Totally agree! I voted with the majority for the X2, but seeing more than just a thumbnail, I’m kinda in love with this thing! I’ve got a Marantz TT-15 S1 which is a similar aesthetic, but this just takes it to another level altogether!!
@@richardsinger01 I agree with you completely. In fact, earlier in the year I found a beautiful 1990 vintage LP12 which now sits proudly at the top of my analogue rig. Admittedly, I’ve spent more on some parts to upgrade it but cosmetically, to my eyes, it’s more classy than any of the options. You don’t have to sell a child to own a Linn, there are so many brilliant examples out there at virtually any budget.
Thank you so much for the heads up. Also, the thumbnails were really small on my phone when I voted, and I might have changed my vote if I had a bigger picture.
In this price range, it is definitely one of the most interesting looking turntables I've seen. I was considering a u-turn Theory, but I'm going to give this a shot first. Thanks for the info. I always find your video's useful & interesting.
Yep, totally caught FOMO ... saw it on your website Thursday morning, loved the looks and knew I wanted to try the swappable headshell, and bought it 10 minutes later. It's shipping on 11/18.
If turntable manufactures are producing new designs, then it usually means business is doing well with a market healthy enough to support their investment into a new product. Which is good news for us vinyl users. I wish them success.
It looks prettier up closer. However, with its clear acrylic finish, much will depend on how you have it lit while playing records as to how pretty it will look. That will be a job for Olaf. Have fun! Will be interested in your comparison of the elliptical versus shibata stylus.
Very thankful i watched this video 2 days before its launch in Japan so i could set an alarm for the drop. It got sold out online at audio technica jp site within 2 mins of drop. I am glad i got 1 set. Now i need a video on how to operate one lol
That project X2 looks like my Ikea chopping board with a plate on it, nothing traditional about it; if anything id say the Thorens one looks more traditional in my opinion. 😄
I still have a Linn sondeck from 1985 with itok arm and moving coil cartridge, naim pre and power amp and epos speakers. I traded in my life insurance to pay for it. I guess you could say I sold my soul for rock and roll !
OMG! Just ordered one❤ wait until you show people with this turntable with LED lights placed underneath it and playing translucent records!!! This is a DIY opportunity if no one can afford Brian Eno’s light shifting acrylic turntables😍
IMO there was a problem with the poll, there wasn't a way to look at full size pics of the turntables and the thumbnails were too small. I voted for the project 8. I guess most voted for the X2 because it looked the most distinctive and closest to a traditional turntable. I felt the others thumbnails did not pop as much.
I think that it is a great looking deck John! I have Michell Gyrodec which also has a unique aesthetic. Incidentally the Gyrodec also has an acrylic cover and base which for those that have commented is not a dust magnet!
I can vouch for my experience I have a atvm95 elliptical and a siabatta stylus and to my ears it does make a big change in sound quality for the better.
This type of review is another reason why I subscribe to your channel. You show genuine enthusiasm when you find a new audio component and then list the devices performance and esthetics in a way that is I think balanced. You have done this for high end turntables, speakers, amplifiers, DACs and even Raspberry PI streamers! So great to see enthusiasm balanced with acceptance of different viewpoints. Also I think that you new series of do it yourself videos seem more personal which I find to be an improvement over former edited videos. Live long and prosper! Thanks
Funny you should say that. I own two Technics SL 1200s from new in 1987. Never had an issue with them except when Stanton stopped making elliptical cartridges which were my favs with these decks. I believe they will outlive me. And in my 60s and have lived and experienced all those High end stereophonic record decks whether it be belt drive or direct drive. I can life up my decks whilst playing a record and the tone arm never jumps nor skates, not that I would do that but the decks are solid well made and do not give any problems over the time they are used. I hope your B&0 will do likewise. As for this product here, nobody really looks at a record deck, but plays vinyl!
I have TEAC’s top model the TN-5BB with an acrylic platter and you put the record directly on it. Also it is visually pleasing, has a SAEC tonearm with Supra wiring and auto-stop, auto lift-up (can be deactivated)
I bough this summer one of the 12 000 units of the Technics Sl -1200 M7L and I havent had the guts to open the box yet but now you just gave me regrets because I would like that turntable as well but wife says no :)
I happen to like an all acrylic TT. I built custom 'bead blasted' unit with a 3" thick plinth making it look like frosted Ice. Roksan Nima tonearm is onboard with like asthetics and damping qualities. Ortofon LYS MC is on the business end. Used to put records directly on the frosted acrylic platter, but found a HexMat Yellow Bird platter mat to better isolate external vibration.
