I bought one August 2020 and I love it. The sound quality is amazing. I can now really enjoy listening to my huge vinyl record collection. The best part is that I don't get feed back when i raise the volume all the way up.

I’ve had my AT-LP7 for about a year. I couldn’t be happier with it. Before buying, I considered and tested a dozen turntables from Rega, Pro-Ject, Technics, Fluance, Denon, etc. The AT-LP7 ended being everything I wanted in sound, function, and form. The LP7 might seem expensive (and the price has gone up slightly) but many of the turntables I looked at in the $400-800 range just felt junky for the price. The LP7’s rock-solid plinth and the polyoxymethylene platter are brilliant together and have none of the resonance the other models had when I tested them. Haven’t experienced anything like the loose tonearm in this video. As for the onboard phono stage, it doesn’t have a subsonic filter (most don’t), but I use an external preamp anyway. And that unhinged dust cover? Perfect, and the way dust covers should be. Even hinged covers should be removed when playing records.

To fix the loose tone arm assembly, tighten the screws on the bottom of the plinth directly under the assembly. I don’t know if they get loose over time or if playing with the VTA makes them get loose, but that’s the fix. The platter is made of what’s commonly called Delrin, a DuPont product designed to replace metal gears. It’s an amazing material. Despite what others may say about this turntable, it’s elegant and upgradable. I’m glad to own one!

Another great video, I like this detailed review, your one of the best, keep them coming kind regards 😀. Thanks again 😀.

Dude the shipping issues are unreal. My LP120XBT took about 2 months to be delivered. I finally got it yesterday. Luckily I got an order in before the major price hike. Thank God.

Another great video I love the way you use those old sayings like my dad used to say...."like all get out". Brings back fond memories of my father thanks.

fluance RT 85 has Ortofon 2M Blue. but still one today costs about $ 464 on Amazon. Ortofon 2M Blue costs about 239 $ separately on another website

I have an LP120, which I upgraded to the brown Shibata stylus. What do you think of the Shibata stylus?

I am coming from a cheaper audio Technica turntable that had the VM95E styli on and switched to the 95ml this one has the next grade up but how is the stock styli and would the micro line version for this or shibata be better sounding? And also how good is the built in preamp pros and cons?

Regarding your loose tonearm, you should be able to tighten up the base of your tonearm assembly by tightening the two recessed screws on the bottom of the plinth next to that circular piece of black "tape".

MDF stands for medium density fiber. There is no such thing as very dense MDF. That would be HDF

I bought this 2 months ago after watching your review, so happy I went with it. It was between Pro-ject Debut Carbon Evo and the AT LP7, and so glad I went with this in the end. Absolutely love love love this TT. P. S.: It cost me $760 including shipping in November. Not a bad deal.

Is there that much tonearm play if you lock the VTA? I don't think you have the VTA lock in position.

I enjoyed the review. You have taught me a lot about turn tables over the last month since I discovered your channel, thanks for taking the time to make these videos!

Could you tell me which brands have autostop besides Fluance?

My Technics Sl-1100a still worth the money it cost back in 1971 I got it for free from a friend it is the most expensive turntable i own. I do like that lp7 I would have bought that if I did not have my sl-1100a or my sl-1210m3d. I was fortunate enough to pay way below market price for my 2 top tables and i would never look back. But that lp7 would be in my collection.

Excellent, an honest review. Thx.

Bought mine just before the pandemic in 2020. Crutchfield installment plans are fantastic. I use the 70 dollar Fosi Audio tube phono preamp with the 20 dollar ge upgrade tubes. I've been wanting to upgrade the cartridge or stylus in the past, the vm520eb is so good, that I decided to just wait until I needed to replace it. The aesthetic is what really drew me in, at first. I was trying to get excited about some decks that were priced less, but i knew that there was no way that i could. The great reviews were icing on the cake. It is an amazing turntable. I bought a subwoofer isolation platform for it, which was a great addition also. The rest of my setup for reference is a Yamaha A-S501 integrated. The phono stage was okay, but the fosi is way better. Plenty of power though. Pioneer fs51-lr I inherited from my late father. Latest addition is SVS sb 2000 pro, that is fantastic. I got bit by the bug super hard somewhere along the way. Median discogs estimate is 7500 bucks.

