Audio-Technica AT-LP120XUSB Manual Direct-Drive Turntable
Audio-Technica AT-LP120XUSB Manual Direct-Drive Turntable (Analogue & USB)
Founded in 1962 by Hideo Matsushita, Audio-Technica positioned itself immediately as a leader in the manufacture and design of innovative audio products.
Humility, passion, creativity and expertise in sound are the core values behind Audio-Technica’s legacy, greatly inspired by its founder – whose imprint on the company’s philosophy is still felt today.
Today, Audio-Technica’s audio products have become globally synonymous with consistently high sonic performance paired with impeccable build construction and artistic design.
| Weight: | 8 kg |
| Dimensions: | 45.2 x 35.2 x 14.16 cm; 8 Kilograms |
| Model: | AT-LP120XUSBBK |
| Colour: | Black |
| Dimensions: | 45.2 x 35.2 x 14.16 cm; 8 Kilograms |
Good sound easy to set up looks more expensive than the price.
This is a top quality turntable with excellent stylus. Preamp works well to send enough signal to a separate Bluetooth transmitter device if you want to connect it to your Bluetooth speaker. It is simply awesome. No regrets about buying this at all. Everyone is impressed by it. Heavy chassis so it is stable. Strobe shows perfect pace.
Only criticism…no auto return when lp is finished playing, but only a minor point would recommend to all.
all good but a bit slow to reach speed at 78rpm.
This was a reluctant purchase due to the failure of my old turntable, but I wish I had bought it sooner.
It does everything well and I’m sorry I didn’t buy it earlier.
Not one skip and the sound quality difference is unbelievable, so loud and warm. Quality build on the turntable and very heavy. Absolutely cannot recommend it enough.
his audio technica turntable is excellent value for money, its almost a technics 1210 turntable but not with the price tag , it works well with my demon pma-255uk amplifier and q aqustics speakers ,also my vinyl records are brought back to life , I was using a 1975 sharp tecknika turntable which was good but seen better days , overall very happy with audio technica at-lp120xusb turntable and nothing negative to say about i
A good quality turntable which I use with new Edifier R1280DB
speakers. Regarding sound quality I can not say
it is any better than my previous hi fi with belt turntable.
This turntable seems like a step backwards with No automatic
return arm. Even my previous two music systems from the 1970s and 1990s
had automatic return arm.
Only thing is the instructions for balancing the arm isn’t very clear but it’s excellent quality and sounds
I have been running an old Numark belt drive turntable which sounded ok but was getting on a bit.
This is about twice the weight and feels more solid, aluminium turntable and direct drive. It just sounds so much crisper and well balanced.
For those who were not around in the 70’s and 80’s this has a switchable pre-amp built in, which means you can switch it over to play with amps and speakers that do not have a phono socket.
Also the USB connection will make it easier to transfer to my laptop to play my collection in the car.
Price wise, I think everything has gone up, especially due to the vinyl revival, but comparatively wise to other decks out there, I think this was an excellent purchase.
After much reviewing of online articles/videos I set my mind upon the LP120XUSB (Silver). I have to say I believe I made the right choice – its a fantastic machine and so far I have enjoyed listening to every record played on it.
Pros:
In-built Amp (literally you just need to get some active speakers and away you go)
Upgrade Ability – Style/Cartridge can be upgraded if desired (One provided sounds fantastic to my ears though!)
Construction – Product feels well built and not cheap/plasticy
Direct Drive – Accurate Speeds , no complications of belts wearing etc
Sound – Fantastic sound quality
Speeds – LP120XUSB has 33,45,78 speed options providing the ability to player pretty much anything.
Cons:
Extras? – Not really a Con but , perhaps a AT Cleaning brush/Cloth could have been included (would have been nice)
In summary , if you are like me starting out and perhaps have a low end suitcase player. Highly recommend making the leap and getting something better such as the LP120XUSB (your ears will thank you for it !)
I have not owned a deck since my tangential arm deck back in the 90`s .By then had over about 1k+ 331/2 rpm`s. sold to by food ,during the recession. This deck is a shameless copy of the Technic`s deck.of that type. Goes together easily, and plays dam well a total joy.
This turntable/record player is brilliant I purchased it to replace my Sony PS-HX500 which in retail terms cost a lot more to buy but you get a lot less spec and features where as with the Audio Technika you get spec, features in abundance the sound the tone the look as in the 3rd pic of my old Sony it didn’t give much away
An excellent product. Follow instructions as you assemble (manual downloaded). Sound quality excellent depending on your playback system. Supplied cartridge provides detailed frequency range.
