Audio-Technica at-LP7 Fully Manual Belt-Drive Turntable Black

I've usually found, if trying to upgrade my vinyl experience, that I have to buy into a bunch of superfluous bells and whistles in order to step up my game. Not here. The AT-LP7 is, in fact, the functionally most basic turntable I've ever owned. It's exactly the kind of 'upgrade' I've been looking for - all the extra money spent on quality, not glitz. Phonograph Lp's are still what they were 7 decades ago when introduced - a flat, disc-shaped slab of plastic with a slightly ridged surface - period. While technological improvements were inevitable, to me most of them do nothing more for reproduction than jewels do for a watch to tell time. If you disagree with that, there are better choices for you than the AT-LP7. This is a nice, heavily-built unit which feels solid and operates smoothly. Under the unhinged (yes that term came from turntables!) dust-cover are only 5 things: a platter, the belt, the driver spindle, the speed selector and the tonearm (6 if you count the headshell/cartridge separately). Basic assembly is required, but the instructions are pretty clear, even for the beginner. Spoiler alert: WRAP THE BELT AROUND THE PLATTER FIRST. Going the other way will likely lead to... frustration. The headshell has to be attached, but includes one of AT's middle-ground cartridges, the VM520EB, with the overhang already set... helpful if you're a newbie. Even MORE helpful is the on board electronics! This fundamental but versatile deck will output from either a moving coil or moving magnet cartridge (like the VM520EB) AND has a switchable pre-amp which allows the use of an amplifier that HAS a dedicated 'phono' input, or one that has only 'line-level' (or AUX) type inputs. I'm currently trying out the 'line-level' outputs as I've never had a turntable that had them, and they sound pretty good to me! Pleasant surprise. The other oddball choice here, at least in my experience, is that the power cord is an actual, old-fashioned AC adapter with the AC - DC converter being a box-shaped outlet plug. My guess is this helps keep the 60 cycle hum out of the 'line-level' outputs. I haven't heard any of it coming through my home-theater receiver I'm using right now. While quite enjoyable as-is, I'm sure the AT-LP7 is a worthy match to a cartridge upgrade for those with the budget. The one enhancement I miss is a pitch control, but the rotation 'sounds' spot-on accurate to me, so I say: 'no judgement penalty', and, 'Keeper'.

I took a risk on an Amazon Warehouse buy, and it was about as disastrous as could be expected. The packing job was atrocious - just the unit wrapped in a plastic bag with no packing material. The plinth had some minor blems, which was fine since it's black. But the dust cover was smashed, and the stylus was bent. Parts were just thrown together in another bag. This was my first foray into vinyl, and so it began. I worked with AT support, who strongly recommended I just return the unit. But the discounting was good, and I had some reward points involved, and I could see a path if I took care of some things. And those first few records told me this thing was worth salvaging. It's nice to use. It looks good. It is so substantial. I can't get any vibration into it, even with a pair of speakers blasting only a foot or two away from it on either side, sitting on the same shelf. It's incredible in that regard. I ended up getting a VM540ML headshell kit and popped it on. Sourced a new dust cover from AT. Validated the tonearm settings, and used a few apps to ensure the RPMs were good. I'm left with a setup that I'm very attached to, sounds lovely, can't imagine wanting anything more in a turntable. I ran the onboard preamp for months and recently swapped in a Cambridge Alva Duo. I think I lose a little warmth with the Duo, but gain just a little bit of clarity I do not pick up in the AT's preamp. It's a balance - I may go back, or I may not, but the Duo was another reward points financial voodoo situation that I'm not out too much for. It is a hassle to A/B the preamp. At some point you just pick a horse and ride it. You can easily make do with what it has. I'm very happy with this. It's very hard for me to know what a brand new version might sound like, compared to the dumpster fire that was first delivered to me. So I hesitate to pass judgment on the value of this unit at full retail price. Maybe I will say this - if you can find your way into one at a discount, and put some work into it - it is worthwhile.

