One of the Best Affordable Turntables Gets Its First Real Upgrade in Years

The Audio-Technica AT-LP70X is an upgraded version of one of our favorite entry-level turntables.

Published August 1, 2024

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Updated August 1, 2024

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Audio-Technica’s turntables are pretty unmistakable. They have a modern industrial design — typically in silver and black — that seems to pay homage to the Technics’s iconic SL-1200. Honestly, they just look cool.

For the last several years, the company’s AT-LP60X — released in early 2019 — has been one of our favorite entry-level turntables. It looked sleek, was extremely affordable (under $150) and was surprisingly upgradable.

Now, Audio-Technica has released a new version, the AT-LP70X, that improves on its predecessor in a few key ways.

Audio-Technica AT-LP70X

Specs

Turntable	Belt-drive, Automatic
Speeds	45 and 33 1/3 RPMs
Cartridge	Audio-Technica AT-VM95C

$199 at Audio-Technica

It’s Fully Automatic

The Audio-Technica AT-LP70X shares a lot in common with the AT-LP60X. It’s a belt-driven turntable with a built-in phono preamplifier, so you can hook it up directly to a powered speaker via a RCA connection — Audio-Technica recommends its (also new) AT-SP3X powered bookshelf speakers.

The phono preamp is switchable, meaning you can turn it off and use an external preamp instead. This is neat for those who may want to upgrade the AT-LP70X sometime in the future.

Importantly, the AT-LP70X is a fully automatic turntable, meaning after you place the record, you press the “start” button and the tonearm will automatically lower the stylus onto the record; when the record is over, the tonearm return back to its resting position. It’s essentially a press-and-paly machine.

Note: While being fully automatic makes listening to vinyl super easy, it also takes a little bit of the fun out of it — most audiophiles want the feeling of control that comes with dropping the needle on a record.

The Upgrades

The Audio-Technica AT-LP70X notably has two improvements over its predecessor. First, it comes with the company’s new entry-level moving-magnet phono cartridge, the AT-VM95C. Second, it has a “three-piece, anti-resonance chassis” designed to dampen vibrations and improve sound quality.

It’s worth noting that you can easily upgrade the AT-VM95C phono cartridge that comes with the AT-LP70X with any other cartridge —elliptical, elliptical nude, microlinear or Shibata — in Audio-Technica’s VM95 Series.

Want Bluetooth Streaming?

Audio-Technica is technically releasing two new entry-level turntables: the AT-LP70X and the AT-LP70XBT. The two are identical, except for the “BT” version, which has built-in Bluetooth.

The addition of Bluetooth lets you pair the turntable to your wireless headphones or earbuds for a private vinyl listening session. You can also stream vinyl from the turntable to a portable speaker, although it obviously won’t be private.

(The BT version supports aptX Adaptive, so you can stream higher-resolution audio to wireless headphones and earbuds that support aptX Adaptive, as well.)

Admittedly, I’m not somebody who really wants to stream vinyl on my Bluetooth headphones — it seems a little overkill. If you feel the same way, getting the non-BT model will save you $50.

Price and Availability

The Audio-Technica AT-LP70X and AT-LP70XBT turntables will be available this month — August 2024 — and will come in three different finishes: black/bronze, black/silver or white/silver.

The two turntables will cost $199 and $249 (for the BT model), respectively. This is a $50 increase over their AT-LP60X and AT-LP60XBT predecessors. (For those looking for a sneaky deal, Audio-Technica continues to sell the older models while supplies last.)