First of all, a video from Darko is always a pleasure among numerous videos that just appear. Some videos (!) aired recently, we love your stuff, but safe first. On the other hand, survey's results are quite surprising, but apart from visual thing, I believe that somewhere in participants mind 'acrylic=dust magnet'/'traditional=trusty & convenient. And cannot believe this thing will work without a mat...I think Marantz, Pro-Ject, Thorens and others have produced acrylic turntables but don't think they made the difference... P.S.: I thought you might review Pro-Ject's CD Box RS2T transport which was at your rack quite some time but now is gone...Was that bad?
As far as the stylus, the shibata stylus is a great upgrade from the stock 95E. I have the 95ML on my LPW40WN turntable and it dramatically improved the sound and tracking.
I have had my Audio Technica LP-7 turntable for a couple of years now and couldn't be happier. It shares many of the same features as the Anniversary Model.
John, I really appreciate your straightforward style and your honesty. And, clearly you are not simply following the whims and desires of your readers or if yours. Keep up the good work! Oh, and FWIW, I no longer play vinyl but if I did, I would be salivating over that turntable. Nicely done Audio Technica.
At one time Bang & Olufsen’s audio components were considered the leading edge of industrial design. Sadly they don’t make turntables any longer but B&O has been buying up some of their vintage gear and refurbishing them for sale in very limited quantities and outrageous prices. I wonder what John would think about the way the vintage B&O turntables like the Beogram 4000C looks as far their future fi worthiness.
hi, Many Thanks for the early tip. i immediately ordered one in a Munich Shop. Today I received a message that it is on its way (i live in Munich). Chrismas is coming early to me this year. regards Herbert
That looks very nice. I much prefer my Gyrodec.Not exactly price comparable though. Project used to do the perspective, that was about £1500 a few years back. I run it through a NAD T778, via phone stage. It does pretty much everything.
I don't mind the design at all. In fact I even like it to some extent. My only worries would be the durability of the plinth surface. How easy does it get scratches? Cause you will see every single one quite easily if the light is right. And presumably you will get microscratches just by removing dust with a cloth/Swiffer dust magnet thing. You have to be careful there. It just gives of a high-end/boutique like feel, which I dig. And it looks more expensive than it actually is. Aside from that I still choose the Planar 8 on that poll. Since this is the most beatiful looking turntable I have ever layed my eyes on. It just gives of an elegance and I am shure that it sounds fantastic. Maybe I am a bit biased as a happy Planar 3 owner...
Visuals aside, I find it rather pathetic that most of today's modern turntables, even at relatively high prices, do not include a rather simple auto stop function, which requires no mechanical internals if that bothers the purists. It's either sheer laziness or stinginess, one or the other, and I don't abide it.
Hey John ! for me at this price point you can’t go past the Fluance RT 85 ! It’s like a combination of the project and AT. Beautiful wood plinth with an acrylic platter. Just based on looks though !
I’m *this close* to pulling the trigger on this. Really appreciate all the cool stuff you’re doing with Bluetooth headphone comparisons and heads-up on limited releases, etc. Cant wait for you to get back to the meat and potatoes hifi reviews, but these have been really great, highly educational detours. I think a lot of us dyed in the wool hifi guys are particularly appreciative of your take on AirPods and noise canceling headphones as you’re someone whose perspective we can relate to and, more importantly, trust.
Aceylic platters dont need a mat. In the 80s Pink Triangle pioneered the acrylic platter. Their turntables came with a note that said "you can use a platter mat if you want to bugger up the music". I kid you not, those eere the words used. I have a Pink Triangle tt still and it is excellent. Never used a mat!
As someone that had a transparent GameBoy as a kid this is 100% desireable. There's sadly no room for a turntable in my flat, but this one would be it.
Speaking about AudioTechnica, they released the version 2 of their famous ATX-M50XBT2 studio headphones adding bluetooth to them. It will be great if you can review these as well!
