Side by Side Comparison of: Audio-Technica

Bought this as a replacement when my old, 30 years worth, turntable died, and have used it to convert my LPs to MP3s. It has performed flawlessly, right out of the box, as I would expect, given the price. It lacks auto-return at the end of the record, but that's OK with me, since that feature makes use of complicated mechanical connections that can go wrong. Hope I can get another 30 years out of this turntable.

Not my old Technics SL-1200MK2 (I wish I never trusted them to my so called friend), but a really good second if you are not interested in dropping major coin. It has been years since I was robbed of my beloved MK2s, so I do not have in depth recollection of their awesomeness, but the LP120s have all of the bells and whistles that I remember. I am sure there is some quality differences and the tone arm is porable not as good. But I cannot tell the difference now. The LP120 works and sounds great. I am not using the USB so no comment on the A2D converter.

This turntable was an upgrade from an Audio-Technica AT-LP 60. I have been listening to my vinyl more and more lately and, while there wasn't anything wrong with my old turntable, I just kept thinking/feeling that I wasn't getting the best sound from it so I started looking around for an upgrade. I looked at offerings from Pro-Ject, U Turn and others... with most of those I would have ended up spending more for the turntable and then also have to purchase an amp to place between my turntable and my receiver (which doesn't have a Phono input).

I realize that many "audiophiles" aren't crazy about this turntable because of the built-in phono amp. I'm not one of those guys who sits around in a smoking jacket sipping brandy... analyzing the sound quality of my music. I am a guy who's listened to music all his life, loves great music and a great, big sound coming out of his speakers. This turntable delivers like Domino's for me and my needs. From a build-quality perspective it's definitely a step up from my old turntable. It is heavy (there is a large metal weight bolted inside the bottom of the chassis (I found this out by watching a couple youtube videos). Even though the chassis is plastic on the outside, the weight and feel of the switches/controls feels really good. Everything from the power switch to the start/stop button to the cueing lever feels like good quality to me. The hinged cover opens with a good, solid feel and stays put in the open position. There are a lot of features here that I'll probably never use... not a DJ so I don't know that I really need to change the pitch of my music or play a record backwards. If you're interested in doing any of these things they're here for you. I do really like the pop-up light tho. It keeps me from having to turn on brighter lights to line the stylus up with the beginning of the record.

I did spend a bit more to get the black version, but I'm happy with the way it looks with all the rest of my other components which happen to be black. If you are interested in upgrading components you can always get a higher-quality cartridge/stylus. I don't hate the one it came with which is the Audio-Technica AT95E (the green one). Apparently this turntable used to come with a lesser-quality cart that was white.

One last thing, and it's a very important note. My old Audio-Technica turntable's cover got scratched up really bad during a move. I contacted Audio-Technica support to ask about ordering a new cover. I fully expected the cover to cost a crazy amount of money and for it to be such a huge pain in the ass that I'd just say the heck with it. I contacted their tech support and got a reply from someone within 24 hours. He was incredibly helpful and told me the part number I needed and the price. I was impressed with how nice and helpful he was as well as the fact that they weren't gouging me for the replacement cover (I think it was around $20). I called him back and ordered the replacement, shipping was a very reasonable $4 and it was on my doorstep within 3 days. I was surprised and impressed with the service I got... something I don't think most people can say very often.

I love this so much. I've been using a Crosley record player for the last couple years even though I know they're low quality and actually damage your vinyl in the long run (didn't have the budget to upgrade) but since I received this turntable yesterday and started listening to all of my new and old records I can't believe how much they have come to life. It's like listening to music for the first time all over again. The sound quality is out of this world, even with my old speakers (still waiting for the new speakers to arrive this week). The player it's self is great quality as well. Everything is made of metal and is really great quality. It's heavier than I was expecting but that just goes to show that it's not made of cheap materials. Highly recommend this turntable!

Bought the Audio-Technica AT-LP120-USB to replace my Technics SL-1300 purchased in 1975. The Technics was still running great after many years, until the circuit board was cooked in a lightning strike -- lost lots of electronic equipment in that storm. The AT arrived in good shape; unpacking and setup were straightforward, no problems. I did swap out the cartridge supplied on the AT with the Ortofon VMS 20E I was using on the Technics. Ortofon tracks very nicely at 1 gram. AT has a great design feature in permitting selection of line or phono out for the analog audio output. My amp has phono preamp, so I chose phono. Would have liked the phone cables about one foot longer, but they just made it to the amp. Moment of truth came -- put a 33 on the turntable and listened. Great sound reproduction. Speed was rock solid. No problems with the stylus tracking. Everything worked well.

The AT is not a Technics SL-1300, but it's probably the closest thing to it in the market, at a price that is very affordable for the build quality. I don't have the option of automatic operation of the tone arm I had on the Technics -- all manual on and off the vinyl now, but other than that, this AT is a great turntable.

Time will tell how the build quality holds up -- will it last 37 years like the Technics did? I'll never know, because at 67, I won't live that long!

Highly recommend this turntable.

I have owned 5 different record players including a vintage turntable. There are many things I love about this player. I like that it has a dust cover that you can close while a record is spinning on it. It comes with a slip mat for under the vinyl. I like that it has an automatic arm that will play and return itself for you. I was nervous about having an arm that lowers itself onto the vinyl mechanically, I was scared it would eventually break and scratch up my vinyls. It has not done this and it has proven me wrong. It works so well and fluid.
There is a button to manually lower the arm at any point in the record, which is helpful for when you have something other than a 12" or a 7".
I have owned some lower end record players and I would recommend this over a Crosley any day. I've never owned one of those suitcase models, but I have used them, and don't even think about getting one of those. You will be so much happier with this turntable. The sound quality is great, and the Bluetooth was not a feature I was thinking I would use, but I was proven wrong again. The Bluetooth connects seamlessly with my soundbar that I use for my television. The sound quality is beautiful. I like the sound of vinyl and it really compliments the records even using a soundbar. If you are back and forth between models and can't decide, choose this one. I was you, couldn't decide and deterred by questionable reviews. Get this turntable, you won't be sorry.
Thanks for a great product audio technica!