A very top end turntable with lots of features. Easy change headshell/stylus, light for stylus placement, adjustments for tone arm, strobe light for platter speed which is adjustable and extra speed of 78 RPM. Easy to set up
Quality product fairly easy to set up and there are plenty of YouTube tutorials available online. A major step up in sound quality from my previous deck ideal for playing my growing collection of Northern Soul 45’s and albums.
The turntable is easy to assemble and connect to an amplifier, just need to ensure that the stylus is correctly aligned. The anti-skate function is easy to set up but it’s best to download the user manual rather than relying on the scant instructions that come with it. The supplied cartridge gives good clear sound across the full sonic spectrum, and the quartz lock ensures that the turntable spins at the correct speed. It is possible to play 78s on this but a different stylus to that which is supplied is needed. The turntable has a USB output but this only works in line out mode. Mine is connected to the phono input on my amp and makes an awful howling if set to line out, so not easily able to use the USB as its a bit fiddly to change the connections at the rear and all the line in connections are in use. Overall it’s a solid well made piece of equipment and good value at the price.
I was a little worried to over spend on this, but it’s a great turn table, great bluetooth connection to my sound bar, a heavy piece of kit.
Ordered yesterday, arrived this afternoon. Watched the set up video here on Amazon.
I wanted to replace my 40 year old Pioneer PL12D which had started to have a distinct rumble.
I had been using a separate Pre-Amp which was plugged into my Sound Blaster SBX and then into my laptop.
Unpacked the new turntable, why so much Sellotape, followed the instructions, then came to the bit I was dreading, connecting it to the PC, didn’t use either of the two supplied cables, unplugged the two RCA connectors from my old pre-amp going into the SBX and plugged them straight into the back of the new turntable. Opened Audacity on the PC stuck an old “It’s a Beautiful Day” LP on the deck and Hey, it works.
Still stuff to figure out, but the main set up was easy.
Now just got to re-record all the tracks where I can hear rumble from the old deck, should only take me a couple of years.
Great value for money and good quality in terms of sound and build. Very happy with the purchase.
I also have a Technics SL1210 and this is an excellent copy. While not a DJ record player (you need the 140 model for that) it is nevertheless excellent. Recommended.
Simple to set up & use. a clean & sharp looking machine. Getting used to using it & appreciating its quality of build and sound.
Easy to set up & use, great looking turntable that can play all your old vinyl (less 78s). The arm balance works well & the ultimate sound created is very good, highly recommended.
Excellent piece of kit, so much better than the cheap deck I had before, Bargain at this price
Excellent sound quality. The supplied cartridge is great with some of my older scratchy records which would skip on my previous record deck. Not on this one.
Good build quality and we’ll worth the money.
This record player seems to have been recommended by most reviews for standard but quality home playing or starter deck for DJing.
Really easy to set up and great sound quality at a very reasonable price!
We will not use this deck for Djing, but the layout is almost identical to the 1210’s, so I cannot review this side of the deck, but for sound quality using the same amp and setup as we had for the cheap ION modern day bluetooth record player this is genuinely night and day different. I cannot recommend this player enough for under 250 for sound quality and it looks pretty cool aswell.
Absolutely delighted with our new turntable. Looked at lots of other models but just kept coming back to this one. Would have preferred a more stylish design rather than a DJ style deck but when it comes to it sound quality is the most important factor for me so style played second place. Fairly easy to set up after visiting Audio Technicas YouTube channel, supplied instructions are very basic and don’t really explain properly how to set up the tracking weight. Currently connected to a pair of Edifier1280db speakers which are pretty good but have just ordered a Bluetooth transmitter so I can use it with headphones, and another Bluetooth sound system I have.
Would definitely recommend this turntable. Would be had to beat for the price 🙂
Arrived on time,easy to set up,lovely sound, accurate speed control
This is superb piece of kit, easy to put together and has fantastic sound
A great deck that punches above its weight on sound quality. Easy to use even though its only manual, and has a number of useful features, such as direct-drive motor, built-in switchable preamp, speed strobe and stylus alignment lamp. The cartridge can be changed in seconds if you buy a second headshell and with a separate stylus it will play 78s. At just over 200 UK it is a real bargain that will send you rushing to the charity shops to rebuild your old vinyl collection.
This is a full manual deck with a quality cartridge. Although body is plastic it is solid and weighs in at 6 kg.
