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And that leads me to assume that the build quality of the PL120 varies. I have learned to lower the stylus onto a stationary record, then spin the platter clockwise until the stylus finds a groove, and then start the platter. Who knows what will pop up if I try to move it.To those who found no problems in your ownership experience: congratulations, and enjoy. The platter spins, and speeds are stable. Sometimes the tonearm will skip inward a few grooves before settling, and no possible anti-skate setting will eliminate this tendency all the time. How can some reviewers have tone arm skating issues and some do not. Hence, a one-star rating.Don't get me wrong. I finally discovered that connecting my very first cartridge, a 1980s vintage ADC Integra XLM-III tamed the hum.
Many cite it's virtues, a few highlight it's vices. (Could it be that the cueing mechanism lowers the tone arm a little too slowly). I also put up with the hum problem. I found a replacement stylus for it, and that's what I'm now using. I have it's worst vices tamed for now exactly where it sits. The PL120's included cartridge picked up a hum.
After nearly a year of ownership I am left with a strong suspicion that the PL120 is not coming to market designed well enough nor built consistently well enough to excel in all usage environments. To those who found problems, I understand your frustration. That half works fine. I am inclined to assume that the ownership experiences of each reviewer are valid. How can some reviewers be plagued with annoying hum while others find none.
To a small degree I have had skating issues, mostly at the beginning of a spinning record while lowering the stylus onto the record. Prospective buyers might want to address the question, do you feel lucky. To those contemplating purchasing an AT-PL120 I advise reading ALL the reviews, not just the favorable ones. There are a lot of customer reviews on the AT-PL120. In short, I do not trust it enough to buy another or out-and-out recommend it to someone else.
Trying to replace it with a Grado Blue cartridge made the hum a little louder.
This baby can even play 78s. For it's price and ease of use, the AT-PL120 is a must. It's only faults are in the manual. This turntable, only around $200, is the perfect for a budding vinyl enthusiast. Another thing to note is the hum in the background.
You will suffer in a world with bad surface noise and no way to replace the stylus or change the adgustments (all which are vital to the vinyl experience). The direct drive motor is perfect for easily cueing the record, as well as having high torque for speedy starts. But more importantly, it has a built in pre-amp for those lacking a proper phono input, as well as a modest cartridge. This turntable does lack a grounding wire, but the hum is barely noticeable with music playing anyway. If you are a vinyl beginner, don't be fooled by the bargain bin $100 turntables with automated arm action.
The build is great and everything works (that's a first). If you have never even touched a turntable, it can be very confusing to figure out exactly how to set the tracking force to 3.5 grams.
I'm very happy with it's performance and quality and recommend it highly. It takes a while to set up properly, but any one can do it by following the simple manual step by step. What's more, it also has the option to use an external pre-amp if you wish. Regardless of the cost and inclusiveness of the sound system you have, this turntable is the only one you'll ever need to buy. The biggest problem with modern turntables is that modern receivers can't usethem without a pre-amp. I was attracted to this item because it has an internal pre-amp, which means I can connect it to any audio connection in the back of my receiver. When I played my first lp, I couldn't believe the sounds I'd been missing all these years.
It ships in the original box, so if it is a gift or surprise, watch out. The only problem so far is the cueing light seems to have burned out on day 2 already.
All in all the best value I could find. This is my second purchase of this model for family members, and it seems like a reasonable value.
Also be careful of the arm hold down, its plastic and won't take any abuse, period. The integral pre-amp feature is super, especially with new surround sounds that lack phono inputs.
Amazon shipped the turntable well and it came undamaged, altho the box was roughed up. Set up was easy and it worked right away.
It would be VERY nice if the arm would automatically pick up at the end of the album, but it doesn't.
this product is VERY user friendly.easy to figure out.and VERY affordable. This is perhaps the best gift i ever gave him.A+++ i bought this for my 68 year old father so he could listen to all of his favorites that have been stashed away for years. it has provided my dad with hours of happiness and he has had no problem at all figuring out how to hook it up or use all of its functions.
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