Audio-Technica AT-PL120 Professional Direct-Drive Turntable

The product sound very good and the features like the preamp and usb port are very important

This a great turntable that tracks beautify. Its only flaw for me is that it does not lift up at the end of the record; probably designed that way for JD's, since it also plays backwards. I replaced a 30 year old Dual 704 direct drive turntable; this is better and without the quirks. I have owned the AT-PL 120 about month and was going to replace the cartridge with a Shure M97XE, but for records from the mid 60's and before I haven't needed to. It plays those scratched old records like the Dual never would. The motor has great torque.

I already own several other decks but I wanted one that spun three speeds so I didn't have to swap out a turntable just for 78's and I wanted the simplicity of just changing cartridge headshells w/ stylus' for 78's.

I also have a Technics SL 1200 so in comparison to that, this deck isn't a bad contender. Obviously they look a lot alike, but so do other turntables that try to mimick the SL 1200.

But, my quest was for a decent turntable for the various speeds and they aren't easily found. I tried a Thorens TD-190 deck because it offered 3 speeds as well as having auto-play but it was a piece of crap. It was a 500 dollar machine and it cost me [...] bucks just to send it back. It had poor isolation, it howled and was very cheaply made.

When I saw the AT PL-120 I gave it some hard thought in regards to trying another TT in hopes of finding one that works well. I also had to wait to purchase one because they were going through the design change for a USB output.

After receiving it I must say that I'm not disappointed. It isn't as well made as the Technics SL1200 and here are a couple things I can say that differ.

The arm looks a little bit more cheaply made but only in regards to the rear plastic assembly of the tube. Other than that, it looks the same and functions and tracks very well.

The tone-arm base to the plynth isn't as well constructed as the SL1200 as seen by the anti-skate knob, the VTA adjuster and arm lift assembly.

The platter itself isn't the most perfectly machined platter I've seen, but it's only apparent when spinning at 78 RPM.

The plynth isn't as heavy as the SL1200 but it's much better than other decks I've looked at and tried before. It's actually rather heavy, solid and well isolated from foot falls and feedback. I play my system loud and I use a sub-woofer so feedback is a major issue for me.

I didn't need a deck that spins in reverse but it's there if I decide to use it, I guess. I'm not using the cartridge supplied with this unit due it tracks heavier than I prefer and it won't deliver the type of sound I desire. I will install it into an old Garrard TT though so it won't go to waste. I currently am using a Stanton 681EEE cart but I have an AT120 ordered. I also have several other carts in my possesion, along with an AT440mL, that sound very nice on this machine. I also have a Stanton cart for 78's.

I give this turntable 5 stars across the board because I've dealt with lots of decks and I've seen that many on the market fall short of doing the things a turntable need to do like track well, hold their correct speed and isolate themselves from external sound waves.

The cost of the AT PL-120 is a real value in terms of the quality you'll obtain considering the junk you'll likely find with other products.

You might say I have an audiophile way of thinking but I'm not able to afford extravagant gear. I value my sound though and I know what I expect from it. I have good equipment and I don't use junk.

The PL-120 is a good purchase if you're looking for a good playing deck. It has an excellent motor drive that's strong and dead-on.

I advise to stay away from the fancy looking decks that look hi-tech, light weight in construction and made with hollow plastic housings.

Thought I'd toss in my two cents on the hum issue. I bought this player in mid 2008. Sounds great and very durable. Played great without issue, until just a few months ago that is...

Now, when I turn it up to what I would consider the 'low end' of the loud range, I get a low bass feedback kinda sound from primarily the left speaker. Lift the needle off the record at the same volume and no noise. Turn it down a bit and the sound goes away. Funny how it worked fine the first year or so. I recently upgraded the receiver and relocated all of my components to a new location and same thing. And yes, I do have the turntables pre-amp turned off.

It still has the original factory cartridge/needle on it. Maybe the needle is just old and worn and that's why it just started doing this perhaps? I don't know as this is my first turntable. Thought about trying a new cartridge but not sure it's worth the investment. I only paid 125.00 for this unit and a decent quality cartridge looks to run about 75.00 and up.

In reading the reviews, seems alot of the humming units were the older reviews so maybe they corrected grounding issue on the newer units perhaps? I'm not a 'solder kinda guy' so I wont be breaking into the unit for a technical fix. Read that the ground loops affect the sound quality in a negative way so not sure I want to go that route either. Kinda of a downer but what electronic equiptment am I not having to replace every few years these days anyway.....

I must be one of the very lucky of the 200 or so people to purchase, and comment about this turntable here on Amazon and not have any issues with it. I have the AT-PL120 connected to the TV inputs of a Sony STR-DH700 and it outputs warm and wonderful analog like no other turntable I've owned, and I've owned a few in my 41 years of existence. I also own a Stanton T.90 USB turntable, and the AT-PL120 sounds much better and they both have the same cartridge installed, a Ortofon Concorde Gold @ 1.5g. Maybe the Audio-Technica quality control people have hit and miss days at the factory.

Now I do not claim to be some audiophile aficionado, rather I am a common vinyl record collector and lover (on a modest budget) since the age of 3 years old when my mom was nice enough to shower me with a record player and records. I've been hooked since then and never gave up collecting even during the rise and fall of cassettes, CD's, Mini Discs. SACD's, and DVD-Audio. Records just have that special something I can't stop loving.

