A Japanese Hi-Fi Great’s New Audiophile Turntable Looks Like the Future

The striking turntable blends high-fidelity sound with a design like no other.

Published April 17, 2025

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Updated April 17, 2025

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Today, Audio-Technica is one of the biggest names in affordable turntables — most of its offerings cost between $200 and $500 — so when it introduced a new flagship turntable, the AT-LP8X, this past fall, it felt like a significant step.

The direct-drive turntable was priced at $1,000, making it the brand’s most expensive model, and was designed for a more serious audiophile crowd.

Well, now the venerable Japanese audio maker is taking it a step further. Its newest turntable, the Hotaru, is unlike anything it’s made before. It’s gorgeous and mesmerizing … and aimed at audiophiles with deep, deep pockets.

Audio-Technica Hotaru

It floats

Audio-Technica’s Hotaru is a high-end direct-drive turntable that does anything but blend in.

For starters, it has a unique floating design. There are magnets placed in both the upper and base sections of the turntable, so that the upper section floats on top. Not only does this create a striking visual, but the brand says it promises to improve fidelity as it isolates unwanted vibrations.

The upper section of the turntable, which is made of translucent acrylic, hides the turntable’s belt-drive system and DC motor, making the turntable look incredibly minimalistic.

It glows

Secondly, the upper section of the turntable is integrated with an advanced lighting system with three modes: “solid” glows a single solid color (there are 20 different color options), “gradient” slowly transitions between those color palettes, and “link” changes colors with the beat of music.

According to the brand, the Hotaru turntable’s multi-sensory design “allows listeners to engage with the music—and the space—more deeply to form lasting memories of the entire environment.”

It plays

The Hotaru is also a true all-in-one turntable. Inside the aluminum base section is a high-quality speaker system featuring four drivers: a pair of tweeters and a pair of full-range drivers.

For those who want to integrate the Hotaru into their existing hi-fi system, it features a line-out port, as well as a subwoofer output for those who just want to add more bass to the turntable’s built-in system.

Price and availability

The Audio-Technica Hotaru was unveiled at Milan Design Week and, as you probably guessed, promises to be exceedingly rare — the company plans only to make 1,000 models.

The turntable will cost $9,999, making it easily the brand’s most expensive current model. It’s available to preorder now on the company’s website, but preorders will stop on May 30th.

Audio-Technica says that the Hotaru turntables aren’t expected to ship until October of this year.