Great deal for your money if you want an entry level turntable for ocassional LP listening (my case). Can't explain myself with those technical or esoteric (lol) concepts about vinyl and turntables but I can say that this one meet my expectactions offering a great sound through a good old Akai system that I own. Bass run smooth and treble don't hurt that much. Stereo signal is very well placed and enough wide (I tested with the 2016 edition of Piper at the Gates of Dawn). This is a entry level turntable as I said, so there's no weight or antiskate arm control. What do you want for THAT price? Plugged through the PHONO input of my amp/receiver the LP60 is really a very easy gear to setup and enjoy. Very well packaged, understable user`s manual, 3 different cables for the 3 different configurations of listening you can choose. About the design is very simple (aluminium finishing) and maybe is a bit light, dust cover looks not that solid so an extra caution to manipulate it will be good.

The only thing that could be better is a vintage one in good shape. The problem with vintage is that how does one *really* know it is in good shape without taking it home? The best you can hope for is to discern that it actually works. If you don't have the time or money to gamble on vintage gear, go for this one.

I have 3 other turntables, against which to compare it:

1) Audio-Technica AT-LP120-USB. (from here on, I will refer to this as the '120' and the AT-LP60 as the '60) This is a great turntable. It looks better, feels better, but I can't say that I can tell the difference in sound it produces. Some of the things we pay extra for on that model are:

a) Quartz timing control. This is something of value.
b) 78 RPM speed, if you want the option of being able to play back the pre-1950 records. This is something of value.
c) Manual pitch adjustment. I'm told some bad recordings had the speed off, so this is a way to manually correct it. I've got a couple hundred records, and have not yet found one that had the speed obviously off, so I can't see any value in this.
d) Reverse direction. I can't see any value in this either. Some records have hidden messages if you play them backwards. Seems like something that might give a little thrill to hear it once or twice, but to pay extra for this ability? Nah, just go listen to those albums on YouTube to get your thrill.
e) Electronic controls. These will probably hold up better many years down the road than the mechanical controls of the 60. No moving parts = fewer failure points.
f) Counterbalanced tonearm. In theory, this is better, as we can adjust the stylus to ride heavily enough in the grooves to provide good sound, but not so heavy as to cause undue wear to the records. I've read elsewhere where someone measured the weight at the stylus and found this one to be 3 g. When I got the weight adjusted properly on my 120, it was 2.5 g. Not a notable difference, in the end.
g) S-shaped tonearm. They say this is better, but I'll be darned if I can hear the difference.
h) Interchangeable headshell and cartridge. They say a change of cartridge makes a big difference in sound. Some people will spend hundreds of dollars on high-end cartridges to tailor the sound just to their liking. That seems silly to me. Why not just adjust the tone controls on one's amplifier? Or get a proper EQ component. Anyway, I can admit there could be some value in this.
i) USB out option. The 60 is available with this too, for an extra $20. It works great with the free Audacity software. I've ripped several LPs to .wav and .mp3. It's worth paying extra for this feature, if only to make the records portable. But you don't need to upgrade to the 120 to get it.
j) Much heavier. The 120 has a big steel plate inside. I'm not sure what is up with this obsession for vibration dampening. There's no discernable difference in sound as a result of all this damping. Any difference heard would be mostly down to the cartridge.
k) LED strobe, to confirm at a glance that the RPM is correct.

More comparison between the 60 and 120 later.

2) Ion Vinyl Transport turntable. This uses the same mechanism as the ever-popular Crosley Cruiser, but adds battery operation, which I love. With the battery operation option, it is totally portable, not just portable in theory. I bring this to me to the Goodwill and other places for listening to used records. Gotta find out if those scratches are "skippers" before paying the full $1 and taking up room in my apartment for more junk. I bought this for sixty bucks at a local Half Price Books store, which also sells records. I just love this turntable, but it is not at all in the same league as this AT-LP60. It has a ceramic cartridge instead of magnetic. Sound quality is pretty terrible in this class of turntable. If you're listening to a Crosley with this mechanism, you're really missing out on how good vinyl can actually sound.

3) Fisher-Price from 1978. I just gave this to my daughter for Christmas. Check feeBay, you'll see the one. Believe it or not, this has a much better speaker than the Crosley/Ion/Jenson ones, and hence, better sound quality. But of course not comparable to this one, since it still has a ceramic cartridge. For techno-geeks, it has a really interesting drive mechanism though! (check YouTube for 'how to repair a fisher-price turntable)

Now if you're looking at this turntable and you're on a budget, you're likely also looking at the 120 model, for over double the price. Having both of them now, I think this 60 is a much value. For the money, it gives just what one is after:

1) Affordable
2) HiFi-grade sound
3) Not too big or heavy
4) Semi-automatic operation. This is the key difference. It makes it very nearly as convenient to play a record as a CD, yet we still have the option to do it manually.

The 60is about 40% smaller and 70% lighter than the 120, yet it functions just as well. It doesn't take up as much room, and it isn't a back-breaker to occasionally move around.

