The BIG Bang for the buck.

I'm so excited about this product that I just don't know where to start! I've been storing my vinyl collection for about 20 years and just couldn't bring myself to part with any of it. When times and finances changed to where I could actively look for a new turntable I was amazed at what was and wasn't available today. I wouldn't classify myself as an audiophile but, I really like my music and I'm definitely not a DJ. When looking for a new turntable that put me smack in the middle. Audiophile tables were priced through the roof and I was suspect of the sound quality of a DJ table, not to mention their pricing ranged from mild to wild as well.

After many hours on the net looking for information I managed to narrow my choices to three tables. The Vestax BDT-2500, the 1200 series Technics and this one. The problem with the Vestax was simply it didn't have a lift for the tone arm! My only knock on the Technics tables were they were only two speed and I wanted the option of playing 78's. While there are other tables capable of this the Audio-Technica had some very good reviews regarding the installed cartridge and the price included a lift up or easily removable dust cover.

Bringing this table home the first thing I noticed was the weight. At almost 24lbs. I knew this was going to be a solid platform to spin my vinyl. The included instruction book was very clear and setup was a snap taking only about 20 minutes, no rocket science needed. Set the voltage switch, activate or deactivate the internal preamp, install the tone arm weight and balance the tonearm, set the anti skate and you are ready. (Don't worry, if I can do it, so can you!)

Installing this into our home theater/entertainment system I came across the one and only thing I would change about this product. It comes with hard wired factory interconnects that are only 1 meter long. This was almost a problem, however they reached, just and all was well. Myself I would have rather had the option of picking my own interconnects for length if nothing else. My receiver had a phono in with preamp and I elected to use this instead of using the tables internal preamp. Now we're ready to spin some vinyl!!!

Firing this table up for the first time you'll notice the quality feel of all the switches and lever. The motor is amazingly quick to speed and dead quiet. Setting the tone arm the first time you'll appreciate the hydraulic damper. The pop-up stylus target light is the bomb for those low lighting listening sessions.

With all that said, how does it sound? In a word, amazing! I have in my system a Sony SACD/CD/DVD player which I use to listen when I want the best playback of my CD's and a 5 disk player for uninterrupted background or party music. While I haven't tried the SACD format yet I can tell you that good, old vinyl just blows the CD format out of the water. There is a presence, an air and a detail that I forgot was there so many years ago. My vinyl collection has right at 200 lp's and they range from rock, country, jazz, latin and pop and we spent the better part of 2 days sampling some of each. This table just works and works well! At first in MY system it came across a little bright. With that, took just a tick off the top with the eq. in the receiver and all was well. After about 30 to 40 hours the cartridge seemed to settle in, (break-in,) and the edge was gone from the s and t's in some recordings.

If you couldn't tell already, I highly recommend this table.