Audio-Technica announces return of portable turntable, Sound Burger
Coming in the spring, the new model of the classic '80s portable turntable promises to be "more widely accessible"
Audio-Technica has announced the return of its classic portable turntable, the Sound Burger.
The Japanese company marked its 60th birthday last November with a limited re-release of the bright red Sound Burger — the AT-SB2022 — which was originally made in the 1980s and gave people the opportunity to play their records outside of the house. After the 2022 release sold out all over the world in the space of a few days, Audio-Technica were then prompted to put out another run of turntables, which will be available in the spring.
The Sound Burger has a belt-drive system that can play 33-1/3 and 45 RPM records with a tonearm that "employs a dynamic balance system in which stylus pressure is applied through a spring". The modern iteration of the Sound Burger comes with Bluetooth connectivity (offering up to 12 hours of wireless listening time after a 12-hour charge), a rechargeable battery that charges over USB-C, and a minijack (instead of RCA) output.
Gary Boss, director of marketing at Audio-Technica US, said: “The response to the 60th anniversary limited-edition model of the Sound Burger portable turntable was nothing less than extraordinary. We heard loud and clear the frustration of those who hoped to buy one of these turntables but were unable to do so.
"While the new model coming in the spring will not feature the 60th anniversary numbered badge, colour and packaging of the limited-edition version, it will be more widely accessible. We hope Sound Burger fans will be just as excited about this new model and that it will inspire the next generation of analogue enthusiasts.”
No price has been announced as yet. Watch a demo video of the Sound Burger below.
Last year, Audio-Tehnica also celebrated their 60th birthday by launching a gold cartridge with a diamond stylus. The limited-edition AT-MC2022 featured a unified stylus-cantilever crafted from a lab-grown diamond and a special, thicker type of gold plating.
Prior to that, they released a new set of wireless headphones intended for professional studio use, inspired by their M Series headphones. The new over-ear wireless ATH-M20xBT edition offers multipoint pairing capability, which allows users to connect to two Bluetooth devices at once, among other features.
