Audio-Technica’s budget active bookshelf speakers seem like the perfect buy for new vinyl fans
It looks like Audio-Technica has bought a new espresso machine for the office, because there’s been a bit of a buzz at the company of late. We’ve had a new pair of affordable wireless earbuds , a new budget Bluetooth turntable , and now there’s a new pair of powered bookshelf speakers, the Audio-Technica AT-SP3X . Perhaps the most impressive part of all, though, is the price: the AT-SP3X cost $199 / £169 (around AU$300). That makes them very competitive.
Active speakers don’t need an amplifier because they have their own amplifier in one of the speakers, and that means they’re well suited to products like any of the best turntables, as long as they have a phono stage (like, you know, AT’s own aforementioned one has). And of course you can use other sources of sound too, like your phone or computer, either wired or wirelessly via Bluetooth, which these speakers also support.
Audio-Technica AT-SP3X: Key Specifications and Prices
The new Audio-Technica AT-SP3X are compact compared to most of the best stereo speakers: the speakers are 7.9 inches by 4.9 inches by 5.4 inches; in metric, that’s 200mm x 113mm x 145mm. And the speakers are quite hefty, weighing in at 3.3 lbs (1.5 kg) for the left speaker and 3.5 lbs (1.6 kg) for the right speaker. That difference is because the right speaker is where the amplifier is.
The drivers are 3-inch woofers paired with 1.1-inch tweeters in a two-way design, and power output is a respectable 30W. Frequency response is 55Hz to 20,000Hz, which is impressive for a speaker this small, and lower than some competitors in a similar price range.
The Bluetooth version here is Bluetooth 5.3 with multi-point pairing. While the speakers can connect wirelessly to your phone, there’s a cable connecting the two that’s a good six feet long. And in another thoughtful touch, there’s a volume control on the speaker, so you’re not reliant on your streaming source to adjust the levels.
If you’re just getting started with vinyl, an affordable turntable with a phono stage and these speakers could be the perfect place to start – affordable and compact. We look forward to reviewing them in the future, just to be sure.