Last year, Audio-Technica celebrated its 60th anniversary with a bunch of high-end products. The Audio-Technica AT-LP2022 Fully Manual Belt-drive Turntable you see here is one of them.
As you can see, it is clearly a standout product. No pun intended. The Audio-Technica AT-LP2022 Fully Manual Belt-drive Turntable is almost entirely transparent, save for the straight tonearm specially designed for this celebratory turntable which is in carbon fiber and has a metal tonearm lift and base.
The tonearm features VTA (vertical tracking angle) adjustment, adjustable needle pressure, and adjustable dynamic anti-skate control. This allows the turntable to be used with cartridges of various heights and weights.
While the tonearm isn’t transparent, it is paired with a limited-edition clear-body Shibata stylus (AT-VMN95SH). However, the anniversary special clear stylus can be swapped out with the included 0.3 x 0.7 mil elliptical stylus AT-VMN95EBK (black).
The AT-LP2022 features a 30 mm (1.18”) thick, high-density clear acrylic chassis which reduces resonance and offers an unobstructed view of the beautiful belt-drive motor. The high-precision DC motor is sensor-monitored to ensure a continuously accurate platter rotation speed of 33-1/3 and 45 RPM.
The platter, which is 16 mm (0.63″) thick, is transparent too. The entire turntable sits on soft anti-vibration feet that are height adjustable.
Another highlight is the external power adapter for handling AC/DC conversion outside of the chassis, thus minimizing signal chain noise crosstalk.
Wrapping up the package is a special blue and white packaging made from Echizen washi paper produced by hand using traditional Japanese techniques.
The Audio-Technica AT-LP2022 Turntable has a limited run of 3,000 numbered pieces worldwide, each going for US$1,200. The AT-LP2022 is not the only transparent turntable, btw. The Gearbox MkII Automatic Turntable is also entirely transparent.
Images: Audio-Technica.
