In this guide I will review the very best powered speakers to combine with the AT-LP60 (original version) and AT-LP60X (upgraded version.)
Powered speakers is a fantastic way to make your Audio-Technica AT-LP60 turntable sound good without having to spend a lot of money.
Powered speakers have the amplifier built into the cabinet and often give higher value for money than buying speakers and amplifier separately. Powered speakers also come with options for Bluetooth and other features that make them very versatile.
How much you want to spend on a pair of powered speakers for your AT-LP60 depends on your personal needs and budget. The options that offer the highest value for money are found between $100 to $500, so we will focus on that price range.
If you have questions on this topic, please drop me an email and I will get back to you as soon as I can. You’ll find the email address on the contact page.
What makes good powered speakers for AT-LP60?
Vinyl records have the potential to sound great, so good speakers for the AT-LP60 need to have good sound quality. For that reason we will ignore the very cheapest (and poorest sounding) PC speakers.
We also need the speakers and drivers to be of a decent size to deliver reasonable levels of deep bass. The speakers we’ll review in a second will, for that reason, be medium to large sized bookshelf speakers. We’ll ignore the smallest options.
I will also focus on brands and manufacturers that are regarded as industry leaders in this segment.
And last, but not least, good speakers for the AT-LP60 must be reasonably priced. It might be someone that wants to connect speakers that cost thousands of dollars to their AT-LP60, but that will not be the way to go for most of us.
I think a healthy budget for powered speakers for the AT-LP60 is from $100 to $500. There are several great options in that price range.
What powered speaker features to look for?
There are two ways to go about choosing powered speakers for AT-LP60.
We can either go basic to get as much sonic performance for the money spend as possible. Or we can pay extra for features that are not absolutely necessary. Features like wireless Bluetooth, tone control, and built in-phono preamp.
If you are a purist like me, you will probably choose something basic. Personally, I bought the simplest version of the Audioengine A5 available to use with my turntables. No Bluetooth for me, I use cables. Cables look messier, but sound better.
Bluetooth is not an optimal wireless protocol for music. Bluetooth is digital, compressed, and lossy. And that doesn’t sound good in the ears of hardcore vinyl enthusiasts as the warm and silk-smooth sound of vinyl is somewhat compromised when using Bluetooth.
Most AT-LP60 owners will, however, choose to include Bluetooth.
Bluetooth capability enables you to connect many music sources (mobile phones, computers, and so on) to the speakers wirelessly. Which is nice. And it is still possible to connect the AT-LP60 turntable via cable to get the optimal vinyl sound.
So, opting for Bluetooth capability makes the speakers more versatile.
If you have the Bluetooth version of the AT-LP60 turntable, the AT-LP60XBT, and you select speakers with Bluetooth, you will have the options to connect the turntable to the speakers both wirelessly for convenience and via a cable for the best sound.
If you want to use the powered speakers with turntables that don’t have a built-in preamp, you might want powered speakers with a preamp built-in. But this is not necessary to connect the AT-LP60 to powered speakers. As the LP60 already has a preamp built-in.
Now, let’s look at the 4 powered speakers I think are the best options for the amazing AT-LP60 turntable.
#1. Edifier R1280 – Best Budget Option
If you are looking for the best affordable speakers for the AT-LP60, there is nothing that beats the Edifier R1280 in my opinion.
I bought a par of Edifier R1280DB (bluetooth version) to use with my AT-LP60XBT myself, and I am honestly very impressed by the performance of this setup. If you don’t want to spend too much, they make a perfect budget combo in my experience.
The Edifier 1280 come with and without Bluetooth. The Bluetooth version is usually around $30 extra. I have included links to both versions below.
Edifier seem to have found the magic formula for making amazing sounding powered speakers that are affordable, look good and have great build quality. If they make any money selling these for the current price, I want to know how.
When you open the box and pick up the R1280s for the first time, you never believe that you got them so cheap. And the same feeling continues as you put them on sound.
Here is a great review on YouTube if you consider the R1280s.
| Size | 5.75 x 9.5 x 7 in |
| Frequency Response | – |
| Amplifier Power | 42W RMS |
| Wireless Bluetooth | Optional |
| Tone Control (Equalizer) | Yes |
| Phono Stage / Phono Preamp | No |
| Color | Wood / Black |
PROS
– Low Price
– Optional Bluetooth
– Great value for money
CONS
– Not the deepest bass
– Few color options
The Edifier R1280 is a great option for those that are looking for budget powered speakers to par with their AT-LP60. If you choose the Bluetooth option, it can connect wirelessly to other music sources as well.
Click here to check price for the non-Bluetooth version on Amazon.
Click here to check price for the Bluetooth version on Amazon.
#2. Audioengine A5 Plus – Best Audiophile Option
When I started researching and reviewing great powered speakers for turntables, I got so impressed of the Audioengine A5 Plus that I eventually had to buy them. Even though I already had a great Hi-Fi system and didn’t really need new speakers. (I usually spend my money more carefully!)
The cool thing about the Audioengine A5 Plus, that differentiates them from almost every other powered speakers in this segment, is that they come with a fully analog Class-A/B power amplifier. Whereas its competitors usually come with a simpler and cheaper to build digital Class-D amplifier.
This might not be a big deal for many AT-LP60 owners, but if you are a passionate vinyl enthusiast with a soft spot for the warm and silk-smooth sound it offers, you might opt for a fully analog speaker to keep your system pure and free from digital circuitry.