The one con I've found so far about this turntable is that it comes with a felt slip mat. (same as on the 120) These are a disaster when it comes to static. I opened my 60 yesterday for Christmas, then re-packed it to bring home. I wasn't careful enough in repacking, and I crunched up the edge of the slip mat, so now the records don't spin flat. I pressed it underneath something heavy and flat last night, but it is still jacked up. I've got a couple cork ones inbound to replace these. That will address the static problem, as well as the crunched up problem.

In short, the 120 is probably a much heavier-duty turntable. It will run hour after hour, year after year and keep going. No belts to break, no mechanics to break, nothing to really go wrong, except maybe electronic. But considering it is basically a copy of the famous DJ-favored Technics 1200, which was a mature design to begin with, that's probably not even a concern.

The 60 is a lighter-duty unit. It MIGHT wear out after 10 years of constant, heavy use. But its a lot more affordable, a lot more convenient, and a lot lighter and smaller. (though it can still operate fully with the dust cover down)

I'm not an audiophile or a tech head, but I am a musician and I generally know what I like to hear. I know what sounds 'bad' to me, and I know what sounds 'good' to me. And to me, this turntable goes significantly beyond 'good'.

I have a fairly simple setup. I have this turntable connected to a Sonos Connect, and I send the audio to a group of Sonos Play:1 speakers throughout the home and occasionally the Sonos Playbar as well.

The turntable itself was a breeze to set up. Removed all the packaging and securing tape, put the turntable in place and fed the drive belt over the drive spindle, plugged in the power, plugged in the audio cables, and removed the needle cover. I was playing a record in 5 minutes from the UPS guy delivering this.

There is incredible clarity across the entire audible spectrum. The lows are deep but not muddy. The mids are punchy but not over-powering. The highs are crisp but not shrill.

For the price, I don't think I could have done any better. I love this turntable!

Just got one of these shipped all the way to Austria, was worried for a couple of days that the voltage and cycle frequency difference would be a problem, but it's absolutely not so. In the meantime I exchanged emails with Audio Technica's service center and support, and got a prompt reply that it's a DC controlled unit, meaning that if it's not a 120V current where you live, a simple voltage converter is sufficient.

The sound just blew me away, I put the unit straight through a test of fire by running it into a professional audio interface with direct monitoring (no AD/DA conversion), and from that to a pair of active Genelec studio monitors. To top it all, I fed it "The Headhunters" by Herbie Hancock. All I can say is wow. Super clean, full sound from the preamp in the unit, very good signal to noise ratio (barely audible hissing and crackling between tracks, not really perceivable when there's any kind of music going on). Let's see if it runs this well over time, so far I'm very impressed. Five stars.

BTW, if you check out the negative comments, some are talking about "how short the RCA cables are", and some are talking about the unit's "low volume". That's just audio ignorance running high around here. It comes with a pair of cables with which you can make an extension in two seconds, and the "low-volume" is because it comes with the pre-amp turned off. All you need to do to solve this "problem" is use your fingers to flip a switch in the back of the unit to "line" instead of phono. And if you complain that "assembling" the unit is difficult (putting three pieces together before running it), you're just beyond hope.

This turntable is amazing! I bought this about 9 months ago, and it is a machine that never gets old. It is easy to use once you get in the swing of things, and sounds fantastic on my sound system. The only downside is the internal preamp. The problem is that the preamp seriously limits the capabilities of this turntable! It creates a weird digital sound when switched on, and even when off you can tell that it is there (according to many people). Luckily this turntable is built pretty simply, so removing the preamp should be a breeze! This is also a great turntable to hotrod into the perfect machine. I highly recommend getting the heavy audio technica counterweight as the stick weight has to be set very far from the pivot point. The heavier weight makes for better tracking. Also after 9 months of fairly constant use, I am starting to get the urge to upgrade my cartridge. While AT makes a good beginner cartridge, I know that this turntable can produce better sound. For those reasons I'm knocking off one star, but do not despair this is a great product!!

OK...I don't normally write many reviews. But I felt compelled to write about this turntable. First of all, I will start out by saying I grew up with TT's most of my life. I did have a pair of Technics 1200s way back in the day and worked in every Dance club within a 50 mile radius at one time as well. Then as I got older and the digital world caught on...I won't say I lost my passion for vinyl...but did find myself amused by CD technology and was hooked. And like many other people my age, the crates of vinyl got stored and rarely played. I had also gotten married and no longer worked in the club scene, so I sold the 1200's. And opted for a single Direct drive Auto Technics Turntable just to always have one available. But it only got turned on a few times in many years. Well, recently while going through some old keepsake items, I kept looking at those old crates of records and caught a new vinyl bug. Little did I know...I was already behind the 8 ball and Vinyl has been all the rage. So I began playing the records again. But that old Technics unit had sit so long...it just wasn't working right. So the search was on and I ran into this one. Read all the rave reviews about it and for the money, felt it was a good deal. Besides the fact that it looks almost identical to my old 1200's...so it was a no brainer. I'm not going to be Djing with it but I already knew my way around it. It came delivered in perfect shape. I did an extensive set up on it. Plugged it in and gave it a whirl.
Well...It tracks great and is a very heavy duty build quality. I did pick up an extra stylus head and opted for an Audio Technica AT440MLB cart and now this thing really sounds good. The AT95E that now comes stock is pretty good as well but it has it's drawbacks. First off, this TT has a built in Pre amp and usb port. It comes with Audacity software to load onto your computer so you can just plug the unit into your computer and archive all your vinyl to MP3, etc. But it is a known fact on these Turntables, this built in Pre amp, even when not in use tends to darken or muddy up the overall sound or your records. Many people have pulled the pre amp out and experienced a much brighter sound. Many youtube vids showing this done. I plan on keeping mine stock just in case I ever want to archive all my vinyl one day..and have worked around the whole "Muddy, Dark" sound issue with the use of the AT440MLB cart and a little ol thing called an EQ. Yes...an EQ does wonders on any analog type equipment. A little EQ adjustment for Vinyl...store the setting in one of the six pre sets on the Technics EQ and all done.
All in all...if your looking for an audiophile turntable...keep looking. There are great ones out there. But your going to spend double the price just to get in the ballpark. Not including the cart. But if you just want to play your records with a quality unit that will sound great, not tear up your records and looks fantastic I highly recommend this unit. Of course though...the set up is crucial and very important. They make this unit in Silver and Black and I wore myself out trying to decide which one to get. But I finally opted for the Black one and so glad I did. It is a High Gloss Black and looks fantastic. Very classy looking.
I gave it four stars because I did have to make a cart change to get the audio quality I was looking for. But in all fairness, that is a personal thing and you may find the one that comes with it is perfect for you. Pick one up and try it out, everyone should have at least one Turntable !

