dapeebs Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 So after much research, for the price and quality, I have decided to buy an Audio-Technics AT-LP120. Now are there any essentials that I should buy with it? For the table itself or record cleaners. Any help at all, as this is my first venture into serious listening, would be very much appreciated. Thanks! Bought the Debut III. I appreciate the feedback and advice from everyone. Now I need your help with a set up question. I am balancing the arm, and when I eyeball it to see if it's level, and when it is, I put it back in the rest. I set the dial, just the free moving one to zero, as the manual says. Once it's there, I move the whole counterweight to 18, as it also says to do. After that is done, I remove it from the rest to see if it is level and it keeps on resting on the, well, rest. I've tried multiple times, with minor adjustments to balance it, and to no avail. If you know anything about this and/or have experience with this table, I would greatly appreciate it! I apologize if there is a simple solution or something I am doing wrong out of ignorance. I am coming off a 10 hour shift and had very little patience, which probably was a contributing factor to why I couldn't get it to work. Anyway, thanks for reading and hopefully helping! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamover Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Not sure what type of cartridge it comes with, so I'm not sure you need one of those. Do you have a receiver? preamp? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dapeebs Posted November 14, 2014 Author Share Posted November 14, 2014 I have a receiver. It has a pre-amp built in, as does the turntable itself. So I'm all set on that front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamover Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Well, I honestly can't comment on the quality of the built in preamp or the cartridge. If they're subpar, I'd start with replacing those. Judging by reviews, it sounds like it's a great starter turntable, for the price. Much better than a crosley. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinch Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Throw in another $20 and get an actual real turntable: http://www.musicdirect.com/p-5066-pro-ject-debut-iii-turntable-matte-black-demo.aspx JumpingBean, Klefki and agaetisbyrjun 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klefki Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 As an owner of the LP120, consider slinch's post above. I just bought the LP120 last year and I'm already looking forward to my next table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
himynameisdk Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 As a previous owner of the LP120 who recently upgraded, save your money and buy a debut carbon or a Music Hall mmf 2.2. You'll be glad you did later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpingBean Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 The LP120 won't damage your records like other cheap plastic turntables will, but it definitely has a number of fatal flaws that prevent it from sounding good. The first would be the preamp board which will make the turntable sound veiled regardless of whether or not the preamp is bypassed. The others would be the resonance issues, speed issues, and issues with wow and flutter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solidusjerry91 Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 This a great starter turntable. Might be your first "real" turntable, and your last. Having the strobe and quartz lock there is awesome, and having the VTA somewhat adjustable is good too. Not to mention it is a pretty looking turntable. It should come with an AT95E cartridge which is also a beginner cartridge. I have a pro-ject carbon, and still really liked the ATLP120. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
museummouth Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 Throw in another $20 and get an actual real turntable: http://www.musicdirect.com/p-5066-pro-ject-debut-iii-turntable-matte-black-demo.aspx This should be the minimum table to buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 My dad bought an AT120 a while ago and while it's basically fine as has been said above there are quite a few fundamental flaws that led me to doing a lot of re engineering on it. It's now not a bad thing but this is from someone that builds turntables as a hobby so we are not talking about the sort of re engineering you just bolt on. None of what I did to it was financially viable and I did it just because I could, so unless your sights are set at the standard AT120 or you enjoy re wiring tonearms and rebuilding motor drive boards and that sort of thing do what Slinch said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dapeebs Posted November 15, 2014 Author Share Posted November 15, 2014 Throw in another $20 and get an actual real turntable: http://www.musicdirect.com/p-5066-pro-ject-debut-iii-turntable-matte-black-demo.aspx Ended up going with this. Now out of curiosity, what about the Audio-Technics makes it an inferior table? (or at least a table many of you are against?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinch Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 Great decision. It's not one single thing really. Sub-par motor stability and dampening, tonearm design, low quality of passive components, internal wiring and electronics, compromises with materials, everything comes together to produce a poor listening experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
necroking Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 Great decision. It's not one single thing really. Sub-par motor stability and dampening, tonearm design, low quality of passive components, internal wiring and electronics, compromises with materials, everything comes together to produce a poor listening experience. everything he says is true. ive been using the AT120 for about a year dont like it much, just bought a Debut Carbon Esprit SB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dapeebs Posted November 20, 2014 Author Share Posted November 20, 2014 Read the edited, original post, and HAAAELP please... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinch Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 I am balancing the arm, and when I eyeball it to see if it's level, and when it is, I put it back in the rest. I set the dial, just the free moving one to zero, as the manual says. Once it's there, I move the whole counterweight to 18, as it also says to do. After that is done, I remove it from the rest to see if it is level and it keeps on resting on the, well, rest. I've tried multiple times, with minor adjustments to balance it, and to no avail. If you know anything about this and/or have experience with this table, I would greatly appreciate it! I apologize if there is a simple solution or something I am doing wrong out of ignorance. I am coming off a 10 hour shift and had very little patience, which probably was a contributing factor to why I couldn't get it to work. Anyway, thanks for reading and hopefully helping! If I understand this correctly, it does exactly what it's supposed to do. When you first balance the tonearm to be perfectly level (aka "floating") and set the weight to 0, this just means that you've found the starting point from where you set the needed weight. Then, when you move the counterweight to 18, it SHOULD rest down, because you've just set it so that the cart will press down on the record with the appropriate force. If it would still be floating perfectly level then you wouldn't be able to listen to your records. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinch Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 This should help: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dapeebs Posted November 20, 2014 Author Share Posted November 20, 2014 If I understand this correctly, it does exactly what it's supposed to do. When you first balance the tonearm to be perfectly level (aka "floating") and set the weight to 0, this just means that you've found the starting point from where you set the needed weight. Then, when you move the counterweight to 18, it SHOULD rest down, because you've just set it so that the cart will press down on the record with the appropriate force. If it would still be floating perfectly level then you wouldn't be able to listen to your records. And thank you, again. Something obvious. Just being dumb and physically and mentally exhausted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinch Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 You're welcome And no worries, that's what this place is for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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