So, first off, I'm new to vinyl. I've always wanted to get into it, and I finally arrived on this beautiful Audio-Technica turntable based on my price-range and what reviewers have said. I've had it a little over a week now, and it is simply fantastic. Vinyl is certainly worth the extra investment for everybody who truly appreciates sound quality and wants to experience every little detail that the artists intended, and this turntable doesn't disappoint. It's easy to put together, very easy to run (easy even for a total newbie like myself), and the sound quality with the stock cartridge/stylus (again, for somebody who's NEVER owned a turntable before) is spectacular! If you're like me, someone who doesn't want to spend an arm and a leg for great sound quality and who desperately wants to begin collecting and listening to vinyl, then BUY THIS while you still can! It's very well put-together, and it's a very attractive unit too. It looks far more expensive than $200. Also, I should note that I primarily listen to metal music and some progressive rock on my turntable, and I use my Audio-Technica ATH-M50 headphones to listen to it all (BUY those headphones asap too for just a little over $100). TRUST in Audio-Technica if you're new to the audiophile game and don't want to go bankrupt for very high quality listening experiences. I don't see myself upgrading anytime soon, if ever. I'm extremely pleased with this product. The ONE downside that I initially have to force some of my LPs (NOT many) onto the turntable because the metal rod that you place your LP on seems just a tad large. I was afraid I may snap my record while removing it the first couple times! If you're careful, this shouldn't happen at all, and the hole in your LP gradually gets large enough to fit the metal rod perfectly. It's my only gripe. It may sound major, but it's VERY minor in actuality.
UPDATE 5/18/2013
I am still loving this turntable. I should note that my turntable came with the AT95E cart (the green, not the white one). This one is supposed to be much better than the other 'white' cart that comes with some of them. So, I got lucky? Either way, it tracks wonderfully. I do notice some inner groove distortion on a significant number of my records. It's not HORRIBLE, but it is annoying at times. I'm still trying to puzzle out if it's the records or the cart setup that is doing it... I've considered upgrading the cart, but for somebody who is new to vinyl, like myself, this current cart sounds damn good. I'm only tracking at 1.5 grams, which is the very lower limit of what the AT95E is rated at. I wanted to do this to help preserve the stylus and my records. If anything, it sounds better than before! Turntable is as silent as ever in its operation too. I just love this unit. BUY IT!
UPDATE 5/24/2013
I've been tracking at 1.5 grams with my AT95E cart with all my records, and it works great. I just got a pretty badly warped LP in the mail (debating on returning it or not) that plays just FINE. This cart tracks beautifully, even with this warped record. I'm debating on buying the Shure cart that everybody keeps talking about or just sticking with the AT95E and merely replacing the stylus when the time comes.
UPDATE 6/1/2013
TT still working spectacularly. However, I've been noticing harshness on 's' sounds and high frequency parts from my records, on numerous records. I believe this is what is called sibilants. Also, I have noted obvious inner groove distortion towards the end of records, both old and new. This seems to be a common issue with many people, and could be caused by poor setup. I can only hope that Audio Technica set up the cart correctly, since it came pre-assembled. I also changed my tracking force to 2.0 grams after reading that I should be aiming toward the higher end of the stylus's tracking rating. I went out and purchased the Shure cart that everybody is talking about, and I can't wait to get it in. I will provide another update once I get it set up.
Shure MX97E cart installed. Oh boy is it incredible! The AT95E is a GREAT budget cart, but the Shure MX97E outperforms it. I am in love with my new Shure cart! The sibilants are either gone or much less noticeable.
UPDATE 7/3/2013
This turntable is still performing beautifully. I finally got around to playing with the Audacity software that came with it and began recording my vinyl records into very large computer .wav files. The Audacity software takes a bit of a learning curve, but after you figure it out, the recording process works and SOUNDS beautifully! I'm very surprised at how well my records are translated to digital files. I purposefully chose very high sampling rates to try to capture absolutely as much uncompressed sound as possible, and thus my files are quite large. That's why they make huge external hard drives... Anyway, again, this turntable is blowing me away with its capabilities.
I bought mine for a little over $200. The price of this beauty keeps going up from what I can see. BUY ONE NOW!
There is a newer model of this item:
Audio-Technica AT-LP120XUSB-BK Direct-Drive Turntable (Analog & USB), Fully Manual, Hi-Fi, 3 Speed, Convert Vinyl to Digital, Anti-Skate and Variable Pitch Control Black
$342.02
(7,764)
Only 5 left in stock - order soon.
