A felt mat is included – something I much prefer to the terrible moulded rubber options you often see at this price point – plus a hinged lid. This is quite an extensive list, so let’s move on from Technics for a minute and just reel them off.

Or perhaps you have LPs or 45s (I did a video here explaining why you should buy 45 RPM records, if you’re interested in watching it) that were released on vinyl several decades ago, but were never released in any subsequent format after that. The sound quality for the AT-LP120XUSB is quite good, especially for its price. It’s not necessarily going to sound as good as a more expensive turntable (although the 120XUSB does indeed allow you to bypass the internal preamp and connect this turntable directly to an external preamp, thus being able to better control and improve your sound quality). But it doesn’t have to—sometimes getting good value for your money is enough. Speaking of connections, the power cord and dual RCA output cable are removable on this model, which not only serves to protect them from wear and tear if the turntable is constantly being moved about, but also reduces the level of vibration inside the unit, making for a slightly more satisfying listening experience. Still, going the direct drive route with the AT-LP120XUSB allows for the turntable itself to start up fast and the record speed will be a bit more consistent because it’s not relying on additional parts to spin the platter that can, over time, wear out and need to be replaced. The next thing worth noting, as mentioned earlier, is that this is a direct drive turntable. The AT-LP60X, by contrast, was a belt-drive turntable.I mentioned that acoustic guitar strum bite and the raft of information around that simple motion. There was much more information around this area from the 120x. The Fluance nodded towards the acoustic guitar strums but never dwelt upon it so it held less importance in the mix. The 120x wanted you to hear it and feel its significance. The same should be said of the later cymbal taps which offered greater delicacy and fragility via the 120x. It’s important to know, right off the bat, what you’re getting with the AT-LP120XUSB. This turntable is a manual record player, a direct drive turntable, and it also has USB functionality. And it’s very important to be aware of these three things before we move further into even more of its great features.

Rega, for example, has reduced the features list to almost zero. You get an on/off switch but that’s your lot. Changing speed even means moving the belt to a different notch on the pulley. Most of the build budget has gone into the development of the Rega tonearm – and a fine specimen it is too. In pure sonic terms, the Rega emerges as the best of the bunch, despite the 120x offering a couple of sonic highlights in comparison. Nevertheless, I wanted to compare the new 120x with comparably priced turntables. To see where it sits in sonic terms when compared to its immediate competition but also how the features compare at this price. I also wanted to decide where this turntable is targeted. Who is the customer? That means that from starting your record player, moving the tonearm, and operating the cueing lever (not to mention having to paying attention to when the final song finishes so you can return the tonearm to its rest), you’re solely responsible for all this operation. So the 120 is not strictly a DJ turntable, although you could muddle through with it for DJ purposes. I class the 120x as a lifestyle turntable. By that I mean that it’s not wholly dedicated to sound quality. Part of its build budget has been used to buy parts which have nothing at all do do with sound quality. The Gold are hand selected from Silver production runs which meet higher test specifications. Approximately 5% of the run usually exhibits these specs and become a Gold.Another improvement with the AT-LP120XUSB is that it now comes with an external AC adaptor. Before, the conversion of AC/DC was an internal one, which again can lead to—potentially—a bit of distortion of the signal, which can creep into the audio signal or audio quality of the music coming through your speakers. The motor has also been reduced in torque which wold hamper DJ-related performance but this is actually a good thing in sonic terms. The higher the torque, the more energy a motor will insert into the platter and the plinth and that energy has to go somewhere. If it’s not immediately drained, then it will convert from vibration to high-frequency noise and start veiling fine detail. Not a good thing. Hence, lowering the torque is on the right lines, at any rate. SEEING THE LIGHT While testing the Audio-Technica AT-LP120XUSB-BK, we realized that it not only looks great, it performs well. After placing a record on the turntable we found it easy to choose the correct speed to play the record, with controls for 33/45/78 RPM right next to the start button. First, once you have everything out of the box, take the platter and place it over the spindle. Then, place the slipmat directly on top of the platter. The stereo should be good enough to not be outplayed by the AT-LP120. Good enough to keep the AT-LP120 reasonably honest…