Audio Technicas Anniversary turntable - what ye say?

[patient_ot]

Very unlikely todays Audio Technica is the same company that I remember from 40 years ago that offered high quality cartridges, tonearms and audio accessories all made in Japan. Todays Audio Technica is audios version of Bell and Howell as seen on cable TV with products made in China and Taiwan. Yes you will pay a lot more for anything made in Japan along with Germany Switzerland and the USA but you are buying high quality products built to last a lifetime not throwaway toys.

Most of AT's cartridges and some of the better accessories like the nicer headshells are still made in Japan. It's mainly the sub-$100 cartridges that are mostly made in China. Even those cheaper cartridges are okay for what they are and don't typically have problems.

Turntables were never really the brand's thing, and the ones they sell are just pick and mix from the parts bins at Ya Horng and Hanpin with the AT brand name stamped on them.

I bet they make more money these days on selling things like microphones and headphones than anything turntable related FWIW.

 

[patient_ot]

I think we all know that AT doesn’t make tt’s , they contract out to Hanpin and then slap their Audio Technica name on it.
No different from the 70’s when lots of companies simply bought tt’s from CEC and added their name .

The one being discussed here is likely a Ya Horng product. They do use Hanpin a lot for turntables though.

 

[mr_petit]

The large 'plate' that seems to serve as the mount for the main bearing is interesting. Why so large and square?

It looks like an 80's 4 coil coreless DD motor.
So could this be an example of using a 4 coil DD motor, and gut the internals so you're left with just the baseplate assembly with bearing&spindle to make it belt drive?
I have no idea what kind of parts modern turntables use.

It is a bit of an odd arrangement for sure.

 

[BillWojo]

Yea, at first glance I thought it was a DD, when I saw it was belt drive I was disappointed. AT used to make some great products. Love their old broadcast tonearms.

BillWojo

 

[Strumbringer]

Besides the w/f measurement, what else makes this TT undesirable? A bit of a rookie question, I know, but I'm hoping to learn. Without this thread and comments, I'd look at this TT and think it's great.

 

[rothwellaudio]

Besides the w/f measurement, what else makes this TT undesirable? A bit of a rookie question, I know, but I'm hoping to learn. Without this thread and comments, I'd look at this TT and think it's great.

Good question. I'm quite shocked at the disdain expressed for this turntable in this thread. And the disdain seems to be based primarily on specs, yet in many other threads we're told that specs don't matter and we should just listen because "we all hear differently".
And the price is a fraction of what many people pay for a cartridge. There's no pleasing some people.

 

[Sitka]

Looks like a plastic dust catcher.

 

[Late Boomer]

No different from the 70’s when lots of companies simply bought tt’s from CEC and added their name .

In the 70s Macy's would slap its badge onto a Matsushita product. Today, former big names are being slapped onto a cheap generic throwaway product. So it is different.

I'm quite shocked at the disdain expressed for this turntable in this thread. And the disdain seems to be based primarily on specs, yet in many other threads we're told that specs don't matter and we should just listen because "we all hear differently".

Indeed. Spec don't mean anything if I own a badly spec'd machine, but mean everything if I own a well-spec'd one. Me owning a well-spec'd machine with a well-regarded name is even better.

In any case, 0.15% WRMS is not hi-fi and is not worth $1,200.

 

[mr_petit]

In any case, 0.15% WRMS is not hi-fi and is not worth $1,200.

yeah but we don't really know what the Wow/flutter is. It says smaller than....
There are quite a few tables that have similar spec (like smaller than 0,2%) and in reality measure well under 0,1%

Similar turntables in that class are for instance a project debut pro with upgraded platter/sub platter, or a technics sl-1500c.
A project debut pro has similar wow/flutter specs from factory and still that's a well sorted turntable.
This AT turntable has at least VTA adjustment capabilities. No azimuth, but maybe a headshell exists in this formfactor that has that (and there are always other means to adjust azimuth of course with shims or a wallyfulcrum)

For a thick acrylic slab style table it's not that expensive, if I look at other brands that do that (clearaudio, transrotor...the more high end brands).
Nowadays you don't get that much for this kind of money.

 

[Vintagear]

I like it.
I only wonder why they opted for such a short arm?

 

[patient_ot]

I like it.
I only wonder why they opted for such a short arm?

The arm is about 8.8'' long. Around the same length as some JVC arms from the 70s or some of the arms Pro-Ject uses. The length of the arm would be the least of my concerns with this turntable. I would be more concerned about the W/F, build quality, and long-term durability of Ya Horng OEM product.

I have not been impressed with the YH product I've looked at FWIW. That said they are making some more expensive tables (more $ than this AT model) now that have specs far better than this one, and I have not seen or heard those.

 

[Kit Carson]

Audio Technica does keep up their tradition of quality built items made in Japan with many of their cartridges, microphones and headphones. As for vintage turntables I can't remember AT getting into the market back in the 1970-80s. CEC was making tables for assorted brands and overall the tables were of decent quality and performance considering the price when compared to the major players like Sony Denon etc. It's been increasingly common for some to say disregard the specs and just listen to it, seems to be a good way to justify a mediocre product using the lowest common denominator. Going to be a tough sell for AT with a lot of AK members to shell out $1200 for the AT 60th Anniversary table.