This is basically a copy of the Technics deck without the heavy price tag. Follow the instruction on the downloadable manual or the various uploads on U tube and you will be rewarded with a detailed sound. Well worth the money over cheaper decks. Very happy with my purchase.
Currently going through my LP collection. It plays 78 RPM but unfortunately doesn’t come with a stylus to suit hence 4 star rating. I have inherited many 78’s and it would be fun to hear them. Only need a cheap one but can’t determine which I should buy!
I worked as a club DJ for many years and have owned and used Technics, Pioneer, BSR, Goldring Lenco and Garrard Record Deck. For my home separates Micro Seiki, Technics etc. All very expensive. This Audio Technica Record Deck is very robust, sounds great and very accurate.
And it looks great too. Ok, it’s made of a solid type of plastic resin, but don’t be concerned, it’s still a solid deck and for the money it is a real bargain. Audio Technica have been among the leaders at designing and building record decks for decades now and are respected for their quality and reasonable cost; being priced at around a quarter of the price of Technics. That’s not a put down of Technics, they are the world leader for Club & Mobile DJs alike. But if you just want an excellent quality deck for home use, then you will find it hard to match the quality of this deck for the price. You could use this deck for mobile work, but would need to be handled a little more delicately than say, a Technics deck.
This record player is just fantastic. You have to carry out some simple setting up of the arm, but the record player comes with instructions and there’s an excellent video on YouTube. When I wanted to get back into vinyl a year ago I made a big mistake and bought an original 70s music centre for a lot of money. I found that I didn’t use the tape deck, or the radio, and that the record player and speakers weren’t that good. This record player is just amazing though. You’re going to need to buy some ‘powered speakers’, which I didn’t know existed, as they have the amplifier, tone, bass and volume controls = the record player doesn’t have those. I bought Edifier R1280T Powered speakers from Amazon, and they’re a perfect match whilst also looking high quality and very retro.
Wanted to upgrade from my little record player so got my partner to buy this one for my 60th along with some Edifier speakers.
Good bit of kit sounds brill, clear and just shows how poor my last player was.
Went on YouTube to see how to balance the arm but once that was done there was no looking back. As a lover of rock and metal it sounds great even at a loud volume, although the neighbours may disagree. But surely everyone likes a bit of five finger death punch????
Seriously glad I took time to pick out a good bit of kit and happy I made this choice.
I had previously opted for a far less expensive brand in the low forties. The first delivery ran at 13% faster than it should whilst the replacement ran with varible speeds! I wont name and shame them here as their customer service was impeccable.
However, the experience led me to opt for a more expensive model – one that included a strobe. Needless to say, the speed is spot on and I was further impressed with the sound quality – far richer than that provided by the less expensive player.
I didn’t know what to expect but I can safely say this is a perfect purchase. It took me a while to decide upon which deck to purchase and after a few weeks of listening to my record on this deck I can say this deck is perfect and the best mid-range Hi-Fi decks out there.
The sound quality is amazing and the Audio Technica needle does an amazing job picking up all the nuances of sound within each record, even revealing sounds I am sure I have not heard before. the depth of pick up is astounding – and after having many decks throughout the years I can say with confidence this deck is one of the best out there for this price range.
The build is sturdy and the set up for the needle was very straight forward. I also chose the direct drive due to previous years as a DJ and being used to DD rather than belt, though many have their reasons for each. This deck has played every record I have so far perfectly, no skipping etc.
I’m so glad I purchased this deck and replacement needle are available if you want to change the level of pick up too at reasonable prices. All in all a great deck, a great price and something that will no doubt keep me entertained for many years.
Latest Update: All still great and working well. (Aug 2018)
After owning (well, using my dad’s) record players that were built pretty cheaply or were just plain old, I decided to get a new one since I’ve been listening to my dad’s collection more recently.
I’m a big fan of AT so I bought this deck. I hadn’t set up a record player like this before so after a while of fiddling about getting the balance just right it was ready to go. The rest of the setup (sticking the cartridge in, putting on the platter etc.) was super easy. AT has a good guide on YouTube on how to set the balance and anti-skate stuff.
Sound quality wise, it’s the best I’ve heard out of a record player so far. I tested it with one of my new vinyls and I couldn’t tell between it and an MP3. USB connection works great and the output on the back works perfectly with my regular desktop speakers since I don’t have the space for HiFi speakers in my room.
