Audio-Technica AT-LP120XUSB Manual Direct-Drive Turntable (Analogue & USB)

Product Information

The DC servo direct-drive motor no doubt contributes to the weight too. Start-up is instantaneous, and all the manual controls – start/stop, speed selection and so on – feel well-damped and sturdy. In the approved Technics manner, the 120 plays at 33.3 or 45rpm – or, if you press both speed selector buttons at the same time, 78rpm too. Presumably the LP120XUSB is different enough to the Technics to prevent Audio-Technica getting sued, but quite where the significant visual differences lie is beyond me. This will confirm that the USB audio is working on your Turntable and Computer. Once you have verified it is working, it is best practise to disable the 'Listen to this device' option again so that you can use the recording software with best effect, however you can re-enable it at any time that you need to hear what is being sent by the turntable through USB. That big, fat 'USB' in the title indicates that this turntable, like its forebear, can be connected up to a PC or Mac for converting your vinyl records (via the included Audacity software) into digital format. This will seem kind of pointless to some people – after all, the vast majority of mainstream music is already available to play through streaming services. But it's handy if you have a rare Five Finger Death Punch EP that you're desperate to play on your bus ride to work. Robust build, powerful direct drive with pitch control and USB interface make the Audio Technica LP120XUSB ideal for mixing or home use alike.

Kent Records’ On the Soul Sid e compilation, for example, is a treasure-trove of rare recordings that have never made it onto Spotify or the like – but making a digital copy means it is just as easy to listen to, wherever and whenever you like, as anything else available via music streaming services. This is quite an extensive list, so let’s move on from Technics for a minute and just reel them off. It’s mostly made of plastic, but it’s robust where it counts: the heftily damped, rubberized feet offer both isolation from external vibration and a degree of self-leveling, and the platter is of die-cast aluminum. Of course, one record player looks pretty much like the next in the same way that one car looks broadly like another. So as far as the S-shaped tonearm, stroboscope, stop/start button and pitch control are concerned, at first (and second) glance they’re pretty familiar. The same goes for the die-cast aluminium anti-resonance platter.

Direct Drive Turntable with USB Convenience

Featuring a direct drive motor, the AT-LP120XUSB gives superb pitch stability. It also gives the swift start and stop times needed for complete control when mixing. Includes: USB cable, detachable RCA output cable (dual RCA male to dual RCA male), AC adapter, 45 RPM adapter, counterweight, felt mat, and removable hinged dust cover In tactile terms, it’s quite easy to distinguish between the two – while it feels perfectly well made, the LP120XUSB features far more plastic in its construction than the more expensive Technics. Audio-Technica AT-LP120XUSB features – An extensive list of features that offers plenty of versatility

In addition to these physical connections, the 120 has a button with the ‘Bluetooth’ symbol beneath the tonearm. The Audio-Technica features aptX Bluetooth, for wireless connection to speakers, headphones and the like – which confirms the 120 as a far more flexible and all-around more adaptable device than most wired record players. No two ways about it, the AT-LP120XBT-USB (which from now on we’ll be calling the ‘120’ for the sake of both brevity and sanity) is designed to evoke the classic Technics SL-1200/SL-1210 DJ turntable everyone knows and loves. Audio Technica have made it easy to link up the LP120XUSB to your existing system. A built-in phono stage means you don't have to have a hi-fi or speaker with a phono pre-amp built-in - any AUX input will work fine.The digital copies the 120 makes via its USB output are closer in character to the sound of its wireless, rather than wired, performance. The USB also seems keener to spotlight vinyl surface noise than any of the other outputs – but, nevertheless, the facility to make digital copies of hard-to-find, easy-to-damage records is not to be downplayed. In any event, though, the sound of a hard-wired 120 is almost entirely gratifying. With the lavish 30th anniversary reissue of Pixies’ Bossanova spinning, many of the traditional vinyl virtues are to the fore. A/D, D/A – 16-bit/44.1 kHz or 48 kHz USB selectable; Computer interface – USB 2.0 Compliant Windows 7 or above, or MAC OS X or above