Although the timbre from the Audio-Technica AT-LPW40WN is, as befits a turntable, natural, and pastel, we do not focus here on the midrange, but on a soundstage. The next-gen version of the brand’s established AT-120USB has had quite the makeover, with a more streamlined profile (it’s shorter), anew DC servo direct-drive motor, for more consistent rotation speed, upgraded anti-skate control for greater control over the S-shaped tonearm, and an improved preamplifier with a switchable phono/line output. For the most part it was a very easy set up. The legs were composed if a rubber compound that seems to promote isolation. And they are designed to turn to easily balance the table. With a phono pre-amp built-in, the AT-LPW40WN connects to almost any hi-fi or speaker system. The phono pre-amp boosts the signal to line level, meaning you can connect it to any device with an AUX input. If you’d rather use your amp’s phono pre-amp, then simply switch off the turntable’s one. It’s fully manual — you move the arm yourself, and you’ll be required to lift it off again when it reaches the end groove of your LP.

Measured at 45 rpm, the AT-LPW50B’s platter speed was even more stable, so that the measured frequency varied only between 2998Hz and 3000Hz. Again, this is an excellent result. Newport Test Labs has plotted these variations in the speed histogram (Graph 1). If you’re looking for a stylish turntable that doesn’t scrimp on sound quality, and is still near enough ready to go out of the box, make sure your loved ones know this is on your Christmas list. Newport Test Labs measured the voltage at the line output of the AT-LPW50PB as 157mV for a 1kHz test signal at a recorded velocity of 3.54cm per second, which is about that specified by Audio-Technica but appears lower simply because Audio-Technica uses a higher recorded velocity than Newport Test Labs (Audio-Technica’s specification is 200mV at 1 kHz at 5cm per second) when testing. It’s a good result.

some of these web prices are cheaper than in-store, so please mention that you've seen these offers online) Whether turntables like this will destroy your records or not, though, is hotly contested, but the moving parts can be of a fairly basic quality. For example, the stylus on our Cruiser review unit was a chunky plastic/ceramic combo instead of the aluminum/diamond you'd see on almost any other turntable. The stylus itself was also quite large, which could lead to greater wear, and when plugged into a separate hi-fi the player sounded like an AM radio.

While a turntable like the Pro-Ject Debut Pro could be considered a serious piece of hi-fi, suitcase models like the Crosley Cruiser Deluxe are essentially toys. That's OK, and as long as you treat them as such you shouldn't run into any problems. Indicates whether MUID is transferred to ANID, a cookie used for advertising. Clarity doesn't use ANID and so this is always set to 0. But finally, the sound. This is one area you can’t get past. So, I put on a Neil Young album, “After the Goldrush”. I like to start my evaluation of a new component with this album due to the acoustic guitar sounds. It plays like a live album, but it’s a studio recording. Well, the 40WN did a masterful job on side one, easily producing the nice, soundstage and separation I am used to hearing using my previous TT.It’s a full manual TT, without the normal extras that can drive up the price, but add nothing to sonic. The Audio-Technica AT-VM95E delivered all the songs on ‘Harvest’ smoothly, fluidly and very musically, and you can’t really ask for much more than that. It’s also a piece that’s played by almost every amateur pianist on the planet because of all the most well-known piano pieces, it seems to be the easiest to play because if you look at the score, you’ll see it’s almost blank, with some spaced-out chords that don’t require much of a finger-stretch and then only crotchets everywhere else — there’s not a quaver to be seen, much less a hemidemisemiquaver. But when you try to play it… wow! It’s so difficult to make it flow. The dust cover is very tightly hinged and which is a cause of a complaint. The hinges are difficult to attach because of extreme tension on the dust cover side. It’s not a major problem, it’s more like an irritant. But I had to think there must be an easier way. Despite the constant supply of new releases (and re-releases of older albums) on vinyl, it’s still important to try out the older recordings – especially with the wealth of charity shop vinyl available! Popping on a more aged copy of Miles Davis – Kind of Blue, it shows us why vinyl is still king when set up properly.