 

[Late Boomer]

yeah but we don't really know what the Wow/flutter is.

The number reflects manufacturer's ability to control the quality (one TT being 0.1%, another 0.03% is not good uniformity) and sets expectations about how the performance can deteriorate over the years. At least it is not as pitiful as 0.25% on the TEAC cassette deck.

 

[HamboneF18]

This AT TT reminds me of Mitsubishi cars from the late 1980s, early 1990s. Looked great! Fast and sporty! But under the hood, and after just a few years, it was time to get out from underneath it. This AT table is most certainly not worth the price of admission.

 

[vmartell]

I like the way it looks.
0,15% WRMS wow is indeed not impressive. A good DD with test record measures about 0,04% WRMS, and part of that number is the wow in the record itself....
However I wonder what it would measure in reality. (specs is <, so that can be anything).

As a concept, it reminds me of the Marantz TT-15S1 (made by clearaudio, and similar to the Clearaudio Emotion SE)

AT does that, guessing there is variability and they don't wanna lie. Have read somewhere several measurement labs ( I think Australian Hi-Fi Magazine commissioned it) has measured, OTHER (TBF) AT turntables and it has come out at good values, within the range of good W&F values. Something like 0.04 for one of the models, can't remember which one...

v

 

[vmartell]

This AT TT reminds me of Mitsubishi cars from the late 1980s, early 1990s. Looked great! Fast and sporty! But under the hood, and after just a few years, it was time to get out from underneath it. This AT table is most certainly not worth the price of admission.

How long did yours last? when did it break? Have been running an AT-LP7 since 2019 with no issues. Before that, had an AT-LP1240 than ran perfectly for 4 years and still is my backup. Between those, I tried to "upgrade" to European TTs - First a Pro-Ject that arrived DOA, then its replacement a Rega that lasted two days. Bad luck ? maybe. But I decided that the European TTs are overvalued because they are European, while anything Chinese made suffers from ugly prejudice.

If you ask Chinese manufacturers for cheap crap, they give you cheap crap.If you ask them for quality, they give you quality. Now, this seems very similar to the LPW50 - which spec wise is very close the $1200 Pro-Ject TTs, including the 0.15% W&F (as per their site, on X1 and Debut Pro S) so maligned on Chinese made stuff but overlooked on European stuff... And the LPW50 is $500 - is it a bargain? Are the European TTs overpriced?

v

 

[56RETROGRADE]

I have been running the ATLPW50PB table for almost one year now and had zero issues. The sound is good and the build quality is very good. I also run the ATLP140XP and had that for almost 3 years. Zero issues with that one also. I can recommend either table. Price to performance is very good. I bought both on Amazon so they make returns easy. My experience with AT has been positive. I also own at least 10 AT carts and like them all.

 

[HamboneF18]

How long did yours last? when did it break? Have been running an AT-LP7 since 2019 with no issues. Before that, had an AT-LP1240 than ran perfectly for 4 years and still is my backup. Between those, I tried to "upgrade" to European TTs - First a Pro-Ject that arrived DOA, then its replacement a Rega that lasted two days. Bad luck ? maybe. But I decided that the European TTs are overvalued because they are European, while anything Chinese made suffers from ugly prejudice.

If you ask Chinese manufacturers for cheap crap, they give you cheap crap.If you ask them for quality, they give you quality. Now, this seems very similar to the LPW50 - which spec wise is very close the $1200 Pro-Ject TTs, including the 0.15% W&F (as per their site, on X1 and Debut Pro S) so maligned on Chinese made stuff but overlooked on European stuff... And the LPW50 is $500 - is it a bargain? Are the European TTs overpriced?

v

Ive been running an HT-460 (1977) since 1987. Paid $100. 0.028 % W&F, -78 dB DIN B noise. Cleaned and relubed the spindle bearing. They run about $300 today. Full auto, or manual, DD. Great table! Not recapped. There are choices, you know. $1200 for this AT? Goes against my sense of reason.

 

[theflattire]

I like the way it looks but I think they missed the mark.
They should have specced it out at like the $3k+ area and gone after that market. It is after all, an anniversary model.
Maybe even higher like the cart. It the TT was like $5000 maybe it would be something I would aspire to!

The fact that it's priced the way it is tells me it's typical AT fodder; made for the entry-mid level user. Not quite prosumer.
I used to play with their stuff when I was into headphones. NIce cans, but the electronics like head phone amps were pretty much junk.

Interesting that they make higher end carts now, but prefer to stay in the lower level market for TTs and phono amps. I mean they must have the tech?
Maybe their domestic market is different.

 

[radiokom]

This is crap. If you want new table, there is only one brand left - Technics. All other is chinese crap (not because all chinese made is crap - I found their tantal capacitors are very good, but because all of this crap is made in PRC).
So, need good table, buy this:

https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/technics-sl-1500c

P.S. Of course there are Clearaudio and other crap like this what are made to make impression on girls