Audio-Technica’s engineers are seemingly working extra time to raise the design of the document participant. Following the reveal of its floating, glowing Hotaru turntable final month, the corporate has announced its new AT-LPA2 that includes a chassis and platter created from clear acrylic. With electronics like its energy provide and playback controls packed right into a separate unit that may be saved out of sight, the turntable is a reminder that clear tech can nonetheless look fashionable and modern.
The AT-LPA2 incorporates a comparable design to the Audio-Technica AT-LP2022 turntable that was launched in January 2023 to assist commemorate the corporate’s sixtieth anniversary. The earlier model was restricted to simply 3,000 items made obtainable worldwide and bought for $1,200. The brand new AT-LPA2 is on the market beginning as we speak, and whereas its rollout gained’t be as restricted, it now prices $2,000.
The bottom of the turntable is created from a 30mm thick slab of high-density clear acrylic, whereas the spinning platter atop is created from the identical materials that’s 20mm thick. It not solely makes for a hanging design, however acrylic can also be an efficient materials for dampening vibrations which improves playback efficiency and helps preserve the turntable working quietly.
Direct drive turntables, during which the spinning platter is a part of the electrical motor, provide superior efficiency over those who use a separate motor linked with a belt. However on this case, a belt drive really serves to boost the aesthetics of the AT-LPA2. To make sure correct playback, Audio-Technica contains an optical sensor that displays the platter’s rotation so it maintains a relentless pace of both 33 1/3 or 45rpm.
The corporate redesigned the tone arm included with the restricted version mannequin, however it’s nonetheless created from carbon fiber to assist scale back its weight and contains interchangeable counterweights that may be added and eliminated to assist preserve the arm balanced with totally different cartridges.
To assist preserve the turntable’s chassis as clear as attainable, playback controls and different buttons are included on a separate unit that additionally homes the ability provide. That strategy not solely permits you to place the management unit out of sight because it’s not clear and doesn’t match the AT-LPA2’s aesthetic, Audio-Technica says it additionally isolates the turntable’s audio parts from energy provide noise “leading to a cleaner, extra correct sound.”