Anyway if you are looking for a budget turntable that gets the job done of playing your LP's with fantastic results, do not hesitate to make this your next purchase. I am not sorry I did and, neither will you.

After reading many reviews on this turntable, I decided to purchase one while Beach Camera was the prime Amazon partner vendor. The first unit arrived with a broken tone arm latch, and I returned it and received credit. In the meantime, Beach Camera had raised the price by $25, and no other vendor was as inexpensive as my original price of $206 with free shipping. A call to Beach sales got me my replacement at the original price.

It might be of interest to note that Audio Technica USA has a very good parts department (I bought an extra PL120 headshell from them). When I called them to ask about the broken part with which my unit had arrived, they told me that it often breaks through use, that it's easily user replaceable, that they send out several from time to time and they would be glad to send me one free of charge to replace the broken one I got. But it was too late for me to rescind the RMA I asked for and got from Beach Camera.

Right out of the box, this turntable was a dream to set up and use. I experienced no problems with the minor bit of assembly necessary and took great care to balance the tone arm with the headshell and cartridge installed before setting the tracking force at 4 grams - about midway between the lightest and heaviest force AT recommends for the cartridge that comes with the unit. I never had a problem with the "zeroing" dial being too loose that some reviewers have experienced. I set the anti-skate control as AT recommends.

Final leveling the turntable came next (I did a preliminary leveling to assure I got the tonearm balance right), and I was very careful to repeat the process several times to assure I had it absolutely horizontal both front-to-back and side-to-side. I used a small "torpedo" level that fit on the platter, not some circular turntable level which doesn't seem to be as easy to read.

I was very careful to follow the sequence for connecting the audio outputs and AC power that AT recommends. My stereo receiver (Denon) has a phono input, so I didn't have to switch in the built-in pre-amp. I switched on the receiver and the turntable, turned the volume up to beyond listening level and got no hum (at least to my older ears) that others have heard.

Playing some old vinyl was a pleasure - especially with the cueing feature and damped tonearm descent. My LPs sounded as good as I remember - and I do agree with those people who prefer vinyl for its smoother music renditions, less tinny highs and deeper, more natural base notes.

My only complaint was that the user manual wasn't very clear about how to use the leveling pads. I assumed that the leg lengths were, indeed, adjustable. But that should have been made very clear in the instructions.

I also bought the cartridge for playing 78s but haven't installed it yet in the extra headshell I bought. I'm hoping there is some relatively easy way to make both the 33/45 RPM cartridge assembly and the 78 RPM cartridge assembly weigh the same so I don't have to recalibrate the tonearm counterbalance every time I switch from one to the other.

We have tons of old LPs and have gone through 2 or 3 "inexpensive" turntables (<$100) in the last few years - the belts don't seem to last through the change of seasons, and records are more frustrating than fun to listen to when they randomly speed up/slow down.
This turntable cost twice the price of the others, but was definitely worth it.
It took a few hours to set up, but we've had no problems with it so far (3 months) and have not noticed the hum that other reviewers warned about. (I almost didn't buy it because of the "hum" comments, but am glad I did).
It's great to be able to listen to those albums again .... there's just something about vinyl!
*If you're ordering this as a gift, you may want to ask the seller how the item is shipped. Ours arrived in the original box - clearly marked "Audio-Technica AT-PL120 Professional Direct-Drive Turntable". I knew gift wrapping wasn't available, but didn't expect the name of the item to be on the outside of the box.
So far, this has been reliable and easy to use, and was well worth what I paid for it.

Good turntable for the price. Only problem was that the alignment slot
for the headshell was about 8 degrees off from vertical. This causes the
cartridge to be 8 degrees off from horizontal. As there is no adjustment,
had to torque the headshell connector barrel to compensate.

When I began shopping for turntables, I did about two weeks of research on the internet. I considered a Technics turntable, but based on reviews I saw this was a better alternative. The sound is wonderful, plus it adds a classy look when put on top of a stereo cabinet. My only thoughts on drawbacks are the audio cables and the stylus light. The audio cables are hardwired in, and are pretty short. If you wanted to have the turntable more then a few feet away from the preamp or receiver, the cables won't be long enough. It would have been nice to have RCA jacks to use your own cables. The stylus light is flimsy, and almost useless in my opinion. It doesn't really help one place the stylus in a dark room, so I've used a small pen light instead.

Overall a good turntable that won't set you back more then a couple of hundred bucks. Stay away from the ones that are about one hundred dollars, they may not have replaceable cartridges and their tone arms are not balanced like this turntable's.

I highly recommend the Audio-Technica AT-PL120. Is is built very well, and it is easy to assemble and set-up. It took me a few minutes to do all these tasks, and I'm not mechanically inclined.

There was no hum during playback, and while using a stethoscope; I did not notice any noise or rumble from the platter at any speed. The fidelity during playback is remarkable with the stylus that comes with the turable at all speeds. The 78 speed records I have sounded remarkable, with this turntable, considering they were recorded almost sixty five years ago.

I've had high-end Garrard and Thorens turntables in the past. The AT-PL120, performs as well as them at a much lower cost.

The pre amp feature makes it very easy to hook-up this turntable to your computer, amplifier or receiver that do not have phono magnetic input jacks.