Having a fully manual turntable makes you feel like you’re a part of the listening experience – you have to put the needle in the right place, you have to lower it, you have to start it playing. None of this boring one-touch start button rubbish you find on cheaper players and digital music apps/devices! It doesn’t even have auto-stop, which for some might be an annoyance but I like it, especially when you’ve got Heaven 17’s “Penthouse and Pavement” record on with the infinite track on it!
The only minor thing I don’t like about it is the plastic for the lid is not scratch resistant at all – so don’t put anything on top of it.
I like my music a lot. Not quite to nerd level but pretty intense nonetheless! I did a fair bit of research before buying this turntable. I did my online research and asked music loving friends what turntables they had. A recurring answer was “I’ve got an Audio Technica.” These were people whose opinions I trusted.
I’ve bought the LP120 XUSB in black. I’ve had it for about two weeks and I absolutely love it.
The fact that is has a pre-amp built in is a big plus. It means that you don’t have to buy more expensive kit to play your records. I connected my turntable up to my old midi-hifi, which is just a CD player with AM/FM tuner with speakers. The red and white cables just plug into the turntable sockets and that’s the connection sorted!
The stylus is simple to affix, it just screws into the needle arm.
Balancing the tone arm is the hardest of the tasks required to set it up. It’s still simple to do though, especially if you follow the Audio Technica video for this process which is on YouTube.
The whole body of the unit is metal and the turntable is a weighty piece of steel. The unit is well made and is of good quality.
Playing records is simple. You just line up the needle over the grooves, lower the arm and away you go. The tone arm is manual and not automatic, meaning at the end of the record you need to return the tone arm to its’ rest yourself.
The sound quality obviously depends on the quality of your speakers. Mine are reasonably average and not at all specialist. However, the sound is immense! The tones are rich, the bass is deep and the overall sound is crisp. There is barely any vinyl crackle.
I’ve converted a couple of albums to mp3 using the supplied USB cable. It is very simple. I am using a Mac with GarageBand as the platform that I record to. (Audacity is also a perfectly good platform to use too.)
The quality of the recordings is excellent and now, albums that I’ve had for years that I only had on record, can be listened to in my car!
Don’t hesitate if you are thinking of buying this turntable. It is a lot of quality for the price and it compares favourably with more expensive turntables with similar features.
When my Pioneer turntable finally give up the ghost after many faithful years, I considered buying a cheap replacement for less than 100, but on reflection I’m glad I didn’t. The Audio Technica is a serious piece of kit, and well worth the price I paid. Thanks to Amazon the turntable was delivered within 24 hours. Extremely well packaged. Nothing was missing or broken. As soon as I removed the item from the box, I could see this was an extremely well made product. Following the simple to understand the supplied instructions, I had the unit up and running. Bearing in mind I have vinyl record’s from the 60s and 70s, the sound quality through my external Pioneer amplifier is excellent. I can finally enjoy listening to my music collection with fond memories. Would I recommend buying Audio Technical? Without hesitation. You will not be disappointed.
I read around and this one kept coming up. At 220 it was well in budget I bought 120 Edifer cans to go with it and …. wow …. just wow.
I am sure the Audio Philes will tell about shortages in mids lows and others (read around it if thats your gig) BUT in my small “Daddy ” Room music is back alive, to these ears it sounds amazing
80s music, old skool hip hop electro, Prince, Madonna 90s indie … great to hear them all again and getting the treatment they deserve .
Do it, you can thank me late
Purchase a pack of 40mm Sorbothane puck feet under the fitted ones and you should be sorted.
The deck is direct drive so flexibility is great for speed change and speed/pitch variability. It’s simple to set up and sounds pretty good out of the box.
However upgrade the cartridge to say an ortofon 2m red or blue and you can improve the performance exponentially. (Money saving Tip! if you get the 2M Red you can easily turn it into a 2M Blue, just purchade the 2M Blue stylus, as the cartridge body is common to both).
If you make sure you isolate it from vibration and can upgrade the cartridge you will want to upgrade to a standalone phono stage from project or similar and I’d say this can be a really great sounding deck and still very good value.
Remember when you use a standalone phono stage you need to plug you RCA/Phono cable from the deck into it and then out with another Phono cable to your amplifier line input. These can be ones marked AUX or Tuner or Line In. Plugging into the one marked phono MUST NOT be used as your deck output has already been pre amplified by your stand alone phono stage.
Using a stand alone phono stage device will increase the overall sound quality substantially.
Remember also, the cartridges I mention are not designed for bedroom mixers and this is not a pro use item. If you want to do some proper analogue mixing use the ortofon club 2. Decent sound and can be back cued without fear of damage. Enjoy
The product is nice. Quality is superior. Design is beautiful.
