AT-LP60x Review: The Turntable That Started a Million Collections

It is pretty obvious that millions of people got into records over the last decade.

You did. Your best friend did. Your uncle got back into it. That guy on TikTok did. And of course even that slightly weird guy you went to high school with seems to own a turntable now.

Let me tell you something. An enormous number of them, except your uncle, who started in the 70s, began with the same turntable: The Audio-Technica AT-LP60x.

That might sound dramatic. It probably is not. The Bluetooth version became the number-one-selling turntable in the United States in 2023, and the LP60x line had already spent years becoming the default answer for anyone asking how to get into vinyl without spending a fortune or learning an entirely new vocabulary.

The reason was simple. It was affordable, automatic, easy to find, and simple enough that someone with no turntable experience could bring it home, connect a pair of powered speakers, and play a record that night.

This was also happening while Record Store Day was bringing people back into record shops and vinyl was becoming exciting again. People were buying records, and they needed an easy way to play them. The LP60X showed up at exactly the right time.

Someone bought the turntable, picked up one record, then another, and before long there was a whole collection sitting beside it. Plenty of people upgraded the turntable later, but the records stayed.

That is why the LP60X matters. It was never the most advanced option. It simply made getting started easy enough that millions of people actually did it.

Now you have to decide whether it should start your collection too. We are going to look at what it still does well, where the low price begins to show, and when spending a little more makes sense.

Table of Contents

In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about the Audio-Technica AT-LP60x, broken down into the following sections:

1. High Level Overview: What is the AT-LP60x
2. Build and Features of the AT-LP60x
3. Comparing to Other Entry-Level Turntables
4. Who Should Buy the AT-LP60x?
5. Conclusion: Is the AT-LP60X Right for You?

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High Level Overview: What is the AT-LP60X?

Here is the easiest way to understand the LP60X: We should look at where it sits in the larger world of record players.

If you are looking for your first record player, or maybe your next one, you have probably come across those suitcase players and all-in-ones. Cheap. Small. Speakers built in. Everything you need inside one little box, including quite a few compromises.

You have probably seen all the hate they get too. Some of it is warranted. Some of it is probably a little dramatic. But that is for another day.

The LP60X sits above that tier. But it is not just slightly better. It is a totally different tier.

The best one-sentence way to describe it is this: the LP60X is about as cheap as you can go before people stop warning you that your record player might ruin your records.

It is a real turntable with legitimate parts and proper mechanics. A real tonearm. A real cartridge. A replaceable stylus. A separate platter. And with all of that, you are going to get a huge improvement over those cheaper all-in-one options.

You will actually notice the difference. The whole thing just feels more dependable. If I am being honest, it starts to feel like a real setup instead of something more like a toy.

Now, the LP60X is still the cheapest version of the real thing. Turntables can cost $500. Then $1,000. Then $5,000. Then $10,000. Then amounts of money people usually prefer not to explain to their spouses. Welcome to the audiophile world.

But the distance between a suitcase player and the LP60X is enormous compared with what most people expect. It gets you out of the toy-like part of the market and into something dependable, easy to use, and good enough to show you why people care about vinyl in the first place.

There are better turntables. Plenty of them. The LP60X is for someone who does not need the best one yet. They just need the first real one to be good enough.

Build and Features of the AT-LP60X

Okay. That is where the LP60X sits in the larger world of record players. Now we can get into what you are actually getting.

What You Actually Get

The LP60X is mostly made of plastic. It is light. It is fairly small. But the important parts are real.

You get an aluminum platter, a proper tonearm, an Audio-Technica cartridge, and a stylus that can be replaced when it wears out. You also get a clear dust cover, which keeps dust off the turntable and gives you somewhere to place things until someone online tells you not to place things there.

There is nothing to align. Nothing to balance. Nothing you can accidentally set completely wrong before playing your first record. Audio-Technica has already handled that part for you.

Again, this is still an inexpensive turntable. The materials are not luxurious. The buttons feel like buttons on a $150 machine because that is what they are.

But it does not feel like a suitcase player. The record has a proper platter beneath it. The tonearm moves cleanly across the record. The speakers sit outside the machine instead of shaking the entire thing every time the bass comes in.

What It Is Like to Use

The LP60X is fully automatic. Put the record on the platter. Press start. It really is that simple.

The tonearm lifts itself, moves over to the record, lowers, and begins playing. When the side ends, the arm lifts again and returns to its resting position. You can also move the tonearm yourself if you want to start halfway through a record. Nobody is going to stop you. But the automatic operation is a main reason people buy this thing.

What You Need to Connect It

The LP60X does not have speakers built in.

You will need to connect it to speakers, and the easiest option for most beginners is a pair of powered speakers. Those have the amplifier built into them, so you can connect the turntable directly to the speakers and start listening (more on pairing your turntable with a set of speakers and nailing your first vinyl setup later)

The LP60X has a built-in phono preamp too – which is a critical thing to look out for in your first record player whether you go with the LP60x or not.

