Audio-Technica AT-LP7

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For these simply stepping into vinyl, it may be formidable to discover a first turntable — it may be difficult to determine simply how a lot you ought to be prepared to spend.

Through the years, we have had a number of totally different turntables, however none as costly because the AT-LP7. For folks with none present vinyl setup, the AT-LP7 could be a stretch for a primary turntable — although not fully out of the query.

The AT-LP7 retails for $849, so it is meant to be a finely crafted product that may meet folks’s wants now and develop with them sooner or later.

In our case, we preferred the AT-LP7 as a second run at upgrading our system. After almost a decade of lower-cost choices, this one demonstrated the worth of investing in a turntable that was unbelievable out of the field however permits for even higher parts sooner or later.

The AT-LP7 turntable is absolutely guide, which means it will not cease when it reaches the report’s finish or return the tonearm.

Adjusting speeds is completed with a twist of a dial — which was extremely easy and satisfying to show.

Pace knob

The truth is, that was a giant takeaway for us — simply how delicate and finely tuned all of the parts on the AT-LP7 have been. The metallic gimbal suspension system allowed for exact monitoring.

Different options embody a J-shaped tone arm with AT-HS10 headshell, a bypassable phono pre-amplifier with selectable modes for shifting magnet or shifting coil cartridges, and a 20 mm-thick, anti-resonance, polyoxymethylene platter.

The mud cowl is removable, which isn’t essentially a constructive if you do not have a spot to set it. Nonetheless, we did not thoughts having to take away and substitute it, and we preferred the utterly black look of the AT-LP7 when the quilt was eliminated.

We performed a variety of albums on the LP7 turntable, together with Billy Joel’s “The Stranger,” The Nationwide’s “Bother Will Discover Me,” and Ben Webster Quintent’s “Soulville” to get a mixture of genres.

AT-LP7 taking part in a vinyl report

In every case, the songs have been detailed and sounded full. We tried a number of totally different speaker configurations, together with a stereo pair of the brand new Sonos Period 100, Edifier R1280DB, and the Marshall Stanmore III. The turntable labored nice with every of those — utterly silent and issue-free.

We did not have any issues with the built-in phono preamp, coming from lower-end turntables, and we preferred that it might be bypassed sooner or later.

We did need to fiddle with the burden on the tonearm a couple of occasions to get it excellent, however that was extra about us getting accustomed to it relatively than a fault or unfavourable. We did not want to make use of the anti-skiing dial, nevertheless it was out there if we wanted it.

The AT-LP7 and its VM520EB twin shifting magnet stereo cartridge supplied crisp and clear music copy, higher than we had heard on sub-$600 turntables from U-Flip and Victrola.

Whereas we’re not fairly able to experiment with new cartridges but, we preferred the power to take action throughout a variety of various choices when the time comes.

With an $850 retail value, the Audio-Technica AT-LP7 turntable is a major funding. Freshmen might soar straight to it, however we advocate constructing as much as it first.

Gimbal suspension system

When you have audio system you want and an current turntable you are trying to substitute, we preferred what the AT-LP7 supplied. We expect it might be the final one you might want to purchase with the power to improve the cartridge or bypass its onboard phono preamp.

Quite than being computerized, the guide facet of it might be somewhat disappointing, however past that and the mud cowl which will want a storage spot, this turntable was primarily all upside for us.

• Glorious sound high quality out of the field
• MM/MC cartridge selector
• Replacable stylus and upgradable cartridge

• Absolutely guide turntable
• Non-connected mud cowl