Buy this incredible product, and fall in love again with all those great records you still have all over again.

Before buying this tt, I read all the other reviews about hum and skate issues and decided to chance it. Honestly, most of my vinyl isn't exactly worth a fortune or irreplaceable, and I just needed -something- for the bedroom. I wasn't buying this to be audiophile grade, just something I could listen to vinyl with and alternately connect to my Mac.

I have now owned the AT-PL120 for exactly one day. Granted, this hasn't given me much time to experiment. First off, let me note that the mat that comes with this is crap and I'm buying a new one today. Just, throw it away or use it as a coaster.

Secondly, I have not experienced the dreaded hum yet (even with the volume all the way up) nor did I have any skating issues, however I have not tried any carts other than the one included. I know there are tons of reviews of hum, so I spent plenty of time trying to find it. With the motor off, and the tone arm up, it's dead silence on my unit. I think the people experiencing the hum just have random bad luck due to unskilled or just plain bad internal wiring (what do you expect for this cheap??) and ground looping issues in people's homes.

However once you get the platter spinning you can definitely hear some motor noise before the record starts. It's still audible during play though less noticeable. It bugged me a little in parts, but for $200 I expected some noise...

There is no auto-return but I knew that to begin with. It's a pain but whatever, it is what it is -- it was $200, it has a steady spin, and it 'looks' to be solidly built. My only build complaint actually are the total crap built-in phono cables. Really???? Built in? What year is this? And they're only like 3 ft long. Huge mistake.

Now, as to the actual sound... So, to me it's not the best, at least with the included cart. This could also be caused by my VERY modern digital receiver. I'm not exactly old enough to have tons of old equipment lying around so I'll probably pick something up off eBay and see what sort of tone it produces.

Really though, it's not bad at all, just not as full as I had hoped and I thought it lacked a bit of punch. For example, Nico's voice on "I'll Be Your Mirror" was as haunting as always, and pretty lifelike but maybe not enough depth. Overall, it's very adequate.

If you are a bit younger, and are used to listening to MP3's off your iPod through crappy white headphones - you will be blown away. You might have that experience listening to any vinyl, but this thing is a HUGE step up from my sister's plug'n'play $80 belt-drive Sony... I mean, seriously, that thing sounds flat, not to mention noisy as hell. This little player pumps out a relatively warm, dimensional, and rich sound, and it still gives you that satisfying and fun interactive music listening experience that you don't get with an MP3 player.

I would highly recommend this player for anyone who wants to get into vinyl, and doesn't want to spend a fortune or who, like me, needs a second player. I'm happy I don't have to just listen to my iPod or CD's in my bedroom now, and I'll surely have fun playing with this in GarageBand soon. It's a welcome addition, and worth pretty much exactly what I paid...

The AT-PL120 was purchased after several weeks consideration of various turntables. I selected the AT-PL120 based on prior Amazon reviews, and the specs on the manufacturer's website. This turntable has all of the features I wanted, and for a low price- especially considering the features it has. I have had the turntable for about one month, and have used it extensively.
The features I appreciate are: It has a nice solid platter, with a soft felt-ish mat to protect my LPs. The overall feel of the unit is very solid, and it has been immune to skipping thus far- even when a cat jumped on top of the unit. I like that it has a pre amp, and that you can switch the pre amp off. The included needle has been good for my needs. It has the synchronization dots along the side of the platter that allow you to track speed, which was important to me; though I will say the speed has not needed any adjustment, as it was right on when it arrived. The anti-skate and weight controls are easy to use and effective. Even though it doesn't have a USB connection, it easily connects to computers for digitizing tracks. The tone arm lever has a hydrolic brake that makes it ease down nicely onto the record, even if you drop the lever quickly.
I have it hooked up to a pair of Bose computer speakers, and the sound is great. There are also appreciated extras that I wasn't specifically looking for, such as the strobe for the speed check, the pop-up light for needle placement, and the start/stop button. Also, the packaging it arrived in was very secure.
I would recommend also purchasing a record cleaning kit- I got the Stanton Record Cleaner Kit, and have been pleased with it, even though I thought I would only be happy with a cleaning machine costing hundreds of dollars.
I was concerned that the AT-PL120 would be unattractive, but in person it is quite striking. Note that this turntable is fully automatic, so there is no return when the record is complete. I thought I would miss that feature, but have not.
In summary, the AT-PL120 is a great unit for a great price; I am beyond pleased with it, and highly recommend it.

I grew up listening to music on vinyl and missed having a turntable. I was absolutely thrilled when I found this one online for such a good price. It was shipped safely, easy to assemble and has given me so much enjoyment that I highly recommend it to anyone who is new to records or an old guy like myself.

This is a great product for the price. Very well built and solid. Works as advertised.

The quality of this turntable is VERY impressive. It is extremely well built. Requires some intitial set-up...don't expect plug and play. If you are a novice, expect to spend an hour + reading guide and properly setting up turntable. Lots of great features for the price and it is very attractive. I would definetly recommend this turntable to all.

The Audio Technica PL-120 looked like a great idea as I was replacing my first turntable: Pioneer PL-12D which was fun, but I wanted more accurate speed (less wow and flutter) and reliability.

The Audio Technica PL-120 turntable is solidly built. It weighs about 25 LBS and is not prone to vibration interference from speakers.

