Проигрыватели виниловых дисков — Audio-Technica AT-LPA2

Audio-Technica, the Japanese maker of cartridges, headphones and microphones, introduced the manual AT-LPA2 with belt drive as a new turntable. It was announced for May 2025 at USD 2,000. Its chassis and platter are made of acrylic, and it comes ready to play with an Audio-Technica moving-coil cartridge fitted at the factory.

Key specs that matter

The plinth is a 30 mm slab of acrylic and the platter is 20 mm thick. Speeds of 33 1/3 and 45 rpm come from a belt and a DC servo motor, and an optical sensor under the spindle monitors the speed. Wow and flutter is below 0.12 percent WRM at 33 rpm with S/N above 60 dB. The straight carbon fibre tonearm is statically balanced, with an effective length of 223.6 mm, overhang of 18.6 mm, tracking error under 2 degrees and a force range of 0 to 3 g. The fitted AT-OC9XEN has a nude elliptical stylus of 0.3 x 0.7 mil, PCOCC coils, a neodymium magnet, 0.35 mV output at 1 kHz and 5 cm/s, a response of 20 Hz to 30 kHz, tracking force of 1.8 to 2.2 g and a weight of about 7.6 g. The turntable body measures 420 x 340 x 135 mm and weighs about 8.4 kg.

Engineering and use context

Acrylic is dense and damps vibration, and the company chose it for that reason as much as for its look. The power supply and speed control sit in a separate control unit of 133 x 228 x 50 mm and 1.1 kg, which keeps mains transformers and electronics away from the plinth and tonearm. Tonearm height adjusts from -1.5 mm to +7 mm, and azimuth can also be set. Anti-skating works with a thread and weight, covering a range equivalent to 1.3 to 3.0 g. Two counterweights of 110 g and 130 g are supplied so that cartridges of different mass can be balanced. The cartridge sits in a machined aluminium headshell that weighs 11.0 g with leads and allows overhang adjustment of 2.5 mm in each direction, which makes a later cartridge change straightforward. Height-adjustable isolation feet level the turntable, and a hinged dust cover can be removed. Operation is fully manual, so the arm is lowered and lifted by hand. The box also holds a 45 rpm adapter, gloves, a hex wrench and separate RCA, ground, control and power cables. Warranty is two years.

Pairing

The AT-LPA2 lacks an internal phono preamplifier, and the output of the moving-coil cartridge is low, so the turntable needs a phono stage with an MC setting of high gain or a step-up transformer ahead of an MM input. The ground lead must be connected to the phono stage.

Alternatives

The Audio-Technica AT-LP7 is another manual belt-driven turntable, with a POM platter, a J-shaped tonearm and a built-in switchable phono preamplifier.