Alternative to Technics 1200 MK

[JayRuss]

So far i have heard nothing but good reviews about these. Im even looking to getting them myself as a back up pair to my tech 12s

http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/tu...f30b3a8662772/

you have technics, no need for a back up set, carts and styli yes but not TT's unless of course you wanna be running 4 decks.

[djproben]

you have technics, no need for a back up set, carts and styli yes but not TT's unless of course you wanna be running 4 decks.

Depending on the kind of gigs you do it can be nice to have a second pair in flightcases ready to go when you need them. Breaking down and re-setting up your decks for gigs is a pain in the ass.

[Tornesoul]

Hey i was considering Stanton str8 st150 super oem turntables.

anybody got experience on them? or any other super oems.

i would love technics. but being EOL, they're costing like x2 the price of a pair of super oems, like 4000 for a new pair where i live, and few / no 2nd hand 1s gg ard.

currently running an s4!

[extraclassic]

Hey i was considering Stanton str8 st150 super oem turntables.

anybody got experience on them? or any other super oems.

i would love technics. but being EOL, they're costing like x2 the price of a pair of super oems, like 4000 for a new pair where i live, and few / no 2nd hand 1s gg ard.

currently running an s4!

I've used Technics for many years and loved them then switched to a pair of Stanton str8 150's about a year or so ago which i love even more.

The one's i bought are the first generation mk1.

[Craig Willis]

^neither of those.

The PT series that Gemini put out are good. I have the PT-1000s, and they are great. Lots of torque, no center detent on the pitch fader, accurate pitch adjustment (according to traktor), solid despite being made of plastic, they have some weight as well. I wouldn't recommend any other Gemini TTs except the PTs though.

Totally agree here, Gemini have been given a bad name in the last few years (and rightly so on most cases!) but the PT series turntables are really good, I have had the PT-1000, and now have the PT 2000's, ( I only changed because I have an all silver set up and not because they broke, weird I know)

The torque on the PT series are up there with the 1200/1210's and before anyone says it I play out on Technics all the time and the difference isn't that much at all. Using Traktor scratch or the like then you wont notice anything.

If you are on a budget then I couldn't recommend the PT-2000 enough, a little secret I got my set for £40 gbp from eBay as the seller had them as his back up TT's, next to new and still working today as when I got them a few years back. Also I know another argument is Technics will out live the others and this is true due to part being available but my Gemini's are dated 2005 so that is 7 years without missing a beat.

Get searching.

PS. Other budget turntables that are good value are Stanton STR8 - 80'S & 100'S

[sarasin]

I use a pair of Stanton STR8-100's.

They are freakin awesome! No issues whats so ever.

Loads of torque and features.

[DJSigma]

Hey i was considering Stanton str8 st150 super oem turntables.

anybody got experience on them? or any other super oems.

I've had a pair for a few years and I love them. I used Technics 1200 MK2s on and off for about 10 years. When Vestax released the PDX-2000s I decided to buy a pair as I wanted something with more torque and a higher pitch range. They were good decks, but I took them to gigs and other people's houses and they got beat up over time, so I decided to sell them while they were still worth something and get some STR8-150s. I think they're a superior turntable to a Technics 1200 in almost all ways. The build quality, while great, is not up to the level of a 1200 and if you ever need to get them serviced or you need to buy spares, I don't know how easy that would be compared to a 1200, but those are the only advantages I would give to the Technics decks. Oh yeah, they're heavy too! About 50 lbs each, because the top of the deck is a thick sheet of solid steel.

The STR8-150s are really what the MK5G should have been in terms of design. The Technics 1200 was a home Hi-Fi deck that DJs started using - it was never designed for DJs - and some of that comes across in the design differences between 1200s and the 150s. For instance, the 150s have no ground lead and the phono leads just unplug at the rear of the deck if you ever need to change them. The target light just pops off, so you don't have to undo about a million screws if you need to change the bulb. There are 2 start/stop buttons so whichever way round you have your decks, they're conveniently placed. The pitch slider has no centre click and there's a separate quartz lock button (which I know the MK5G has too).

The pitch range is switchable up to +/-50, which is useful for sampling and scratching if use battle records that have scratch sentences deliberately pitched up to +50. There's adjustable start/stop. 33/45/78. The output is switchable between phono and line and when you use line, the deck has built-in digital key lock that works with vinyl, although it doesn't work very well and that's certainly not a reason to buy them - it's acceptable when you use acapellas, but it does sound quite "digital" (i.e. rubbish, lol) with full tracks.

The motor is great. Once you get the pitch of 2 tracks locked you can play them all the way through with no drifting, so it's perfect for mixing. The torque is massive, which I personally prefer as the pitch slider reacts more quickly to changes and I prefer it for scratching too. The tonearm is solid and with good carts, the needle holds the groove as well as any turntable on the market.

[LoopCat]

Yeah techs or the super oems are fine.

[KD KLVR]

Depending on the kind of gigs you do it can be nice to have a second pair in flightcases ready to go when you need them. Breaking down and re-setting up your decks for gigs is a pain in the ass.

Yes and this has happen to me before. Techs are good dont get me wrong, but they are still machines and no machine is built perfect. Even when servicing them regularly the mess can still hit the fan.

[Tornesoul]

Thank you extraclassic, sarasin, DJSigma, LoopCat! Much appreciated.


So far i've been loooking up on s-curve tone arms vs straight 1s and there dosent seem to be much serious concrete pros vs cons. except str8s for scratching.