Audio-Technica AT-LPW30BKR Fully Manual Belt-Drive Turntable (Black Wood)

This was the last piece of putting together my 1979-1981 "golden age of analog audio" system after hunting Ebay for over a year. Unfortunately for me, the young crowd discovering the joy of vinyl have driven up the price of vintage turntables to the point of my giving up and buying a new one. This was a solid buy, worth the money with good construction, sturdy plinth and what looks to be a decent tonearm. Came with an AT cartridge as a bonus. Conical stylus but can upgrade to an elliptical stylus down the road ( ~$54). Would have preferred a Pickering or a Stanton 681e, but this works just fine for now, and will likely buy the elliptical stylus once I put some mileage on the one it came with. Sweet -- I'm happy.

Great turntable once everything is tuned in! Definitely takes some tracking force and speed adjustments, which is the beauty of a turntable like this, but is definitely something you have to be prepared for; it is NOT ready straight out the box, and they don't ever explain in the instructions how to adjust the speed. It's a tiny flat screwdriver on the bottom, and a careful ear/rpm app and/or stroboscope disk.