But… the assembly is difficult. Not difficult because of what to do because the instructions are really bad. Maybe it’s too professional… a lot of things are skipped because probably for an expert it’s obvious?!..
After our assembly the turn table was not working so we called the company’s tech support which barely let me talk and instantly knew what was the problem (I don’t mean this in a good way). It was like every day someone was calling them for the exact same problem.
My point is… if it seems you always get called for the same issue, maybe you’d have to rethink you instructions?!
Anyway, now it’s working and we can enjoy it!
This is my first record player and I so I did the natural ‘research’ before purchasing which you are no doubt doing now. For me this seemed to largely yeild the doctrine of self proclaimed ‘audiophiles’ (gross) advising people to spend 3k on a record player and to only wear special velvet wanking gloves to to place the records on and off the turn table.
Obviously I ignored the bulk of this advice but I still wanted something that would at very least not immediately destroy my records.
That being said, a tone arm tracking force adjustment/ counterweight and anti-skating was on my list of musts.
This turn table has that and more, the unit feels toe shatteringly substantial which reduces any vibration, the set up was very easy I didn’t even bother to read the instructions and got it set up in no time after some fiddling to get the tone arm zeroed out (I recommend youtubing this). It has a simple line-out option which doesn’t require any complicated phono pre-amps or whatever the jigger is – just connect it to a set of powered speakers/monitors. Sweet!
It has 33(big)/45(single) speed settings as well as 78 whatever that is. Perhaps the only thing I could have done without is the slider thing that changes the speed seemingly for no reason. Perhaps the feature is for DJs from the 90s? In any case for anyone who isn’t scooter this feature is redundant.
Overall I have no idea if this is good or bad record player and so if for some reason you’ve read this whole thing I can only apologise. That being said I’m very happy with it.
A very up-market stereo player at a price probably lower than some other well known makes and with subtle extras that make it very stylish and useful to have, such as a strobe, easy to use speed control and a small spot light at the start of play.
There is an on/off switch for deck play so do not have to rely on the tone arm to start the player. which I find useful.
Another good point that the Dual didn’t have, is the head shell assembly is keyed and pushed onto the tone arm and held in place by a screw thread which means there are no exposed wires to worry about getting damaged
There is one DOWNSIDE in that the tone-arm play control lever isn’t in the best of positions.
If you are conversant with this type of player, you will know that anti-skate and tracking needs setting up before use and to use an unwanted 33 LP in case of a mishap.
I have found it is VERY IMPORTANT to keep the play lever locked in the RAISED position at all times when not playing. The retaining clip for the tone arm cleverly works ok to facilitate this.
I had a similar Dual 505 deck many years ago, and was fairly confident I could set it up easily enough but unfortunately it didn’t go to plan.
There is what I consider one design fault as the raise/lower needle is at the back right next to the tone arm. which my other record decks had at the front of the deck, and easily accessible without nudging the tone arm.
Was reaching for for the lowering lever and I touched the tone arm which leapt into action and skidded across the LP and damaged the stylus. They are extremely fragile and bend out of shape easily, SO BE WARNED.
Other than that well perfect, with a good sound reproduction, so I do recommend purchasing a player that punches above it’s weight for under 300
After much research and changing my mind several times, I decided on this turntable to replace my ageing Bush TT2. At this price point it consistently gets rave reviews, and well justified they are too. Very easy to setup, if you have any doubts, or are new to setting up turntables, there are a raft of guides available on You Tube that will have you up and running in about 10 minutes.
Likes: General weight of the turntable, this baby is heavy, reflecting the very high build quality. Soundstage is great all instruments in the correct place. Non-captive interconnect, so you can upgrade to a better cable in the future of you want. Switchable pre-amp so you can use it with active speakers and no amplifier if you prefer. Cueing light, makes it easier to place the needle in the correct place before lowering the arm.
Dislikes: None so far, supplied setup instructions could be better, don’t use them, they’re the Hi-Fi equivalent of Ikea instructions, You Tube is your friend!!!
For: Top sound for price range, easily exchangable cartridge and shell, neat stylus light, Pitch control, Bluetooth 5.0, 45 adaptor cutout pocket. Reasonable price
Cons: No auto return feature
I’ve always wanted a turntable, but read about how the cheaper ones can actually damage the vinyl pretty easily. I received this as a gift and I’m delighted with it! Fairly straight forward to set up for someone with no experience! It sounds lovely! Some his and pops but I’m pretty sure that’s just the vinyl I’m using right now coming straight from the mid 1970’s along with mine not being 100% perfectly calibrated just yet but that’s all on me! Can’t wait to run this through it’s paces with new vinyl I’ve got coming soon!
