There is more information to be had too. Switching the phono stage off and moving to the iFi Zen Phono (to say nothing of the Cyrus), drops the noise floor further and reveals more information and better tonal realism at the same time. Judged by the competition, the internal phono stage that Audio Technica has fitted to the LP5X is perfectly satisfactory but - like the competition - there’s more to be had out of it.

Measured at 45 rpm, the AT-LPW50B’s platter speed was even more stable, so that the measured frequency varied only between 2998Hz and 3000Hz. Again, this is an excellent result. Newport Test Labs has plotted these variations in the speed histogram (Graph 1). The high dynamics of the album, which, in addition to acoustic orchestra and vocals typical of Woodkids, also offer a wealth of electronic sounds, do not cause any stress for the inexpensive player. This confident impression is repeated in other records from current and ancient production. With the LPW50PB you can also venture into “difficult” material and don’t have to be afraid of dynamically mixed vinyl discs. So Audio-Technica’s latest turntable, the AT-LPW50PB, is designed to enhance the company’s long-standing engineering reputation while offering a little convenience and interior decor sympathy at the same time. These two gold-plated RCA outputs have a diameter that is very slightly smaller than standard, so using standard RCA plugs results in a rather ‘loose’ fit and a tenuous electrical connection. You can fix this by squeezing in the outer (negative) ring of the plugs on the cable before you use them.

The platter is a lightweight cast aluminum construction with a fixed radius for the flat belt and rib-like bracing towards the center to prevent platter resonance. The flat belt is already stretched and can be grabbed with a red ribbon from the top through the side hole. You put the platter on the platter bearing and pull the belt carefully over the pulley – done. It goes without saying that a heaving Convention Centre show floor is hardly the perfect environment for having a critical listen to a record player – and, to be fair to Audio-Technica, it hasn’t even attempted to make that possible. The light blue dashed vertical line at the centre shows the mean actual speed, which you can see is very slightly lower than 33.33 rpm at 33.324 rpm, so 0.006 rpm slow. Not significant. The purple and red dashed vertical lines show the wow measured according to DIN IEC 386 using both the dynamic method (purple dashes) and the 2 sigma method (red dashes). In terms of percentages, the measured wow using the DIN IEC 386 2 sigma method was 0.08% at 33.33 rpm and 0.07% at 45 rpm.

The AT-LPW50BT-RW turntable made the album sound even better when it had a wired connection to a component system. I tested it with both the built-in phono preamp and through my own NAD phono stage. The dedicated NAD unit sounded better with slightly more detail, but not by as much of a margin as I expected. Should you buy the Audio-Technica AT-LPW50BT-RW turntable?

Design and Specification

With a phono pre-amp built-in, the AT-LPW50PB connects to almost any hi-fi or speaker system. The phono pre-amp boosts the signal to line level, meaning you can connect it to any device with an AUX input. If you’d rather use your amp’s phono pre-amp, then simply switch off the turntable’s one. Indicates whether MUID is transferred to ANID, a cookie used for advertising. Clarity doesn't use ANID and so this is always set to 0. The first common denominator is that these models all have belt drive, a propulsion concept that is heavily challenged by a new wave of direct-drive turntables, including other budget models from Audio Technica. However, on these models, AT has satisfied those who still prefer belt drive, and there are som o these around. The AT-LPW50PB is the top model among the belt-driven budget players, but has to find itself well behind the more elaborate mid-range player AT-LP7 in the hierarchy. This one also has belt drive, but at double price.

On this album van Veen stretches the concept of slowness to the extreme. One critic wrote of it that: “he creates an hallucinatory effect, a kind of minimal music avant la lettre.”The belt for the Audio-Technica AT-LPW50BT-RW turntable attaches to the drive motor’s pulley underneath the cast-aluminum platter. Related: Best turntables Audio-Technica AT-LPW50PB build & features – Connections give it flexibility for hooking up other sources

With the built-in phono preamp, it’s more of a plug-and-play affair. You can do that if it doesn’t really matter – and that’s the case in this price range. It’s always a good idea. Audio Technica AT-LPW50PB Video ReviewAs mentioned in the introduction to this review, the Audio-Technica AT-LPW50PB has a phono pre-amplifier built in, the output of which is at the rear of the turntable. The Audio-Technica AT-LPW50PB comes with a clear Perspex dustcover and spring-loaded hinges. It’s nice that these are provided standard, rather than as an optional extra. The spring-loading of the hinges means that if you give the lid a slight push when you first lift it, it will rise automatically to the fully open position without further input from you.