Audio Technica AT-LPW40WN Fully Manual Belt-Drive Turntable (Walnut)

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The AT-LPW40WN is relatively compact, with overall dimensions of 16.5ʺW x 4.6ʺH x 13.4ʺD, and weighs 10.4 pounds without dustcover. A-T doesn’t specify the cover’s weight; I estimate two pounds. Among the seven new turntables Audio Technica is announcing at CES is the four-strong, entry-level LP60X series, which is where multiple ‘modern-day’ features come in. The AT-LPW40WN is equipped with a built-in selectable phono preamp and a detachable dual RCA output cable to enable direct connection to components with or without a dedicated phono input.

Measured at 45 rpm, the AT-LPW50B’s platter speed was even more stable, so that the measured frequency varied only between 2998Hz and 3000Hz. Again, this is an excellent result. Newport Test Labs has plotted these variations in the speed histogram (Graph 1).

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But finally, the sound. This is one area you can’t get past. So, I put on a Neil Young album, “After the Goldrush”. I like to start my evaluation of a new component with this album due to the acoustic guitar sounds. It plays like a live album, but it’s a studio recording. Well, the 40WN did a masterful job on side one, easily producing the nice, soundstage and separation I am used to hearing using my previous TT. The Audio-Technica AT-VM95E delivered all the songs on ‘Harvest’ smoothly, fluidly and very musically, and you can’t really ask for much more than that. Along with the AT-LPW40WN, a similar, slightly cheaper AT-LPW30TK is also available for sale. These are very “hi-fi” turntables, fully manual. The AT-LPW40WN is a quality player at a great price. I recommend it to anyone who wants a turntable that won’t break the bank going in. It’s worth serious consideration. But hey, A-T: suppose you could come up with a model name that rolls more easily off the tongue?

some of these web prices are cheaper than in-store, so please mention that you've seen these offers online)For the most part it was a very easy set up. The legs were composed if a rubber compound that seems to promote isolation. And they are designed to turn to easily balance the table. Getting it running out of the gate with The Strokes – Juicebox, we’re presented with plenty of detail you’d otherwise be missing from CD or Spotify. The pacing is excellent, with barely a foot out of place in the stamping beat that underlines Julian Casablancas’ smooth vocals. But the differences were small variations on what proved an excellent turntable sound at the price — wide open, free of congestion and, depending on the quality of your vinyl, quiet. It’s also a piece that’s played by almost every amateur pianist on the planet because of all the most well-known piano pieces, it seems to be the easiest to play because if you look at the score, you’ll see it’s almost blank, with some spaced-out chords that don’t require much of a finger-stretch and then only crotchets everywhere else — there’s not a quaver to be seen, much less a hemidemisemiquaver. But when you try to play it… wow! It’s so difficult to make it flow. It's worth noting that some of the models are unavailable outside North America, such as the Crosley C10A, Music Hall MMF-1.3, Fluance RT82 and the U-Turn Orbit Plus. If you're looking for the best alternative to the Fluance RT82, I would recommend the Pro-Ject T1.

Whether turntables like this will destroy your records or not, though, is hotly contested, but the moving parts can be of a fairly basic quality. For example, the stylus on our Cruiser review unit was a chunky plastic/ceramic combo instead of the aluminum/diamond you'd see on almost any other turntable. The stylus itself was also quite large, which could lead to greater wear, and when plugged into a separate hi-fi the player sounded like an AM radio. It’s fully manual — you move the arm yourself, and you’ll be required to lift it off again when it reaches the end groove of your LP. I began with the Dual. Overall, the sound was very tight, each staccato note discrete. I marveled at Soloff’s precision and how fast he ripped off notes. The bass line in “Lucretia’s Reprise” is another example of talent and dexterity, worthy of the bass master James Jamerson, of Motown. The ersatz soundstage was well defined and stable. I was again very pleased with the Dual’s sound. While a turntable like the Pro-Ject Debut Pro could be considered a serious piece of hi-fi, suitcase models like the Crosley Cruiser Deluxe are essentially toys. That's OK, and as long as you treat them as such you shouldn't run into any problems.

Two of the models offered a switchable line-level output -- the Music Hall MMF-1.3 and the Audio-Technica AT-LPW40WN -- and this is handy if you don't have or don't want an external preamp. You can plug these models into anything that accepts RCA cables. I also plugged these two directly into the amplifier and compared them against each other. With a phono pre-amp built-in, the AT-LPW40WN connects to almost any hi-fi or speaker system. The phono pre-amp boosts the signal to line level, meaning you can connect it to any device with an AUX input. If you’d rather use your amp’s phono pre-amp, then simply switch off the turntable’s one. The song is a little bright through its own phono stage, as you might expect from Audio Technica, but this is easily fixed running it through a warmer in-built phono stage on your amp, or a suitable separate one such as the Project Phonobox, feel free to ask your local Richer Sounds store for more advice tailoring the sound. This was connected directly to a set of Ruark MR1’s, so no traditional amp was involved. Great for those looking to maximise space, or simply use as few boxes as possible. With vinyl’s ongoing resurgence still chugging along happily, Audio Technica have released another addition to the entry level turntable market. Alongside their ATLP120X DJ model, and convenience focussed LP60X sets, will this new LPW40WN model bring anything new?