Reviews for Audio-Technica Audio Technica AT-PL50 Fully Automatic Belt Drive Turntable

Technica AT-PL50

Strengths: Good connectivity and easy operation.

Weakness: Slight distortion when connected to a receiver.

I use this turntable to capture music from 33-RPM albums directly to a computer hard drive. This turntable has a pre amp, so direct connect to a computer is easy. I used the Roxio Easy Media Creator 7.5 Sound Editor to edit the music file. Once the input signal is adjusted to limit distortion, the resulting clip is very good quality. Good value for the price!

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Great for converting audio from old phonodics

Strengths: Uses a damped queing mechanism to gently lower the needle to the phonodisc, as well as to lift the needle. Integrated phono pre-amp can be switched off for use with amps that have a phono input.

Weakness: Tone arm balance can not be adjusted.

This is a good, basic turntable that's reasonably priced. I use it to rip music from vinyl for my ipod or to burn to CD. I would prefer to have some fine tuning options, such as adjustable tone arm balance and turntable speed monitor. However, it tracks well and gives a clean sound. The feature I like most is the damped queuing which allows the needle to be raised without risk of scratching the record and lowered gently without gouging the vinyl. This is a good value.

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Turntable.. right on

Strengths: Good solid piece of equipment, especially for the price.

Weakness: none really. Just have to realize it is not an expensive machine. It is a turntable, takes time and produces good to great quality. you gotta scratch, you will hear it...

It has been dream to be able to take the vinyl I have collected over the years and hear it again. A great tool if you already have the other components to move the music into the cd world. Great machine.

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Audio Technica AT-PL50 turntable

Strengths: Stylish, fully automatic, actually sounds surprisingly good

Weakness: At it's pricepoint, none.

If you have a stash of old lps that have just been collecting dust, this is a very nice sounding, fully automatic turntable that is essentially plug and play.

It obviously won't sound great in an expensive dedicated audio system, but it sounds great when matched with budget or entry level hi fi equipment or computers.

There is a free program called Audacity that allows you to convert your lps into a computer music file (plug the turntable into the blue line in computer port of your sound card using the provided adapters).

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Audio Technica AT-PL50

Strengths: Price, simpliciy of operation, built in pre-amp, tone It has all the adapters (RCA etc) you need to connect.

Weakness: Not a changer.

I bought this turntable to copy my old 33 rpm albums to CD. For this it is very good. It is easy to assemble right out of the box and with the built in pre-amp, I have the choice of using my amplifier or plugging directly into the sound card of my computer. I go direct from turntable to soundcard.

I use Roxio EZ CD/DVD Creator to copy the music. (I like version 6.5 much better than later versions)
The sound from the turntable is accurate, I heard no hum or rumble.

On the other hand, this is no Dual 1219 quality changer/turntable, and I would not use it to play albums over my stereo system, largely because it has no changer

If you need a turntable to copy you old albums, this is an inexpensive way to do so.

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Audio-Technica Audio Technica AT-PL50 Fully...

Strengths: The product was the cheapest

The turn table is very good when hooked up to a stereo. I have not had any problems with the turn table and the dust cover is easily removed if need be.

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Surprisingly good sounding starter turntable - but...

Strengths: Low cost, easy to find replacement stylus, built-in phono preamp and cables to connect to a computer sound card or home theater system. Fully automatic operation is a plus.

Weakness: Fixed cartridge leaves little room for upgrade, and this unit tends to skip on lightly damaged LPs that other turntables play right through.

This is a unique turntable in many respects, as it is a combination of good and, well, not so good.

On the good side, the price stands out. This unit is sold as a Sony, Denon and Pioneer as well - yet this one typically sells for the lowest price. Also the stylus, which is common to all branded versions of this unit, is easy to find if you aren't technically inclined - or simply new to LPs. Upgraded styli can be had, but there comes a point when you're best served by a better turntable.

The internal preamp does a respectable job, and since there is no ground wire - it may be needed even on older stereo receivers with a phono input should hum be a problem. This unit includes an adapter cable to allow a direct connection to a computer - or anything that accepts a 1/8" 3 conductor feed such as a high performance clock radio.

Sound wise, bass is stronger than I would have expected. Due to the spherical stylus, inner groove distortion sets in - or in simple terms, as the records plays on and nears the end, the quality of the sound diminishes. The solution in this case is simply a higher quality turntable system.

But this turntable and it's twins has one key shortcoming. The arm, which lacks anti-skate (not just an adjustment - it simply does not have anti-skate) and a tracking force adjustment (fixed spring balance) has an issue with skipping on LPs that nearly every other turntable will play right through. I know turntables well, and this is due to a mis-match of the heavy-duty cartridge to the very low mass, light tracking arm, and you can't change it. Ive used several of these units, and not all exhibit this issue.

I give this unit a provisional recommendation. It sounds "better than it should" for the quality of the arm and level of cartridge. I recommend this unit only if you purchase it from a store where you can return or exchange it in the event it has a skipping problem.

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Audio Technica AT-PL50 Fully Automatic Belt Drive...

Strengths: Built in pre-amp

Weakness: None

Sounds good and works great. I bought this to convert my old LP's to mp3's. The built in pre-amp allows you to hook it straight to your sound card, and capture away. Very good value for the money, it's an inexpensive turntable compared to others...but works very well.

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Audio Technica AT-PL50 Fully Automatic Belt Drive...

Strengths: Very economical, Pre amp is a plus... Has both 45 and 33 speed capabilities

Weakness: No volume control on turntable

Very easy to connect to PC. Has excellent sound quality and is easy to transfer LPs to CDs. I also hooked the turntable up to a set of IPOD speakers and the sound was just fine, but unfortunately there was no way to control the volume. For the money it is an excellent turntable to get the job done of saving the music on those old LPs.

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