Vinyl sales are still climbing the charts like it’s 1978 all over again, and interest in analog playback refuses to fade. Record stores are thriving, turntable setups are everywhere from dorm rooms to design blogs, and just about every brand with a logo is making a turntable. But let’s be honest—the market is starting to feel crowded. With hundreds of options priced from $250 to well north of $200,000, just how many belt-driven promises of “audiophile warmth” can the world take? To their credit, Audio-Technica has nailed the entry-level space with affordable tables and an excellent lineup of cartridges, making hi-fi accessible to a new generation. But the new $2,000 Audio-Technica AT-LPA2 raises some questions.
It’s not their first “flagship” in recent memory—and while it might hold its own or even outperform comparable decks from Pro-Ject, Rega, Thorens, U-Turn, or VPI, we’re left wondering: is the typical A-T customer ready to take this kind of leap?
On the plus side, this thing won’t make your wallet scream like the $9,999 Hotaru turntable just did. That over-the-top showboat is clearly designed for folks more into flashing their latest shiny toy than actually sitting down to listen to vinyl.
Audio-Technica, however, isn’t messing around this time. The new AT-LPA2 is being pitched as their finest turntable ever—and for $2,000, it better be. Wrapped in transparent acrylic like a high-end espresso machine and packed with thoughtful engineering details, the Audio-Technica AT-LPA2 is clearly aimed at listeners who want to graduate from “my first turntable” without getting elbowed by boutique brands charging twice as much for less tech.
There’s no built-in phono preamp here, no Bluetooth, no flash—just serious analog hardware. That 30mm thick acrylic plinth and 20mm platter aren’t just for looks—they help keep vibrations out of the signal chain. Speed stability is handled by an optical sensor beneath the spindle, and the motor’s been exiled to its own separate control unit to eliminate noise, hum, and any hint of direct-drive drama.
AT-OC9XEN: Cartridge Tech That’ll Make Your Turntable Jealous
Audio-Technica isn’t just throwing in a cartridge to check a box—they’re flexing a bit here. The AT-LPA2 ships with the AT-OC9XEN pre-mounted on a machined aluminum headshell with adjustable azimuth, because setup guesswork is for amateurs.
This isn’t some generic moving magnet either; it’s a legit moving coil cart with a nude elliptical stylus (0.3 x 0.7 mil), dual-magnet design, and high-purity PCOCC copper coils. In plain English? It’s built to squeeze every last bit of nuance out of your records like it owes you money.
Thanks to the low-mass moving coil design, this thing is fast—able to respond to groove changes with the kind of detail and snap that makes your old MM cart sound like it’s been dragging its feet. And it’s not just the cart doing the heavy lifting.
The 8.8-inch carbon fiber tonearm was purpose-built for the AT-LPA2 and comes loaded with all the tweakability you’d expect at this price: VTA, azimuth, finely adjustable string-driven anti-skate (yeah, they went old-school on that one), and two counterweights (110g and 130g) to accommodate whatever future cartridge experiments you cook up at 2AM.
It’s lightweight, anti-resonant, and designed to track like a bloodhound. Nothing flashy—just serious engineering meant to get out of the way and let the vinyl do its thing.
Pro Tip: The AT-OC9XEN isn’t your typical plug-and-play cart—it’s a serious moving coil design with a low 0.35 mV output. That means you’ll need a proper MC phono stage or a step-up transformer to get the best performance.
And don’t go yanking the stylus when it’s worn out—this one isn’t field-replaceable. Instead, take advantage of Audio-Technica’s Moving Coil Exchange Program when it’s time for a refresh. It’s not cheap, but neither is this cartridge—and it deserves better than DIY surgery.
Specifications — Audio-Technica AT-LPA2
Turntable
- Drive: Belt-driven, DC servo motor
- Speeds: 33 1/3 and 45 RPM
- Platter: 20 mm thick acrylic
- Wow & Flutter: 60 dB
Tonearm
- Type: Static balanced straight carbon fiber
- Effective Length: 223.6 mm
- Overhang: 18.6 mm
- Tracking Error: < 2.0°
- Height Adjustment (VTA): -1.5 mm to +7 mm
- Anti-Skate: Thread-suspended, adjustable from 1.3 g to 3.0 g
- Counterweights Included: Light (6.1–9.2 g) & Heavy (9.2–13.9 g) for cartridge balance
Cartridge
- Type: Moving Coil (MC)
- Model: Pre-mounted AT-OC9XEN
Power
- Input: 100–240 V, 50/60 Hz
- Consumption: 6 W
Dimensions & Weight
- Turntable: 17″ W × 13″ D × 5.3″ H (420 × 340 × 135 mm), 8.4 kg (19 lbs)
- Control Unit: 5.2″ W × 9.0″ D × 2.0″ H (133 × 228 × 50 mm), 1.1 kg (2.4 lbs)
Included Accessories
- Control unit, dust cover, acrylic platter, drive belt
- Two counterweights, anti-skate weights
- Headshell with AT-OC9XEN cartridge
- 45 RPM adapter, RCA audio cable (3.6 ft), power cable (5.9 ft)
- Ground cable, control cable, hex wrench, setup gloves
The Bottom Line
Audio-Technica’s AT-LPA2 isn’t here to please the vinyl Instagram crowd or the latest hyped-up RSD drop. With over 63 years of no-nonsense experience, this deck is built for people who actually care about sound, not just collecting dust on some limited-edition box. Solid tech, serious design, and a top-tier moving coil cartridge prove A-T still knows how to serve up real analog quality—no fluff, just pure vinyl love.
Price & Availability
Coming May 2025 for $2,000. Not cheap, but Audio-Technica is clearly betting there’s room on your rack for something a little more grown-up.
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Anton
May 15, 2025 at 8:06 pm
Like it a lot more than the $9,999 monstrosity. The cartridge looks very good, although most people probably don’t have a quality MC phono stage or step-up.
Is $2,000 really that much of an ask for Audio-Technica?
Ian White
May 15, 2025 at 9:20 pm
So for a brand that made its mark selling $100 cartridges and $300 turntables, a $2,000 turntable is a huge uptick in price for its traditional customer base. But as we’ve seen with their $100,000 headphone amplifier and higher end cartridges, Audio-Technica has the capabilities to engineer very high-end products. It’s merely a business decision to focus on the entry-level with their tables, headphones, mics, and cartridges.
The new table has a lot of positive elements in my opinion. I’d be interested in reviewing it.
IW