Audio-Technica AT-LP70XBT review: An automatic turntable all-but guaranteed to go the distance

The Audio-Technica AT-LP70XBT is a neat little upgrade to a pre-existing entry-level record player in the Audio-Technica turntable roster – the darling of budget turntable guides the world over and probably one of the most-recommended “first turntables” in history. This gold-standard starter turntable is still very much available, and very much one of the best bang-for-buck turntables you can buy in the beginner price range; the LP70XBT, quite simply, is better.

Features

This is a fully automatic turntable, designed to take all the tremulous fiddlings of playing your precious records in its own stride. No shaky hands scraping styli across the grooves here; just the dependable figurative hands of the Audio-Technica AT-LP70XBT, placing and removing the tonearm calmly on your expectant behalf.

Using this mechanism, by the way, is gratifying to say the least. The start and stop buttons press in with thick, chonky feedback, and the tonearm moves with a slow sureness that puts me well at ease. When the record ends, the stop mechanism plays out automatically too, so you don’t have to worry about wearing either your stylus or your inner groove when you leave a record on while doing other bits. There’s a slider at the base of the tonearm so you can select the size of record you’re playing (7” or 12”), which sets the sensitivity of this stop function; your singles won’t be stopped prematurely this way.

The ‘BT’ in the turntable’s title points helpfully towards its Bluetooth functionality – transmission, more specifically, and using the Qualcomm aptX Adaptive codec where devices are set to receive it. That’s some supple-sounding wireless connectivity, further simplifying any first forays into spinning plastic. Using it is as simple as pressing the dedicated button on the face of the unit – it’s one-touch, and no-fuss.

This wireless connectivity is serviced, also, by a built-in phono preamp – which you can also use for wired connectivity to a variety of sources. As we’ll discover, this phono preamp is surprisingly good.

As for the standard in-the-box gubbins, there’s an RCA cable with earth terminals supplied, a plastic 45 adapter for your older 7”s and a lid for keeping dust (and cats) out of the equation.

Design

The Audio-Technica AT-LP70XBT’s visual aesthetic also gets a considerable upgrade from the LP60XBT, with a smart plastic chassis in possession of some very pleasing vertices. In comparison to the LP60XBT, it’s sleeker, slimmer and much better-looking atop your sideboard/record shelf/hi-fi unit of choice. I like the thin silver band that that runs around the lower edge, giving it a bit of visual lift.

I’m a big fan of the elegance on display here, particularly with the execution of some record-player essential mechanisms – like, for instance, the tonearm lift. It’s a sleek design, where a flush platform rises out of the tonearm base to lift the tonearm via a ball-ended foot. It looks cool, and it’s smooth as anything too. Little details like these make me happy, and they’re everywhere.

If I were to gripe about anything design-wise, it would be the weight of the LP7070XBT overall. It’s light and plasticky, which immediately makes one think “weak” and “unstable” – even though it’s neither of these things. The turntable is designed to play stably, and it does; for someone used to dense blocks of record-playing goodness, it’s initially unnerving.

Others with more turntable experience might bemoan the lack of counterweight adjustability, but it’s actually great – being perfectly balanced for the tracking-force requirements of VMN-95-series styli and fuss-free for the beginner.

Sound

The star of the show, really, is the LP70XBT’s sound, made possible by the new AT-VM95 cartridge system. The VMN95C stylus supplied is the cheapest of the bunch, a conical stylus that, naturally, doesn’t quite penetrate to the deepest details in the groove. Nonetheless, there’s some remarkable detail, and dynamic range too, with thanks to the moving-magnet assembly behind that built-in-cartridge curtain.

Land Of Talk’s Applause Cheer Boo Hiss is on full and frenetic display here, and a great demonstration of the AT-LP70XBT’s handling of higher-end information. Trebly guitars crash wave-like (and enjoyably) against trashy hi-hats throughout the record, but especially in the aptly-named Sea Foam; the near-telephonic vocal mix of Summer Special is delicate and peaky, giving way to the febrile drums of its interstitial phrases.

I found, anecdotally, the low end to be a little less-defined with the conical VMN95C stylus than with leg-up elliptical sibling, the dependable VMN95E (the green one you’ll see shipped on many other entry-ish level turntables, and which I use at home on the daily). But there isn’t that much in it. Land Of Talk’s kicks remained hoofy, and the bass had huge punch when it needed to be.

To get a better handle on that low-end performance, I stuck on Queens Of The Stone Age’s Songs For The Deaf. And when the mix opened out into full-bore glory in …Millionaire, I gawped a little. There’s some very impressive heft here, full and wide and deep (if a little pillowy in the lower extensions of the bass guitar).

In fact, it revealed the high-end shortcomings of the VMN95C stylus more so than any low-end lack, namely a roll-off at the highest highs that softens some more direct elements. Transients aren’t as immediate as they could be, but that – and all other sound shortcomings – is easily fixed by simply getting a new, better AT stylus at some point.

All this, it’s worth saying, while using the LP70XBT’s built-in phono preamp, which, itself, sounds surprisingly great. I didn’t miss my other preamps at all when testing this with the onboard preamp switched in, which says a lot for the viability of this record player in the long term.

I will acknowledge one of my bigger beefs with the Audio-Technica AT-LP70XBT: it’s a bit noisy in the room. Whether or not you deign to engage the automatic starter mechanism, the sound of the turntable in operation is undeniably louder than it probably ought to be. It’s not audible over records, if you play them at the minimum volume they deserve to be played, but it’s a small nuisance besides.

All told, I think this is a phenomenal piece of entry-level equipment, that punches well above the expectations of that same entry level. The fact you can upgrade the stylus is such a boon, too, and something you don’t tend to find on other budget turntables.

Between this, the surprisingly stable playback and the incredibly decent built-in preamp, you have a reliable starter turntable that’ll last you so, so much longer than the rest.

Alternatives

The Audio-Technica LP60XBT is the closest alternative you’ll find on the market, being the predecessor unit with much of the initial DNA. It’s cheaper and just as handy with your precious records, even if its cartridge is a slight downgrade.

If you don’t mind ditching some of the modern conveniences that make the AT-LP70XBT such a great all-rounder, then you might look instead towards something like the Pro-Ject E1.2. This is a manual entry-level turntable, but one which looks more to your potential future curating a home hi-fi stack to end all home hi-fi stacks.