But the differences were small variations on what proved an excellent turntable sound at the price — wide open, free of congestion and, depending on the quality of your vinyl, quiet. The AT-LPW40WN is a solid entry to midlevel turntable. It inhabits the same price point as the popular AT-LP120X. While the AT-LP120X draws inspiration from DJ turntables like the Technics 1200, the AT-LPW40WN is inspired by higher priced audiophile designs with its MDF body, carbon fiber toneram, and minimalist design." - TTL 🔎KEY FEATURES Getting it running out of the gate with The Strokes – Juicebox, we’re presented with plenty of detail you’d otherwise be missing from CD or Spotify. The pacing is excellent, with barely a foot out of place in the stamping beat that underlines Julian Casablancas’ smooth vocals. The AT-LPW40WN is equipped with a built-in selectable phono preamp and a detachable dual RCA output cable to enable direct connection to components with or without a dedicated phono input.

All of these turntables offer a phono-level output -- an unamplified signal that needs RIAA equalization. I used a combination of gear including a Rotel RA1592 amplifier, Onkyo TX-NR696 and TX-RZ50, Q Acoustics 3050i tower speakers, and the Cambridge Audio Duo preamp. The red trace on Graph 4 shows channel separation vs. frequency and you can see that channel separation reaches a best result of 27dB at 1kHz (7dB better than specification), and maintains this level of performance out to around 6kHz before diminishing to around 20dB at 10kHz and down to 10dB at 20kHz. Next, I put on “Quadraphenia” by The Who, side one. I like this album to test a new component due to the musical variations; acoustic, power cords, orchestration. Again the 40WN breezed through the entire side. From there I went to different and varied music and the 40 had no problems. In fact, it easily outdid my previous TT, the Audio Technica 120x. As mentioned in the introduction to this review, the Audio-Technica AT-LPW50PB has a phono pre-amplifier built in, the output of which is at the rear of the turntable. One of my favourite recordings was recorded by Dutch pianist Jeroen Van Veen in two different versions, both of which are on a double-LP set pressed by Brilliant Classics titled ‘Erik Satie Slow Music: Gymnopedies, Gnossiennes, And Other Works.’ Van Veen achieves a sublime perfection that eludes most pianists. I suspect his success might be because he’s not only also a composer but is also considered by many experts to be one of the leading exponents of minimalism in the world today. These traits, along with him being a great pianist, are obviously what’s required to make the music work!

The connection to your amplifier (or external phono stage) is made with detachable flying leads complete with earth spade. If using the built-in phono stage to deliver a line-level output, then you can leave the earth cable unconnected. There are plenty of retro turntables on the market, but few of them can match the pedigree of the Audio Technica AT-LPW40WN – let alone its sound quality. By combining a traditional, walnut finish with the highest quality engineering – including a carbon fibre tonearm – this turntable gives you vintage style without the compromised sound.

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With vinyl’s ongoing resurgence still chugging along happily, Audio Technica have released another addition to the entry level turntable market. Alongside their ATLP120X DJ model, and convenience focussed LP60X sets, will this new LPW40WN model bring anything new? Flutter was measured separately for both speeds, again using both CCIR and DIN measurement techniques. At 33.33 rpm Newport Test Labs measured flutter at 0.05% (CCIR) and 0.045% (DIN). At 45 rpm, flutter was measured at 0.055% (CCIR) and 0.05% (DIN). These two gold-plated RCA outputs have a diameter that is very slightly smaller than standard, so using standard RCA plugs results in a rather ‘loose’ fit and a tenuous electrical connection. You can fix this by squeezing in the outer (negative) ring of the plugs on the cable before you use them. After writing “ Music for Reviewing Turntables,” published December 2020 on SoundStage! Access, in which I laid out the reference recordings I most often use, I decided to mix it up a bit: many of the same artists, but different cuts; or some artists out of left field.