Here's to a Great Turntable! (Shh don't tell the rich audiophiles. No, Tell them, they won't believe you anyhow!) I Just got this turntable and spent many, many hours (sleepless nights, many recordings: Classical, (Kings College) Choral, Jazz, Easy Listening (Sinatra), Rock (the iconic Donal Fagan "Night Fly"), "studying" the "sound" with the following results: With a great Cartridge like the better Audio Technica cartridges (AT-OCML/ii or equivalent Moving Coil cartridge if you can get one and listening through the Rotel (RQ-970BX) outboard separate Phono Equalizer (with its Moving Coil step up) and Integrated Amp by Musical Fidelity M6Si and B&W CM2 speakers, this table is as good In my opinion as turntables costing many, many times more. It has poise, is quiet, accurate and looks great, but most of all sounds fantastic! It has bass slam for rock, clarity for classical and jazz. Surprising was the decent onboard phono stage for MM or MC (which I used as an alternative). It is decent. But lacks the ultra holographic soundstage of a separate integrated phono stage or separate phono stage. But it is almost there. I could live with it if it was all that I had. It's that good. The hi frequency is thereabout not extended. But that's to be expected. It has good but not really powerful bass. It does not offend in any real ly objectionable ways. So, the on board stage can be disabled with a push of a button if you have a separate phono stage. They are not that expensive and will make this table really sing. I have owned the famous LINN LP12 (with the stunning Alphason HR100S arm. I just got this table to replace an old Music Hall MMF 7.1. This table with the right cartridge is as good or better than those EXEPENSIVE AUDIOPHILE tables. costing thousands of dollars. I recently heard a $7,000 rig in a super audio store that sounded nowhere as good as this with a Hanna cartridge! You NEED a great cartridge (Audio Technicas are among the best in my opinion.) I dismounted an ORTOFON BRONZE on this table because it was not as detailed and brilliant sounding or as musical! This table with a Audio Technica MC with the right electronics is stunning. HINT- Get a low capacitance cable. Blue Jeans is inexpensive and Very Good! You want to match capacitance on the cartridge with what the amp "sees" so the sound is not defeated. Hmm, did I say the bass is soft? I just heard a thunderous note on the organ! The table is that good.... Try it

I *like* this turntable! I've had premium Sony and Technics direct drive made in Japan TTs for 40 years. I wanted to try something different. I certainly read up on all the possible problems with Hanpin made decks. This one has none of them. Speed is dead on. In fact, I've measured down to 0.05% for wow and flutter. The Sony DD I just swapped out measured 0.02%. The LP7 ain't no slouch. ;-) No play in the tonearm bearings, check. The platter is perfectly round, balanced, and rotates with no waver or vertical movement at all in the platter profile, check. The cueing lever has the proper amount of dampening, check. My only complaint, is that I wish there was the option to buy it without the phono preamp, and I wish I could buy it without a cartridge. 1st thing I did was to get rid of the junk 520EB it came with, and put on a brand new Denon DL-110. Easy set up, check. No anti-skating issues, check. No IGD, check. Oh yeah, they should include an overhang gauge, but I used one I had for Technics, and I double checked with an arc protractor, and the cart was dead nuts on. I *like* this turntable! :-D Oh yeah, the LP-7 is a little more sensitive to footfalls nearby than the Sony or Technics. But hey, $400 in 1980 money is worth almost $1300 now, and obviously this one is a lot cheaper than that.