Got this one for Christmas 2020. Still loving it. I have no play in the tonearm, as seen here. Added two headshells to the arsenal, one with a conical for older records, and one with a VM540ML. It replaced my 1974 SL-1500, which could no longer maintain speed. It has similar s/n ratios, though I gave up direct drive for belt drive. But, I'm no longer doing DJ stuff, so I just want to listen to my music. I *might* have gone for the new SL-1500 (for twice the price), but I can't imagine it sounding significantly better.

The LP5X has 78, though I agree with you in the notion that pitch control is important. And the LP5X lacking it can be annoying for 80 or 60 RPM discs. The LP1240 could be the way to go, as it seems to be the DJ equivalent to the LP7.

LP5 is now upgraded to LP5x and has improved features. Can’t get the LP7 in the UK, which is a shame. In fact getting any AT turntable at the moment is a nightmare. Great re-review!

How does it sound on the silent groove between tracks? Any rumble?

I wonder could you put nagaoka mp-110 on this? Like how high does the vta go

I saw you adjust the VTA so I’d assume it was not locked, and I never saw you touch the VTA lock lever. If you lock it does that play go away? If not it’s unforgivable and does have an effect on sound.

I’m still running the AT LP-120. Remove the dodgy internal pre-amp (paid to have done), run through a external Pro-ject Tube Box S Phono preamp…and a Ortofon 2M Bronze stylus…..had that setup for 2 years, and I still sit and look on in wonderment lol. The new Beatles Let It Be box set sounds sublime….

Peanuts Hucko was one of my wife's late father's best friends. Her dad was also a renowned big band jazz musician, and he and Peanuts played together in Ray McKinley's band.

I would probably not pay that much for a turntable but that doesn't mean that it doesn't have the value, I just have a lot of good turntables that I collected over the years. My dream turntable would be a Pioneer PL-L1000 tangental tracking. I have the PL-L800 tangental tracking that has stable speed problem at 33 1/3 rpm. 45 is fine and it's a quartz lock. I'm thinking there's a bad capacitor somewhere on the motor board. It's a very difficult turntable to work on for sure. You always do awesome reviews. Thank you.

Great to hear some jazz being played. I think turntables are so subjective - an upgrade one is on my list ( along with a decent R2R deck) but suspect my wife has other ideas. Onwards & upwards.

A very enjoyable review, as always. Thank you! Sounds like the LP7 is a very good, solid turntable. The cartridge is obviously of high quality and actually made in Japan. The weakest link seems to be the tonearm assembly, which looks a bit cheap at the pivot end. AT would do well to improve this, even if they have to charge more for the turntable as a result. Agree that a hinged turntable lid is much more convenient, even if its presence slightly undermines sound quality. I'd be afraid of hitting the tonearm assembly with the removable lid when putting it back on. That could be a lot worse for sound quality... with best wishes from a clumsy oaf.

After several years spinning the vintage Pioneer Pl518 and also being skeptical about if "modern" turntables are significantly better sounding... finally I decided to go with the Lp7 turntable and then here I am absolutly amazed with the results,game changer, no doubt it worth it. It beat hands down at least the pl 518.

It sounds really nice, but... $800 nice? Not sure I wouldn't be able to get similar or identical sound but upgrading the cartridge on a cheaper turntable. It sounded very musical, but it's hard to tell what's giving it that "musicality": the original recording? The mastering of the vinyl? The cartridge? The preamp? I'd have to hear something I'm familiar with sound significantly better on it to justify that kind of price. I'll admit I've been wondering what you would recommend if money were no object... do those esoteric, 250 grand turntables with all kinds of strange suspensions actually get a better sound than what's possible out of a $150 / $300 / $800 turntable? It's hard to believe some of those exotic turntables could really somehow pull out more sound from a groove... how far CAN you reduce the rumble? What really IS the lowest wow and flutter turntable? Will any of those strange suspensions really reduce distortion from tracking angle issues? (There may be other things they claim they do well, I just can't come up with anything else audible or measurable right now.) Self-leveling, air suspension... do any of these things actually impact the sound? I know I can't and will likely never be able to afford any of those bizarre designs unless I win the lottery, but are they all show just to "wow" your rich friends, or have they really discovered something crazy-expensive that improves the fidelity? It would be fun if you could somehow get access to some of these stupid-expensive showpieces even for a few hours and give us your opinion as to whether or not you can hear any difference, of if they're just for bragging rights.

14:08 I was like 😨 what was that 😂 I had to rewind it to make sure I wasn’t trippin 😂

Have a look at the AT LP-140X. It’s higher quality than the 120. The platter is dampened, and is quite hefty. It comes with an AT XP3 cart which is pretty decent. I have also ordered an Audio Technica VM540ML with the RigB upgrade, which is amazing for tracking, stereo separation and detail retrieval.