It’s amazingly well built, can’t fault it, the only issue I have really is putting down the dust cover whilst playing any vibration goes straight through but that’s honestly nothing.
Audio quality sounds very clean to my newbie ears too, can imagine it’s only gonna get better when I move on from vinyl that’s seen a fair bit of abuse from past owners!
Would seriously recommend this product to anyone who’s looking for a awesome budget friendly turntable that doesn’t feel like a toy or look like an eyesore!
Hope everyone who buys one has the same amazing experience as me!
I have four TT’s including this one, I love the ‘retro’ style of this one, alongside my LEAK3001 and AIWA AP-2200. Bought this on 5 monthly payments, making it even easier to buy, also at 208 after pre order discount etc, as it wasn’t in stock. It arrived quickly though which was great! About a week for it to come back in stock. Loads of features but I havevto confess, run mine through vintage amps with phono stage built in so won’t be using the built in pre amp of the TT, also pitch control not used, checked the rpm’s at 33 and 45, spot on and keeps there with quartz lock. Nice enough supplied cartridge/stylus and equally nice headshell. These alone could set you back 70 so I’ve got a nice direct drive, 3 speed TT for around 140 which is fantastic value.
I did set up the tone arm for tracking force using digital scales as the counterweight scale reading wasn’t accurate enough, also used a Hudson HiFi acrylic platter mat to adjust antiskate as that too, didn’t read accurately. Once done though, the TT performs very well. The supplied felt slip mat, while being an Audio-Technica item, was not for me and was initially replaced with a rubber platter mat from one of my other TT’s, which improved things greatly. I’ve since started using the acrylic platter mat mentioned easier, which is even better! This sort of thing is a personal choice obviously and there are many types of mat available to suit. The TT is quite weighty, sits nicely on its adjustable feet and looks and feels nice in use. No warp to the cast metal platter, speeds are rock steady with no fluctuations noticed, quartz lock helps here. Nice tone arm and the overall styling is perfect for me. I swapped out the supplied RCA phono cables which is a great feature having phono sockets on the rear of the TT. for CHORD COBRA 3’s. This is also an improvement and very easily done. External power supply off the TT is also good to see. Another feature, nice to have but won’t get much use from me, is the USB connection using the supplied cable. Plug in Target light and red strobe light look great as well. All in all, a nicely featured TT that represents fantastic value and for many, paired with a pair of nice active speakers will give great sound! Personally, I listen through vintage amps and a selection of speakers (some vintage, some new) both floorstanders and standmounts, all producing great sound from the deck. I did detect a very slight resonance at first but properly set up with an improved platter mat, this has disappeared. Advice is to use with acrylic dust cover removed as this too can contribute to this. Very happy though and feel that it represents a big step up from the suitcase players and other budget TT’s for not significantly more money.
For nearly 10 years, and up to the release of its’ successor, the AT-LP120 (no ‘x’) was THE benchmark for high-end Direct Drive record players within a reasonable budget. This new (2019) and improved version (AT-LP120X) truly is its successor on all fronts. The motor is more efficient, it produces more torque with less power meaning that it reaches exact rpms nearly immediately without producing any noticeable noise or vibration. The cartridge has been improved to one that has stronger output and a wider frequency response. The power converter is now an external adaptor, the audio output cables are removable, the built-in pre-amp has seen significant improvement and the build quality is better. I have it paired to a Yamaha R-N303d with Mission LX-2 speakers and I am super happy with the sound it produces. Having used it for nearly two months almost everyday, it has not yet skipped a single beat. I bought it on Amazon for 199 and I firmly believe anyone would be hard pressed trying to find a better performer under 300.
Very easy to set up, excellent packaging, very solid product and well constructed. Has a real quality feel. Manufacturer has a series of explanatory videos to get you started and when I posted a pre-purchase question on Amazon I received a reply direct from the manufacturer – always a good sign.
The real challenge is getting to understand the excellent Audacity recording and editing software which is a free download and available from the Microsoft Store. Very fully featured app and requires some study to get the best from it but has a searchable online user guide / manual which far exceeds the detail given with many expensive software apps that then expect you to purchase an instruction book. On the other hand, if you purchase this turntable to play through your audio equipment then you won’t require the software – just plug and play using the cables provided.
