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CES: High-end turntables spin down to low-end prices
At CES last week, premium sound equipment company Audio-Technica launched a range of turntables that offer premium design and finishes at budget prices. The new models range from professional to entry-level turntables, which includes the company’s first bundle of turntable and headphones.
The wide range of turntables, identified only by model numbers, can be baffling. We’ve given each of the models a descriptive name that encapsulates what makes them different. We start with the mid-range units:
The AT-LPW40WN (Walnut) and AT-LPW30TK (Teak) manual belt-drive turntables have striking wood finishes, elegant design and newly-designed straight-line tonearms.
The Walnut has a walnut veneer finish and features a carbon fibre tonearm with a pre-mounted VM95E moving magnet (MM) phono cartridge. Its DC servo motor with speed stabilisation ensures accurate speed stability when playing back vinyl records.
The Teak comes in a teak wood-look finish with an aluminium straight-line arm and VM95C MM cartridge pre-mounted.
Both models include the universal AT-HS4 headshell for easy cartridge changes or upgrades. Both feature 33-1/3 and 45 rotations per minute operation, a precision aluminium platter with a rubber mat, vibration-absorbing feet and an external power supply that isolates unwanted electrical noise from the turntable.
Like most new Audio-Technica turntables, the Walnut and Teak have a built-in phono preamp which enables them to be used with a wide variety of audio systems and components, and come with a dustcover, cables, stereo RCA output jacks (that allow the use of separate RCA cables of the user’s choice) and other accessories.
Click here to read about Audio-Technica’s professional and budget turntables, with pricing.
