Audio-Technica - AT-LP140XP Professional Direct Drive Manual Turntable - Black

Product Information

In short, if you’re looking to buy a record player to use while you fall asleep, this is not the turntable for you. Best Selling Turntables

DJ turntables tend to be direct rather than belt drive because it's easier to transition between records and to scratch. Audio-Technica have long made some of the best DJ turntables around. DJ turntables essentially offer more control over the disc, for example the pitch control function, which looks like a long fader on the side of the platter, and allows the user to control the platter's speed.

The AT-LP140XP is a high-end turntable, designed for DJs and avid music listeners alike. The AT-LP140XP features a new DC servo direct-drive motor for optimised audio performance. It also features adjustable dynamic anti-skate control and a dedicated phone-level output. We’ve already covered some of the advantages the AT-LP120-USB has, but here’s another one I haven’t mentioned yet: Adjustable Tonearm Height. And as I mentioned earlier, the other feature some people may miss is the internal phono preamp. That’s something that’s available in the aforementioned LP120 turntables, but not here on the AT-LP140XP.

The AT-LP120USB offers a built-in phono amplifier and USB port for vinyl ripping. Ideal, if you’re short of cash. The inclusion of these accessories also adds a measure of veiling noise to the sound of the 120. The AT-LP140XP gives you none of that. This enhances the AT-LP140XP’s inherent audiophile aspirations although those DJ accessories will negate that aim to some extent because those features will also inject a measure of noise into the signal. What the hi-fi gods give with one hand, they take away with another. As I say, the Lenco is offered at a much lower price point so the 140 should be sonically superior. The result was a score draw. The RT83 provided a complex midrange, layered with detail and a sense of refinement that the 140 couldn’t match. That said, the 140 was better in transient terms. The notion of notes starting and stopping on the dot. That element of precision and focus was notable with the 140. On this point, the 140 left the RT83 in its dust. Vocally, the RT83 provided a superior emotional complexity. An impassioned delivery that gave the RT83 a fragility and sensitivity. The 140 offered more life and vitality in the vocals. It provided greater energy and oomph to the vocal performance. Bass had character and an organic sense from the RT83 but greater punch and slam via the 140. For customers in outlying areas of the country, the price of the Extended Warranty may be marginally higher, due to the potential for higher collection and redelivery transport costs. The 140 is a mature 120. Grown up, rather serious and better built but it retains its DJ aspirations. SOUND QUALITY

Audio Technica AT-LP140XP Direct Drive DJ Turntable, Black Overview

All models are fully manual in operation. There are NO automatic functions. To start and stop the rotation of the record platter, press the Start/Stop button at any time. To place the stylus (needle) on the record, raise the tonearm from the tonearm rest by raising the cueing lever. Use your hand to move the tonearm over to the desired location on the record then lower the arm to the record by lowering the lever. At the end of play, raise the arm by raising the cueing lever, use your hand to return the tonearm to the tonearm rest and lower the arm to the rest by lowering the lever.

Most DJs leave the needle lights in one position or another, and in fact, in 27 years of clubbing, I’ve only met one DJ who carefully lowers the needle onto the record with a hydraulic lever. I do not need that. Audio Technica AT-LP140XP Video Review There’s not a lot I don’t love about this record player, but I will say that there are some features you might expect to get here that aren’t included.The Audio-Technica AT-LP140XP is not an audiophile turntable but it is an admirable lifestyle design that will please many analogue fans. It has a tough fight to establish dominance against the worthy and cheaper Fluance RT83 but there is still much to like about the AT-LP140XP. Those positive elements emanate largely from the sturdy and heavy chassis plus its direct drive mechanism. With a responsive and vital bass plus an energetic midrange performance, the AT-LP140XP is a likeable and intriguing turntable and worthy of its inclusion on your demo list. This Essex-based brand was founded in 1973, and still has a small factory in the county, continuing to produce some of the best mid-range turntables money can buy. The Planar, which comes in numbers from 1 to 10 (we're talking thousands of pounds for the latter), is an iconic range of turntables.