouse color even though it took longer to arrive. Really happy with the color and look.My kids originally got us the more vintage looking 6 in 1 for Christmas, and that one skipped/skated across records very badly. (My daughter has a Victrola record player, which she has had for years with no issues, which is why we stuck with this brand.) Well, we returned the nostalgic looking one after reading similar reviews about the skipping issue and settled on ordering this Empire model instead. (Both are Victrola)The not so good…The first Empire unit we received looked like it had been a return/ open box- it did not look brand new. Ex: the manual was opened. The shipping screw wasn’t up to secure the record player during transit, and the record arm wasn’t secure. The record player also skipped very badly the first few times we tried to play a record, and the needle would dance across the records. The arm also wouldn’t lower at first using the lever. Sigh. We were so disappointed to see a second record player with the skipping issue. (They really need an adjustable counterweight.)Amazon sent us a replacement, which arrived very quickly. Sadly, the outer shipping box and inner box were both damaged on arrival. We took the new unit out and everything looked okay, until we realized the lid had a small gap where it meets the front on one side, and the clear plastic piece around the radio dial had a couple of visible scratches. BUT everything worked beautifully right out of the box!! This one was definitely new. (The manual was sealed and everything was packed well.) Now, I know it sounds dumb, but the gap in the top and the scratches on the dial really bothered us since one scratch was right over a number and very visible on the top of the dial. The other scratch, while more superficial, was longer and down most of the right side of the dial window. (This actually looks like it’s on the inside of the plastic.)So, we go back and examine the first unit we received-Not wanting to wait for yet another replacement and feeling pretty frustrated. (I was about to give up and order something else entirely. This was a Christmas gift and we are now in mid Jan.)When evaluating the first Empire unit, we notice the needle is actually loose. (Like maybe someone tried to remove it, or it had come loose during shipping since the arm wasn’t secure.) So we pop the needle off and back on securely. No more skipping across the records! Yay! After lifting the arm up to replace the needle, the arm is working fine. *happy dance*{This unit is starting to remind me of taking a sick kid to the dr and how they would suddenly act fine. Now that we have the replacement, it’s like, “see, I work!”}I do want to mention, this unit also has a couple of tiny superficial scratches on the inside of the clear plastic dial cover, but they are barely visible. My guess is these are tiny defects in manufacturing. There is also a sharp spot on a wire near the record arm spot where you hold it. (Again, I’m just frustrated at this point and not waiting on another unit or wasting time and gas to drive 30 min to the closest drop off to return it.) I did contact Victrola and was told we had to again go thru Amazon if we wanted another replacement unit or any help with issues. SighAfter much deliberation and lots of testing, I contacted Amazon and let them know we are sticking with the first unit since it is no longer skipping with the needle on correctly and the arm seems to be working. (If your record player skips, try double checking the needle.)I hope we made the right decision, but we really love the way this looks and all of the features. I wanted something that worked but was also aesthetically pleasing.All in all, I really do love this unit. The CD player performs perfectly. I couldn’t find an old cassette to test, but I will update if we have issues.If you’re an audiophile, this probably isn’t for you.However, if you’re looking for a really lovely looking unit to have out in a room that will play all of your vintage records, cassettes, and CD’s, I would say this is worth it.I’m excited to start playing all of my old vinyls!!