Drop + Audio-Technica Carbon VTA Turntable Discussions | Drop

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Drop + Audio-Technica Carbon VTA Turntable

Audiophile

FULL DISCUSSION

Jalsar

Mar 4, 2020

I have had the chance to preview the Drop + Audio Technica Carbon VTA Turntable for 9 days. I was not paid or asked to provide a positive review, this is my honest review of this turntable. Drop’s turntable was very well packaged and arrived with no damage. Setup was quick, taking less than 30 minutes before it was spinning it’s first record. The cartridge came properly pre-aligned and only required me to set the tracking force and anti-skate. I would highly recommend using a stylus force gauge instead of relying on the counterweight, which will only get it in the ballpark. I was happy to see that the table features adjustable rubber feet to level it. Plinth is made of solid wood and has a nice aluminum platter with a rubber slip mat. I was happy to see it came with a speed selector. I have come to loathe having to mess with a belt and pulley every time I need to change the speed. The included RCA audio cable and power supply were very short, about 1 meter long. The RCA cable is not attached, so it’s a very easy replacement and still works in a pinch. The Drop turntable comes with a built-in preamp that has a line out bypass to use an external phono preamp. I had issues with my unit with the line out, but luckily it seems like I'm the only one with that issue. It comes with an Audio Technica AT-VMN95E which is a budget cartridge that will be a decent starter. Wow and Flutter was at the spec of 0.15% which is good enough for a budget table. The motor does have a slight hum to it that is more noticeable during 45rpm playback. This shouldn’t be an issue as it’s lower than the surface noise when playing a record at any real listenable volume and it did not come through the speakers. The built-in preamp is actually very capable and a good match for a table of this price. I honestly was expecting to not like a built-in preamp but I was pleasantly surprised. I’m not a huge fan of the AT-VMN95E cartridge and after a few records I swapped it out for the much more capable Nagaoka MP-110 which has much richer fuller sound. That would be the only upgrade I would make to this table. Is it upgradeable? Other than changing out the cartridge; which I would be a must for me personally. Using an external phono preamp would be an improvement to the sound. I couldn't test the preamp vs an eternal one but I did compare the same MP-110 cart on Drop table using it's preamp and my Technics SL-Q303 using a Schiit Mani. The Bass on Drop's preamp was not as impactful and the Mani seemed over all more detailed. This is a great first turntable as it's very easy to setup and easy to use. I would fully recommend this table to anyone starting off on their vinyl journey. This pretty much is at the “good enough” level that most people would be more than happy to be at. If you are already down the rabbit hole with vinyl, like I am, then this would be a great 2nd (possible 3rd) table that doesn’t need to be the best.

(Edited)

Mar 4, 2020

Marvey.Purrin

214

Mar 9, 2020

JalsarThis table has a switch that allows for use with an external phonostage. The built-in phonostage is a freebie throw away. (It sucks and will massively limit what this turntable can do).

Mar 9, 2020

Jalsar

Mar 9, 2020

Marvey.PurrinIts pretty much worthless without modding. My wife could instantly tell it sounded worse with out me saying anything. I’m sure it wouldn’t be too hard to get in there and remove whatever is in the signal path but at that point I would say you should be starting to look at a better table. One with a much better upgrade path.

Mar 9, 2020

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Marvey.Purrin

214

Mar 9, 2020

JalsarWhat are you talking about? There is no modding necessary. There's a switch on the back. What external phonostage are you using that makes it sound worse than the built-in one?

It sounds 1000 times better with an external phonostage. Even my mother in-law could easily tell. https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/drop-audio-technica-turntable-review-at-lp-dcvta-eb.9049/#post-292358

(Edited)

Mar 9, 2020

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Jalsar

Mar 9, 2020

Marvey.PurrinIt’s not a clear signal. You can hear a veil over the highs from the line out. I compared the same cart from my old technics with the same phono amp and it was clear difference. Maybe the schiit mani doesn’t play well with it but for me the highs were being dulled. Specially on cymbals.

Mar 9, 2020

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T.Fernandez

797

Collabs

Mar 9, 2020

JalsarThere are no additional components in the a single path when using the bypass on the integrated phono stage. This was a requirement of the product when we were developing the turntable knowing that many dedicated vinyl listeners will want to use external phono amps.

Mar 9, 2020

Jalsar

Mar 9, 2020

T.FernandezThats good to hear. When I hooked up an external phono reamp it sounded just like an ATLP120 does premodded. Maybe I had a bad switch on the unit I got to test. If I still had the unit I would try swapping out the cable (I was using the included cable) with the blue jean cable that I use on my main table.

Mar 9, 2020

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Jalsar

Mar 9, 2020

T.FernandezI updated the review. It's a bummer that my unit had an issue but I really do like this table. Other similar priced tables I've used have had deal breaking issues, at least for me.

Mar 9, 2020

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