AT-LP120XUSB One year later!

I’ve had the 120x for almost a month now very silent motor. Tone arm is easy to set up. Near perfect speed. I’m in love. Don’t tell my wife

Watched a lot of reviews this past two months. After watching your video I went ahead and bought my first turn table, really hyped to play my first record and be part of the community .

Thanks for sharing this amazing review on the turntable. I'm still relatively new in the vinyl collection and your review has gotten me to look into getting a complete set instead of the recommended starter such as the automated LP60X. For such a price, it seems to be a reasonable option if I ever wanted to get serious into this hobby. Cheers (and please don't tell my wife).

Vinyl talk with Tavis also has some very nice videos about looking back on his time with the 120XUSB. However, he had issues with a quickly dropping tonearm lift just like you had at 13:26, but he managed to fix it easily by adding damping fluid (he made a how-to video on it). About the anti-skating: on the new 120XUSB it's working as it should, because it has been updated. The early LP120 turntables had anti-skating that didn't work appropriately, but it had tonearm height adjustment (has been removed completely). Back then, users had to fix the anti-skating by setting the spring in a different position while holding the knob at 0. Just two tips: The platter has zero damping; a nice and easy way to solve that is by using rubber spray on the back to cover it with rubber. Reduces vibrations quite decently (not as good as a real slab of rubber glued to it of course). Don't forget to tape off the center hole so the spray doesn't get in there. If you have feedback through the aluminium tonearm tube, you can put some rubber rings around the tonearm tube to dampen it.

I've had my LP120usb (first edition) since Oct 2016. No regrets. Still works as good as new.

Love the follow ups!

Great, great videos!! Very informative thank you for sharing.

After watching your review a year ago, I went out and got the black version.... and I must say it’s absolutely brilliant, just wanted to say cheers on that review back then, you saved me a time and money looking for anything else👍 Cheers all the way from Australia 🇦🇺 🍺

I just received my own AT-LP120XUSB in the mail yesterday. I know next to nothing about turntables aside from doing my research of videos and reviews before settling on this model. This is my first turntable. There's a lot I have yet to learn and this video was very informative and well put together. Thank you!

To all those who've just bought one, are thinking of buying one, or have had one for a while, the simplest thing to do to stop the issue with the damped tonearm descent, is to leave the cue lever in the 'UP' position - even if you've clamped the arm in it's holder; it's not putting any pressure on the cue platform as it's lower than the arm in it's 'rest' position.... I guess this keeps pressure in the damping piston (whatever), and after about 3 years, I've never had a problem with it "dropping like a rock". 👍 I've always followed that practice over the past 40+ years of turntable use and never had a problem with the cue mechanism failing, or, accidentally knocking the arm & cartridge stylus-down onto the platter mat, which would be VERY annoying, and expensive!! 😠

thanks for the review!

I'm just getting back to using a turntable, and it's been a great experience! I just bought the Audio-Technica AT-LP120XUSB, and I appreciated your one year review because it reinforced my decision to buy this unit. Perhaps you can do a tutorial on the basics of using the Tempo range button as I have no clue as to what is supposed to do versus the speed control. Thanks for a great video.

This turntable arrived yesterday. Already loving it. Sounds amazing.

Your videos are very helpful thank you

I just picked this up, and so far, I'm really enjoying the heck out of it! The arm is VERY light on the records, so it doesn't weigh down on the vinyl.

Its great that they fixed the anti skate, pre amp and upgraded the cart. Can finally call it a worthwhile product for the price. The only bad part is not having VTA.

What is interesting about this design is that it's been around for 50 or more years. I have a 1968 Pioneer PL-740 with many similar characteristics. It was made in a Japanese plant back then and they produced a lot of turntables for a lot of companies. My TT is direct drive and is fully automatic. It has a straight tonearm that raises and lowers just like the 120X. Looks like same parts. I did change out the original cartridge as it was obsolete and put in a nice AT cartridge. These all seem to be great TTs for the beginner to pro who don't want to dump a long of cash on a TT, yet get great performance. Love my 120X.

Back in 2018, I purchased two of these units. Overall they were good units. However, this model has a hydraulic cuing issue. Overtime, the gel used wears thin, and when using the cue lever, it drops the needle onto the record. Now with that said, there is a fix. You can purchase the gel, and apply it to the piston. You can either apply it from up above, or take the bottom off, and provide professionally application. The metal weighs you spoke of, it is an actual steel plate. I ended up selling both units, and upgraded to two AT-LP-1240USB XP Edition. Rock solid. To this very day I use the cuing lever, and it has never failed. Very true about how vulnerable the dust cover is to scratches. Rule of thumb, don’t place anything on it. I have found by using “clear coat” polishing compound to remove fine scratches and brings back that luster. In addition, I also apply Sun Of Gun protectant that repels the dust. I also do not use a cotton cloth and definitely do not use a Micro Fiber cloth. I use the cloth that comes with a screen protector for your phone. Works like a charm. Both of my dust covers are I top condition.

You’re right, all these companies Crosley, Audio Technica and Lenco (in Europe) sell this same type of turntable. It’s not a fancy unit, but having a Lenco L-3808 for more than a year, I can say that these relatively cheap turntables are amazing for the price and build quality. Mine is also a direct drive with correct speed at 33 and 45 rpm with no pitch correction and no motor noise whatsoever, giving me much better sound than the couple of vintage Onkyo’s I’ve grown with.

I bought this several years ago and it appears that they really cheapened it up quite a bit from what I have from 2016 I believe when I picked up mine. Thanks for sharing. Take care ~ Jeff