Can you please review turntables from the brand Gadhouse? I want to hear your opinions about them. Maybe you should check out their upcoming new turntable the Gadhouse "Mathis"

Your review of this turntable was really interesting. I found the fact that the tonearm had so much play in it somewhat unforgivable. When I recently looked for a new turntable Audio Technica was one of the makes I looked at. After much research I decided to buy a Rega Planar 2 turntable. I like the fact that it was designed and made in England and the build quality of the the turntable is excellent with both it's glass platter and high quality tonearm.

The LP-7 is fine, but is it worth $800 of sound? The belt on the outside looks weird. Maybe the jangly tonearm mount is on purpose. I never saw your LP-5. I've got the LP-3, fully automatic, and I love it!

I got my at-7lp 3 months ago. First thing was to replace the elliptical vmn20eb stylus with a shibata vmn50sh. Yes it’s a lot more money but it makes a world of difference in response and separation. No 78 no problem, I won’t kill a shibata stylus on a 78. As far as the dust cover I don’t use it, still got just nut used.

You could kill somebody with that record platter, lol. Stow, OH is right in my backyard, about 35-40 miles from where I live.

I strongly believe that 90% of the sound of a turntable is the cartridge and the phono stage, unless it's one of those very cheap ($40) turntables with lots of motor noise and rumble, but with normal hi-fi turntables it's mainly the cartridge and the phono stage that we are hearing, great video, thanks.

Nice looking turntable.

Hi, It's really sunny in Brighton England at the moment ....but freezing cold!!! So I just recently recommended the Audio Technica ATLP 5 to a friend who wants to upgrade his turntable. It looks just like the ATLP7...but has 78 rpm as well. Plus it only costs £389.99. (Not sure what that is in $ and its belt is underneath the platter and it has a hinged lid!! Much better value than the LP7. Interestingly the LP7 is not available for sale in the UK, even on Amazon and the LP5 is out of stock everywhere. Personally, if I had to replace my Trio/Kenwood KD1033 I would replace it with an LP120.....Which is also out of stock in the UK at the moment!!!!!

I've had one of those clamps snap off on me on the technical lp 120.

I bought a Fluance RT85 about a year and a half ago for $300 less than the AT-LP7 ($499 vs the $800) and it beats it hands down. It has an acrylic platter and better cartridge (Ortofon Blue). Even if the Fluance has gone up in price since -- buy it, people. I think it's still the best turntable for the price.

That's a great Audio-Technica AT-LP7 turntable, but I agree with Record-ology that its $800 price tag ($1,200 Canadian on Canadian Amazon) is very steep. Perhaps the $400 to $500 range would make more sense. In comparison, back in 2001 or so, I bought a used Denon DP-45F quartz-locked direct-drive fully automatic turntable with an Ortofon stylus and cartridge that even has a repeat button to repeat playing one side of a record over and over again. It was a 1999 model that retailed at that time for around $600 or $700 U.S. and I bought it used for a grand total of about $200 ($150 bid plus $50 shipping to Canada), so that Denon turntable, even in adjusted 2022 dollars, is a far better value than that $800 Audio-Technica turntable which is a fully MANUAL belt-drive unit with no extra features like a repeat button, a pitch control slider, etc. It's cool, but not $800 cool in my humble opinion, but it is built like a tank for sure and thank you for sharing its features as well as a few of its shortcomings with us, Record-ology. A great review as always. :)

You can take the scratches out of the dust cover with some plastic polish from companies like Meguiar's Plastx.

Sounds great I like it

Thanks!

The reason the tonearm clip is plastic is so it doesn't mar your malleable aluminum tonearm. It's an intentional engineering design decision and a reasonably smart one. Honestly the only time you need that clip is in transport.

I've got a pair of AT LP 1240s. Not bad turners

This a beautifull TT but Too expensive for a manual , also when you were showing the tone arm height adjustment like my AT-120 lp TT it has a locking tab behind don't know if you know this mine will move but once VTA is adjusted my tone will move like that but when you lock it it will not move in case you did not know JRo

Hello to you sir. I have to agree with you about the price of the lp7. I do like a lot of the A.T turntables, especially the lp5x and lw50pb. Over here these two turntables retail for between£350 and £380. For price comparison the lp7 is about £950. Here in UK the head office of Audio Technica is about 10 miles away in Leeds, even there the lp7 is unavailable,you cannot buy it at any hifi outlet . It's not worth the asking price compared those turntables and as you say,the lp120x(£275).