Audioengine also designs and manufactures their own tweeters, woofers, and other critical components. So, these are not box built speakers with off-the-shelf parts, but custom-designed to their own specifications.
The US designed Audioengine A5 Plus have received great reviews from trusted Hi-Fi publications like What Hi-Fi and are probably the best speakers you can choose (for reasonable money) to pair with your AT-LP60 if sound quality is your priority.
PC Magazine gives them great reviews too.
“Our current favorite pair of 2.0 PC speakers overall, the Audioengine 5+ delivers stellar sound quality, impressive bass punch, and flexible connection options.”
-PC Magazine
With a bass response that only drops 1.5dB at 50Hz, they probably offer the deepest and punchiest bass in their class.
Besides sounding great, they also look great and feel very solidly built. They have a more modern look and feel to them than the more classic looking Edifier speakers on this list. And that might be a reason to choose these as well. If the more traditional speaker design of the Edifiers is not your thing.
I have to admit that I love these speakers.
They come both with and without Bluetooth. But are not available with preamp.
| Size | 7.8 x 7 x 10.8 in |
| Frequency Response | 50Hz – 22kHz (+/- 1.5dB) |
| Amplifier Power | 100W RMS (Class A/B) |
| Wireless Bluetooth | Optional |
| Tone Control (Equalizer) | No |
| Phono Stage / Phono Preamp | No |
| Color | White Black Bamboo |
PROS
– Excellent sound quality
– Deep bass
– Great design
– Optional Bluetooth
CONS
– Price
– No tone control
Audioengine 5 Plus might stretch your AT-LP60 speaker budget, but there is money to save if you opt for black or white finish (not bamboo) and choose to not include Bluetooth.
Click here to check price for the non-Bluetooth version on Amazon.
Click here to check price for the Bluetooth version on Amazon.
#3. Edifier S1000DB – Also Great
The Edifier S1000DB is probably the perfect sweet-spot between price, performance and features.
They sound amazing for their price (like all Edifier speakers do), they are well built and come standard with features like Bluetooth and tone control. Preamp is, however, not an option on these.
They deliver deep bass all the way down to 48Hz (-4dB).
Edifier markets the Edifier S1000DB as their Hi-Fi and audiophile speaker that offers a much more premium feel than any of their other Edifier bookshelf speakers. They are also in a price range that makes them perfect for the AT-LP60.
| Size | 8 x 13.5 x 10.5 in |
| Frequency Response | 48Hz – 20kHz (+/- 4dB) |
| Amplifier Power | 120W RMS (Class D) |
| Wireless Bluetooth | Yes |
| Tone Control (Equalizer) | Yes |
| Phono Stage / Phono Preamp | No |
| Color | Wood |
PROS
– Powerful amplifier
– Good sound
– Deep bass
– Bluetooth as standard
CONS
– Few color options
You will save about $150 on these compared to the Bluetooth version of the Audioengine A5 Plus reviewed above.
Click here to check price on Amazon.
#4. Kanto YU4 – Best Option with Preamp
Another speaker brand that has become very popular to use with turntables is Kanto. They offer two different powered speakers models with a phono preamp built-in. The Kanto YU4 and the bigger Kanto YU6.
(They also have the YU2, but that doesn’t have a built-in preamp.)
The Kanto YU4 is the most budget friendly of the two, and probably the best option for most LP60 owners. While the bigger and more expensive YU6 will offer a bigger sound and a deeper bass, if you want to spend the extra money.
They have received great reviews across the board. Just as all the other speakers in this article.
And with a built-in preamp, they connect to turntables that don’t have a preamp built-in without the need of a separate preamp.
You can watch a YouTube video where Audio Advice explains the differences between the YU2, YU4 and YU6 here.
Below are the specifications for the YU4.
| Size | 5.5 x 7.5 x 8.7 in |
| Frequency Response | 60Hz-20kHZ |
| Amplifier Power | 70W RMS Class D |
| Wireless Bluetooth | Yes |
| Tone Control (Equalizer) | Yes |
| Phono Stage / Phono Preamp | Yes |
| Color | Many |
PROS
– Many color options
– Bluetooth as standard
– Preamp as standard
CONS
– Not the deepest bass
Click here to check current Kanto YU4 pricing at Amazon.
How to connect powered speakers to AT-LP60
As the AT-LP60 has a built-in preamp, all powered speakers can connect directly to the AT-LP60. Also powered speakers without a built-in preamp (phono stage).
You connect the RCA signal cable from the AT-LP60 to the RCA or LINE input on the powered speakers. Connect both items to power. And you are good to go.
NB! Make sure that the PHONO/LINE switch on the AT-LP60 is set to LINE. If set to PHONO the sound coming from the speakers will have very low, or almost zero volume.
How to place speakers for the best sound
The ideal way to place speakers is in a triangle where the distance between the speakers are roughly the same as the distance from your head to each of the speakers.
So that it forms a perfect triangle like this.
Placing the speakers like this will make the soundstage appear as big and detailed as possible. Both in width and depth.
Depending on how passionate a music listener you are, this might not be super critical tho. But it is at least something that it is good to know about.
Powered (active) vs. passive speakers
Powered speakers have a built-in amplifier and can connect directly to audio sources (turntables, computers, etc) without the need for a standalone amplifier or receiver.
Passive speakers, on the other hand, don’t include a built-in amplifier and need a standalone amplifier or receiver to power them.
If you want to know more about powered speakers, then Wikipedia has a great article on the subject.