Turntable question; Does Audio Technica make any good turntables?

Millercarbon, thanks for taking the time for the thoughtful and detailed response…Not sure about the complaint about the length or response… I found your response helpful.,

Avid makes a nice turntable, also over looked....the Avid ingenium plug and play with the Upgraded metal platter is a good value.

The music hall mmf-7.3 is also a very nice table, especially in Walnut with the 2m Bronze. Too bad the price is @ 2k with inflation and all.

If your a fan of direct drive, the Technics mk7 can still be had for $999, and it's now available in different colors. I bought one in black, just for the hell of it....it's a great table for the money.

In my opinion price range of $500-$1000 would be entry level TT price and brand choice shouldn’t be main criteria to look at. If you really tight on your budget range, my suggestion is to concentrate on proper TT setup, arm and cart alignments. Re OL tts agreed with MC. OL is really great machines in every little detail from their bearings to perfectly designed motors. I had great experience talking about OL arms and TTs with Steve Davis from analogmatters. 

5 years ago when I was just getting back into 2 channel I bought an

Audio Technica TT at Frys Electronics for $200. It was marked down

many times. I think it sold for $600. It came with an A to D converter.

If you did not see the brand name you would think it was a technics.

Bottom line is it was a bargain and sounded very good.

The ATLP120 is a cheaper knockoff of a Technics SL1200.  For its low price of $349.00 it is ridiculously good. They make a more purist model ATLP5X for $449.00 that looks like it might be even better.  Both have built in phono preamps. You cannot beat these for the price, but of course there are better for more. The Pro-Ject Debut Pro is $999.00 and is belt driven with a better arm and cartridge, but no built in phono amp. That would be best for under $1K, IMO.  The Fluance tables I’ve seen look better on the web than in person…rattles in the arm bearings… not good.