Replacement Platter for Audio Technica AT-LP120?

[tlann]

Hi all,

First time posting, so please forgive me if I'm in the wrong section, but I'm curious if anyone has ever had any success tracking down a non-warranty replacement platter for their Audio Technica AT-LP120. I've had mine for 7-8 years and recently noticed that the platter is warped—I took it off to confirm and can see that it's uneven in a couple places. I can hear the effects of this every now and again, especially in quiet piano trio settings.

I would've guessed replacing the platter on such a popular turntable would be relatively easy, but I can't find anything out there! Anyway, just curious if anyone has made this replacement and, if so, how they found a good platter (I'm out of warranty on the TT itself, so can't ask for a free replacement from Audio Technica). I'm hoping not to spend too much money because I'm also planning on upgrading my cartridge to the Nagaoka MP-150. Any advice would be very much appreciated!

Thanks for reading!
—Taylor

 

[fredjones]

I had one of these that I bought at Best Buy and I kind of just bought it to see if it would measure up to my standards, knowing that I could take it back within a certain time period. The first one had a warped platter, so I exchanged it. The exchange had a warped platter. I then contacted Audio Technica, to which I sent a video of the warped platter. They sent a replacement. It was warped. Needless to say I ended up returning the turntable. It is really a shame that they cant manufacture a flat platter anymore. I don't know really what to tell you to do. Upgrade I guess. The cheaper Technics tables seem to have balanced, even platters from what I can tell.

Cheers,

 

[tlann]

I had one of these that I bought at Best Buy and I kind of just bought it to see if it would measure up to my standards, knowing that I could take it back within a certain time period. The first one had a warped platter, so I exchanged it. The exchange had a warped platter. I then contacted Audio Technica, to which I sent a video of the warped platter. They sent a replacement. It was warped. Needless to say I ended up returning the turntable. It is really a shame that they cant manufacture a flat platter anymore. I don't know really what to tell you to do. Upgrade I guess. The cheaper Technics tables seem to have balanced, even platters from what I can tell.

Cheers,

Thanks for your input, fredjones—what a frustrating experience. I've heard that these warped platters are unfortunately pretty common with the AT-LP120s, but figured it would be easy to replace if necessary. Guess not. I'm considering just getting one of those U-Turn Orbit turntables and then putting a Nagaoka MP-110 on it. I know there are better turntables out there, but I only have about $450 to spend (and I'm not a huge fan of the Ortofon 2M Blue that comes with the Orbit). If I could fix the AT-LP120 without spending too much, then I could step up to the Nagaoka MP-150...either way, I want to get a level platter because the flutter on some of my favorite piano records is beginning to annoy me.

 

[Lavane]

I have an AT LP-1240. The platter isn't warped at all. I wonder how much of a difference there is in measurements between the two?

 

[Studio_D]

I recall seeing a lot of reports about warped platters when those turntables first appeared on the market but haven't seen many lately. Perhaps they fixed whatever the problem was at the factory.

 

[jrtrent]

I would've guessed replacing the platter on such a popular turntable would be relatively easy, but I can't find anything out there! Anyway, just curious if anyone has made this replacement and, if so, how they found a good platter (I'm out of warranty on the TT itself, so can't ask for a free replacement from Audio Technica). I'm hoping not to spend too much money because I'm also planning on upgrading my cartridge to the Nagaoka MP-150. Any advice would be very much appreciated!

I've never replaced a platter on any of my turntables, but a company called Full Compass at least lists the platter for the LP120-USB. Sadly, it's "Currently out of stock, lead times vary." They charge $50.60 when they have it. If Audio Technica has it in stock, I don't see why they wouldn't sell you one for your turntable.

I was curious to know, since you said you hear it just "every now and again," if you've had a chance to listen to any of your problematic albums on another turntable, maybe at the home of a neighbor or relative, maybe at an audio dealer. I've read that some albums can have intrinsic issues, including the master tapes from which they are produced, that result in audible wow or flutter. It might be worth checking, if you haven't already, to make sure it's your turntable and not the albums themselves that's causing the issue.

I have the newer LP120XUSB, and I've been very pleased and impressed by what it does for the price. The platter is fine, and I've never heard wow or flutter problems. That said, I can't imagine wanting to put a $414.15 cartridge on it (LPGear's price for the MP-150). Right now, I'm enjoying the $25 ATN-VM95C stylus in the stock body. What have you heard with the Nagaoko, or just heard about the Nagaokoa, that makes it so desirable for you? This is a cartridge line I've heard about but never tried or auditioned (I can't recall there ever being a Nagaoka dealer in my area).

 

[tlann]

I've never replaced a platter on any of my turntables, but a company called Full Compass at least lists the platter for the LP120-USB. Sadly, it's "Currently out of stock, lead times vary." They charge $50.60 when they have it. If Audio Technica has it in stock, I don't see why they wouldn't sell you one for your turntable.

I was curious to know, since you said you hear it just "every now and again," if you've had a chance to listen to any of your problematic albums on another turntable, maybe at the home of a neighbor or relative, maybe at an audio dealer. I've read that some albums can have intrinsic issues, including the master tapes from which they are produced, that result in audible wow or flutter. It might be worth checking, if you haven't already, to make sure it's your turntable and not the albums themselves that's causing the issue.