Update 01/06/2020 – had some issues with the Audacity software from the Microsoft Store which was version 2.1. I discovered the most recent version is 2.4 so uninstalled 2.1, downloaded 2.4 direct from Audacity and installed that. Slightly updated interface and everything seems to work now.
I use my PC running Linux and pulseaudio as an amp (I have a good speaker system connected), and having had a JAM turntable running with only some minor issues (such as a whine when idle – fixed with a toggle script) it has been working well.
I swapped out the JAM for this, and had a horrible feedback, that just got worse and worse, whilst no audio from what was playing, but reconfiguring pulseaudio, back to where it started after changing stuff fixed it, and I have clean clear audio.
Even better, there is no idle whine with this unit at all (better grounding?) renedering my previous fix redundant.
The sound is clearer and crisper, and the dynamic range is improved.
And to make up for everything, I have two albums that each have a single skip on them on the old JAM, that no amount of cleaning would fix, but playing skip free on this.
I’m giving the JAM to my GF, but feel kinda guilty about that now. I should maybe just buy her one of these instead.
Excellent unit, and surpasses expectations.
That said, for the money this is very good. I think it does a competent job, but will look at going for a better cartridge in the future.
On the computer make sure the microphone is enabled. Go into settings and type Microphone in the search box then select Microphone Privacy Settings. Make sure Allow Desktop Apps To Access Your Microphone is set to ON.
In Audacity set the Device Toolbar to MME next Microsoft Sound Mapper Input then (2) Stereo Recording Channels and, on the right Speakers (e.g. Realtek High Definition ). Under Transport, Transport Options select Software Playthrough On.
After that recording was straight forward but something to watch for, when you revert to Windows (WASAP) turn Playthrough of otherwise you will get whats sounds like a terminal hum.
I have just copied my first album, Ray Ellington’s Goon Show Hits which I haven’t heard in twenty five years, and the sound is amazing. I am now going to have another play.
This is a superb deck , you want regret buying it.
This turntable has a legacy of being the best ‘bang-for-buck’ performance and this is undeniable. For the ‘around 200’ mark, there is nothing better.
Had this lp120 a few days only but already blown away by the sound. Its night and day compared to the ion. Very easy to setup and even setting the weight of the arm is not too tricky (video on youtube also to help).
It feels professional at a fraction of the price, seems sturdy and i love the touches like the little light which guides you in low illumination.
The sound quality:
Unless anyone wants to compare with absolutely the best sound achievable from a turntable, this will not disappoint. I did find the supplied cartridge took 20 to 30 hours of use to really give its best but it has run-in nicely now and the supplied cartridge is a good one for a turntable of this price. It is a favourite in the hifi world. I find the sound quality to be very well balanced and well detailed. Bass gives a nice punch. Treble is clean with clean clear tails – a sign of good tonearm bearings. Speed stability is rock solid. The turntable is very well made for the money, however, it is quite resonant. Tapping the plinth and the platter creates ringing so there isn’t much in the way of damping. Therefore thoughtful siting is required to avoid resonances feeding into the tonearms signal. The built-in phono pre-amp is plenty good enough at this price, although I suspected the turntable could sound even better, so I changed the setting to ‘Phono out’ to go through an external Project Phono Box pre-amp. There was an improvement in overall clarity and detail but now I’m being fussy. So far the stylus has not jumped skipped or got stuck in the groove at all using this turntable, unlike my previous turntable. The downforce calibration is accurate and the anti-skating compensation is working perfectly. The grounding wire does need to be connected to a grounding post on an amp or something else to stop hum – there is no getting away with it as I discovered. Once connected the turntable is totally hum-free. I haven’t detected any other nasties like rumble etc either. Signal to noise seems to exceed specs.
Build and Finish:
Very well finished and quite weighty, although not a beast like some DJ turntables. (This is not a DJ turntable, even though it looks likes one and so many people try to use it as such) The platter is perfectly level. The tonearm seems well made for the price. There is no bearing free play or too much friction. The feet are designed to absorb vibration. The quality overall is well beyond what can be expected for the price. This is a really serious hi-fi turntable. This holds up well in good quality hi-fi company. I put it in ‘the good budget audiophile category’. Chin stroking Audiophiles with 5 figure budgets would no doubt find a few things to complain about, but it isn’t aimed at them.
