The Audio Technica AT-LP120 USB features a high-torque direct-drive motor for quick start-ups and a selectable internal stereo phono pre-amplifier that allows the turntable to plug directly to computers and other components with no dedicated turntable input. With a dedicated USB output, interfacing with your computer has never been easier. This is the all-in-one solutions for archiving or transferring your LP collection directly to your computer. Other key features include : forward and reverse play capability; cast aluminum platter with slip mat and a start/stop button with remote start/stop input; three speeds 33/45/78; selectable high-accuracy quartz-controlled pitch lock and pitch change slider control with +/-10% or +/-20% adjustment ranges; and removable hinged dust cover. A replaceable Audio-Technica ATP-2 cartridge is included.

5 Responses to “Audio Technica ATLP120 Professional USB Turntable”

1. Gerard Masters says:

   May 23, 2010 at 12:00 am

   So, what do you do when you want to get current with a new turntable

   and you find the field swollen with overpriced gear and on the other

   side, cheap Junk??

   You shoot for a Technics SL1200….at least that’s what I thought..

   Sorry, but at $7+ bills-for a guy who never

   spent over $170 for a turntable back in the day they were King, not going

   for that. So what we have here with the Audio Technica AT LP120 USB

   to be realistic, is a chinese knockoff of theFamous Technics Table.

   So I bought one!

   The bad first: On my unit, the finish on the top

   of the turntable at three spots shows signs of the ‘finish paint’ not being

   properly sprayed. In another words, it looks like someone took a pencil

   eraser and went back and forth a few hundred times over the top finish

   and wore out the finish coating. Ok,not good but something I could live

   with cause it’s not that bad, but, it doesnt make it look splendidly new either!

   Do I want to take the time to send it back, no. I’m 51 and I still love my wife…..so

   who cares????

   Now the good: Ok, after reading many many Amazon customer reviews and others

   on the Internet, and knowing a little bit about this thing I unpacked it, which, speaking

   of packaging was good and bad. Everything was packaged very well but the styrofoam

   they use broke in like 6 places, but the good news is that the turntable itself was not

   damaged, nor were the parts like the counterweight and such.

   Put it together and I will say, definitely, it IS a very good looking turntable!! Different in

   composition than the Technics: whereas the platter on the Technics is a Part of the motor,

   the AT is not. The motor is mounted well to the top plate of the TT and the Platter itself

   is kinda not heavy, but is much beefier than 90% of the USB turntables out there, and at

   a $200 priceline, is MUCH more than expected!! And it is brushed Aluminum and therefore

   looks like the real deal, just a few oz lighter than my older Pioneer PL550′s MASSIVELY

   heavy platter. But that was 1976 and this is 2010, times have indeed changed…..

   Now, many others have talked about the stock cartridge in the AT120. For DJ’ing

   it’s ok. But for TLC of vinyl for Audiophile purposes it’s out of the question. I got the

   Shure 97 on j&r for $59 and two 78rpm stylus’s on Amazon for $22 each.(!) The stylus

   is interchangable, so if you want to play 78′s, just get the stylus for it and plug it into

   the 97′s body, re-adjust the stylus pressure and go for it!! At least that’s what i’ve read

   on the internet so we’ll see if it actually happens. Worst case I’ll have to pop for the 78

   cartridge and have two spares, not bad actually either way.

   I then ran the turntable for 13 hours at the 78 speed forward and backward to see if

   the motor would fail, it Didn’t. Turned it off, went to work, came home, turned it back

   on, 33/45/78 all nailed-no drift, no slowdown or speed up. So Ok, the Motor seems

   heavy duty, should hold up to years of use.

   The tone arm is very well made and calibrated. Going down to 1 gram of stylus weight

   just to see, the balance and bearings were very fluid, which tells me that if they didn’t

   know what they were doing, the tone arm would choke under a slight weight balancing

   test-it didn’t. The arm slowly went up and down with my changing oh so slightly of the

   counterweight with no points of friction. Good Bearings and initial calibration at the

   factory!!!

   Tone arm lift is gentle going down and very firm going up, with how fast your finger

   is telling it to go.

   Platter is as stated solid. When going to 78 the mis alignment in the dots does rear

   it’s ugly head, but then again, at 33 or 45 you hardly notice it, no big deal…..

