Audio-Technica AT-LP3BK Turntable Automatic Belt-Drive Black

Product Information

Rotate the platter by hand until the rectangular opening with the red ribbon exposes the brass motor pulley (at the 8:00 position). * Do not confuse the motor pulley with the white plastic post located near the tonearm. Without touching the counterweight carefully place the tonearm in its rest and temporarily secure it with the plastic tie.

Bass, meanwhile was rather blurry and boomy but it could have been a lot worse. The above-mentioned damping did help in terms of stability which provided a measure of lower frequency control, driving the song steadily along. AT LP3 offers a full automatic in handling, meaning that the turntable will find the first groove on the record by itself and you will not have to worry if you have left the needle in the groove after listening to the entire side of the record. The tonearm will then lift and return to the stand. With the ease of use, the AT-LP3 also has an interesting look and it will easily fit into any interior design just like the very popular and award-winning AT-LP5 turntable. Although there are sonic issues, this low cost turntable provides a wealth of features and, in sub-budget terms, is put together fairly well. The Moving Coil option is a puzzle and there’s no USB option but the automatic play system works perfectly every time and the internal phono amplifier could be a life saver to those users on a budget. More importantly, it’s a valid and recommended choice when you compare it to the Crosleys and Ions of this world. For any beginner to the world of vinyl, the Audio Technica AT-LP3 is a steady front end for any sub-budget hi-fi system. Once you have completed the setup, connect the power cord to the receptacle on the rear of the turntable and connect the other end to a working AC outlet. Then, making certain the tonearm lift control level is in the “down” position, place a record on the turntable and press the start button!

Rather unusually for a turntable at this price though, it gives you plenty of flexibility for upgrades as and when you see fit. Other features include a damped arm lift, die cast aluminium platter, 4.5mm rubber platter mat and an all in weight of 5.2kg. Using a better quality external phono amplifier, vocal crescendos on jazz can be a little bright and unfocused with brass being a touch smeary. The midrange was quite strong, though, with a ‘big’ sound, providing an entertaining musical response. It’s a fully automatic turntable, which means you don’t even have to lift the needle yourself – a simple button jab will return the tonearm to its starting position.

If you want an upgraded performance from the outset, then go for the AT-LP5, or Sony’s PS-HX500; but at this price there isn’t anything that gives us such an enjoyable listen. Moving on in such a configuration, using an external phono amp and beginning with the lead vocal, despite a bright tone that hung around the various crescendos, Francis did provide lots of energy and vigour and a sense of passion in terms of her delivery. The treble-infused cymbal taps that sat right next to her in the centre of the stereo image were similar unfocused, providing smearing to the upper frequencies. That said, the cymbals were big and bold and were never masked by other frequencies, Audio Technica’s damping application may have helped here.

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Connect the turntable’s attached RCA cable to your desired powered speaker or stereo receiver/amplifier. For audio devices that have a separate ground terminal, connect the spade lug on the RCA cable to the ground lug on your audio component to help minimize hum.