$342.02
(7,764)
Only 5 left in stock - order soon.
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This Item  Audio-Technica AT-LP120BK-USB Direct-Drive Professional Turntable (USB & Analog), Black |  |  |  |  |  | |
| Price | Currently unavailable. | -10% $189.99 List: $209.99 | $259.98 | $219.00 | $219.00 | $399.00 |
| Delivery | — | Get it as soon as Monday, May 6 | Get it as soon as Wednesday, May 8 | Get it as soon as Friday, May 3 | Get it as soon as Friday, May 3 | Get it as soon as Thursday, May 2 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Sound quality | ||||||
| Giftable | ||||||
| For beginners | ||||||
| Value for money | ||||||
| Bluetooth connectivity | ||||||
| Sold By | — | Angels Horn | Angels Horn | Amazon.com | Firemall LLC | Amazon.com |
| power source | Corded Electric,Usb Cable | Corded Electric | Corded Electric | DC | Corded Electric | Corded Electric |
| connectivity tech | Wired | Bluetooth | Wired, Wireless | Wireless | Bluetooth | Wireless, Wired |
| signal format | Analog | Analog | Digital | Analog | — | Analog |
| voltage | 115 volts | 12 volts | 15 volts | 110 volts | — | — |
| model name | — | — | H00501 | AT-LP60XBT-BK | — | ATLP120XBTUSB |
| material | — | Maple | Plastic, Wood | Plastic | Plastic | — |
Reviews with images
For 5 Years It Has Exceeded My Original Expectations, Direct Drive Simplicity, Good Vibration Isolation, Sounds Great
The Audio Technica AT-LP120-USB Direct-Drive Pro Turntable is perfect for my living room home theater. I've been using it for almost 5 years and it has been perfect and exceeded my expectations. The USB connection is nice for ripping albums to MP3. Plays my vinyl collection perfectly with fully manual operation.This turntable is connected with my Denon AVR-X2200W receiver. It does not have a low-level phono input so I enabled the pre-amp built into the turntable/ This works perfectly with an aux input on my Denon.I LIKE:+ The AT95E Dual Moving Magnet Cartridge Sounds Great!+ Direct Drive Platter+ Easy Assembly/Setup+ USB Output For Ripping Vinyl To MP3+ The Silver/Black Color Scheme Looks Nice+ Good Vibration Isolation (little nubbins on the bottom of the feet do a great job!)+ Power Cord Is Plenty Long: Thoughtful!+ Speeds Include 33 1/3, 45 and 78 RPM+ Pitch Control to fine tune platter speed+ 45 Single Adapter IncludedI DON'T LIKE:- No Automatic Lift At The End Of The Album (Thump-Thump-Thump)ASSEMBLY:Assembly was simple and the enclosed instructions were clear and step-by-step. No tools needed. The beltless direct drive does not use a belt. Just drop it into place. Drop the thick rubber mat onto the platter and that part is done.Next install the counterbalance on the tone arm and the moving magnet phono cartridge. Both mount easily following instructions. Remember removing the guard on the cartridge. Next zero the arm (get it so it balances then set the pressure at 1.5 grams and set the anti-skid to 1.5 too. The tone arm is setup.Finally drop the lid in place with the hinges placed in the obvious slots of each, then check the settings for pre-amp on the back. The default is for pre-amp off so I needed to turn it on for the aux input of my Denon receiver.If you plan to use the USB output you might want to plug the B end of the cable into the socket at the back of the turntable.OPERATION:Lift the lid (stays up by itself, of course). Place a record on the turntable, Set the speed if not already set, set your receiver input to the one used for your turntable and use the lift to gently drop the needle at the start of the album. After that just enjoy!I used the USB output to rip a few albums back when I first got the turntable. The included software worked fine on my Windows 7 Pro laptop and got the job done. It's been a while since the last time I used that.CONCLUSIONS:I got this turntable so I can play my vinyl collection on my living room home theater system. It has been a perfect fit for years now and sounds great. The lack of automatic start/stop is a little annoying with the end of the album thump-thump-thump. It has lots of advanced features I don't usually use like pitch control. reverse spin and the strobe.The AT-LP120-USB does everything I need and my only wish is to have auto-lift at the end of the album. Even with that one consideration the AT-LP120-USB has fully exceeded my expectations over the years I've been using it. My vinyl collect sounds great and I've had no problems in 5 years. For me that's 5 stars!
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