Out of the box, the unit connected and operated flawlessly. I've used the phono input of my receiver and used the aux input while using the built-in phono pre-amp with no hum problems.

The sound quality of the included cartridge is very smooth and open. The bass is tight, yet pronounced, the mid-range is warm, and the treble is neutral and clear.

I decided to try the turntable with a Belari VP129 tube phono pre-amp. The combination is very good. I highly recommend this to anyone getting into listening to records, or archiving them.

The combination brings the music alive, and I just prefer to enjoy the natural sound of the music.

For those that want even better sound, the cartridge is completely upgradable. I think this turntable is a sound investment for stable operation and will blow away any "usb turntable" out there.

I got this new through an Amazon seller for $119 (!!!). I am very happy with this turntable at that price. Right now, another seller is asking $500!?
Obviously it's a Technics clone, and hence has all the DJ features that I don't need. I had been using a low-end Technics turntable for the last 25 years and finally replaced it (although it was still working!). Wow, what a difference. I have thousands of LPs that I've had forever, but they sound so crisp with this new turntable. Pretty awesome for the price.

I will mention that the tone arm latch was broken right out of the box. It's just a flimsy plastic latch. but a quick call to Audio-Technica customer service got a friendly free replacement part.

I have NOT experienced any of the hum that others mentioned. Methinks they just didn't have the pre-amp switch set correctly.

The team at Audio-Technica have made sure that the name means quality to the consumer. The features of this turntable are awesome and go beyond what one would find on other turntables of the same price. They spared no part. The fact that you can play records at 33, 45, 78, then fine tune from there using the pitch and speed control slider or play the record backwards are wonderful features to have and should have been included with turntables long ago. Nothing is missing from this record player.

I bought this as a gift for my wife and I didn't expect to get back into vinyl but this thing grew on me fast. This turntable has reminded me of what listening to albums used to be like, an experience. I have since fallen in love with the old vinyl records and the large artwork that used to make up the walls of the music stores. Moving on, this turntable is amazing and well constructed. I've owned if for 6 months now and I look forward to many more years of use. I highly recommend this turntable over the others of the same price. It has more features and is of solid construction.

My first impression was that the construction was surprisingly good! Not cheap plastic as I was expecting. The platter is made of heavy guage aluminum and the there was a real weight in the back. When I hooked it up to my vintage Carver m500t amp, my old records sounded just like new! Lots of features such as speed control, height adjustment, anti-skate adjustment, quartz lock, backwards and forwards playing. A great cartridge was included too! Truly this was a surprise buy for me.

I don't have much "mileage" on the TT yet, but after replacing the stock cartridge with an Ortofon 2M Blue and bypassing the internal phonopre with a decent but inexpensive Cambridge Audio 640P, I find the sound to be excellent...not quite on par with my 6000 other analog TT setup, but not at all embarrassing either.

DrJR

So,like almost everyone else in the world reading this,I grew up with vinyl.I sold out to the "new and improved" digital format,which besides being convenient didnt turn out to be so "improved" after all,at least to my ears.Flash forward to now & im noticing all this new vinyl being released,re-awakening my interest in records. So after more hours of online research than i'd care to admit here, I came to the conclusion that this is THE budget turntable currently available.It has the weight.It has the adjustable tonearm & antiskip.It has the variable speeds (including 78!).It has an above average needle,right out of the box. Can this compete with a Technics? No not quite in that league but that doesnt mean that this isnt a decent alternative,especially if your on a budget.Their really arent any contenders on the "average joe" level - this has the bulk,stylus,& features that you are not gonna find on a modern turntable unless you double your budget.Wish I were kidding,but its true.This is basically your only choice unless you want step up to the "entry level" audiophile world,which may or may not produce much difference in what you hear vs. this humble little unit.For what it costs for a modern turntable, this model is a clear VALUE that cannot at least be considered. Other reviewers have mentioned a hum,mine does it too at increased volumes when their isnt anything being played.Yes I also find it somewhat annoying,but at this price point I can live with it and dont consider it a deal breaker.Their just isnt anything else out there but JUNK.

I did like C. Hernandaz said in his great review...."the AT-PL50 looked really cheap. I decided to spend more money and get decent quality."

Great advise. I bought this one and I'm 100% pleased and really glad
I went for the better one. ...and there is Zero hum!

No need to add anymore comments as most of the reviews hit on all aspects...

Extremely nice, well-engineered, and easy-to-use turntable. Much higher quality than I expected for the price. Excellent product.

I just received this turntable and have only used it for a short while, however from what I can tell so far, it is an excellent performer in almost every respect. I was a little reticent to buy after reading some of the reviews with respect to the hum that some were experiencing. I am happy to say that no such problem exists with my unit and that the skating issue others have reported has only appeared on one particular LP that i have played thus far and was easily remedied by making a small tracking force adjustment.
The adjustments available on this unit are several, including tonearm assembly height adjustment, antiskating, balance, platter speed and direction. The quartz lock does an excellent job of maintaining the correct speed by itself and there should be no reason to have to manually do so with the strobe, but its fun to see the strobe doing its thing when playing a LP.
My only small quibble with the unit is the very short output cable, you need to set the turntable up fairly close to a receiver in order to make the connection. Other than that it is an excellent unit for the price.