This is a really cool, reasonably priced turntable that's fun to use and sounds very good, but it's not without its faults. First of all, my table arrived with a cracked dustcover lid. I contacted Amazon for a replacement lid and ended up having to return the whole turntable. Amazon made the return painless and the replacement table arrived before I even shipped the other one back! Not an inherent flaw maybe, but just thought I'd share my experience.

Of greater concern are the markings on the supplied counter weight which I found to be inaccurate. After balancing the tonearm (something I've done many times with various turntables) and rotating the knob to "2", I checked the tracking force with my digital gauge and found that it measured about 2.4 grams instead of the intended 2 grams... quiet a discrepancy! I tried rebalancing the tonearm several more times but the resulting tracking force still measured much too high. Potential owners should be aware of this and be prepared to verify the tracking force using their own gauge.

And last but not least there's the sound quality. Like I said, it's very good... but not great. As an experiment, I swapped the universal headshell with the mounted cartridge over to a couple of vintage tables that I own and listened. The time required to balance the other tonearms and adjust the tracking force made an immediate comparison impossible. But despite the lag, I'm pretty certain that both of the other tables sounded more dynamic and involving with the supplied AT95 cartridge. The AT-LP 120 sounds slightly canned in comparison, possibly the result of having an onboard phono preamp although this was bypassed for listening.

But despite these minor foibles, this is still one of the coolest and adjustable turntables I've ever owned. Don't pay attention to the reviewers who criticize it for not being "automatic" (it doesn't claim to be), or for the cables being too short (mine are plenty long enough), or the built-in preamp not sounding the best (it's actually quiet decent). Warmly recommended!

And it spins at 78RPM. =D
So...
I was a little spooked by some of the reviews but I had to see for myself. I'm glad I took the chance.
It is so close to a Technics, but has a different name badge. Only a couple clues give it's Chinese heritage away from the outside, plastic hinges and a thinner platter that has a belt rim underneath so it can be used on the belt drive models. The spindle has a little play in it, but it's close enough for this price level.
Most everything else checks out fine by me. The platter is straight, the tone arm is too.
I like the features. A start button with a brake that starts and stops the platter in about a quarter turn, height adjustment for the tone arm assembly, target light, switch-able pitch control (20% and 10%) pitch bypass button, slip mat and cartridge is included, a pre amp and a digital/analog out via USB.
And did I mention a noise gate?
I put on my headphones and turned the volume up to check out the noise floor, flicked the tone arm to see if it was passing a signal and the pre amp jumped up in volume then right back down. It took me a couple tries t get a feel for the actual noise under the gate. It is well below the rumble and groove hiss of a record.
You may have noticed I pulled a star off though, here's why.
The USB out clipped horribly on my test 78 recording. I've posted pictures of the waves. The first is from the analog out.

Oh well, at least it has an analog out, and that sounds fine.

1. Packaged in an Amazon Box with Bubble wrap on One side ( out of Possible Eight ) . No Damage to TT so good
2. TT itself tightly boxed in Styrofoam, bring a utility knife
3. Instructions were fine 15 minutes to assemble ( went online to adjust arm weight as I have never done that before )
4. Patch cord is ridiculously short so buy some RCA couplings and a RCA cable as long as you'll need for your installation.
5. This thing is big and heavy so plan ahead, I would imagine that this WILL bend fiberboard entertainment center shelves.
6. Unpacked 1 of my 2 records, Pink Floyd-Wish You Were Here, which has never been played. There was a lot of crackling
I then used the Carbon Fiber Brush I got when I ordered TT, and I cannot recommend that thing enough. Reduced crackling 90%
7. There is no ( or Very, very low ) rumble however, in-between songs you can hear the " Cogging " of the sling-type Direct drive
Motor which is normal from what I've read. It completely disappears when even the quietest music starts, but if things like that
bother you look elsewhere. Most people listening under normal conditions wont notice it, with headphones and in super quiet
conditions audiophile types will.
8. Sorry, didn't use usb

Went to half priced books blew 40 bucks on 10 albums ( Including 3 Doubles ) and This thing does sound nice, tight punchy bass
good highs and Midrange. Sade-Diamond Life was great her voice has this nice little rasp and Jethro Tulls - Living in the Past
the flute sounds really cool.

I debated buying one of those record cleaning things for 80-129 bucks, because I plan on buying most of my stuff from used
places, but chose to hold off. went to youtube looked under washing records by hand. I tried it and it looked like a new record
and sounded fine. just get some good quality microfiber towels.

