One of the Best Affordable Turntables Gets Its First Real Upgrade in Years

Importantly, the AT-LP70X is a fully automatic turntable, meaning after you place the record, you press the “start” button and the tonearm will automatically lower the stylus onto the record; when the record is over, the tonearm return back to its resting position. It’s essentially a press-and-paly machine.

Note: While being fully automatic makes listening to vinyl super easy, it also takes a little bit of the fun out of it — most audiophiles want the feeling of control that comes with dropping the needle on a record.

The Upgrades

The Audio-Technica AT-LP70X notably has two improvements over its predecessor. First, it comes with the company’s new entry-level moving-magnet phono cartridge, the AT-VM95C. Second, it has a “three-piece, anti-resonance chassis” designed to dampen vibrations and improve sound quality.

It’s worth noting that you can easily upgrade the AT-VM95C phono cartridge that comes with the AT-LP70X with any other cartridge —elliptical, elliptical nude, microlinear or Shibata — in Audio-Technica’s VM95 Series.