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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.

If one decides to venture into the rairified area of high end, high fidelity you almost surely to be faced with component cost exceeding thousands each. The cost and the various amoubt of equipment can be overwhelming and may lead to confusion. Thus, it's important that your first choice is a good one. The Audio Technica WP7 is that type of choice. First, it's solid black look is striking. It has a very thick plinth composed of an exotic composite material that dies a great job of dampening vibrations. The sturdy legs are fully adjustable and end with rubber feet to aid in isolation control. The platter is composed of a delvin material. It's heavy to promote consistent speed, and moves with a buttery smoothness. Audio Technica states one does not need a mat. There is a nice J shaped arm, which connects to the plinth by a very good controls. There is an easy to read anti skate controls, and a VRT control if you wish to use a cartridge of different hight. The included VM520EB magnetic cart is a nice touch. It does a fine job and is easily upgraded. There is a front control knob an exposed, visible belt which smoothly ride around the platter, and an unattached tinted dust cover. The rear panel had controls for cartridge type; MC or MM, and inline or phono amp controls. The included phono cables are much better than the standard type normally included. And an inpute for the included power control. In all, it has a very nice, high end look. But looks do not mean much if the performance us lacking. Thankfully that's not the case with this table. First, it tracks with great ease. It easily passes any tapping text. In fact, nothing I did out if the ordinary stopped the table from tracking. And, due to a nice servo motor, speed is constantly adjusted and is accurately maintained. When combined with the before mentioned, occluded magnetic cartridge the sound is excellent. The table presents a wide, and accurate sound stage with very good separation. From low and high, the sound was excellent. No matter what vinyl I played, this table easily mastered. Without a doubt this is a great turntable. It's a great first step into high fidelity at a great price. Indeed its a component that approaches excellence in every way. Easily recommended.

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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.

This is an awesome turntable the sound is fabulous and it is built like a tank. The build quality surpasses anything near its asking price. You wont touch a turntable this good for perhaps 3 times its price. I use it for a home stereo setup I have some high end CD players and dacs and this turntable sounds much better especially with audiophile recordings. I am more than pleased with my purchase.

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Verified Purchaser zZounds has verified that this reviewer purchased this specific product from us.

I purchased this as a step-up from my AT-LP 120, and I couldn't be happier. I had always had good luck with Audio-Technica, so after weighing this against the competition in the $500-1000 market (Rega, Pro-Ject), I decided to go with this one. Right out of the box, it's apparent this is a very solidly built bit of kit, with a thick MDF plinth to cut down on resonance. The platter is polyoxymethylene (guitarists will know that better as Delrin, used in many guitar picks,) which is a thermoplastic that is very dense, stable, and easily machined precisely. Like the plinth, it is also quite thick and heavy, weighing in at almost 5 lbs by itself. As for other features, the aluminum tonearm has a detachable headshell, which is useful for changing cartridges, if you desire. It's also fully adjustable for tracking weight, anti-skate, and height. Unusually for a unit in this segment, there's also an internal phono pre-amp, that has select-able output levels for both moving magnet and moving coil carts. This pre-amp can be switched off for use with an external phono stage. There's also a very nice dark tinted dust cover that looks great... however, some users might be annoyed that there are no hinges on the cover, and it must be removed and set aside every time the table is used. That will be irksome for some people, I expect.Setup is pretty easy, as the included cartridge is already aligned in the headshell- if you've set up a belt-drive table before you should be up and running in under a half hour. As for the sound, it's easily the best sounding turntable I've ever owned... the response out of the box was warm, transparent, and exceptionally quiet. The included VMN-520E cartridge tracked perfectly at the recommended 2 grams with no issues, even during bass heavy passages. As fine as it was, the sound quality was even better after swapping in already broken-in Audio-technica VM-95SH cartridge as an upgrade, lending greater definition in the high end, in particular. The heavy plinth and rubber feet did a good job of rejecting outside noise, even in my listening space with hardwood floors. I will say I can't testify as to the built in pre-amp, as my setup already has a Mani II phono stage that I used. The build quality is superb, it looks fantastic, and most importantly, it sounds fantastic (and only got better when fitted with an upgraded cartridge.) The only slight annoyance I can see for some people will be the lack of hinges on the dust cover, but if you can get past that, this has to be one of the best values in a sub-$1000 turntable.

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Verified Purchaser zZounds has verified that this reviewer purchased this specific product from us.

I've owned the AT-LP7 turntable for over a year now and I'm still very happy with it. Solid as a rock with easy adjustability. Very smooth belt driven platter. The included VM520EB Cartridge is superb sounding. Even with the included elliptical stylus it sounds amazing! Easy setup and easy to read controls. All manual design is not a issue with me. My only wish was that the dust cover was hinged to the base. This is a very nice turntable. Thank you zZounds for the payment plan!

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Verified Customer zZounds has verified that this reviewer made a purchase from us.

I question Audio Technica's quality anymore. This is supposed to be their top of the line, audiophile turntable yet no belt will stay on the drive pulley. Tried 3 new belts with the same results....they slip off the drive pulley.I have to pack it all back up and send it in for "warranty service." I'd much rather just send it back and get a refund so I could go with a more reliable turntable.