I have the newer LP120XUSB, and I've been very pleased and impressed by what it does for the price. The platter is fine, and I've never heard wow or flutter problems. That said, I can't imagine wanting to put a $414.15 cartridge on it (LPGear's price for the MP-150). Right now, I'm enjoying the $25 ATN-VM95C stylus in the stock body. What have you heard with the Nagaoko, or just heard about the Nagaokoa, that makes it so desirable for you? This is a cartridge line I've heard about but never tried or auditioned (I can't recall there ever being a Nagaoka dealer in my area).

Yeah, I saw that on Full Compass, too. I actually emailed Audio Technica directly, and they gave me a number to call to place an order for a replacement platter. It'll cost a total of $36, shipping included—not bad, though I wonder if the one they send will be flat. Hopefully!

In terms of the wow and flutter coming from the records themselves, that could very well be the case! From what I can tell, the flutter is always there but is more noticeable on certain kinds of music. It's pretty hard to hear on my rock, soul, and up-tempo jazz records, but as soon as I listen to some slow, quiet piano music (like, for instance, The Bill Evans Trio), I notice the out-of-phase sound on sustained notes/chords. Since jazz records (and specifically piano trios) make up about a third of my collection, I'm hoping I can get rid of this—otherwise I think I'd overlook it, since it's not that noticeable for other genres.

Anyway, I'll let you know if the new Audio Technica platter arrives flat!

 

[Studio_D]

I have the newer LP120XUSB, and I've been very pleased and impressed by what it does for the price. The platter is fine, and I've never heard wow or flutter problems. That said, I can't imagine wanting to put a $414.15 cartridge on it (LPGear's price for the MP-150).

Why not? The speed and mechanics are perfectly fine so assuming you're running the phono output into a good preamp and hi-fi system, you should be able to easily hear the benefits of a cartridge at that quality and price point.

The older (non-X) version of the AT-LP120 has an issue that requires removal of its internal preamp in order to pass a flat signal to the phono output, so no, I wouldn't put a $400 cartridge on that one without doing that mod first.

 

[jrtrent]

Why not? The speed and mechanics are perfectly fine so assuming you're running the phono output into a good preamp and hi-fi system, you should be able to easily hear the benefits of a cartridge at that quality and price point.

My past experience has been that a budget cartridge on a higher quality turntable is the best and the most cost-effective route to better sound quality. For example, I would expect a Rega Planar 3 with an AT-VM95C to sound better than my LP120XUSB with the MP-150 (though I would like to do an audition to hear for myself if that's true for these particular combinations). I love to play records, so at present I replace my stylus every six months. Because of the lower stylus cost of the AT, in 2 1/2 years that Planar 3 with VM95C will already have been less expensive than the same amount of time with the MP-150 (for which I found a lower price of $337 with $207 replacement styli) on the LP120 I already own. By the end of five years I would already have saved about $1000 by buying the Planar 3 and the cheap AT cartridge.

I chose the VM95C for comparison because in a review of budget cartridges up to $169, Stereophile said, "Music-pleasure–wise, Audio-Technica's VM95C was the most satisfying cartridge in this survey." I should add that he used a $9000 turntable/tonearm combination to test the cartridges on.

 

[Studio_D]

I think you should do that audition. In my opinion once you've got a turntable spinning at a stable, accurate speed below the threshold of audible wow and flutter, have negligible loss in the signal path and reasonably well-controlled vibrations, you're at the point where you should be able to hear the important details. Improvements beyond that are all much smaller incremental steps toward the pursuit of perfection. The LP120XUSB may not be a high end turntable but its no slouch either. Its performance is easily at the level where you should be able to hear the differences between cartridges in the range you're talking about. Again, that's assuming you're playing it through a good preamp and sound system.

 

[jrtrent]

I think you should do that audition.

Sadly, there are no dealers in my area where I could get an audition of a Nagaoka cartridge. In fact, when I searched, I found this quote, "LP GEAR purchases directly from Nagaoka and is the only authorized USA dealer." I'm not sure how Turntable Needles get theirs, and can price them about $77 cheaper. In any event, I'm not going to spend several hundred dollars on that cartridge to do a comparison, nor do I want to spend $945 on a new Planar 3 (though my RP3 might be close enough).

In my opinion once you've got a turntable spinning at a stable, accurate speed below the threshold of audible wow and flutter, have negligible loss in the signal path and reasonably well-controlled vibrations, you're at the point where you should be able to hear the important details. Improvements beyond that are all much smaller incremental steps toward the pursuit of perfection. The LP120XUSB may not be a high end turntable but its no slouch either. Its performance is easily at the level where you should be able to hear the differences between cartridges in the range you're talking about. Again, that's assuming you're playing it through a good preamp and sound system.

I agree that the LP120XUSB is no slouch, and I know it's good enough to let me hear differences between cartridges (I do like it with the Sumiko Oyster better than with the VM95C). I also know that with the same cartridge mounted, the RP3 is significantly better, and I suspect that it would be better no matter how expensive a cartridge I mounted on the LP120. That's been my experience in the past, anyway, when comparing budget turntables against higher-priced units (I bought my first Linn when it, with their freebie Basik cartridge, trounced my lowly Thorens TD146 no matter how expensive a cartridge I had the dealer mount up to compare it against). My Rega has been out of service since last summer, still waiting for the new EBLT belt to be available, and the inexpensive AT turntable with that $79 Sumiko cartridge has been very satisfying in the interim. In fact, I'm not so sure I really need the better sound offered by the Rega (and which is now but a dim memory).

 

[oldman54]

The platter on my atlp120 is not warped. I bought it 2 years ago. I hope you get a good one. I had a similar Numark before with a warped platter. Its frustrating.