13 Audio-Technica Turntables: 11 Have a Phono Preamp

Audio-Technica sells 13 current home turntables in the US, from $179 to $2,000, and 11 of them have a built-in phono preamp, so they can plug straight into powered speakers. Five are fully automatic, five have Bluetooth, three have USB for recording to a computer and four are direct drive. The other eight are fully manual, apart from the semi-automatic AT-LP8X.

Prices are Audio-Technica’s US list prices on 4 November 2026; four models are listed “From” a price because colours vary, and we give the lowest. Out of scope: the AT-SB727 Sound Burger, a portable Bluetooth player at $199; the AT-LP140XP, which A-T sells as a professional DJ turntable at $549; and the Hotaru, at $9,999. Model names below drop the AT- prefix in tables.

The five automatic turntables

	LP60X	LP60XBT	LP70X	LP70XBT	LP3XBT
A-T US list price, 4 Nov 2026	from $179	from $259	from $249	from $299	$379
Drive	Belt	Belt	Belt	Belt	Belt
Built-in phono preamp	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Bluetooth (codecs)	No	5.0 (SBC, aptX)	No	5.2 (aptX Adaptive, aptX, SBC)	5.2 (aptX Adaptive, aptX)
Cartridge supplied	Integral; ATN3600LC stylus	Integral; ATN3600LC stylus	AT-VM95C, fixed	AT-VM95C, fixed	AT-VM95C on AT-HS3 headshell
Speeds (RPM)	33-1/3, 45	33-1/3, 45	33-1/3, 45	33-1/3, 45	33-1/3, 45
Weight (kg)	2.6	2.6	2.9	2.9	5.0

Specs are from the Features and Specifications sections of each page on audio-technica.com. All five are fully automatic belt drives with a switchable phono preamp. The differences are the cartridge, Bluetooth and build.

LP60X (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab) to LP70X (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab): the cartridge. The LP60X and LP60XBT (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab) use an integral cartridge whose replaceable stylus is the ATN3600LC; A-T’s page offers the ATN3600LE as the alternative. The LP70X and LP70XBT (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab) carry an AT-VM95C that “cannot be removed” but takes any VM95 Series stylus, and A-T says their three-piece chassis dampens resonance compared with the LP60X. The LP70X lists a signal-to-noise ratio above 55 dB, against above 50 dB for the LP60X.

LP3XBT (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab): a removable headshell. It weighs 5.0 kg against the LP70XBT’s 2.9 kg, and has a straight balanced tonearm, a hydraulically damped lift and its AT-VM95C on a removable AT-HS3 headshell, so the whole cartridge can be changed, not only the stylus. It lists the best signal-to-noise figure of the five, above 60 dB.

A codec list says what the turntable can send, not what a given connection delivers.

The four direct-drive manual turntables

	LP120XUSB	LP120XBT-USB	LP5X	LP8X
A-T US list price, 4 Nov 2026	$399	$449	$599	$1,299
Operation	Fully manual	Fully manual	Fully manual	Semi-automatic
Built-in phono preamp	Yes	Yes	Yes, MM and MC	No, phono-level output
Bluetooth (codecs)	No	5.0 (aptX Adaptive, aptX, SBC)	No	No
USB	Yes, USB 1.1	Yes, USB 2.0	Yes, USB 2.0	No
Cartridge supplied	AT-VM95E on AT-HS6	AT-VM95E on AT-HS6	AT-VM95E on AT-HS6	AT-VM95E BK on AT-LT10
Speeds (RPM)	33-1/3, 45, 78	33-1/3, 45, 78	33-1/3, 45, 78	33-1/3, 45, 78
Weight (kg)	8 (no dust cover)	8 (no dust cover)	7.3	10.4

These four are the ones that list a 78 RPM speed, and the three with USB record at 16-bit, 44.1 or 48 kHz. The two LP120X models share the motor, S-shaped tonearm, pitch control and cartridge; the XBT-USB adds Bluetooth.

The LP5X (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab) has a J-shaped tonearm and a preamp that switches between moving-magnet gain (36 dB) and moving-coil gain (56 dB). The LP8X drops the preamp: it sends phono-level output, so it needs an amplifier with a phono input or a separate phono stage. Its “semi-automatic” label means, in A-T’s words, that the lift “automatically raises the tonearm at the end of a record side and stops the motor”. A-T’s page adds that 78s on the LP8X need a dedicated SP cartridge or the AT-VMN95SP stylus.

