AUDIO-TECHNICA 120X TURNTABLE REVIEW. INCLUDES COMPARISON WITH LENCO L-3808, FLUANCE RT81 & REGA RP1

and welcome to a new review in this particular week we're looking at a turn table this one is from audio technica this is the latest version in the 120 line of turntables and i'll be referring to it as the 120x just as a piece of shorthand i suppose but it has a longer name a longer official name officially it's called the a t hyphen lp 120 x usb and this particular turntable retails around the 250 pounds mark now say around 250 pounds because it's a bit of give and take here a few pounds either way but it tends to pivot around the 250 pounds mark now this latest 120x model introduces some changes some are good some i like some are not so good and i'm not too enamored by those so let's quickly cut to the chase shall we and investigate those features in a little bit more depth and let's take a closer look and welcome to the closer look section for the audio technica 120x turntable now as i said there are some changes afoot on this latest iteration of the 120x some good some i'm not that pleased about so what i'll do i'll give you a quick overview of the design and my impressions of the same and then i'll give you a more formal parts rundown just in case i miss anything out firstly the 120x features a new dc servo direct drive motor the phono amplifier has been quotes improved along with the area around the base of the tone arm the head shell has also received some attention one of the major changes from audio technica is slightly philosophical i suppose because the company has decided to change the turntable's actual focus the target audience hence the 120 is being moved away from the dj fraternity and aimed more towards the home user now sure you can get by using this as a dj deck but there are better options out there i reckon the 120 might give you a lot of dj furniture but there is no reverse option for example also the 120x is not as robust or as heavy as it once was it's lost a couple of kilograms from the previous model for example and the included atvm 95e cartridge will die a terrible death if you wanted to use it for scratching the motor has also been reduced in torque which may hamper dj related performance but this is actually a good thing in basic sonic terms the higher the torque the more energy a motor will insert into the platter and also the plinth and that energy well it's got to go somewhere and if it's not immediately drained then it will convert from vibration to high frequency noise and it'll start veiling fine detail and that's not a good thing hence lowering the torque is on the right lines at any rate so the 120x is not really a dj turntable and what's this the rather bizarre queuing light now if the 120x is not a dj deck why go to the trouble of including this little light at all if you're going to include it to enhance the technics aesthetic then why not include a traditional light design instead of a plug-in job that connects via an rca socket if the cheap and cheerful lenko l3808 can do it then why can't the 120x and why use that blazingly stark white light which threatened to give me an instant migraine when activated yes the removal option might be useful in terms of maintenance but while in place it looks extremely awkward and clumsy it actually looks like something bought from aliexpress it looks cheap it looks plasticky it looks throwaway here's an image of the original pop-up light design and here's an image of the new replacement i know which one i prefer me well i would have dumped the light ripped out the socket and used the extra cash in the build budget to enhance the sound quality for example adding damping to the paper thin platter would have been a good option so much for my design thoughts then before we go any further let's take a more formal stroll across the feature set so on the front left of the plinth that provides the usual techniques like power start stop and speed switches and i hasten to add that's three speeds because we are including 78 rpm in amongst the 33 in the third and the 45 to the right of the front of the plinth you can see the quartz and tempo range buttons plus pitch slider around the back it's good to see that you can supply your own phono cables via a pair of rca sockets and there's also an accompanying ground grub screw to the right there you'll see a barrel type connector for the included switch mode power supply and you'll see a usb socket for vinyl ripping to a digital file the basic manual supplies a web address for you to download the free software from audacity there are also controls for the built-in phone or amplifier you can override the built-in option and use an external phone amplifier if you wish you'll see a felt mat is included here something i much prefer to the molded rubber options that you often see in budget turntables these days and there's a hinged lid hanging off the end of the arm is that vm 95e cartridge i alluded to earlier it holds a welcome elliptical stylus i much prefer this latest vm 95e to the older 80-95e incidentally in terms of detail extraction and clarity the cartridge and its head shell are held in place via a classic sme type connector to the tone arm via a rotatable locking ring spanning 452 millimeters by 352 by 142 millimeters the 120x weighs in at eight kilograms and just to finish you may want to look in the description for a selection of review notes i've placed a few boundaries on this review just so it doesn't get overly long and overly complex and confusing so if you want to know more about the whys and the wherefore of these sound tests then check out the text in the description and what about the sound quality from the new 120x does it sound any good well let's find out shall we [Music] and welcome back to the sound quality tests for the audio technica 120x turntable and to begin these sound tests i turned to mr ennio morricone and surprisingly enough a soundtrack now this is an orchestral piece plus voices and this is a relatively obscure release from the cinevox label from the film and i'm going to get into trouble here metis apologies if i've got that wrong it's beautifully melodic in soundtrack terms and it's a bit of a hidden gem although most of any of maricone's entire career is a hidden gem so we have sweeping strings female vocals close miked percussion brass acoustic strings glockenspiel triangle acoustic and electric piano so this sound stage is pretty busy and it's going to take a decent turn table to work everything out and not become overly muddled now before we go any further i gave the internal phono amplifier a quick listen