[Review] Audio Technica AT-LP60 Turntable + Video Review

Let’s talk a little Vinyl and turntables for a minute. Vinyls are old school, but have come back into style in a big way recently. With mp3 files music has lost it’s values and buying a CD just doesn’t make sense any more. Vinyl makes you feel like you just made a good purchase and it is something worth value, on top of that half the time the vinyl comes with a code to download the album online. So perhaps you want to get into Vinyls, but you don’t want to buy a whole setup with a receiver and a turntable. Maybe you also want something more modern than older record players that are old and busted, well perhaps the Audio Technica AT-LP60 is for you.

Here is the feature list:

• Fully automatic operation
• 2 speeds – 33-1/3 and 45 RPM
• Professional aluminum platter
• Switchable pre-amp
• Integral Dual Magnet stereo cartridge with replaceable stylus

Design:
This turntable is really slick looking, it has an all silver/aluminum look to it, and has a nice see through lid. The plastic buttons along the front line are very simple looking and they are in operation as well. On the front is a button to toggle 33 or 45 RPM speeds, and also 3 additional control button (play, stop, pause). On the inside is a lever that allow you toggle to specify if the vinyl you are going to play is a 12″ or 7″. Out the back is a 3′ RCA cord for audio and also an addition switch to toggle the pre-amp on or off. On the inside you are looking at a single disc that rotates on a belt with a nice pad that goes on top to protect your Vinyls while they play. One con here on the design is the plastic that they use for the lid scratches easily so don’t place anything on top of it. If you like you can remove it of course.

Features:
The best feature in my opinion is the pre-amp that is built into the turntable. Most older turntables require that you have a receiver that has a phono input to do the amplification from the turntable. Purchasing these brand new or going out and buying a new pre-amp would cost some extra money and adds extra clutter to the equation. I have a sony sound bar and there is no phono input so this is great. Audio Technica also added the ability to toggle the pre-amp on or off on the back of the device, so if you do have a receiver that supports phono then you are good to go. Another great feature is that it is fully automated, which means when you press start, stop, or pause the arm and head automatically move into place and drop down onto the vinyl nicely. This is great so you don’t have to worry about correctly placing the head down on the vinyl. Also when you are done listening to a side it automatically moves the arm back to the resting place. It supports both speed 33-1/3 and 45 RPM and also supports 7″ and 12″ Vinyls. It will automatically adjust where the arm moves and how fast it spins based off your settings.

Usage:
I have been using this now for a few weeks and I simply love it. It is nice playing some of the Vinyls that I have been collecting over the last few months. The sound quality is great and the pre-amp does a great job of bringing a high level of audio out of the turntable, I never had to turn my soundbar really high to hear the music. The buttons on the front are a bit wobbly and I would have liked them to be a bit stiffer, it feels a bit cheap. At the end of the day it gets the job done.

Value:
I was able to pick this up off of Amazon for $70 with free shipping. After looking at record shops to get a vintage player costs around $50-$80 and then you would have to get a receiver on top of this. So for me I think it is an excellent value, and delivers on all of it’s features. Audio Technica also has the AT-PL60USB, which has a USB out that you can hook up to your computer to create mp3 files from your vinyl with their software, but that model usually runs around $100. So if you are looking for a nicely designed low cost turn table the AT-LP60 might be fore you.

Summary:
Pros:
-Lost Cost
-Nice modern design
-Fully Automatic
-Plays 33-1/3 & 45 RPM 7″ or 12″
-Built in pre-amp

Cons:
-Cheap buttons on front
-Short audio cord
-Lid scratches easily.

Check out the video review!!!