Right out of the box, the Audio-Technica AT-LP120XUSB Turntable is good looking. With a black glossy finish (it’s also available in silver) and a nice dust cover, you don’t have to keep it hidden away in a cabinet, but I’d keep it on a stable table or desk. Very sturdy, the turntable was easy to assemble, even for a non-technical person like myself. I had it together and spinning in about 20 minutes.

With a direct-drive turntable, the AT-LP120 has three conventional speeds, 33 rpm, 45 and 78 rpm, accessed by two convenient toggled buttons, and as bonus, it can go backwards, too, a feature are more useful tor DJs than people just listening to their vinyl. The speed of the turntable is very consistent, with no grind or flutter.

The tone arm is exceptionally well-made, rugged, and is very easy to balance with an intuitive dial. The arm is also easy to adjust so it’s parallel with the record you are playing, no matter what diameter the disc, a key factor in playing cleanly and keeping your vinyl in top shape: For the cartridge to track smoothly, it must  be parallel, otherwise the record will skip all over the place. The included cartridge is perfectly satisfactory, but upgrading the cartridge itself is an option.

The turntable has a USB connection that makes it easy to plug into your computer to record your analog albums on digital media, in case you want to create a mix tape for a party or trip—or you just don’t want the kids handling your LPs when they listen to your music.

One great feature, the turntable has a built-in phono pre-amp, which means you can just plug it into any amplifier, something I had to discover on my own since although drawings in the instruction manual showed all the connection options—which are many—and the selections were hard to follow just starting out.

The AT-LP120 also has a nice strobe light to judge the speed of the record, which can be adjusted with the pitch control. The direct drive (as opposed to belt-driven) turntable gives you the ability to change speed instantly, and gives you real durability.

As far is the sound goes, it gives a faithful analog sound. I maintained a collection of 11,000 records, and as you can imagine, there’s a wide range of tones in music ranging just from Robert Johnson’s 1930s blues to Joan Baez’s crystal-clear soprano to 2018 Alice Cooper’s wails, yet I found absolutely no fault with any reproduction.

From someone coming from the background of high-end, belt-driven turntables which cost ten times the amount of the Audio-Technica turntable, I was amazed how good this turntable was. I would recommend this turntable to anybody who loves vinyl.

And a hint to kids everywhere: For Father’s Day, Dad doesn’t need another tie, but he might like to hear his vinyl at 100%. Find this turntable HERE.

—Arnie Goodman

Arnie Goodman owned Zig Zag Records, a chain of record stores throughout the New York metropolitan area, and had a personal collection of 11,000 LPs. He was a regular contributor to Audiophile Voice, a high-end audio magazine.