I do find the design quite pleasing, but definitely understand why your poll panned out the way it did. One would need a very particular component theme to make this turntable not look cheap and tacky, and while ultra-minimalism is still pretty hot right now I get the impression that many people are getting tired of it, and looking for components with a bit more character.
Even washing machines of yesteryear had height adjustable feet to counter uneven surfaces. It would seem to be a requirement of all turntables, too, as John suggests in this video on that one example alone.
Over 50 years ago I had the AT75N cartridge which has the “nude shibata” stylus and was able the pick up the wave on a warped record. Compared to Pickering and Shure hands down was the Audio Technica in sound clarity, and thru a pair of pioneers and KLH’s -heaven.
I think the presentation of the AT on your community page wasn’t very flattering. The footage you’ve showed here in your video looks better. It might have gotten my vote. I’ve learned something from it: thumbnails aren’t sufficient to judge the design of turntables.
Would it not have been better to go with a Linear Tracking Tonearm system which would give better sound and cause less wear on the record and mean you can sell it on at second hand shops if you grow tired of the album, or if your short of space and still want a music system what about the MARANTZ 143 MIDI System and includes the TT143 with the tonearm inside the lid which means that the record will only play when the lid is down.
It's a nice looking unit; has a 70's look/vibe to it. Hope it sounds good and works well for $1200. Just saw some photos of it on the AT website, and the dust cover cheapens the look of the unit.🤨
Surely a dust/fingerprint magnet? plus aesthetically (being see-through) this will really depend what it is sat on... Lookswise I favour "classics" like the Linn LP12 or Technics sl-1200 which looked good 40 years ago and will still do so 40 years from now
I don’t see what is futureFi here, it’s just a turntable that still needs a traditional hifi with a phono stage. Also on the looks, I think this is a massively scaled back version of the amazing turntables from Vertere or perhaps the marantz turntable built by Clearaudio; these are turntables worthy of being considered for design accolades.
I own one. It's a cool unit and performs well. Definitely a collector's item. The only downside is you probably need to get a better stylus like VM540 or Ortofon 2M Blue Or Bronze.
I was considering purchasing the Marantz TT15S1 but then I came across the AT-LP2022 and couldn't believe how good it looks. Being a limited edition, It's seems that this is already sold out Unless you want to pay twice as much on E-Bay. Luckily enough I just placed a deposit at our local agent yesterday. Seems that I should be getting mine in a couple of weeks time. Let's see how it goes!
Without doubt the best looking turntable out there that’s not ridiculously priced is the Marantz TT-15S1. Clean, sophisticated, timeless, it’s an icon of product design purity. It also has a Clear Audio Virtuoso 2 MM cartridge, which alone sells for $1200. If it had electronic speed control I’d be in permanent turntable heaven.
Well, the best sounding turntable and very reliable is a Technics SL-1200 Mark II with a Grace Ruby cartridge mounted on it, like the one I own. It's fantastic.
Look, I prefer to buy colored vinyl over black vinyl whenever I can, because I wanna have fun and enjoy collecting stuff. I use spotify day-in and day-out, I have my CD rips for higher quality audio, the vinyl's really just a special occasion kinda thing. That is a gorgeous turntable and per the poll's options, I'd prefer it over option 4, and I wouldn't even consider option 2. The Rega is the only real challenger. Gorgeous turntable. If I wanted something vintage (which I'm always looking out for) I'd pick something like the tangential B&O turntables, like the 5500 or a harmon kardon or similar.
I'd still take one of the Oracle turntables or one of the Transrotor tables, which have been doing acrylic for far longer, than this any day, for both looks and performance.
Soon as I saw your new video image the very 1st thing I thought was..... won’t that cause static🤔 I just remembered the old science class experiments of rubbing a acrylic rod with a cloth which then attracted little bits of paper etc to it. 🤷♂️
The audio technical design is just superbe.I would have voted for it.And yes I have a RPM 6.1 sb quite traditional audiophile style,but mounted with an audio technica Shibata the VM 750 SH😛
I always had in mind a transparent turntable, I even have a transparent acrylic platter on mine, because I like the light coming through... I'll snatch one of those I think. (If they're not sold out yet) FOMO for sure LOL