I know these fall more into the "Toy Table" type of record player, but they have worked well for me. Im sort of new to the Vinyl game, but this has held up. After moving and leaving it shaking around in the UHaul, i did find that it was playing at a slightly high RPM. It was a simple fix once I looked it up online. You just need a phone app that can tell you the RPM of your table and then adjust one screw at the bottom.

Overall, solid purchase. The quality matches the price: no more, no less.

I'm no expert on turntables, but I do know it sounds good and my dad can now listen to his record collection again. I got it on sale during the holidays and I couldn't be happier neither could he.

If you just want access to vinyl, this is the turntable for you. It sounds as good as any other music device to the untrained ear and untrained it shall stay.

For the price it's a nice turntable. I had a Pioneer PL-530 back in 1977 that was direct drive and one of the best at the time but it was very expensive back then. To be honest this one plays as good, minus the strobe and a few features. This unit looks nice too. Wish vinyl records never went away for so long because they truly sound better. This will be just fine for someone that wants good quality without spending hundreds more.

Bought this for my sons birthday to replace an old cheesy record player he has been using. Nice quality overall and works great. Sounds great with the Edifier R1280T Powered Bookshelf Speakers I also ordered. Overall both my son and I are impressed with how this turntable has worked out.

I recently moved cross-country, and one of the many things I had to sacrifice in the move was my old turntable (and entire stereo system, really). This saddened me, but it gave me an opportunity to buy my first-ever NEW turntable, as all of my previous ones were 1970s or 80s models that had been picked from yard sales or handed down to me. I'm not entirely sure if that means I have a high or low standard -- many people swear by turntables from that era, but I can't claim to be able to tell the difference, unless we're talking about a high-end Technics model.

Now, to the AT-LP60. I had been weighing this purchase for some time, debating between this and a similar Pioneer model, but was ultimately swayed toward this one by the sheer quantity and quality of reviews. I hooked it up to a basic Yamaha home-theater-in-a-box, so my speakers weren't exactly Bowers & Wilkins. After figuring out the preamp feature, the setup was surprisingly quick -- just attach the belt and assemble the pieces of the turntable. Assembly took about 5 minutes. It has fairly simple controls -- just buttons for stop/start, changing speed from 33/45, and raising and lowering the needle.

As for pure sound, I can't say this is the best turntable I've ever used, but one would be hard-pressed to find a better one in the $100 budget range. I'll probably upgrade at some point within the next few years, once I'm able to justify spending more money on a stereo setup -- but for now? This is all I could really ask for.

Just had it stop working not but a couple of hours ago......had it for about a year and a half, and about six months after the warranty runs up, the spindle stops spinning. I take it apart and notice a sort of burning smell, so I'm guessing the motor went ka-put on me.

Loved it before it stopped working. If you pick one up, look into an extended warranty or something. I know the reviews are mostly positive, but sometimes, things like these happen.

I bought 2 of these. With one i'm very happy with the other in less de 35 days I had to send it back for repair (the turntable turn on but the plate would not move) and this is a item that you don't used everyday maybe on weekends so it was practically New. Amazon didn't cover the warranty of 30 days because it was 35 days. So I had to send it to Audiotec and had to pay $80.00 for shipping. So you see I am not to happy.

My sister ordered this as a Christmas present for her boyfriend. It came in fine however a few weeks after we got it, it broke. Amazon was a little difficult in the return process because it didn't come as a "gift" but we were able to get it taken care of pretty easily. Overall, he says he likes it now. It plays well and the speakers project good sound. I feel like for the money, it's not as nice as I would have liked but I am not unsatisfied in my purchase.

Just like so many others here on Amazon and elsewhere on the 'net, I received my ATLP120 with severely warped platter. This seems to be a huge problem with this model. Audio Technica needs to re-source the platter to another Chinese factory or get some QC in place.

Why is that my $80 Radio Shack turntable that is being replaced by this one has NO visible runout in its platter while the Audio Technica bounces up and down by about a 1/8"?

I didn't want to deal with the hassle of returning this thing or asking Audio Technica to replace the platter with another warped one so I fixed this issue myself...

I picked up the high spots with a marker while the platter was spinning, then clamped the platter to a surface plate, upside down, and hammered flat the low spots with a block of wood and a dead-blow hammer. It's still not perfect but is within the range of acceptability. I of course should not have had to do this.

Disappointing.

Based on many reviews here and all around the Internet praising the AT-LP120, I purchased one, despite a few reviewers stating that this model can be prone to producing some level of buzz or hum in the audio path. I figured that this must be a relatively rare problem, so I went for it. Unfortunately, the unit I received did produce such a hum. It might not have been very detectable listening only through speakers at a low or moderate volume level, but most of my listening is done through headphones, and, in my opinion, the amount of discernible hum was unacceptable. This hum was present when using the built-in preamp, as well as when disabling it and connecting to the Phono input of my 80's-era receiver. (Didn't attempt to connect to a PC via USB, since I had no plans to regularly use this feature.) I did a little troubleshooting/experimenting based on some other reviewers' comments, and the same hum was present using different cartridges, and even with no cartridge or headshell installed at all! In all cases, it varied in intensity as the tonearm was moved over different areas of the platter, but was also constant when the tonearm was in the arm rest. The only time it stopped was when the turntable was powered-off. This was very disappointing, because this is a beautiful and seemingly well-built machine that I would've been proud to own. I considered attempting to rig a ground wire to see if this might reduce the hum, but then I would've made the unit unreturnable, and I didn't feel that I should have to make electrical modifications or buy extra accessories to get a brand new device from a reputable company to work properly. I also considered requesting an exchange, but didn't want to go through the process of unpacking, assembling, adjusting, and testing a second unit, only to risk receiving a replacement with the same problem, that would then need to be carefully repacked and returned--again.