I didn't realize there were so many "new features" compared to the old turntables. I can enjoy my LPs again. Great value, great price.

If you have a bunch of old records you haven't played in years, or if you're buying new albums on vinyl, you can't go wrong with this turntable. I'm sure this turntable is also a good buy for DJs, but I'm not one so I wouldn't know for sure.

I bought this turntable a couple of months ago and it has served my needs very well. I have a sizable collection of old vinyl that I recently pulled out of storage and simply wanted to listen to. I also wanted to transfer some of the albums to digital files. This turntable accomplishes both very well. The fact that it's all manual is actually a good thing for digital transfers--it gives you a lot of control over the process.

Just a couple of things to keep in mind if you're new to buying turntables:
1) The set-up isn't that complicated, but will take some patience. Remember to make sure everything is level and set the tracking force according to the manufacturer specs, regardless of the cartridge you're using. If you know what you're doing (and using some kind of stylus force guage) you could play around with the tracking force and anti-skate control. Otherwise, just stick to the specs and you should be fine.

2) The cartridge that comes with this turntable is a good one, but it's pretty heavy duty. You may consider changing to a cartridge that tracks lighter to save wear on your albums. (Mounting and alligning a cartridge is an excercise in patience, but can be done if you take your time.) You definitely want to get a spare headshell to mount the cartridge to (so you don't have to go through the mounting and alligning over and over). They sell a couple on Amazon, like the Stanton, that work well. Or, you can get an actual AT replacement headshell at LPgear.com for $25. The AT headshell is exactly like the one that comes with this turntable.

3) If you're like me and wanting to play old records, be sure to buy a good record cleaner and a brush for maintenance. Needledoctor.com has reasonably priced cleaner kits (unless you have the money to buy an actual record cleaning machine) and brushes. The AT cleaning kit I bought there is great. The difference a simple cleaning of the vinyl makes on the sound of the record is astounding.

4) It will also be worth it to consider buying a stylus cleaner. You'll at least need some kind of cleaning brush, whether you use the cleaning fluid or not. Again, the simple steps of cleaning the vinyl and keeping the stylus clean make a dramatic difference in sound quality.

I love this turntable. I'm not an audiophile or a dedicated turntablist, so I can't tell you how this stacks up against other turntables. But this is a great piece of equipment that looks great and will fit the needs of any casual vinyl enthusiast. And you won't go broke in the process.

I recently started buying vinyl because I just wanted to space out and slow down with life - I had no idea that I would be so impressed with the sound quality. I'm an audiophile - I've got a lot of high end equipment (Polk Audio, Yamaha, 2000 watts), but I have to tell you, I knew nothing about turntables.

After looking over reviews I settled for this turntable under the belief that it was the inexpensive version of Technics... which is apparently the favorite turntable name for most DJs, or so I've read. I'm pleased to say, I'm completely satisfied with my purchase.

It's important that you know I'm no expert as far as records are concerned. I have only a general idea of how they are supposed to sound, but given the quality of sound coming directly out of my speakers without any equalizer enhancements, I'm extremely pleased. The stylus seems fine to me, but I may upgrade it just out of curiosity.

I don't know if this is helpful at all, but I listen to mainly newer vinyl also. I haven't tested the player on older records as of yet. As far as the music I do listen to on it: Silversun Pickups, Logh, The Killers, Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, Pink Floyd... and it all sounds great.

I also don't have a hum coming through my speakers as many others have mentioned. I did notice, however, if I blast my speakers they pick up a lot of low freq distortion. I don't know if that's what others were referring to? I have to crank it up to ear bleed level for it to get muddy though... actually to be honest, it shocks me more that the record doesn't skip from all the vibrations in the room.

Overall, I'm highly satisfied. I don't know much about record playback, but I do about modern sound equipment. I can tell you this was well worth every penny spent.

I plugged in my turntable, installed the patch cords, loaded the software to record from vinyl to computer, turned on the power and "NOTHING". My linear turntable finally died. So, after some research, I ordered this turntable from Amazon. It came as described. Works excellently, is so adjustable (arm height, tonearm weight, table speed....)nice looking, and is made quite nicely. It's set up for a DJ from the factory, with an excellent HEAVY DUTY "DJ"-type rugged stylus and cartridge. For home use you may want to change cartridges for a lighter pressure stylus. Overall, I am pleased with this purchase.

Coming up as a kid, I've always wanted a pair of Technics 1200 during the 80's just could not afford them, now nearly 30 years later with research, the Technica PL120 will do just fine, its has everthing the 1200 will do just lower priced. I've read serveral reviews about the hum noise on the PL120 to take care of this problem, when changing to a new cartridge, make sure you use metalic screws,some cartridge have metal heads that pick up noise. If you experience the hum noise try unscrewing the cartridge from the head shell lead leaving the wires intack and connecting it back to the tone arm, if no hum is detected get metalic screws. Bottom line a good product for DJs. I would have rated this 5 stars, but Technics holds the name. (Cadillac) (Ford) They both get you from A to B.

