Audio Technica AT-LP5
Rather like a book, a turntable cannot be judged by appearance alone. It isn’t necessarily about build quality, either, at least not purely in the sense of it being well manufactured or robust; it is about how it feels to use, the touch of the dial to switch between rotation speeds, the weight of the tonearm and how it glides from its rest to vinyl. That attention to detail is what fills us with confidence before we even get round to listening to Audio Technica’s AT-LP5 turntable.
Our point of reference here is Rega’s Award-winning RP1 turntable, although in reality these are two quite different pieces of equipment. Now available at the same price as the Rega, the AT-LP5 treats you to a built-in phono stage (although you can use an external one) and USB output for digitising your record collection. It’s a tidy one-box alternative to a combination of boxes.
Retro – for a reason
What the two decks have in common is an emphasis on sonic ability. To that end, you’ll notice the AT-LP5’S J-shaped tonearm, harking back to those used by Audio-technica in the 1960s and ’70s. This is more than just a retro design quirk – the company says the arm is engineered to minimise tracking error. Then there’s the AT95EX cartridge, exclusively designed for this turntable and fitted to an AT-HS10 headshell for what Audio-technica claims is a perfect balance for its tonearm.
So, it is with some haste we shake Nils Frahm’s live album from its sleeve. The first track, An Aborted Beginning, is one-and-a-half minutes in which we can already rest assured we aren’t to be disappointed.
There is firstly a great sense of the setting of the recording; a combination of spacious soundstage and detail as the natural reverb is exposed. There are more rumbling lows on this track than this deck is able to produce, but there is a nicely poised, natural balance to the sound that doesn’t want for bass.
Great timing
Says, the following track, then begins to demonstrate the AT-LP5’S fine understanding of rhythm. Not only does that hypnotically bubbling synthesizer pattern time well, its rhythmic and dynamic emphasis allows the piece’s six-minute build to grow rather than stagnate. It is an arrangement utterly dependent on anticipation of its climax, a task for which the Audio-technica here is easily adept.
It is the AT-LP5’S overall character we enjoy so much, something that is unchanging whether using its built-in phono stage or running through a more expensive one (which improves detail resolution). So while the upgrade is an improvement, it is far from a necessity.
In comparison
When we switch to the Rega RP1, we hear a step up in most respects as well as a more general warmth to the sound, but that can’t detract from the AT-LP5’S musicality; switching back, we don’t miss the extra detail or dynamics much. That’s because Audio-technica has what matters spot on – this turntable is both a pleasure to use and to listen to. To our minds, the only way you could improve notably on this package is to up your budget significantly.