As thread title, it always struck me as odd that they make some of the best and most lauded cartridges in Hifi (I have 3 of theirs myself) and turntables but have never gone into higher end TTs. I think their top of the range is the LP7 for under 800? Whilst the LP7 is meant to be good It seems they have the infrastructure and know how to make higher end ones that would be popular?
Audio-Technica does not manufacture turntables (they outsource them and rebadge them, built to their spec). Want a high end turntable, buy it elsewhere. Audio-Technica outsourced their tonearms (the AT-1503 and ATP series and Signet tonearms are excellent, and their best high end non cartridge, non microphone products). Those tonearms were built by AudioCraft in Japan for Audio-Technica.
Well out source higher end ones then. Like other companies. They have brand recognition I'd say a well made 2K plus deck from them would sell with one of their nice MC carts included.
whose to say the LP7 can't compete with much much higer turntables if you slap on the same $1500 AT cartridge and high end pre amp? the results would really surprise ya even the LP5x is not far off from the technics 1200G in sound.
I didn't say it couldn't, just saying why not make a 1500 euro one thst could compete with 2500 ones or whatever, why stop at 800 euros.
From who? Audio-Technica mainly outsources from Hanpin and from YaHorng. Name me other companies who can build enough for them, which can sell at a price point they can be competitive at. Want a turntable above $800 answer is simple. Find another brand which builds what you want. For me, the $800 AT is too close to Technics territory (you can about buy a new SL-1200 Mk 7 for that). Which is a much better turntable.
They don't make their own turntables. The turntables are from Hanpin or Ya Horng and are completely made by those OEMs. They do pick and mix from the parts bin and get to choose from a menu of options just like any other company using those OEMs. Historically, IIRC, they never made turntables. They did offer some fairly nice tonearms in the 70s and 80s. The standalone tonearm market is much smaller now than it was in the 70s or 80s, so probably not enough scale to make it worth their time these days.
1500 Euro turntable won't compete with 2500 Euro turntable. These days, you get what you pay for. In your area, the Rega line or Technics is hard to compete with, in that market). You can buy Rega cheaper than Americans can. Just as an example.
Really because they outsource, They have long since been a company that started as a high end cartridge manf. and then the owner wanted to produce products that could bring high end sound to a wider audience affordably. The AT turntables I believe are all Hanpin models these days, Suppose they could push for a top line Hanpin model but its already being done under other names. I suppose they could locally outsource a Japnaese made AT high end TT and that would be cool. Surley a handfull of old school Manfacturers could use the work.
Chefbrunch above would disagree with you, I don't have a LP7 so can't comment on how it compares to other more expensive decks.
Which other companies? Rega builds their own. Pro-Ject builds their own. ClearAudio likewise, VPI and many others build their turntables. Rega dominates the lower to middle end tonearm market. Tough competition to overcome. $2000 range also has Technics nicer offerings competing.
Audio-Technica tonearms were built for Audio-Technica. By Japan Piezo (earliest models) and by AudioCraft of Japan. Outsourced, but among the best you could buy then or now.
I don't know if they are. Be nice if they still were and could build more tonearms, I like their tonearms a lot.
Isn't the Marantz one on here that people like a rebadged Clearaudio design, Project make a turntable for Crosley etc, if the people who make the LP7 for them have made a good deck like that, for more money surely they could make an even better one. I don't know why you think it's such a crazy idea.
Audio Technica keeps doing what they do best: cartridges, headphones and microphones. I like that. Companies branching out into more market segments tend to lose their specialism and risk becoming a “jack of all trades”, resulting in mediocrity.
That Marantz model has been long discontinued. And Marantz changed hands twice along the way, too. When that Clearaudio built Marantz was first on the market, the company was part of D&M Holdings, then sold off to Sound United, now Masimo owns them. Also, rarely would a Japanese brand outsource outside of Asian suppliers. (Their barrier to entry for imported goods is very high and strict). That Marantz was actually a USA/Canada market OEM model done by D&M Holdings
AFAIK, the LP7 is a Hanpin or Ya Horng with their logo on it; simply to be able to offer a complete set of AT source components. It’s not their expertise. A specialist company should stick to specialism, that’s the value their brand name has acquired over the years. Branching out into other market segments fits better with large conglomerates that have no specific “brand recognition” for specific products to begin with. Like a Sony or Yamaha, which did exactly that. Yamaha in particular.
Sure but with the huge resurgence in vinyl and hifi who's to say they wouldn't open a TT manufacturing wing and hire some expertise, they have money behind them and there's big money to be made, stranger things have happened.
I think once you get into the $1000 turntable price point, you have heavy competition. And you're treading in audiophile territory where people start getting finicky. Right now they can't get LP120X decks made in the quantities they'd rather have. The point here is that AT is a transducer company. They only got into the turntable business to make affordable decks that would sustain their cartridge manufacturing. Rebranding a turntable can't make them as much money as they do selling styli or even cartridges. Look at their cartridge strategy. They released the VM series that included a $15 body and for the most part gave away the $50 stylus with the LP120X in hopes that the upgrade would be for VMN95ML styli for $150. Once you're hooked on ML styli, they can sell you a VM540ML or a VM740ML. AT's core business is where they make money.
Sure that’s definitely possible, any electronics company could do that. The real question is when does a company lose its specialism? At more than just one product category? Or two? Three? Or can a manufacturer be considered a specialist for an infinite range of products as long as they can hire the right people for the job? When can a company still be considered a “cartridge manufacturer” like Ortofon, Nagaoka or AT and when does it become a “manufacturer of audio components” like Denon, Yamaha or Marantz? Obviously, there’s a grey area between the two… which makes things like these complicated…
