Anyone here own an Audio-Technica AT-LP60XBT record player?

[Ivan May]

I bought an Audio-Technica AT-LP60XBT record player last year and thought some people would have any opinions or thoughts on it. It is a very nice record player, it plays at the right speed and it rarely acts up. It is arguably the best record player I've owned in years, and it is the perfect replacement for the Califon and Crosley record players that I once owned that no longer work. I was actually spinning some Chicago on it this past week:

 

 

But if any of you like the sound quality of the Audio Technica AT-LP60XBT record player and would recommend it to a friend or family member, please let me know.

[Dave Bryce]

Never used an AT turntable.

 

I have two - a Fluance RT-85 which I keep in my studio, and in my main listening room IZ have an AudioWood Big Easy - essentially a Rega 3 turntable with their beefed-up Neo PSU Mk2 power supply and Fono MC Mk4 phono stage.

 

dB

[Anderton]

This is a timely topic for me. My birthday present to myself and from my wife was to bring all 1200+ (maybe more!) records out of storage into our home. The plan is to catalog them, digitize the ones we want (most of them), and then sell them over time. Some are true collector's items, promotional copies with extras, signed copies, etc. Or I might see about selling the entire collector to a hardcore vinyl fan, but it would have to be local pickup only - I can't imagine shipping them.

 

And of course, meanwhile, I need to play them to digitize them . Before anyone says "But why don't you just play the vinyl?" my answer is I don't want to ever have to move that many albums again! Sure, vinyl has its cool sound and all that, but if I can fit all my albums on a big honkin' hard drive, my life gets easier.  

 

There are the multi-thousand dollar turntables, the Audio-Technica types with USB outs for $349 (can I even trust something like that?), the $750 Rega Planar 1 Plus which looks awfully tempting and has a built-in preamp I can patch to my audio interface (which probably has much better converters than anything with a USB out), etc. etc. etc.

 

Decisions, decision. Can anyone point me in the right direction? I'd really like to keep the cost under $1,000, and well under if possible...I certainly don't want anything that will degrade the record any more than what's expected from dragging a rock through yards of plastic. 

[KuruPrionz]

8 minutes ago, Anderton said:

This is a timely topic for me. My birthday present to myself and from my wife was to bring all 1200+ (maybe more!) records out of storage into our home. The plan is to catalog them, digitize the ones we want (most of them), and then sell them over time. Some are true collector's items, promotional copies with extras, signed copies, etc. Or I might see about selling the entire collector to a hardcore vinyl fan, but it would have to be local pickup only - I can't imagine shipping them.

 

And of course, meanwhile, I need to play them to digitize them . Before anyone says "But why don't you just play the vinyl?" my answer is I don't want to ever have to move that many albums again! Sure, vinyl has its cool sound and all that, but if I can fit all my albums on a big honkin' hard drive, my life gets easier.  

 

There are the multi-thousand dollar turntables, the Audio-Technica types with USB outs for $349 (can I even trust something like that?), the $750 Rega Planar 1 Plus which looks awfully tempting and has a built-in preamp I can patch to my audio interface (which probably has much better converters than anything with a USB out), etc. etc. etc.

 

Decisions, decision. Can anyone point me in the right direction? I'd really like to keep the cost under $1,000, and well under if possible...I certainly don't want anything that will degrade the record any more than what's expected from dragging a rock through yards of plastic. 

All I can say is that you may be able to find a good used turntable and then sell it for more or less what you paid for it. Of course you will want a brand new needle and it will be a used needle when you sell. A $750 new turntable won't fetch close to that used. 

 

I've sold quite a few record accumulations. Most collectors want "Mint" or better still "Unopened" (not re-sealed). For the bulk of the records I had I ended up selling them in lots according to genre. 15 to 20 albums is not a large box and USPS will accept them as "media" so postage is cheap. On the other hand, it might be more trouble than it's worth since you won't get much for most albums. Maybe a donation to a thrift store with a receipt for taxes would do just as well. 

 

I had one record that was in pretty OK condition that fetched a few bucks. Thrift store find - under a dollar when I purchased. VeeJay "The Beatles and Frank Ifield Live".

4 Beatles tracks, 1st and last tracks on each side. Cover was VG+, record not so much. The trick was that  the Frank Ifield (an Australian singer) recordings were live. The Beatles songs were the same ones that VJ touted on Introducing the Beatles and The Beatles vs The Four Seasons. I got around $60 for that one, not bad for what it was. 

 

If your records are pristine, you should do well! And I'm with you, I never want to move, own are deal with any more records. I loved having them but now I love not having them!

[Shamanzarek]

I got an Audio-Technica AT-LP120-USB a few years ago. It is direct drive which is laid out and operates much like the industry standard Technics 1200 but at a fraction of the cost. My first good turntable was a Dual 1215S which I bought in 1973. It was stolen about a year later and I never replaced it until I got the A-T.