Thanks for the follow up review. I'm a newbie at this hobby, so excuse my naïve comments.:) It sounds like this was not the right turntable for you. You seem to prefer direct drive with the ability to play 78rpm Records. With that in mind, why didn't you go for the AT LP5X? That would of saved you 400 bucks..:) That is what I'm actually deciding between right now for my very first record player: AT LP5X versus AT LP7 . Thanks!

I prefer my LP120 direct drive, 3 speed with reverse mode. Reverse mode is useful for playing those records with backward recorded lyrics. This feature was removed when the LP120X was released.

Gostei do seu vídeo, bem explicado obrigado.

The only others I was considering besides the LP7 was pro carbon or fluance. This table looks so much beefier. 800 is a bit high

For me the turntable had great lows and mids. However, thee highs were a bit...............muddy. Maybe it's the recording itself of the LP or the compression of mp3. I dunno, for me an eighthundred dollar turntable should sound better than that. The video was done well and very enjoyable. 😎👍

I look at dust totally differently after this video 😳

This table will support a much nicer cartridge. I am currently using a VM750SH.

I own this turntable and use an Ortofon Bronze cartridge.

Still unavailable in the UK, insane.

You should be careful with the turntable. You should treat it carefully. and you should keep it dust free. for this is no cheap scrap. and by the way are not the feet adjustable too? . for turntables should be straight. A spirit level can be recommended

Not with that type of arm. For an extra $200 i have the Pro-Ject 6 Perspex magnetic suspension Turntable. (made in Austria, not China) It is also very heavy with a 1 inch thick perspex base to which are attached 3 conical damped adjustable feet, a special ceramic damped sub base section and a solid platter made of MDF and pure vinyl for the top. There is no ringing when you tap the platter or any other part of the turntable. The carbon fibre arm and headshell is fused together. If you want the best out of your records, you should buy the best source component you can afford. Of course, the choice of cartridge is part of this also, particularly proper matching of cartridge and arm to ovoid undesirable resonances.

Very nice 👍

I have this turntable and it’s great 👍 and now it’s $850. It’s incrementally better than the lp120. I don’t have 78s and I’ve never used the pitch slider on my lp120. The lp7 is Well made. the way you have it on your counter and swiveling on its side it’s prob scuffing it. I think 300 would be too low I think 500-600 dollars would be fair price. Thanks for revisiting.

The reason the lp7 does not have a pitch slider and other types of dj features is because those almost inaudible features mask fine sonic detaile which would thereby remove the lp7 from it's audiophile classification. I own the lp 5x and I understand the sonic qualities of the lp7 is very similar to that of the lp5x. Both phonographs, the lp7 and the lp5x are regarded by Audio-Technica as audiophile phonographs. I am able to say from extensive experience, the sonic qualities of the lp 5x are detailed and superb, to say the least. I am sorry to say I don't have any personal listening experience of the lp 7 although from a reliable source I understand the sonic qualities of the lp5x and the lp7 are extremely similar and the sonic qualities of the lp5x is marvelous and the Best I've ever owned after owning phonograps for more than 50 years.

The LP7 is not the successor to the LP5. The successor to the LP5 is the LP5X. There are 2 turntables which Audio-Technica considers to be so called "audiophile" turntables currently, the LP5X and the LP7 because of their superior sound quality and design. I know this because I have spoken at length to Audio-Technica representatives and techs and I also own the LP5X which I chose because the LP5X plays 78s whereas the LP7 does not. Another reason I chose the Lp5X is because of it's "direct drive" motor which I prefer to the "belt drive" motor of the LP7. I assume the "belt drive" system of the LP7 is fine but generally, I prefer "direct drive" turntables.

in my opinion, the best turntable by Audio-technica is the LP5x especially when the LP5x is paired with the VMN95SH (Shibata) Stylus or even better, the VM750 cartridge which includes the VMN50SH (Shibata) Stylus at significantly greater cost.

I noticed you forgot to lock the vta adjustment ring and perhaps is the reason it wiggles.