and it's fine it's okay it's not amazing i wouldn't rely on it i think if you bought the 120x and you've used all your budget and you ain't got any more cash it'll do for now it'll get you by when you can afford to buy an external photo amplifier do so one i would recommend is a moving magnet i think it's called the mm phono boxes it's from project you can pick that up from amazon off the top of my head because i haven't checked 65 75 pounds something along those sorts of lines but when you can afford to grab one of those please do so it will enhance the sonic abilities of the 120x but as i say if you're just getting going you just bought the thing you've got no more cache the internal phone amplifier is fine for now so to start the 120x sound quality tests in earnest i brought in another turntable for a reference comparison and i brought in a cheaper turntable this one is from lenko it's the l3808 this one is slightly cheaper it comes with a similar suite of dj furniture but it's priced around 200 pounds you can pick it up from amazon for around the sort of 199 mark and it gets to that price point by having lower quality parts frankly the lenko is also a direct driver machine but it uses an audio technica cartridge with a spherical tip which doesn't quite have the capabilities of the cartridge seen on the 120x so you've got that 50 pounds difference so how do the two compare in this sort of company the quality from the 120x was quickly evident what immediately struck me was how much more relaxed everyone sounded through the 120x the female vocal had a rather tense presentation via the lenko but sounded like she had not a care in the world via the 120x similarly these strings swept along the rear of the soundstage in a more relaxed manner gliding they were and there's more to say about the vocals on this element track when compared to the lenko i thought the 120x offered more emotion from the vocals there was a certain amount of vulnerability from the vocals from the 120x as those compared to the lenko so there was a slight vocal wavering you might say which the 120x i felt was better able to translate this was helped by an infusion of air and space across the entire soundstage which helped to open up the music while providing a more organic feel to the shy bass guitar and a sense of focus around the ride symbol there was extra tonal realism from the 120x when compared to the lenko the acoustic guitar from the 120x had an extra tonal realism that was largely absent from lilenko so i was able to hear more of the bite of the guitar strums via the 120x that initial downward action of the hand during the strumming sequence that gives each strum a sort of attack and that was better translated around the upper mids from the 120x what base existed around this track i felt was better honed and was more precise from the 120x so if i had the choice between the audio technica 120x and the lenko l3808 i would save my pennies and grab the 120x next up well i thought i'd compare the 120x with an example from fluence this is a similarly priced turntable it's called the rt81 now the rt81 is a tougher challenge because you've got a fluence deck with the same cartridge as the 120x and you've got a choice of technologies here because the rt81 is a belt drive 10 table as opposed to the direct drive from the 120x i felt that the fluence was easier to use because if you want to get a record going on the 120x you have to turn on the power knob you have to select the correct speed and then you press the start button for the fluence you have one single knob it's just one control and you twist it to 33 in the third say it initiates power it starts the platter it gives you the correct speed all in one simple motion more than that if you twist the plinth to the rear i find that the 120x is just a little bit harder to connect up to a phono cable there's a lip an overhang on the top of the plinth of the 120x and you're sort of scrambling a little bit to try and connect everything now that's just the one hit and it's a small thing but it's there the fluence is a lot easier to connect in terms of putting your cables into the rear rca sockets all of these are little things they all mount up and it might make a difference to some of you but what about the sound well in terms of sound quality the comparison is rather intriguing i would say in relation to the 120x the fluence is a tad warmer a little bit sweeter than the 120x and for some that will be immensely attractive the listening experience from the rt81 was a good one it's packed with information lots of detail and provides an attractive tonal balance around the sound stage that is the upper and lower frequencies exist in a sort of sonic harmony so music sounds rather at ease relaxed and rather approachable however i thought the sound from the 120x sounded more realistic there was far more air and space in the mid-range around the sound stage and crucially i thought the dynamic reach from the 120x was greater so what do i mean by that well if you tap a symbol there will be a source of roll-off from the fluence so the symbol will be tapped you would hear that tapping sound and then the echo the reverb coming from it i felt that the fluence sort of dulled the whole experience of that symbol tap just a little bit so that roll-off is giving you that sort of warming rather sweet playback the 120x on the other hand just kept on going in terms of detail retrieval so you felt that this symbol the symbol tap was a more realistic event and that worked on the other side down in the base area so i felt dynamic reach from the 120x was superior but the whole dynamic range from top to bottom from the highest to the lows was greater i felt bass itself felt rather more organic now i mentioned the bite from the acoustic guitar strum earlier on and the raft of information around that simple motion there was much more information around this area from the 120x the fluence well it nodded towards the acoustic guitar strums but it never dwelt upon it it had less importance in the mix via the fluence the 120x wanted you to really hear it and to feel the significance of this strum so the fluence was very listenable it was a relaxing turntable to hear and to experience over an afternoon say but if i wanted accuracy and realism i'd have to go for the 120x which left my final turntable comparison the distinctly audiophile orientated riga rp1 now let's not forget that the riga is offering a turntable here for around the same price as the 120x but without the built-in phono amp and without the usb port and without the dj-esque features like the plug-in light