What's ironic is that Audio-Technica has been in the analog sound reproduction business for a long time, but the strongest aspects of this model (at least with the one I received) were visual and mechanical as opposed to acoustic. Ultimately, I ended up reluctantly spending about twice as much on a "Used-Like New" Technics SL-1200MK2. Using the same cartridges that I installed on the AT-LP120, placing it in the same location, and connecting it to the same Phono input on the same receiver, the 1200 produces no such hum.

Overall, I still think that the LP120 is a very good product, especially at its price point, and is probably as excellent as most everyone says, if this hum issue was only a fluke and not a general design problem.

Incidentally, this is the first item I've ever returned in the decade or so I've been an Amazon customer, and I have to say that their return process is excellent--nearly as easy and efficient as buying!

After a week of daily use I've run into a problem where record will occasionally slow down and then get back up to speed.

Doing some reading and it seems like this is a rather common problem with the LP60. I saw suggestions that the belt that comes with the LP60 is crappy which causes the slowdown issues. I was told I should get the $40 upgrade kit which provides a new stylus and belt which may fix the problem.

If this fixes it I would consider this $140 record player not $100. If it doesn't then I'm afraid I've wasted my money and i'll be on the hunt for a better unit.

This is what it is: a practical, affordable, entry-level record player to test the waters before making sure that you want to plunge into vinyl and/or a full sound system upgrade.

Pros: Affordable. Easy to use. Automatic. Line-out feature (preamplifier) needed for most modern receivers is there. Overall - it plays records!!

Neutrals: Upon purchasing this turntable, I also purchased a better stylus and belt from another website (I think it is actually called something obvious like "ATLP60 upgrade")! After a year, I finally added a lower-end external preamplifier (TCC TC-750LC) as a test. It has improved the sound significantly - there is now much more range, sound is less 'flattened' out to my ear and less muddy. But...

Cons: The sound is just not where it should be even with the better stylus, belt, and amplifier. After a year of ownership, fiddling with everything on my receiver (Marantz), speakers (Polk RTiA1s and RTiA5s, and, recently, a vintage set), comparing cds to records, listening to records on other systems, etc., I'm no longer satisfied with this turntable. The cartridge cannot be changed (without, as I understand it, some seriously invasive cutting and soldering), there is no ground wire for external amplifiers, and the RCA cables are hard-wired in (they can't be switched out). Also, the RCA cables are VERY short. The entire thing save for the turntable itself is plastic, plastic, plastic.

Bottom line: If you're not sure what the future holds regarding your interest in records and turntables, this is a good place to start. If you want a GREAT record player, this is not the deck for you.

Very cheaply made - very light. No real counterbalance on the tone arm. The last turntable I purchased was 35 years ago and this one doesn't even compare in terms of quality or fidelity. I was disappointed at the sound using my old albums even through my old Yamaha receiver. The usb connection is helpful for connecting with my pc. if you are looking for a cheap turntable to transfer vinyl to mp3 then this may serve your needs. If you are interested in listening to albums like we did in the olden days then look for a better unit. Be forewarned - this turntable doesn't deliver the true fidelity of the 70's and 80's.

We are on the 2nd one I bought from Amazon. This is the 2nd one I've gone through in 2 years. The first one the Arm mechanism screwed up. This one I have only had for 8 months. It is playing all my 33 1/3 records fast. There is no adjustment for pitch so I can no longer recommend this Turntable for purchase. These are entry level and throwaway if anything goes wrong. I just bought a Sony entry level turntable. See if that works out better for me. I have changed my stars to three from five I originally gave it and that is being generous.

I've had this little guy for 3 weeks now, used daily. Most of the reviews said for the money cant beat it; while this is probably true I have noticed a few things that keep if from being 5 stars.

Sound- this is no $12k hand crafted fine tuned precision piece, but sounds pretty damn good...especially for the money. See the theme developing?

Equipment- shipped with a F/M to 3.5mm jack which for my setup was needed, this wasn't explained in the one I bought and so I now have 2. :(. Helpful. ive noticed the static builds up pretty quick with the out of the box setup. The belt drive was easy to setup but doesn't come put together. Anyone with half a brain should get this to work no problem.

The problems I've experienced are as follows. I have serveral brand new pressings, cleaned and prepped for listening. I've experienced random skipping on a few diffent albums and at different places on the records. Again these are brand new pressings skipping on first play, with no dust or scratches on viynl. The other problem I have had is the needle lift button feels spring loaded, and on mine doesn't return pretty much everytime. Which if left unchecked keeps the needle just on the viynl and that's no good. I have to pull out the button if I use it to lift the head so the needle sits properly. Picture added one shows the button pressed in completely, the other after releasing the button but not returning to its start position.

Overall for the money it's not bad...but if you're into this in a semi serious way take the money you'd spend on this unit and get its better built sister or another player all together. I'm already looking at getting a replacement. This is only after 3 weeks.

Kind of heartbreaking, actually, as it worked so well for the first month. We are using the built in pre amp, the audio cables are hard wired into the player and we plug them directly into speakers. Well a month or two in and it would only play in one speaker. Switch cable sides, switch the problem side. Also it's not the speakers as other things play fine. Should have returned it then and there but we failed to. One month ago, the other side went out, now it doesn't play at all. I feel almost 100% certain the problem lies with those built in audio cables, which a couple other reviews did mention. We actually took to two different repair places, and so far nobody has been able to fix. But not sure how good those places were - I am now tempted to either A. Buy a receiver and see if it will work differently then or B. Carefully open her up myself as I really do think it is as simple as a loose wire that got tugged on one too many times. Will update if either of those works but failing that I guess our $300 record player is dead.