 

I've been collecting records since the 60s and have over 600 which is a small collection by some people's standards. I collected albums from the mid-60s until the early 80s when it became rare to find an album worth listening to in its entirety. From then on I would buy older albums at thrift shops but now albums have gotten scarce in those places. I have boxed up the albums for an impending out of state move hoping I have room to take them all. There is some sentimental value involved as I have had some of these albums since I was about 13. They have been moved from Oregon to several locations in southern California, back to Oregon, shipped to New Jersey, and now hopefully going with me to South Carolina.

I have a record bin that holds over 400 albums but not sure I will be able to take that with me so have been trying to sell it.

 

[Anderton]

6 hours ago, KuruPrionz said:

I've sold quite a few record accumulations. Most collectors want "Mint" or better still "Unopened" (not re-sealed). For the bulk of the records I had I ended up selling them in lots according to genre. 15 to 20 albums is not a large box and USPS will accept them as "media" so postage is cheap. On the other hand, it might be more trouble than it's worth since you won't get much for most albums. Maybe a donation to a thrift store with a receipt for taxes would do just as well. 

 

Good advice! I do have some mint copies, but also some things like signed copies, and records that were never reissued on CD so they only way to find them is if someone has them and is willing to sell. I'm not looking to sell most of them at mint/collector's prices, but to make music available that people may want but can't find. I always took incredible care of my records - Ortofon cartridges, cleaned before playing, anti-static, no multi-disc changers, always kept in covers, etc. - so they're in VERY good shape. I figured I'd offer them with a money-back guarantee if people didn't find the condition satisfactory. It's not so much about selling a mint copy of a Beatles album, but an incredible Tal Farlow album you'll never find in the real world.

[KuruPrionz]

Just now, Anderton said:

 

Good advice! I do have some mint copies, but also some things like signed copies, and records that were never reissued on CD so they only way to find them is if someone has them and is willing to sell. I'm not looking to sell most of them at mint/collector's prices, but to make music available that people may want but can't find. I always took incredible care of my records - Ortofon cartridges, cleaned before playing, anti-static, no multi-disc changers, always kept in covers, etc. - so they're in VERY good shape. I figured I'd offer them with a money-back guarantee if people didn't find the condition satisfactory. It's not so much about selling a mint copy of a Beatles album, but an incredible Tal Farlow album you'll never find in the real world.

Nice, you should do well. 

I might reconsider the money back guarantee thing, if somebody plays your record with an old dull needle, hoses it and wants their money back that's not fair to you. 

If you are honest about the condition that should be enough. That's how I sold mine and nobody asked for a return - eBay will side with the buyer every time but I maintain a very "real world' standard and tell things like they are. Been working well so far. 

[Anderton]

14 minutes ago, KuruPrionz said:

If you are honest about the condition that should be enough. 

 

I was thinking about including a photograph of the record in any listing so people could see no scratches or dust, shiny black surface, inner label in pristine shape, etc.

[KuruPrionz]

5 minutes ago, Anderton said:

 

I was thinking about including a photograph of the record in any listing so people could see no scratches or dust, shiny black surface, inner label in pristine shape, etc.

If the record will fetch a decent chunk of money, that's not a bad idea. 

Honestly, most of the records I had brought around $2 each or so. It sounds like you have much better records than I do and selling those individually will bring more $$$

Anything you can sell locally is good, in large part by simplifying the process. 

You might try selling the "pretty OK" records (if you have enough of them) as a bulk deal on craigslist. Since the weather is cooler you could meet at a coffee shop and have the records in the trunk of your car, that keeps your privacy intact. 

Surely Nashville has at least one reputable record shop? They may make you an offer you can't refuse. 😊

[Anderton]

13 hours ago, KuruPrionz said:

Surely Nashville has at least one reputable record shop? They may make you an offer you can't refuse. 😊

 

Yes, they do. I'm going to see what the going rate is, and take it from there. What I might do is go to them with the generic albums that sold a zillion copies but that people still want, and keep records like Sun Ra's "Heliocentric Worlds" (currently going for $60 used) for the aficionados.

[KuruPrionz]

23 minutes ago, Anderton said:

 

Yes, they do. I'm going to see what the going rate is, and take it from there. What I might do is go to them with the generic albums that sold a zillion copies but that people still want, and keep records like Sun Ra's "Heliocentric Worlds" (currently going for $60 used) for the aficionados.

That makes sense.

The only thing I'll add (and you probably already know this) is that I made sure to only ship records during the colder months. 

A mail truck might end up sitting on asphalt in the sun for a day or two, with your precious records inside. Not good!!!

 

And damn, my brother brought Sun Ra "It's After The End Of The World" home and we spun that one quite often. Even though he can't really play an instrument, my older brother remains my biggest musical influence since he brought home all sorts of music that I'd never heard before way on back when we were in our teens. 

A fair amount of it was avant garde Jazz, also musics from around the globe and orchestral pieces by weirdos like Stravinsky. 

 

That period changed what I knew about music profoundly and completely. He had a Garrard Zero Tracking turntable, by the way... 👌

[Dave Bryce]

On 11/14/2022 at 2:52 PM, Anderton said:

the Audio-Technica types with USB outs for $349 (can I even trust something like that?)

 

 I’d say probably not.  Considering how much of the cost of goods would have to go into the turntable itself, the quality of the USB converter might not be ideal.

 

dB