Audio-Technica AT-LP5X Fully Manual Direct Drive Turntable

Product Information

Can the LP5X keep what made its predecessor great and take the fight to a new generation of belt drive rivals? To compare the LP5x with the 140, though, I used the same external phono amplifier and played records by Ella Fitzgerald ( Ella Sings Broadway) and Jethro Tull ( Under Wraps). Part of the reason is that the 140 includes a large power supply, built into the chassis whereas the LP5x expels its power supply as a wall wart. Combined with the cast aluminium platter and low resonance chassis, it gives the AT-LP5X ideal speed stability for perfect pitch and the lowest distortion.

Great service, excellent product I've just bought this, my first vinyl record player since I was a teenager. It’s a wide soundstage, pulling out the fine details from Sakamoto’s piece, but delivering the punch and intensity required when emotions peak.To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. These are nothing remarkable on paper for a direct drive and certainly won’t put a Technics to shame, though do add up to decent performance; the proof is in the pudding as they say.

Backgrounds are quiet allowing excellent insight into the subtle details of a recording, and it’s more than adept at demonstrating the advantages of a well-pressed disc. They seem like decent options but in your opinion would they be a significant upgrade over what I currently have (The AT-LP120 USB)?The AT-LP5X features a built-in switchable MM/MC phono/line preamp that enables it to connect directly to a computer, home stereo, powered speakers and other components that have no dedicated turntable input. The acoustic guitar on the Fitzgerald track was more characterful from the LP5x while the piano provided enhanced clarity. These decks are actually pretty modular and not difficult to strip down at all and new oil does make a notable difference.

By accommodating connections to components without a dedicated phono input, this feature simplifies and streamlines your audio rig, making the AT-LP5X a hassle-free addition to any sound system.This also means that the meaty IEC mains cable of the 140 is replaced by a weedy LP5x wall wart-type wire. The solid bottom end, a hallmark of a direct drive is accounted for, extending up through the mids into a sweet if somewhat bright top end. Pro-Ject in particular has spent the last few years flexing its muscles at the affordable end of the market and it is worth saying that, while they aren’t better built than the LP5X (possibly, by the slightest of margins, the opposite), they do look a little smarter than the business like Audio Technica. The original LP5 was also DC based but took an IEC mains feed into the chassis and converted on board. It responded magnificently to being tweaked and upgraded and, as it was made by a manufacturer that builds many of those upgrades, it was simplicity itself to perform them.