It basically means you do not need to buy another little box just to make the turntable work. Connect the turntable to the powered speakers. Plug both into the wall. Boom. Done.

The standard LP60X does not have Bluetooth. Audio-Technica sells a separate Bluetooth version called the LP60XBT if that is important to you. We will come back to whether Bluetooth is worth paying extra for later.

What It Sounds Like

The LP60X sounds much better than the suitcase players and all-in-ones sitting below it. Trust us (and the rest of the internet for that matter).

Some of that is the turntable. A lot of it is the fact that you are now using real external speakers instead of two tiny speakers built into the same plastic box that is holding the record. You can actually hear some separation between the instruments instead of everything coming from one little spot beneath the platter. You will notice the difference.

It sounds like a good beginner turntable. Which is what it is.

The speakers you choose will also make a tremendous difference. Pair the LP60X with a decent set of powered speakers and you can have a very enjoyable first setup. Pair it with bad speakers and the turntable cannot perform some kind of miracle. Nothing can.

Where the Lower Price Shows

Audio-Technica had to leave some things out to make the LP60X this inexpensive and this easy to use.

To keep the LP60X this affordable, Audio-Technica uses a lightweight body and fixed tonearm, with no way to adjust the tracking force or anti-skate.

That is probably fine for the person this turntable is made for.

The LP60X is not really trying to become the center of a massive, constantly changing audio system. It is trying to help someone play records without spending very much money or learning very much about turntables first.

Some people will use it for years. Others will buy twenty records, begin watching cartridge comparison videos at one in the morning, and start thinking about an upgrade six months later.

That person probably would have been better off spending more from the beginning. For them – the AT-LP70X is the obvious next step. It keeps the same fully automatic experience but gives you a better cartridge system, a sturdier build, and more room to improve the sound later. We have a full comparison coming up, so we will keep that brief for now.

Sorry getting a bit sidetracked, back to what this review is about: The important thing is that the LP60X gives you the fundamentals. It is easy to set up. Easy to use. Noticeably better than the all-in-one options below it. And inexpensive enough that you can find out whether this whole record thing is actually for you.

Comparing to Other Entry-Level Turntables

There are really only a handful of turntables most people should seriously consider when buying their first record player, which makes this a little easier than it probably feels right now.

The number of options can get overwhelming fast, especially once you start reading forums and watching comparison videos. So instead of giving you twenty different turntables to research, I am going to focus on the few options that I think would work well for about 99% of beginners.

Each one makes sense for a slightly different person. One may be cheaper, another may give you Bluetooth, and another may be better for someone who wants a more hands-on experience. None of them require you to become an expert before making a good choice.

We also built a free tool that lets you select any of these turntables and pair it with compatible speakers and the rest of your setup. It is a simple way to get everything dialed in without having to figure out every connection yourself. More on this later.

You can also browse more options and go deeper into the research, but that is not totally necessary. For most people, one of the turntables below will be more than enough.

Which Beginner Turntable Should You Buy?

For most people, the choice between these four is actually pretty simple. The AT-LP60X is the safest option if you want something affordable, automatic, and easy to use. The Victrola Automatic makes sense if Bluetooth is important, although I would still compare it with the LP60XBT before buying.

Personally, I would lean toward the Crosley C6 if you like the wood finish and want the more hands-on feeling of lowering the tonearm yourself. If you can spend a little more and already know you are going to take vinyl more seriously, the AT-LP70X gives you the sturdier build and better cartridge system that should keep you happy longer.

If you want the big jump in performance, you are probably looking at the next price tier. Something more manual, heavier, more adjustable, and more serious. But if you are just starting out, the LP60x gives you the part that matters most: an easy way into vinyl that sounds good, feels clean, and does not make the whole thing harder than it needs to be.

Conclusion: Is the AT-LP60X Right for You?

First off…Welcome to Vinyl. Here’s What You Need to Know.

you are not alone if you have spent hours researching this, going back and forth between options, and maybe even getting bullied a little by people online who think every beginner needs a $1,000 setup. It is a big purchase, there are a lot of choices, and it can take a surprising amount of time to feel confident about any of them. I genuinely hope this guide helped narrow things down.

The LP60X is a good turntable, and you have done well getting here. Sure, there are plenty of other great options, including the three we compared above, but we really do not think you can go wrong with this one.

You can keep researching those other turntables if you want. Just remember that your speakers may matter just as much, if not more, than the small differences between them.

That is why we built a free tool that helps you plan your first vinyl setup around the best record player options, including every turntable mentioned here. It checks compatibility between your turntable, speakers, amp, receiver, and other gear, while also helping you compare top-rated products and keep an eye on sale prices.

Check out a quick preview of how it works below.

Hope this helps. Getting into vinyl is a wonderful hobby, and it should feel that way from the start.