I've had a Technics SL-1500C for the last 6 months or so. I've enjoyed it for the most part, but noticed that there are times when music just doesn't sound "right" on it. I was constantly tinkering with it and switching cartridges on and off to try and find optimal sound. I really wanted to find a table that I could just set and forget. It's been tough to find something that balances the scales between being too expensive, but also being high enough quality. Enter the LP7. I've seen it advertised and read a lot of reviews on it. The price is a little high, but still doable. I went back and forth on whether I would try it for several months, and then finally decided to give it a shot. The table is beautiful. All black, very solid to the touch. The Delrin platter is heavy and has an indentation cut out in it for the labels on records. In other words, you don't need a mat, the platter is made to just put the record right on it. The J-shaped arm feels solid to the touch, with a nice little bit of heft. One thing I noticed, and this has been mentioned in prior reviews, the tonearm bearings do feel a little loose to me. I can hear a small clank when I work the tonearm back and forth. Hmmmm, not really liking that, but I will say that I didn't notice any issues with sound, particularly on less-than-ideal records. Thus, the four-stars instead of five. I give kudos to Audio Technica for not using a 'cheap' cartridge on the LP7. Often turntables come with one of the cheapest carts on them, such as AT's own VMN95C on the LP3, or the Ortofon Red on the Technics SL-1500C. In the case of the LP7, AT includes a cart from their own 500 series, the VM520EB, a bonded elliptical cart with an upgraded body over the 95 series that is without a doubt an upgrade in sound. Set up was extremely easy. I didn't even read the instructions. Set the platter, connect the leads to my Project tube preamp, set the switch on the back of the LP7 to phono, put the headshell on the tonearm, set tracking force, and throw on a record. First up was Metallica's Ride the Lightning. Straight out of the box, running into an external preamp, the sound was dynamic and crisp. Dead silent background, but lacking in detail slightly. Flipping over to Mazzy Star's So Tonight I Might See, the music was pleasant but seemed to be missing a little something. Curious, I swapped off the 20EB stylus for a 40ML stylus that I had lying around. Here we go! Bass was enhanced, detail was increased. I really started getting into the music at this point and switched over to Paul McCartney's Band on the Run. Oh yeah, the ML stylus on the 500 series cartridge was everything one might need. Well, I couldn't leave well enough alone, I wanted to see just how good the LP7 could be. I had a spare headshell with a AT 740ML cart on it, so I put it on the LP7. Sound improved even further. Bass became even more defined; imaging became wide, extending out and above the speakers. I would daresay most people would be quite satisfied with the included 520EB cart, but if you could upgrade to the ML stylus or even to the 740ML, you would be in vinyl heaven. I figured I would give the built-in preamp a test, since AT was nice enough to include one. Many internal preamps are an afterthought, and I fully expected the LP7's to be the same way (just like the Technics SL-1500C internal preamp). I was wrong. I was surprised at just how good the LP7's internal preamp sounded. I could tell little difference other than volume between it and my $1,000 Project Tube Box DS2. How can this be??? The LP7 costs less than my Project, how can it sound better??? One last test... the LP7's internal preamp can handle MC carts. I figured what the heck, I'll swap in a Denon 103 with an upgraded boron microlinear stylus and see how it sounds. I put on Primus's Pork Soda and listened to it from one end to the other. It left me amazed. Les Claypool's detailed work on the 6-string bass he uses left me shaking my head. I've only heard that kind of detail from much more expensive systems. I don't think I've ever heard an internal MC preamp on a turntable sound that stinking good. I haven't inserted the Project phono preamp back into my system, that should tell you how much I like the sound of the LP7. The LP7 is a fantastic turntable. It bested my Technics SL-1500C in sound quality throughout a variety of records, and did so without needing an external preamp. It handled a pricey high compliance cart in the Denon DL103 with an upgraded stylus. It ticks the boxes that I need, and for now it occupies the place of honor in my main listening system.

So this system is actually a “downgrade” for me, as my last player had a MC cartridge on it that cost more than this player and cartridge together. That said, I’m very impressed with this system. The player itself is high quality and what I would say is in the “knee of the curve” of record players. Easy to set up and smooth playing, it’s a great value. The MM cartridge that come on it is not bad at all, another good value with excellent channel separation; however, if you’re an audiophile, it will sound a little “thin” to your ears. The built in phono amp is sufficient, that’s it, so I would definitely recommend sending the signal through a dedicated amp of your choice/budget to increase the sound quality. The cables are also fine but an upgrade here will also help a little bit. For well under a grand for the package, it’s a steal IMHO. You can always upgrade the cartridge later but as is, this system is great for folks who don’t want to spend an arm and a leg to listen to their record collection and still get a very nice, enjoyable sound. Massive bang for the buck, 5 stars.