I have been very impressed with this turntable. I've had the AT for about three weeks now and I've been thrilled with the turntable's performance thus far. The 120 has made me realize just how much better vinyl sounds than CD. In fact vinyl is just about all I've been listening to since I purchased my turntable! The unit is very well constructed and compares quite favorably to the Technics 1200. Fit and finish is excellent. Even when bumping my audio cabinet, which sits on a sloped, unsteady floor, the audio-technica does not skip. Is the Technics better? For my use as a home audio turntable, I think I would be hard-pressed to tell the difference between the two, especially with a good quality cartridge on the audio-technica (the cartridge it come with is a great one by the way). I had a Technics for many years so I feel comfortable saying this audio-technica is so good most people should not spend the additional money on the Technics unless you're a professional DJ or feel that you need to have a Technics branded turntable. Keep the difference and invest in a couple of high quality cartridges and some nice vinyl!
I'm very picky about my equipment and this has been my hobby for the past thirty two years. This turntable is one of those hidden gems you find ever once in a great while that make you smile when you realize just how nice a component can be with out having to spend big bucks.
Very Highly Recommended!!!

This turntable is a nice addition to my system. It is easy to use and the instructions were clear and easy to understand. I would recommend this piece of equipment to anyone with records they love to play. I am very satisfied with the product.

I purchased this turntable to digitize vinyl to pc. Was very surprised at the build quality of this product. A near clone to the Technics SL-1200 line, and includes a decent cartridge to get started. Built in pre-amp is great for pc soundcard or receivers without phono input. I upgraded the supplied cartridge, and find myself listening to more vinyl than I have in 20 years. A great product for the price range. Dead accurate speed w/ built in strobe. This would be a perfect unit for someone who is just learning about the warm sound of vinyl records.

does exactly what a record player should do, and a few extra things too. pitch adjustment is sweet. so is the strobe light. take note that some setup is required if you buy it new; it took me an hour or two to set up, and i'm pretty clever. (although i've never owned a record player before.)

It meets all my requirements, and then some. I no longer have a need to replace my disc records (most of whom have never been on CD).

Probably crazy for me to review as I haven't been able to even set this TT up as I'm remodeling the Entertainment room it will go in. I grew up vinyl in the late 70's - 80's. CD's came in and I gave up great sound for good sound and convenience. For whatever reason (probably mid life crisis) I'm back to trying vinyl. Fortunately none of my records were tossed. I did enough research to know that this TT is the minimum you want to spend for good sound. I went to numerous Audiophile web sites while researching this TT, and to some degree this Audio Technica Turntable was poo pooed, but who wants to spend $400 - $3000 on a TT and not even get a cartridge or a phono pre-amp? The biggest issue with this turntable is inconsistent quality out of the box. If you get a good one, some rate this TT sound quality to $400+ Technics units.

Which finally brings me to my point, this TT design dates back to the 80's which is not a bad thing. The issue with it is that it comes with a stylus (needle) which is suited for DJ's. This Cartridge is rated at 3-5 grams down force and has a needle designed to play up to 78 rpm records. This stylus is a "bull in a china shop" and is doing your records no favor. Remember the stylus is nothing more than a cut diamond scraping along in a groove of vinyl.

Here is the good news, the body of this cartridge dates to the 80's as well and is basically an audiophile cartridge in sheep's skin. There is no need to replace the entire cartridge/ stylus, and face the difficult realignment set up. You can simply buy a new stylus which plugs right into the cartridge that came with this TT and you have the equal of a current day AT120e Audio Technica cartridge ($90). The stylus I'd recommend is model 205-DET($40). It is a .3mm x .7 mm elliptical shaped diamond stylus. This can be found on at least one Ebay on-line shop,and a couple of on-line stores outside of Ebay. This stylus will track deep into the grooves of your vinyl and will get you full dynamic range of what vinyl can provide. More importantly, this stylus along with the cartridge body that came with this TT will track like a champ and at only 1.5 grams or so.

I could not get this product to work. I experienced nothing but a horrendous loud noise when the turntable was turned on. The hot line I called from the seller was not able to suggest other than grounding what the problem was. There was no ground wire from the turntable to my receiver. I ended paying freight for delivery to me and back to the seller with nothing to show for it. I will never buy an electronic product on line again. The selection is better than if you purchased from a store, and you will save a few dollars, but if you have a problem it just isn't worth it.

This is really a shame to have to write, considering I consider this a mild waste of money now, but I do regret buying this table. When I read the reviews here saying that there was hum that was "unacceptable", I figured I wouldn't be that unfortunate. But never think it won't be you, I guess. I bought this table for two reasons; a)I wanted a decent, direct drive that would warrant an audiophile cartridge while being affordable and b) I wanted the table to play 78's, so I could digitize old records of my grandfather's sax playing. Well I refuse to do the latter if there is a hum in all the recordings. The minute I put a new cart on it, I heard the hum. The 78 cart had it much worse. The only time you can't really hear it is with the original cart, which tells me the cartridge was designed to specifically negate the bad tone-arm wiring scheme. I heard that some had found the grounding of the wire to be wrong.

Now I wouldn't give it one star because I will still use it til I can afford a real table that can handle 78's, probably a Stanton since there's are equal (from what I've heard) to the real deal; a Technics. Except the Technics doesn't do 78.
The AT-PL120 is listenable, especially if you are not an audiophile or want to upload records to your computer in any form. But if you are interested in quality but want to save a buck, I'm afraid this is going to be very enticing but is not worth half the cost of a Technics or Stanton. Please save your money and look elsewhere. You will be doing yourself a favor.