   ONCE AGAIN, THIS IS A STREET PRICED $200 UNIT COMPARING IT TO A $700+ UNIT!!!!!

   Very favorable imho. To get this kind of quality at a $200 realistic price point, is

   very impressive. And the Technics does NOT play at a 78rpm speed. For me, this was

   a major issue. I did not want two turntables to deal with!!! (Oh yeah, I’ll impress people

   with my $29 bsr poc next to my Mirage Speakers!!) NOT!!

   And I must admit, AT did their homework. Again, not in the same OVERKILL QUALITY

   league as the Technics 1200, but in all honesty, almost Overkill at a $200 price point.

   Lastly, I opened the sucker to see if any screws were loose, which has been a factor

   with EVERY piece of Electronics I’ve bought in the last 5 years that was made in china.

   A B+ grade on this. Some screws needed very little tightening and the motor screws

   were dead on snug! The construction inside was around 7 years behind the times

   but clean. Compared to modern day factory construction of electronic gear, it wouldn’t

   win any prizes, but then looking at the guts of the Pioneer 550, judging it in this present

   day, it wouldn’t either. So there you go. For me, it fits the Bill perfectly, it’s like the girl

   you really think is hot except for her slightly crooked nose, you sort of accept it, but

   you wish it was perfect, but you know it’s not going to be. This Turntable is exactly

   that. You’ll probably fall for it and wish it was a Technics, but day after day, you’ll

   look at it and say, ‘Damn, what a cool looking Turntable’, and when you install that

   Shure 97 and put on your old Mobile Fidelity copy of Steely Dan’s AJA, you’ll smile

   all the way to the bank. Hell, you might even buy an extra one if Amazon ever

   decides to make it a ‘Deal of the Day’ for a cool $100!!!! I would!!!!

   I could go on for ever, but then I would bore myself to death……..

   Enjoy this Turntable and the Music.

   MasterG

   Reply
2. Brian Hershey says:

   May 21, 2010 at 12:00 am

   I have a media transfer business and I know what it takes to get high qulity sound for my customers. This turntable is the best in the price range. I’ve tried others and sent them back for poor quality… warped platters, anti-skates that don’t work, wow and flutter that was so bad I couldn’t believe it.

   This unit just drips with quality… I was blown away. I use the analog phono output into a USB Behringer UFO202 U-Phono High-Quality USB Audio Interface with Built-In Phono Preamp amp … it does a great job. All I need now for perfection is a higher quality cartridge to replace the one included.

   Don’t crawl, walk or run, but FLY to get this baby!!

   Reply
3. James P. Clinton says:

   May 10, 2010 at 12:00 am

   Ok, I have maybe 1700 LP’s or so in my collection and not having a great turntable to play any of these was a crime (my dual cs5000 has a bad head shell). I needed a turntable and fast. I ordered the AT from Amazon after doing the research. I believed this unit seemed to be the best out of the entire mid price turntables. Man, was I ever surprised!! I don’t want to make all of the Technics fans mad at me but is unit is every bit as good as a SL1200 Mk2 (cost aside). Can’t say enough about it (whisper quiet, solid build, great tone arm, more features, on and on. Love it!! What a bargain!!

   Reply
4. David A. Peckman says:

   May 7, 2010 at 12:00 am

   I purchased this turntable to transfer my record collection to CD/MP3, and I am very pleased with the AT-LP120. Some have written about a slight hum when connecting this to a computer via the USB port. I followed the advice of those who recommend connecting it to the line in jack via the RCA cables, and there is absolutely no hum. I ran my cables through my amplifier, but the AT-LP120 also has a pre-amp for direct connections. I agree with the other reviewer who commented on the high tracking force needed for the no-frills cartridge that came with the turntable. I purchased the Shure M97xE cartridge, and the sound quality is supurb. I had intended to sell my records after transferring them to the computer, but I like the sound so much that I might just keep my collection.

   Reply
5. Angelo P. Laloggia says:

   April 28, 2010 at 12:00 am

   This turntable is made very well…It has great features and is very easy to setup.

   I would recommend this for any home user that wants to put his albums on CD’s

   Reply