Audio-Technica AT-LP70X Review: Best Automatic Turntable on a Budget

8.3/ 10
SCORE

Audio-Technica AT-LP70X

Pros

• Big sonic step up from the LP60
• Upgradable stylus
• Automatic operation

Since its release at the start of the pandemic, the $140 AT-LP60X has been CNET’s pick as the best turntable on a budget. It’s super easy to set up, it won’t destroy your vinyl and it also sounds good. Yet, there is always something better if you spend more money. The upgraded AT-LP70X steps in to fill the giant gap that exists between the AT-LP60 and the $299 AT-LP120. 

The new AT-LP70X ($199) and the Bluetooth-toting LP70xBT ($249) include some significant upgrades, including a better tonearm and an upgradable stylus. As a result, sound quality makes a huge jump: The LP70X offers increased clarity and a tauter bass response. If you can afford the extra $60, you should definitely buy it.

Budget hi-fi is where the sweetest surprises — and top values — hide, and the Audio-Technica AT-LP70X is one of the best ways to spend $200 on a music source. 

Design and features

On top of a host of new features, it’s apparent just by looking at the AT-LP70X that it is a completely different turntable than the AT-LP60X. The only similarities they share are a belt-driven motor, plastic construction and an automatic operation — press a button, the record plays and then the tonearm returns to its cradle at the end of each side.

Whereas the AT-LP60X is essentially a square, the LP70X adopts the more traditional rectangular shape of other turntables and features a three-piece, resonance-damping chassis. The turntable measures 15.7 inches wide by 13 inches deep, and if you’re playing a record with the lid off, it’s 3.75 inches from the base to the top of the gimbal. It comes in three colors: black-silver, black-bronze, and the one I received in white-silver.

The turntable comes with a speed switch for playing both 33 1/3 and 45 rpm records, as well as a start-stop button. The LP70X also has a long, J-shaped tonearm designed to track better than the LP60’s straight tonearm. The arm lacks a traditional counterweight and comes with an integrated “cartridge” sporting a conical Audio-Technica AT-VMN95C. Users can replace this stylus with a higher-end VMN95 version if they wish.

Lastly, the LP70X uses stereo RCA output as opposed to the 3.5mm out of the LP60X, and it comes with a ground lug to help minimize hum. The output features a defeatable preamp, which means users can either connect the unit to a speaker or to a third-party preamp for further improvements in sound quality.

For an extra $50, you can get the LP70xBT with Bluetooth-aptX transmission. Do you need Bluetooth in a record player? Not really, but if you have a table-top speaker without an analog input then wireless might come in handy. 

Testing

I compared the AT-LP70X to the AT-LP60X and the current leader at the price, the $200 Monolith by Monoprice Belt Drive Turntable. I listened to a selection of different material from pop to garage to hip-hop, using the onboard preamps of each table, and fed each through the Onkyo RZ50 and a pair of Q Acoustic 3050is.

Starting with Yonkers hip-hop group The Lox, I found the LP70X to be more controlled in the bass. There was more “shape” to the central vocal and the high hat was sweeter, compared to the flatter-sounding LP60X. Across this and subsequent records, one thing occurred to me — the sound quality difference between the two players was akin to listening to an album on FM and listening to the CD. Everything from the vocals to the instruments to the bass sounded clearer and more defined. Speaking of FM, Nick Lowe’s classic radio staple, Cruel to Be Kind, was also much crisper on the LP70X than the LP60X.

Spending some time with the Monolith now, I swapped to the Oh Sees “Protean Threat” LP and found that it dug deepest into the LPs grooves. This was advantageous in two ways — firstly, it meant that the player bypassed a physical defect on the record, which registered on the other two as an audible click. Secondly, it was slightly clearer than the LP70, and some of the trebly percussion was easier to follow. Meanwhile, the LP70X was almost as good, if not able to fish out the treble detail as well. It was the LP60X that performed the worst here. Not only was the rhythm section a bassy lump, but that click was louder than the music itself.

In terms of operation, I felt that the LP70X was the most fun to use out of the three models. The button mechanism was less clunky than the LP60X, and its molded tonearm made it feel less like a toy. I also had an issue with the Monolith, apart from the fact that I couldn’t get the fishing-line anti-skate to stay on. Having not used the Monolith for a while, I found that its speed was out of whack for an unknown reason — anti-skate attached or not. It was running too fast. After I tested it with an Android speed app — RPM Speed and Wow — the turntable behaved itself by playing at the expected 33 1/3 RPM. It’s impossible to say if this is part of a bigger issue for Monoprice, but it’s something I’m keeping my eye on.

Should you buy it?

After spending some time with the two Audio Technicas and the Monolith turntable, I would definitely say it’s worth upgrading to either of the more expensive players. Both the LP70X and Monolith feature enhanced build quality and improved sound quality. As to which I would recommend? The Monolith performed a little better, but it was trumped by the simpler LP70X and its automatic operation.  

With its svelte appearance, ease of use and sparkling sound quality, the Audio-Technica AT-LP70X is perfect for vinyl fans on a budget.