Bought this several years ago and it's still working as well as it did when it first came out of the box. An excellent turntable at a very good price!

Fantastic value! I was considering buying the more expensive Technics SL1200mk2, but am glad to have opted for this one. Aesthetically, they are nearly identical. This is a beautiful machine. It works wonderfully, and I have had no problems with audio, humming or otherwise.

Bought this as a gift for family member. He loved this item. My observations: Beautiful to look at. Beautiful to listen to--great sound. Perfect response time. Quality made item. And the retailer who shipped this to me was very fast.

I've owned this table for about a year now and as an audio/vinyl enthusiast, I can't recommend it enough. For what it costs and all the turntable you get for the money, this is a no-brainer in my opinion. Many good review points have been made on the AT PL120 already to which I couldn't agree more. That said, I'd like to address the "Hum" issue and negative opinions I've read that a lot of users have encountered with this unit.

In my experience with this table, the only time I've noticed "Hum" is when the PL120's internal pre-amp is set to ON, while being run through my receiver's (Yamaha RX-797) phono stage. When the tables internal pre-amp set to OFF, I don't notice any hum at all coming from my speaker system. So this issue may be a setup/user error. From what I understand, the PL120's internal pre-amp is designed to be used on computers or audio equipment that do not have a dedicated MM phono stage.

From the AT PL120 User's Manual:

If the system you are using has a PHONO input, set the pre-amp selector switch to the PHONO OUT (PRE-AMP OFF) position and connect the turntable's output cables to the PHONO inputs on your system, observing Red for Right channel and White for Left channel.

If your system does not have a PHONO (magnetic phono) input, set the pre-amp selector switch to LINE OUT (PRE-AMP ON) and connect the turntable's output cables to the Auxiliary (AUX) or other audio level inputs on your system, observing Red for Right channel and White for Left channel. When using the turntable with a computer sound card, set the switch to LINE OUT and connect the turntable to the audio line input on the computer sound card. Note: An audio adapter (not included) may be required to interface the two RCA jacks of the turntable output cable to the computer sound card input.

Hopefully this addresses and corrects the "Hum" problem that some people have experienced with this unit. Again, for what this turntable costs and for what the user gets, it's a terrific buy. It comes with a decent cartridge and stylus (ATP2XN) so you can get started in a matter of minutes right out of the box. I recently upgraded the cartridge on my PL120 with a Denon DL-160 High Output, Moving Coil Cartridge. The DL-160's high output allows this cartridge to be used through the Moving Magnet (MM) phono stage of a receiver/amplifier. It's been a great upgrade to this table and has brought even more enjoyment to my vinyl listening. I'm not going to go to deep into a cartridge review here. But for anyone that's been wanting to upgrade their cartridge on whatever turntable you have, the Denon DL-160 is a real bargain and it's taken the performance level of my AT PL120 to a whole new height. I hope these thoughts and my experiences have helped.

If anyone were to ask me, Would you recommend the AT PL120?

Answer: Absolutely!

Got this for Christmas and have used it with Cakewalk Pyro to rip 7 albums so far. The quality of the sound is fantastic using the supplied cartrdige. No hiss at all compared to what other reviews have said about USB belt-drive turntables. Has all the features I need and will even play 78s (using a different cartridge). The pitch is dead on with NO variation at all unlike low cost belt drive turntables. It does lack an auto-return function but frankly that is no big deal to me.

After having owned my Audio-Technica AT-PL120 Professional Direct-Drive Turntable for approximately one year, I am pleased thus far. I play quite a bit of vinyl and have yet to have mechanical problems. Like some, my box also arrived with minor damage, however, the player was well packed and undamaged. For the price, this is great turntable.

If anyone is looking for an inexpensive turntable that performs quite well, buy the Audio-Technica AT-PL120 turntable. With the built-in phono pre-amp the turntable is quite versatile. So if your preamp or receiver has no phono input, you can plug it into any AUX input. There are many used records on the market for as little as a dollar or so(as well as new ones still being produced). This turntable coupled to an integrated amp makes an affordable package. Get some good monitor speakers and you will have a fine music system. Check out the small speakers from such companies as PSB, Polk, and Monitor Audio. Find a used integrated amp from NAD or Cambridge Audio (or buy a new one for around $350). For less than $1,000 you will have a music system that will be satisfying for quite a while. I love the turntable.

I have only had this turntable for a few weeks. For much of that time, it was packed in preparation for my move. However, as soon as it arrived, I took it out of the box and assembled it for a test run. I had no problems with assembly. However, I will caution you to look carefully at the foam packing pieces before throwing anything away. Some small pieces are attached to that packing. Also, I had a little trouble in figuring out where the power cord was to be attached. The location is at the back and slightly recessed.

The unit is heavy and a little wider than I thought. I had to take the glass door off my entertainment center in order to place it on the shelf. This was a minor problem which more accurate measuring on my part would have foreseen.

Before purchasing this turntable, I did a lot of online research and compared the features and prices of a number of units. I am not an audiophile, but I became knowledgeable about the features that would give me what I wanted and, in this case, a lot more. This unit consistently came up as my likeliest candidate.