The four belt-drive manual turntables

	LPW40WN	LPW50BT	LP7X	LPA2
A-T US list price, 4 Nov 2026	$479	$599	$999	$2,000
Built-in phono preamp	Yes	Yes	Yes, MM and MC	No, phono-level output
Bluetooth (codecs)	No	5.2 (SBC)	No	No
Cartridge supplied	AT-VM95E on AT-HS4	AT-VM95E BK on AT-HS4	AT-VM95E BK on AT-LT10	AT-OC9XEN (moving coil)
Platter	Die-cast aluminium	Die-cast aluminium	20 mm acrylic	20 mm acrylic
Plinth	MDF, walnut-look veneer	30 mm MDF, rosewood veneer	40 mm MDF	30 mm clear acrylic
Weight (kg)	4.72 (no dust cover)	5.5	7.6	8.4, plus 1.1 control unit

All four play 33-1/3 and 45 RPM and have no USB. The LPW50BT’s Bluetooth lists SBC as its only codec, where the four Bluetooth models above all list aptX.

The LP7X (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab) has the same MM/MC preamp switch as the LP5X, a J-shaped tonearm with adjustable vertical tracking angle, and a subcounterweight for heavier cartridges. The LPA2 (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab), which A-T calls “the finest turntable Audio-Technica has ever developed”, comes with a moving-coil cartridge whose 0.35 mV output, A-T says, needs a step-up transformer or a moving-coil phono preamp; it has a separate control unit and power supply.

A-T’s listing also shows models outside these tables. The AT-LPW50PB ($549) lists the LPW50BT’s motor, tonearm and cartridge with a piano-black plinth and no Bluetooth section, and the AT-LPW30 ($329) is a manual belt drive; both showed a price but no delivery offer on 4 November. The AT-LP60XBT-USB ($349) was marked unavailable.

Who each one suits, by the specs

• Powered speakers with no phono input: any of the 11 with a built-in preamp; skip the LP8X and LPA2 unless you have a phono stage.
• Not touching the tonearm at all: the five automatic models.
• Bluetooth speakers or headphones: the LP60XBT, LP70XBT, LP3XBT or LP120XBT-USB (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab) with an aptX speaker, or the LPW50BT (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab) for SBC.
• Recording records to a computer: the LP120XUSB (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab), LP120XBT-USB or LP5X.
• A moving-coil cartridge later: the LP5X or LP7X, with MC gain built in.

For the speaker side, the Marshall Stanmore III and Woburn III have RCA inputs, and the Sonos Five has a line-in.

Questions people ask

What is the difference between the Audio-Technica AT-LP60X and AT-LP70X?

Both are fully automatic, belt-drive and have a built-in preamp. The LP70X uses a fixed AT-VM95C cartridge that takes any VM95 Series stylus, where the LP60X takes the ATN3600LC or ATN3600LE. A-T says the LP70X’s three-piece chassis dampens resonance compared with the LP60X.

Which Audio-Technica turntables have Bluetooth?

Five: the AT-LP60XBT, AT-LP70XBT, AT-LP3XBT, AT-LP120XBT-USB and AT-LPW50BT. All five also have a wired RCA output. The AT-LPW50BT lists SBC as its only codec; the other four list aptX.

Do Audio-Technica turntables have a built-in preamp?

Eleven of the 13 current home models do, with a switch for phono or line level, so they can go straight into powered speakers. The AT-LP8X and AT-LPA2 have phono-level output only and need an amplifier with a phono input or a separate phono preamp.

Which Audio-Technica turntable can record vinyl to a computer?

The AT-LP120XUSB, AT-LP120XBT-USB and AT-LP5X have a USB output that records at 16-bit, 44.1 or 48 kHz. Audio-Technica suggests the free Audacity software on Mac or PC.

What is the difference between the AT-LP120XUSB and the AT-LP120XBT-USB?

Bluetooth. The two share the direct-drive motor, three speeds, S-shaped tonearm and AT-VM95E cartridge. The XBT-USB adds Bluetooth 5.0 with aptX and lists a USB 2.0 interface, where the XUSB lists USB 1.1.

Which Audio-Technica turntables play 78 RPM records?

The four direct-drive models list a 78 RPM speed: the AT-LP120XUSB, AT-LP120XBT-USB, AT-LP5X and AT-LP8X. The AT-LP8X page says 78s need a dedicated SP cartridge or the AT-VMN95SP stylus. The belt-drive models list 33-1/3 and 45 only.