Fine as a traditional R.C.A. jack turntable but it does not work with USB as stated. I tried it with three computers, windows xp, windows 7 and windows 10. The turntable was not recognized by any of them. I consider my money wasted. The turntable was purchased to preserve albums to audio files. This apparently cannot be done. For me, the product is useless.

came sloppily packaged - tone arm wasn't secured, the needle wasn't covered and was twisted. slip mat is missing. would not recommend buying from this outfit

i got this turntable, everything works as expected except when i plugged it into my stereo receiver i found that sound was only coming out of one speaker. I tested everything even bought another preamp because i thought there may be a problem with the built in one. I have another cartridge i ordered...hopefully that will fix the problem

I bought this as a gift for my son who enjoyed the one I have. The one I own works fine and the sound is good but the one I bought for my son has a problem with the left channel going out. At first (out of the box) I though it was a connection or a problem with the amp. After trying a few things it started working. It worked fine for 2 months and the left channel stopped working again. This time I switched my turntable with his and eliminated the amp. Everything worked so I took his turntable and hooked it up on my amp. Again it started to work fine. It worked for 2 more months and while listening to Paul Simon, Still Crazy After All These Years, the left channel went out. After reading the posts were people had problems the left channel seems to be a common problem. Unfortunately since it was four months since I bought it I had to send it back to Audio-Technica on my dime ($28). There is a one year warranty on it but payiny the shipping for a problem which seems to be a common problem isn't very good customer service. When I get it back I will update this post,

I could never get any quality sound from this. The customer service was good. They tried to fix the problem but not only was I never able to get the quality sound I had to turn it up very high to get any sound. I tried all the things that you were supposed to do. I read and read but to no avail. I do not recommend this at all. I gave it 2 stars because their customer service was good.

Ordered this TT as an "entry level" device; not expecting the greatest audio fidelity, just something to start with. The motor speed was faster than it should have been, causing all albums to sound pitch-shifted upward by nearly a whole note. Further research online revealed that this is common, and that the replacement motor is less than $6.00. I guess that explains a lot.
There are holes on the bottom of the TT for manually adjusting speed for 33 1/3 and 45, but not worth the trial and error.
I returned this TT, and plan to INVEST in something worthwhile soon... after a LOT more research.

I had to do about an hour of tuning just to get the speed setting right, seems like getting the rpm right is something they would do in QA but I guess its too cheap for that. If you are a hacker type and looking for something real cheap its probably okay. I was able to get it sounding alright by manually adjusting the potentiometer that controls the 33rpm motor speed. For anyone trying to do this there is a hole on the bottom which makes it really inconvenient to try and adjust because you can't do it while its spinning. You have to flip it on its side, make a tiny adjustment, flip it back down, put on your strobe disc (look it up if you need to figure out how to do this), then try it again to see if its right. Its not worth the hassle returning for me right now but I would tell my past self to get something a bit nicer next time.

I never write reviews on Amazon, and I mean never. I'm an amazon moocher, I read what other people say use it to make my decisions and am on my merry way. This time it's different. There are SO many good reviews for this product and I'm not sure why.

The idea of this turntable is great. Simple, easy to use, cheap. Unfortunately the latter is the thing that comes through the most. I set it up (sounded great by the way) and noticed that it was playing too fast. And no I was not using the 45 speed on a 33 LP. I had the 33LP speed selected, and it was making Bruce Springsteen sound like a thrash metal band.

No big deal I thought, surely there is a way to adjust the belt speed. Nope, none. So basically unless this comes to you PERFECTLY calibrated, which is a hard thing for any turntable to be nevertheless one for $100 you're at the mercy of your own luck of the draw.

After having this happen I saw it was a very common problem, just google AT-LP60 plays too fast, you'll be just as bummed as I was. Love the idea of this product, it just didn't work.

Let me start by saying I'm not a person that writes Amazon reviews. But, in an effort to help folks avoid the same mistake I made, here we go:

I'm not an avid vinyl connoisseur, by any means. I'm a regular guy who likes $1 records I find in garage sales and I very occasionally pop for a new re-release of a favorite album here on Amazon. I really needed a new record player and I did a little research and bought this one. Let me cut to the chase and tell you this: Here I am less than 6 months layer and I just bought ANOTHER player because this one was so frustrating.

To keep things short, my major problem was the lack of 'tracking weight' adjustment (how hard the needle pushes down on your records when it plays). There's really no needle adjustment at all.

Before you think "so what", let me clarify: If you ONLY play brand new records, it's not a big deal. They'll play fine. But put on a less than perfect record (which I have plenty of) and it WILL skip. Not because there's a big scratch anywhere...but because older records that aren't mint condition will cause this player's needle to jump. Since the tracking weight isn't adjustable there's nothing you can do besides put a penny on the needle arm to increase the weight (which ruins your records even more).

The fact that the tracking weight is too light and not adjustable makes this player worthless if you play a wide condition of records. Don't do it, no matter how tempting it looks unless you play ONLY brand new records all the time.

After learning alot in those 6 months, I took the advice of going to a local record shop that sells old/vintage turntables that have been refurbished (so you know they're in good shape). I only spent $50 more than I spent on this player and the difference is night and day. The vintage player is FAR higher quality than this adn only cost me maybe $50 more. Do that instead, don't make the same mistake I made by buying this.

