I have been DJing for about 2 years now and I think I’m finally getting good enough to justify an upgrade in turntables. I really want to pick up a set of Technics. I’ve done a ton of research, read the specs, seen reviews, but the last thing I want is for some personal opinions.
Is there preference between the Technics 1200 vs Technics 1210? Some people say they yearn for the 1200s when they have a perfectly good set of 1210s. What would be a reason to choose one over the other if money wasn’t a problem?
Has anyone found that they like one over the other?
I’ve found great deals on both sets and I really want to upgrade soon, I just want to make the most informed decision possible.
thats the only (to my knoweldge) difference between the codes…
the technical differences are in the mk’s
although i dont think there are much in them, MK2’s are older and are fine for professional use. MK5’s the newest models and are good too.. (i presonally didnt like the pitch button on the MK3D)
in all fairness any pair of Technics 1200/1210 will be more then enough for any dj!
I did not like the feel of the m5g and mk5. Aside from that any technic turntable is gonna feel similar. I have not noticed a wow and flutter difference between models or much of a torque difference. Most technics tend to range from between 1.4 to 1.7kg.
The difference between m5g and mk2 in terms of wow and flutter is noticeable if you measure it - it’s pretty significant if you compare a mk2 to m5g on Traktor for instance. But it’s really not enough to hear anything and it probably translates into only a tiny fraction more of attention span that needs to be focused on matching beats. Hellnegative what don’t you like about the feel of the m5g/mk5? The m5g doesn’t feel that much different from the mk2 to me other than the tonearm (and in that case I vastly prefer the m5g).
I literally just dont like the feel. The tecture of the plastic, the lower weight of the tonearm, the shininess of it. I prefer that rugged feeling. I also hate when people get those damned metal tops for their techs.
Personally I can’t understand peoples’ obsession with Technics TTs now that there’s so much Super OEM stuff on the market these days. It all just seems to be a case of Apple-style obsession to me.
There’s plenty of discussion around on the Supers, and as they all use the same motor there are bound to be some shared drawbacks:
As with Macs, it is much safer to go for something tried and tested rather than opting for a cheap knockoff/alternative. Vestax are one exception - they actually put in the effort to design and build their own turntables rather than hovering over the Technics patent expiry date to make a clone.
And a pretty good review by DJBooth of a SuperOEM deck:
The main thing I like about the SuperOEM stuff is that they’ve got triple the Torque of the 1200s; it’s about as close to instant-start as you can get with a TT.
I assume you’d have to actually fit some sort of device onto the spindle to test it accurately. Sticking your hand on the bare metal always worked for me when buying 2nd hand gear, but it’s hardly scientific. There’s an insane bit in that vid at 7:23 where he spins the record back through about 20 rotations and the platter doesn’t even slow down slightly.
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