When the Sony Walkman burst onto the scene decades ago, personal, portable tunes became viable for the first time.
Audio-Technica, a well-known producer of quality, vinyl-centric hi-fi gear, responded to the shift in our listening habits with the AT-727 “Sound Burger,” a strange-looking, pint-sized, battery-powered turntable that made the vinyl experience portable. It was small enough that you could take your records to the late-night party at the Moontower. Needless to say, it didn’t catch on.
Now, in the age of iPods, MP3s, and digital, well, everything, Audio-Technica has taken another swing at making vinyl portable. This one’s a solution much more suited for the 21st century — a USB record player.
The Audio-Technica AT-LP240-USB direct-drive turntable bridges the analog/digital gap by plugging directly into your computer via USB. Using the included free audio editing software Audacity, you can encode all those vinyl tunes to MP3, Ogg Vorbis, WAV or AIFF audio files. If you’ve amassed a sizable record collection, you gain the luxury of enjoying those wax-ensconced sounds not just when you’re lounging in front of your Bang & Olufsen speakers, but anywhere.
On the glossy surface, you’ll find the basic controls: and on/off knob, a start/stop switch and a speed selector with three settings — 33, 45, and 78 RPMs — that are kept in check with a stroboscopic platter and speed accuracy indicator. The S-shaped tone arm is fully adjustable. There’s no pitch control.
The LP240 has a built-in phono preamp, so it will work with newer A/V receivers that lack the phono input so common years ago.
The turntable uses a direct-drive motor. Unlike on a belt-drive turntable, the high-torque motor is directly connected to the platter and located just beneath it. There’s virtually no distortion as the platter accelerates to full speed. With less than 0.1 percent wow and flutter (speed variation), I had no problems with the platter getting off speed.
Plop down a disc and you’ll be rewarded with that rich, warm sound vinyl junkies rave about. The bass is a little light, but mids and highs were velvety, full, and crisp. For instance, Harry Nilsson’s voice sounded terrific on “Gotta Get Up,” the cut that opens his classic Nilsson Schmilsson LP, but as I noticed after playing a few different records, the bass tones tend to get a bit lost.
The turntable has a 55 dB signal-to-noise ratio, so there is some noticeable background noise as a record plays. It’s not a deal-breaking amount, but it’s definitely there, along with amplified popping if your record has accumulated some wear over time. Once a song is recorded, though, Audacity has directions for removing pops, clicks, hum and other noise.
Actually, Audacity does a fine job at representing everything about the original recording. It performs 16-bit analog-to-digital conversion at 44.1 kHz, which is CD quality, or 48 kHz, which is even better.
Taken purely as a turntable, the LP240 is a gorgeous piece of gear that delivers decent sound, but for a price. It’s $370, and that doesn’t include the stylus cartridge (I used an Audio Technica AT 120 E/T standard mount cartridge). If you take advantage of the USB features, then it’s worth it, but there are less expensive fully-analog turntables out there.
And hey, at least it’s cheaper than a vintage AT-727 on eBay.
WIRED You can finally copy your vintage Monkees albums to digital formats. Slick, luxe black chassis is beautiful, and it sounds good to boot. Setting up the included software is straightforward, and no special drivers are needed. Built in phono stage is a plus for owners of non-vintage A/V rigs.
TIRED It’s heavy, around 30 pounds. USB tether means a notebook or computer must be in close proximity. Price is a bit… pricey. Shiny exterior shows each and every fingerprint.
The original AT-727 Sound Burger
Photo by Jim Merithew/Wired