Hopefully this will send someone in the right direction and save them the money I wasted. Good luck!

finally got a chance to plug it in and play some vinyls and I check everything to see if its 100% good so I hit the reverse button and I hear a clank from the motor.....I press forward and theres an even louder clank and it just stopped working immediately. not happy at all. especially when you just got a break after 6 months of straight military training

Was a great record player until it stopped working after a month. Everything works except the actual turn table. Stopped working while playing a record. Its been on its table with out any damage occurring to it. Not sure why it won't work. Was a couple of days over the return policy so wasn't able to return it or exchange for one that was working.

I received two defective units and had to give up on this model. While some have had good luck others have not. I wish I had a different experience, I would really rather not exchange turntables like this.

Died 3 months out of warranty with limited use. Motor would no longer start.

The quality control with these is extremely disappointing. The first one I got was OK for the most part, except that the motor would make a low-frequency mechanical noise when turning, and struggle under pressure. I thought at first that this was only out loud, and didn't get into the signal. But when sitting down in a quiet room with my headphones on listening to a song I'd ripped, I noticed how annoying it really is.

I opened it up in audacity, and found out that the noise is about 25dB quieter than the song itself, and about 40dB quieter than the pop of the needle first dropping onto the record. At a low and concentrated frequency, this is very noticable with decent headphones. And it's not like I can just edit it out, given that the music I play has a focus on bass. (Note that this noise only registers through the audio signal when the needle is on the record and the motor is turning. This is not an issue of grounding.)

So, I got it returned, and ordered a new one.

Same problem, but this time with an extra bonus: a warped platter! Time to get this one replaced as well. The biggest pain of all this is having to repackage the turntable for the refunds.

If you're lucky and the turntable doesn't come with any issues, I'm sure this turntable would be wonderful. The audio quality aside from the motor's noise is great, and the build feels real solid. But be prepared for the worst.

UPDATE: I've gone through another two of these, and they're all equally disappointing. In doing so, I also found out that the issues described in the first two paragraphs are all global issues present in the entire model, and you simply won't find an AT-LP120-USB without those problems. After spending a year scavenging Amazon for what finally might be a good turntable, I accepted my fate and ordered another AT-LP120-USB, hoping it would be at the very least as good as the first one I got. It was, for the first week or so. Then suddenly the anti-skate spring inexplicably broke off right after gently landing onto a new album that had arrived, turning the quality into an absolute record-eating mess.

And then I realized that there's just no hope for getting a turntable for less than $300 on Amazon, or at least a decent one with essential features like an adjustable counterweight, a cue lever, and a replaceable headshell/cartridge.

So I sent that one back, got a new one in the mail today. This one had a warped platter. I didn't even bother to unpackage the rest of it, since I knew I'd have to get it replaced. But now Amazon is refusing to give me a replacement because this one is already a replacement, and the price went up by $20 since I bought it. So now I have to choose between resorting to an even worse turntable from Amazon (note that this money I've been spending is in gift card credit, and if it wasn't, I'd just get a U-Turn Audio or something and move on with my life) after waiting weeks for my refund to process, or dealing with a 1mm warp.

Side note: If anyone's looking to buy $215 amazon gift card credit from me in a few weeks when my refund processes (if I decide to even get one), I'll be more than happy to be lifted out of this never-ending loop of over a year and 4 months of dealing with Amazon's refund wait and terrible turntable selection, to get one from a good website.

I had one of these for a couple years and it worked fine then the motor started running slow. Ordered one of these to replace and the belt squeaks (which plays through the speakers) and the motor is slow right out of the box. Amazon's customer service was excellent and they overnighted me a replacement, however the replacement is having the exact same issues out of the box. I've loved Audio Technica in the past and will still buy their products, but this will be the last turntable I ever buy from them.

Was a big fan of this product. Easy to use, sounded great, etc. One year later, it decided to stop spinning. Prior to this, I had to return a LP120 because it was not working. I have contacted Audio Technica so I will determine if this one star becomes five stars based on their support. We shall see.

Wanted to really love this product due to the high ratings and low price. However, the actual experience feel way too short.

The rpm is higher than normal. All songs sound different due to the the higher pitch as a result of the rpm.

The platter was warped. Not sure how this has already damaged my brand new vinyls but it is clearly visible and I rechecked the placement of the platter.

If you are planning on using the built-in preamp, it has a lot of static and distorts the sound. I can tell that the quality of the preamp is poor. I did get a louder sound with the preamp but it also distorted the sound and added a lot of static noise.

The output cable is only 2 or 3 feet long. I was able to connect it as I brought this as close to the receiver as possible. However, this is something that could easily be prevented by providing 2 extra feet.

I have returned this back to Amazon exactly 1 day after I received it as these issues are not something that will be fixed with time. I would recommend spending a little more and investing in a higher quality player. I am still looking for one and will probably end up buying one here or a used one off Craigslist. They are both a better option over this.

Worked fine for the first 45 days, didn't get to use it too much. Now apparently the needle is worn out or something as it will not play properly. Only played 10-15 records on it. Audio Technica AT-LP60 Fully Automatic Stereo Turntable System, Silver

the unit does not turn off and remains with a constant5 hum once the stylus has returned to the resting position. Contacted Audio-Technica for support about the hum. Whatever and all advice received did not resolve the issue which can only be stopped when the power lkine is disconnected from its power source. The persistence of the hum is a safety hazard. Hope the manufacturer/designer take this issue to heart. Most likely a manufacturer defect, whether in electronic components, manufacturing or design of the controlling electronic board start/Off. Would not recommend this unity to anyone.