Audio-Technica AT-LP7 Manual Belt-Drive Turntable

I’ve usually found, if trying to upgrade my vinyl experience, that I have to buy into a bunch of superfluous bells and whistles in order to step up my game. Not here. The AT-LP7 is, in fact, the functionally most basic turntable I’ve ever owned. It’s exactly the kind of ‘upgrade’ I’ve been looking for – all the extra money spent on quality, not glitz.
Phonograph Lp’s are still what they were 7 decades ago when introduced – a flat, disc-shaped slab of plastic with a slightly ridged surface – period. While technological improvements were inevitable, to me most of them do nothing more for reproduction than jewels do for a watch to tell time. If you disagree with that, there are better choices for you than the AT-LP7.
This is a nice, heavily-built unit which feels solid and operates smoothly. Under the unhinged (yes that term came from turntables!) dust-cover are only 5 things: a platter, the belt, the driver spindle, the speed selector and the tonearm (6 if you count the headshell/cartridge separately). Basic assembly is required, but the instructions are pretty clear, even for the beginner. Spoiler alert: WRAP THE BELT AROUND THE PLATTER FIRST. Going the other way will likely lead to… frustration. The headshell has to be attached, but includes one of AT’s middle-ground cartridges, the VM520EB, with the overhang already set… helpful if you’re a newbie.
Even MORE helpful is the on board electronics! This fundamental but versatile deck will output from either a moving coil or moving magnet cartridge (like the VM520EB) AND has a switchable pre-amp which allows the use of an amplifier that HAS a dedicated ‘phono’ input, or one that has only ‘line-level’ (or AUX) type inputs. I’m currently trying out the ‘line-level’ outputs as I’ve never had a turntable that had them, and they sound pretty good to me! Pleasant surprise.
The other oddball choice here, at least in my experience, is that the power cord is an actual, old-fashioned AC adapter with the AC – DC converter being a box-shaped outlet plug. My guess is this helps keep the 60 cycle hum out of the ‘line-level’ outputs. I haven’t heard any of it coming through my home-theater receiver I’m using right now.
While quite enjoyable as-is, I’m sure the AT-LP7 is a worthy match to a cartridge upgrade for those with the budget. The one enhancement I miss is a pitch control, but the rotation ‘sounds’ spot-on accurate to me, so I say: ‘no judgement penalty’, and, ‘Keeper’.

Es muy bonita, con acabados muy simples, fue muy costosa y creo ya está descontinuada, espero se vuelva de colección.

I spent many months considering and testing a lot of mid- and upper-mid-range turntables from Rega, Pro-Ject, Fluance, AT, Denon, etc. I settled on the AT-LP7, kind of a lesser-known “sleeper” product, because it really blew away the competition. I’ve now had my AT-LP7 about four months. I love it!

SET-UP: Super simple, but I recommend using a protractor to ensure your cartridge is perfectly aligned. That advice, however, goes for any factory-aligned cartridge-headshell unit. My LP7’s VMN20EB cartridge was just *barely* misaligned out of the box.

SOUND: The thick, rock-solid plinth, heavy polyoxymethylene platter, and dampened feet do wonders for vibrational isolation. I could hear resonance when tapping or bumping shelves under other thinner-plinth tables (e.g. Rega P2/P3, ATLP50, etc.), but absolutely no vibrations got in the way of the LP7’s warm sound. After I set up my LP7, I used the supplied VMN20EB cartridge for about a month. It’s a great-sounding cartridge, but no matter how much I tweaked the alignment there was always some degree of inner groove distortion. I then upgraded to a VM540ML which eliminated inner groove distortion and really brought out the tight warm bass and clean highs of my vinyl. The LP7’s belt-drive motor is silent, smooth, and speed-accurate.

LOOKS & BUILD: Beautiful, simple aesthetic. It’s indeed a hefty build, but as previously mentioned, this does wonders to isolate the sound. A heavy, thick plinth is important. Referencing the previous review of “loose tonearm bearings”, I’ve experienced nothing but tight, smooth bearings and smooth tonearm movement. And of the three LP7 demo tables I looked at while considering a purchase, none had bearing problems. Perhaps it was an early production problem (or just a lemon) that was addressed.

BUILT-IN PHONO STAGE: Works great, sounds great, and nice it can handle moving coil cartridges. However, on some of my older jazz albums and my more beat-up LPs it became clear that the phono stage does NOT have a subsonic filter, so those albums caused some significant woofer pumping. My external Cambridge Audio Alva Solo phono stage (with subsonic filter) immediately cured that problem, but this makes the built-in stage useless for me. An LP7 without a built-in preamp might be a nice future option…or one with a subsonic filter upgrade.

DUST COVER: Looks great in smoky gray. I prefer the removable cover, but you must take great care not to bump the tonearm when taking it off and putting it on. I recommend keeping the tonearm latched when moving the dust cover around.

Overall, this is a beautiful turntable. It’s simple, has excellent sound, and will bring out the best in your vinyl. And the sky is the limit for cartridge upgrades that will respond really well to the LP7’s solid design and hardware. It really smashes it’s price-point competition