Audio Technica is fabulous at catering to the budget Audiophile and strapped for cash music lovers with great quality affordable products. I am truly delighted with my AT-LP120X. I can no longer justify spending huge sums on hi-fi (or anything else) and this turntable will do me very nicely
BACKGROUND — I collected a bit of vinyl in the early 2000; mostly 45s because I’m a bit of a completionist and some releases on my favourite labels were only available as vinyl. In order to facilitate playing said vinyl I had to have a turntable and I was given a lovers gift by Our Gert — an ION Audio Profile LP Turntable with USB Conversion. It served me well on the odd occasion I got it out but didn’t get much use.
More recently I started putting my meagre vinyl collection to good use, DJing 30 minute slots at local Vinyl Soul / Funk nights. I caught the bug and with my scant DJ earnings decided to start buying vinyl on a more ‘serious’ level. My nomadic USB turntable (which was previously used in random locations, connected to a laptop) was given a permanent home in my Mancave, hooked up to a desktop PC. I soon realised that the sound quality of the turntable was pretty poor — songs sounded much better streamed on YouTube than they did played on my turntable. This wasn’t right.
My first priority was coming up with sufficient reason to appease Our Gert when I spent on a new Turntable rather than saving for new windows / repaving the driveway / a holiday to Cuba with a reason firmly tucked away in my back pocket I researched and found the Audio Technica AT-LP120XUSB to be at the sweetspot of what I wanted to spend, maintaining USB recording functionality and adding the ability to play independent of the PC through dedicated speakers. I bought it.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS – Amazon delivery was spot on and upon receipt my first thought was this is a serious piece of kit. It comes in a big box. A heavy box not too heavy, except for the fact I had it delivered to work and had to lug it home on the train. The weight of the turntable is reassuring — my old turntable must have weighed less than a tenth of this badboy. All component parts are kept separate in the packaging, taped into little cubbyholes in the polystyrene so there is very little chance of any damage in transit.
SETUP — The turntable comes with a ‘quickstart’ instruction sheet which is pretty much all you need to get it setup. Installing the platter was as simple as dropping it over the central spindle, then just pop the attractively understated Audio Technica slipmat on top.
Cartridge installation was equally easy, there’s only really one way it can fit and whilst its relatively intuitive anyway the instructions make it pretty obvious how its done.
The only bit of installation that was a little bit more difficult was the balancing of the tonearm again the instructions certainly help but if you need the extra reassurance you can also look up a video of the installation online, which is what I did.
Whilst I would probably recommend setting up at the turntables final resting place, if that is a relatively small cubbyhole in a mancave (as it was for me) you can just as easily set up elsewhere — just make sure you plug all the wires into the back first as the connections are recessed on the back of the player and therefore not the easiest to access (though equally, they’re very easy to locate provided you afford yourself the necessary room).
USE — The sound is exceptional. I caveat this with the fact I’m coming from an incredibly budget system but it’s chalk and cheese compared to the older, cheaper system. I have experience of professional systems and of course it doesn’t match up to a deck ten times the price, attached to an amp and speakers that cost more than my house, but it does a great job in a mancave setting.
The highs are high and the lows are low, I can certainly pick out the horns and the bass on records much more than I could previously and they sound far better played through my TV than their YouTube equivalent completes with the satisfying cracks and pops you get from vinyl.
The direct drive motor does a good job of maintaining the correct speed (which my old belt-driven turntable sometimes struggled with) and switching speeds is easy. The stop/start button functions well it’s not instant stop / start but reverse the record a quarter turn and you’re good to go.
There is other functionality (such as 78rpm, pitch shift) which I have yet to test, and most likely won’t ever but it’s there if you need it and if judging by the quality of the core components / functionality I’ve no doubt these would be more than up to the job.
The turntable comes with a built in amp so you can hook it up to passive speakers if you so wish but in the interest of getting the most out of the turntable I also purchased a pair of Edifier R1280DB Active Remote Control Bookshelf Studio Speakers which pair up with and complement the turntable remarkably well certainly takes the experience to a whole new level compared with hooking the turntable up to the PC and playing through the relatively tinny internal TV speakers.
TL;DR SUMMARY — If you’re after a ‘premium’ ‘budget’ turntable (one person’s idea of premium is another’s idea of budget and vice-versa) you’ll not regret buying this I’ve had it a matter of 20 hours but it does everything I want it to at a good price point it looks and feels quality, and most importantly gives me a warm fuzzy feeling in my loins.
UPDATE: I was so impressed I bought a second one, now got two hooked up to a Numark mixer and I can now dial up the volume to 100 (when Our Gert isn’t in) and lose myself in the music
Overall great value for money and great sound quality.