Everything about this turntable is top in class for design and materials used in it's price range. Audio Technica's best tone arm and gimbal set up, a 40 mm thick MDF plinth and a 4 pound POM platter, over 18 pounds all together, belt drive, sensor controlled motor, all the electronics mounted in their own enclosure under the table for better isolation and serviceability. The ability to easily up grade cartridges and use both MM and MC cartridges at the flick of a switch. This table sounds terrific right out of the box. Every time I que up a record on my AT PL 7 I feel that I got more than I paid for.

Received the TT and the spindle motor was frozen up so when the platter was installed it would not spin at all. Sent back and probably won’t buy a TT from AT.

Amazing sound quality; best value; very high end sounding. I love this turntable. Highly recommended.

Excelente tornamesa, bello y robusto, sonido delicioso ...no tiene sentido buscar algo más caro .... con un preamp de 500-800 dólares, es más que suficiente!

The table is so heavy. The structure is solid as you could imagine. Fully adjustable allows changes to any cartridge and headshell in only seconds. The cartridge is full sounding and impressive. I absolutely love this table and just wan tto listen all day every day.

I spent many months considering and testing a lot of mid- and upper-mid-range turntables from Rega, Pro-Ject, Fluance, AT, Denon, etc. I settled on the AT-LP7, kind of a lesser-known “sleeper” product, because it really blew away the competition. I’ve now had my AT-LP7 about four months. I love it! SET-UP: Super simple, but I recommend using a protractor to ensure your cartridge is perfectly aligned. That advice, however, goes for any factory-aligned cartridge-headshell unit. My LP7’s VMN20EB cartridge was just *barely* misaligned out of the box. SOUND: The thick, rock-solid plinth, heavy polyoxymethylene platter, and dampened feet do wonders for vibrational isolation. I could hear resonance when tapping or bumping shelves under other thinner-plinth tables (e.g. Rega P2/P3, ATLP50, etc.), but absolutely no vibrations got in the way of the LP7’s warm sound. After I set up my LP7, I used the supplied VMN20EB cartridge for about a month. It’s a great-sounding cartridge, but no matter how much I tweaked the alignment there was always some degree of inner groove distortion. I then upgraded to a VM540ML which eliminated inner groove distortion and really brought out the tight warm bass and clean highs of my vinyl. The LP7’s belt-drive motor is silent, smooth, and speed-accurate. LOOKS & BUILD: Beautiful, simple aesthetic. It’s indeed a hefty build, but as previously mentioned, this does wonders to isolate the sound. A heavy, thick plinth is important. Referencing the previous review of “loose tonearm bearings”, I’ve experienced nothing but tight, smooth bearings and smooth tonearm movement. And of the three LP7 demo tables I looked at while considering a purchase, none had bearing problems. Perhaps it was an early production problem (or just a lemon) that was addressed. BUILT-IN PHONO STAGE: Works great, sounds great, and nice it can handle moving coil cartridges. However, on some of my older jazz albums and my more beat-up LPs it became clear that the phono stage does NOT have a subsonic filter, so those albums caused some significant woofer pumping. My external Cambridge Audio Alva Solo phono stage (with subsonic filter) immediately cured that problem, but this makes the built-in stage useless for me. An LP7 without a built-in preamp might be a nice future option…or one with a subsonic filter upgrade. DUST COVER: Looks great in smoky gray. I prefer the removable cover, but you must take great care not to bump the tonearm when taking it off and putting it on. I recommend keeping the tonearm latched when moving the dust cover around. Overall, this is a beautiful turntable. It’s simple, has excellent sound, and will bring out the best in your vinyl. And the sky is the limit for cartridge upgrades that will respond really well to the LP7’s solid design and hardware. It really smashes it’s price-point competition

Li muitos testes antes de comprar, já tive muitos TD Rega, o P3 sempre precisou de muitos ups antes de ficar bom, o AT LP7, que custa o valor de um P2, é um produto de primeira qualidade, bem construído, estrutura forte e extremamente bem ajustado. Ajustei contrapeso para excelente cápsula que vem com ele manualmente, depois fui conferir com a balança digital, deu uma diferença de 1 miligrama. Não tenham receio em comprar esse TD, que segundo a própria Audio Technica, é o melhor TD já construído por eles. Para fechar, ele é muito mais bonito ao vivo.