Audio-Technica has unveiled a new premium turntable at High End Munich 2025, and it's quite the looker.
The Audio-Technica AT-LPA2 is a fully transparent design that lays bare the inner workings of the fully manual, belt-drive turntable – it certainly looks stunning.
The AT-LPA2 is based on the limited edition AT-LP2022 turntable that was made for the Japanese brand's 60th anniversary celebrations a couple of years ago, with the new full-production model featuring a new arm, cartridge and price point.
The deck features a 30mm high-density acrylic chassis and 20mm acrylic platter. Apart from delivering a striking transparent aesthetic, the material also offers "exceptional" resonance control to reduce unwanted vibrations affecting vinyl replay. We've seen transparent acrylic employed to great success in the ultra-high-end, magnificent Vertere SG-1 turntable we tested recently.
An optical sensor is also included beneath the spindle, which constantly monitors the platter rotation so that it spins at the correct speed consistently. The turntable can play 33 1/3 and 45 RPM record speeds.
Instead of the rather budget AT-VM95EBK cartridge with a Shibata stylus that was fitted on the anniversary model, the AT-LPA2 is fitted with the brand's more premium AT-OC9XEN dual moving coil cartridge.
This is attached to a newly designed straight carbon-fibre tonearm, which promises "superior tracking and stability". It allows for adjustable VTA and azimuth, includes an anti-skate mechanism as well as two different counterweights (110g and 130g) to ensure compatibility with a wide variety of cartridges, should you wish to upgrade.
The turntable is equipped with a separate power supply and control unit, ensuring that the deck itself is isolated from any noisy, unwanted electrical interference from the power supply.
The Audio-Technica AT-LPA2 is priced at £1699 / €1999 and is available from select dealers today. In comparison, the limited edition model was yours for £999 / $1200 (but is now discontinued).
Also launching is the next generation of the popular VM series of moving magnet cartridges. Collectively known as the AT-VMx series, the new lineup includes the 500x, 600x and 700x models. There are 9 cartridges in total with different styli and design variations; three cartridges in the 500x range, four in the 700x subset and two monoaural cartridges with the 600x series.
The AT-VMx is the first major update of the VM series since 2016, and it aims to offer a wide range of cartridges with usability improvements and clear progression at every price point, designed to cater to both vinyl newbies and seasoned turntable aficionados.
Available now, with prices starting from £99 / €119.
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Read our Audio-Technica Sound Burger review
High End Munich 2025: all the latest news and hi-fi launches
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