It is a good looking piece of equipment. I am not planning to use this as DJ equipment; yet, I can see where it would make an excellent choice for a DJ because it has some of the bells and whistles that they use, such as tracking, forward/reverse play. For me, it was purchased strictly for my home use and 40+ years of 45's and LPs. The sound of the unit is wonderful, even on my old records. I might make a few minor tracking changes after I listen to more records, but for now, I am very pleased. I consider this to have been an excellent buy.

My sole reason for awarding four stars (actually, 4-1/2) and not five is based on a complaint that other reviewers expressed: the built-in RCA-type audio cables. I would have preferred that the cables be a little longer and detachable. Everything worked out for me, but those two features could limit where some users are able to place the equipment. Despite that I am quite pleased with the purchase.

I have read all the reviews on Amazon and frankly I was worried about hum people talking about. But I decided to take a risk and finely order one after waiting couple of month. But I don't hear it. Even at full volume on my receiver I think I got good piece lucky me. It is better then I imagine. I have some old records and I have same songs on CD I played them on my Yamaha receiver one after another and there is no competition CD is more clear but its flat you hear vocal and instrument all at same level but on record everything popes out and sound is more detailed and its pleasant to hear the music. And it's not me I had friends over and they don't know anything about turntable and I played same song on CD and then switch it to record and I ask them which they like better and every one said record. And it is not only one song I played lots of different song on CD and on record one after another and record won every time. It is very good turntable and I will recommend to any one who wants buy one. You can't go wrong it is very easy to setup. I wish they gave RCA connection instead short wire. And cartridge is very good too. I am going to wait and use for 500 hours and then buy new one the one everybody is talking about Shure m97xe. And I have budget Aiwa automatic turntable. Don't waste your money on those 60 to 100 dollars turntable. They don't sound no where near as good as this one does

There are a lot of customer reviews on the AT-PL120. Many cite it's virtues, a few highlight it's vices. I am inclined to assume that the ownership experiences of each reviewer are valid. And that leads me to assume that the build quality of the PL120 varies. How can some reviewers have tone arm skating issues and some do not? How can some reviewers be plagued with annoying hum while others find none? After nearly a year of ownership I am left with a strong suspicion that the PL120 is not coming to market designed well enough nor built consistently well enough to excel in all usage environments. In short, I do not trust it enough to buy another or out-and-out recommend it to someone else. Hence, a one-star rating.

Don't get me wrong. The platter spins, and speeds are stable. That half works fine. To a small degree I have had skating issues, mostly at the beginning of a spinning record while lowering the stylus onto the record. Sometimes the tonearm will skip inward a few grooves before settling, and no possible anti-skate setting will eliminate this tendency all the time. (Could it be that the cueing mechanism lowers the tone arm a little too slowly?) I have learned to lower the stylus onto a stationary record, then spin the platter clockwise until the stylus finds a groove, and then start the platter. I also put up with the hum problem. The PL120's included cartridge picked up a hum. Trying to replace it with a Grado Blue cartridge made the hum a little louder. I finally discovered that connecting my very first cartridge, a 1980s vintage ADC Integra XLM-III tamed the hum. I found a replacement stylus for it, and that's what I'm now using. I have it's worst vices tamed for now exactly where it sits. Who knows what will pop up if I try to move it?

To those who found no problems in your ownership experience: congratulations, and enjoy. To those who found problems, I understand your frustration. To those contemplating purchasing an AT-PL120 I advise reading ALL the reviews, not just the favorable ones. Prospective buyers might want to address the question, do you feel lucky?

If you are a vinyl beginner, don't be fooled by the bargain bin $100 turntables with automated arm action. You will suffer in a world with bad surface noise and no way to replace the stylus or change the adgustments (all which are vital to the vinyl experience!). This turntable, only around $200, is the perfect for a budding vinyl enthusiast! The build is great and everything works (that's a first!). The direct drive motor is perfect for easily cueing the record, as well as having high torque for speedy starts. This baby can even play 78s! But more importantly, it has a built in pre-amp for those lacking a proper phono input, as well as a modest cartridge. It's only faults are in the manual. If you have never even touched a turntable, it can be very confusing to figure out exactly how to set the tracking force to 3.5 grams. Another thing to note is the hum in the background. This turntable does lack a grounding wire, but the hum is barely noticeable with music playing anyway. For it's price and ease of use, the AT-PL120 is a must!

The biggest problem with modern turntables is that modern receivers can't usethem without a pre-amp. I was attracted to this item because it has an internal pre-amp, which means I can connect it to any audio connection in the back of my receiver. What's more, it also has the option to use an external pre-amp if you wish. It takes a while to set up properly, but any one can do it by following the simple manual step by step. When I played my first lp, I couldn't believe the sounds I'd been missing all these years. Regardless of the cost and inclusiveness of the sound system you have, this turntable is the only one you'll ever need to buy. I'm very happy with it's performance and quality and recommend it highly!

Amazon shipped the turntable well and it came undamaged, altho the box was roughed up. It ships in the original box, so if it is a gift or surprise, watch out. Set up was easy and it worked right away. The only problem so far is the cueing light seems to have burned out on day 2 already. Also be careful of the arm hold down, its plastic and won't take any abuse, period. This is my second purchase of this model for family members, and it seems like a reasonable value. It would be VERY nice if the arm would automatically pick up at the end of the album, but it doesn't. The integral pre-amp feature is super, especially with new surround sounds that lack phono inputs. All in all the best value I could find.