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Audio-Technica's see-through turntable is so cool, it seems a shame to put your vinyl on it

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We're going to take one into the yard and see if we can burn things with it in the sunlight

Audio-Technica AT-LPA2 turntable. It is a transparent turntable with its key circuitry in a silver metal-looking box beside it. It's photographed on a metallic surface in a brightly sunlit room.
(Image credit: Audio-Technica)
  • The Audio-Technica AT-LPA2 is high-density acrylic for reduced resonance
  • Power housed in a breakout box to eliminate interference (and to stop it ruining the looks)
  • $2,000 / £1,699 / €1,999 (about AU$3,488)

If you're looking for a great gift for The Invisible Man, Audio-Technica has just the thing: its new flagship turntable is (almost) completely transparent.

The new Audio-Technica AT-LPA2 is made from high-density transparent acrylic, and has a clear acrylic platter too. The internals such as the power supply unit are housed separately, and the result is a turntable that looks so good it's almost a shame to cover it up with a record.

The acrylic isn't just there to look good, though. Audio-Technica says it provides "exceptional" resonance control, leading to sound that's as clear as its plinth and platter.

Audio-Technica AT-LPA2: key features and pricing

The Audio-Technica AT-LPA2 transparent turntable on a white background

Recommended listening: I Can See Clearly Now by Johnny Nash; How To Disappear Completely by Radiohead, Heart of Glass by Blondie… (Image credit: Audio-Technica)

The AT-LPA2 is a belt-drive turntable with an optical sensor immediately below the spindle to monitor and correct the platter rotation. Like most current turntables it's a two-speed model; you won't be able to play 78s on it if you're a collector of really old records.

The turntable has a newly designed carbon-fiber tonearm that features adjustable VTA, azimuth adjustment, a finely adjustable string-type anti-skate mechanism, and interchangeable counterweights (110g and 130g) for wide cartridge compatibility.

The cartridge is Audio-Technica's AT-OC9XEN dual moving coil, which features a nude elliptical stylus and high-purity PCOCC coils that Audio-Technica says delivers low distortion and excellent clarity.

The Audio-Technica AT-LPA2 is available now with an RRP of $2,000 / £1,699 / €1,999 (about AU$3,488).

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Carrie Marshall
Carrie Marshall

Contributor

Writer, broadcaster, musician and kitchen gadget obsessive Carrie Marshall has been writing about tech since 1998, contributing sage advice and odd opinions to all kinds of magazines and websites as well as writing more than twenty books. Her latest, a love letter to music titled Small Town Joy, is on sale now. She is the singer in spectacularly obscure Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind.

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