and the technics are like furniture all of those features are dumped by the riga in favor of well in favor of the tone arm most of the money on the riga rp1 is spent on the tone-on the plinth is fairly basic mdf wrapped in vinyl the motor is fine it does its job but no more the cartridge is actually inferior to the 120x with a spherical tip but the star item is the tone arm most of the build budget for the rieger rp1 is invested in this tone arm so as you can see even though these 10 tables are basically the same price the build philosophies are completely different they're poles apart and they're really aimed at different customers so what the riga gives you is much lower high frequency noise so the sound stage is far quieter than the 120x this means that shy and delicate detail is more easily accessed via the ear instruments like symbols the triangle much of the acoustic guitar work plus the vocals have a tonal realism that actually far exceeds the capabilities of the 120x in terms of tonal realism and organic playback especially in the upper frequencies the rp1 is the superior sounding turntable of the two now the reged doesn't have it all its own way the 120x does manage to land a couple of blows of its own especially in the lower frequency area where the bass lives so the bass guitar provided more presence in the 120x while the aggression in the acoustic guitar strums were better appreciated via the 120x so does that mean i prefer the riga well we'll get to that in the conclusion now before we get to that conclusion i decided to play something rather more dynamic and i chose an album by joy division an album called substance and i thoroughly enjoyed how the 120x tackled this high energy outing the big drum sounds infused the music with a blistering rhythm and underpinned the album with a driving beat the lead guitar meanwhile ranged and screamed and conveyed the soul of the music very well indeed the direct drive's capability to add a sense of focus and precision in and around the lower frequencies helped the music to move along at a fair old clip at no time did it ever drag or feel stodgy the 120x was there to encourage and push this album along and the result was a wholly infectious sonic experience one that dared you not to leap from your chair and offer a few dad moves around the listening room and i must say that i succumbed my poor wife who witnessed the event is attending emergency therapy monday morning so how do i conclude the review of the audio technica 120x turntable well let's not forget that all of these turntables have had the same build budget okay the lenko has had 50 pounds less but even so it's there all there about each turntable has had to make choices in terms of how far it wanted to push the included parts and increase parts quality which means that every single turntable i've featured in this review including the 120x are compromised because that's what you get from turntables at this budget price point you get compromises and the fascinating part of reviewing turntables in this area it's just to see how each company has handled those compromises riga for example has basically dumped all of the features you will find on the 120x the riga well you get an on off switch and that's about it really even if you want to change the speed on a rega you have to physically lift the belt on the pulley and move that belt to another notch on the same pulley that's how you change the speed on a reagan on the 120 x you turn the switch so for the riga most of the budget has been pushed towards the tone arm and a fine specimen it is as well so in pure sonic terms the riga rp1 is the best of this particular bunch even though the 120x does have a few sonic highlights of its own the lenko's compromise is a lower price point that's how it competes it provides the same type of features as the 120x so something has got to give if that price is to be lowered and it's parts quality and hence sound quality that gives and subsequently suffers for the fluence rt81 well that's belt drive and not direct drive you do get a built-in phone amplifier with the fluence but you don't get a usb socket and with the fluence you get a sort of semi automatic playback which you don't get with the audio technica the rt81 justifies its build budget in a different way and offers an alternative sonic signature that some will find immensely appealing what it also provides the potential customer is choice something different from the 120x so as you can see all of these turntables all try and find a particular niche somewhere they can sell their turntables from and because of that as the old saying goes you pays your money and it takes your choice literally in this case for a 250 pounds turntable which compromise appeals mostly to you do you want a hardcore audiophile type 10 table as offered by rieger or do you want a more feature-laden rather friendly approach to turn table design well if you do want the features and you want that rather friendlier approach then my personal choice to fill that particular slot is the audio technica 120 x for the price for 250 pounds the 120x offers a superb blend of features and sound quality and i don't hesitate at all in recommending it to you and that's it folks thank you very much for sticking with me to the end of this video and thank you for your continued support and if i could ask you a favor if you could click on the like and also the subscribe buttons below don't forget to check out the description that explains a little bit about how i did this review and why i chose the choices i did check out my newly revamped patreon page which includes lots of exclusive videos that you may enjoy and at lower prices as well i'm on a heap of other social media platforms links for those below and i will be back folks i'll be back next week with yet another video i hope i can have your company as well because i get lonely without you gonna say so be there just to help me along if you would please until that time traps bye bye for now [Music] you

Channel: The Audiophile Man

Views: 110,060

Keywords: audio technica, 120x, audiophile man, 120x test, 120x review, paul rigby, 120x sound test, turntable, direct drive, Audio-Technica, digital audio player, audio technica lp120x, audio technica lp120x test, audio technica lp120x sound test, audio technica lp120x review, audio technica lp120x price, audio technica lp120x sound, audio technica lp120x usb, audio technica lp120x dj, lp 120x review, lp 120x set up, lp 120x turntable, lp 120x dimensions, AT-LP120XUSB, at 120x preamp

Id: rQS8rbjSqjU

Length: 25min 54sec (1554 seconds)

Published: Sat May 22 2021