Bargains and Black Friday are like gin and tonic – a perfect mix. And because we comb the internet constantly to sniff out the best deals on the latest audio kit, we've already seen a tasty deal that sees 19% shaved off the RRP of excellent Audio-Technica AT-LP5x, which is now just £308 (was £380) at Amazon – a massive £72 saving!
The Audio-Technica AT-LP5x early Black Friday steal
- See our early Black Friday LIVE deals to see what's hot right now
The product is the Audio-Technica AT-LP5x turntable, a deck we covered (and spent significant time listening to) upon its 2019 release – but remember, this is vinyl, so that actually makes it a relatively new player.
And as we said in our early Audio-Technica AT-LP5x review, the AT-LP5x is a great step up towards premium audio for those entering the world of vinyl fandom. Audio-Technica has well over 50 years of expertise in the field of vinyl spinners, and this turntable effortlessly combines 20th century looks with 21st century technology.
To clarify: this isn't an average player you might buy just to save a few coins. It's the successor of the popular AT-LP5, and it builds on the classic design of turntables from the 60s and 70s, but with the major perk of allowing you to digitize your entire vinyl collection via a USB output.
A cable to connect the AT-LP5 to your PC or laptop is included in the box, as well as a download link for music recording software Audacity, which can be used to convert your precious records to MP3, WAV, and other digital formats.
Audio-Technica is famed for its turntable cartridges and as such, the stylus of this record player is fully customizable. It comes with the new AT-VM95E Dual Moving Magnet stereo cartridge, which is pre-mounted on an AT-HS6 headshell. This means your setup is pretty much ready to go straight out of the box – I had mine up and running in five minutes.
That said, you can swap this cartridge out if you're looking for a different sound (the built-in phono stage can cope with both moving magnet and moving coil cartridges) and its built-in phono/line preamp enables it to connect directly to a computer, home stereo, powered speakers and other components that have no dedicated turntable input too – ergo, no complicated setups necessary.
The AT-LP5x can play your records at 78 RPM, as well as 33 and 45 RPM – although you will need an additional AT-VM95SP stylus to do this.
The tonearm sports a J-shaped design that harks back to classic decks from the 60s and 70s, as well as metallic gimbal suspension system and precision bearings. This, combined with an adjustable anti-skate control, means that any unwanted tonearm movement is all but nixed.
Design-wise, the sleek matte-black finish should look great in any home, no? If you're a fledgling vinyl enthusiast (or you know someone who is) this could well be the ideal pre-Black Friday item for you.
Not what you're looking for? See our roundup of the best early Black Friday deals – or see the links below!
Other early Black Friday deals live now
- Amazon: up to 62% off tech and gifts
- AO: up to 40% off vacuums, appliances, and tech
- AEG: up to 50% off 100s of appliances
- Argos: early deals live now - up to 50% off toys and tech
- Boots: up to 40% off 1,000s of beauty products
- Currys: up to 40% off TVs, air fryers, laptops and more
- John Lewis: up to 40% off appliances, TVs, laptops
- Jessops: up to £550 off Sony, Canon, Nikon, and Fujifilm
- Newegg: up to 80% off peripherals, desktops, laptops, components
- Samsung: up to £600 off TVs, phones and appliances
- Very: up to £800 off TVs, headphones and vacuums