I got into audio technica when I got back into the hobby a few years ago. Started, or restarted, with the LP 60 (LP 120 now). I'm on my 3rd cartridge/stylus. Literally all 3 have cantilevers that bend a little to the right. I've made damn sure everything is set up properly...multiple times. & while I been out of the hobby for a while I grew up in the 80s & 90s & NEVER had this problem with any others. They originally wanted me to send my newest stylus back but they've stopped answering my emails... 🤔 definitely not a good sign right there. So be careful with audio technica equipment.

if the arm locking clip wasnt made of plastic it would mark the tonearm tube and also wouldnt flex enough to clip over the arm tube

To make it worth the money, they should have at least gave it the $300 ATVM540ML cart. It's nearly identical, but it has a red color and obviously a micro-line stylus.

you need the AT-LP5X

I also get liking 3 speeds...but the people buying that aren't playing 78s..and die hard 78 fans use older period correct tables....

all spindles rotate , otherwise the platter would not go round 🙂

3:38 Scratch scratch scratch! Whoops! Definitely a pity on such a nice turntable... should've put a soft blanket on that counter first IMO. Looks a bit dusty, your turntables deserve a bit of cleaning! 👍 Yes, it's a Hanpin, but that doesn't make it bad, since it's based on one of their superOEMs, the Hanpin DJ5500 - you can tell that from the tonearm design. 7:40 Worrying about color temperatures? Have you been into the professional movie business? 10:45 You're correct, there shouldn't be any play like that - I've had the same tonearm on a Pioneer PLX-1000 and it didn't have that. I would've sent it back for a replacement! 11:30 Even more expensive turntables have a cheap plastic tonearm clip... for example my Technics SL-1200G has a plastic clip too even though it's about 4k dollars. 12:37 That Audio Technica cartridge is very good! You should upgrade it with a VMN40ML stylus, you'll be surprised how that sounds... That's a microline stylus which produces nearly 0 inner groove distortion and it just smoothly glides over most record imperfections! Punches way above its weight! 15:17 Yeah, most turntables (and other hifi products) have their priced hiked up in the past 1 or 2 years... it's sad...

The tonearm should not be loose on the plinth like that. You got a lemon.

Stay away from Grados they distort like hell!

On the audio example I noticed that there was quite a bit of low-frequency noise. On my headphone it's really noticeable. It might not come trough so clearly if you listen through speakers. But it will negatively affect the bass performance. It could be that it's in this old record, but it could also be from the turntable.

I'll stick with my Fluance RT-84, thank you. As for the sound, you could have at least cleaned the record; it sounded really dirty!

At the price of this unit you are getting pretty close to the technics c100 .

I wouldn't purchase this at $800, if i were going for a belt drive deck in this price range, i would look at fluance or rega . As it is, I'll stay with my sl1200MK2

entire arm adjustment is rather for different mats not vta. ridiculously overpraised anyway. best affordable & widely available 3 speed high end would be quartz belt dual cs5000 (with vta head) and ortofon omb 20 as standard on it (+ 78 stylus apart). imho

I have no idea why this is more expensive than the LP5X. I bought the LP5X because I don’t want to screw around with the belts. I honestly don’t see any advantage in this one.

Artsy fartsy usually costs more.

I do not think this is worth anything like $400 more than the AT-LP5X, or 120X

The problem is that this model shares the brand name with the sub $200 models. Music snobs want the turntable to have a brand on it that only true audiophiles know of.

And, I soo cringed at 24:21 ... thumb on a stylus... :(

Who on earth would pay 800 for a belt drive turntable.

should have 78

😬😬😬man you touched the needle with your fingers

I'm sorry but I'm one of those people who care about the aesthetics of my equipment. Man that thing looks like it should have a meatloaf or a tray of cupcakes beneath the dust cover Hate it...ugh

it looks cheap anyway

Is it worth $800.00. For sure and no its not over priced $300.00 would be ridiculous just based on build quality alone. Factor in the sound quality of this unit and it becomes clear that this is perhaps the best $800 turntable build by anyone ever period. However, it's important to run it through a system that can reveal the difference between this and lets say an AT-LP120. Ever penny here is designated towards sound quality. This is probably not for people who desire convenience features such as auto lift, pitch fader etc.

It looks like a Fluance in disguise

Going over this turntable in better detail, this unit is extremely overpriced. This is a good 350-500 dollar range class turntable in my opinion. I would never buy this unit.

Pero si esta lleno de mierda ese platoooooo.encima el tio con todos los dedazos llenos de grasa tocandolo todo.solo por esos detalles le don no me gusta al video.

Honestly this turntable doesn't sound as good as my AT-LP120XUSB with an Ortofon 2M Red cartridge

This looks incredibly cheap. You can buy an amazing Japanese 70s-80s DD for greater sound and value.