Having a bit of a dilemma. Been saving for a while, and now it’s time to pick out a pair of TTs. I understand Technics have been the industry standard forever, but I am debating between them and the stantons. To be clear, money really isn’t an issue, what I’m looking for is simply the best out of the two (or other suggestions for superior TTs). I have heard that the stantons have a snappier response and more torque, however I’d love to hear thoughts from owners/users of turntables. I do have experience scratching, however never really had the opportunity to scratch on the elite “minty fresh” TTs.
So I guess the question is Technics, Stanton or Other?
Now I have used many and various turntables, including the stantons and vestax. For features and non skipability, vestax were the best by miles. However they were features that I personally didn’t need, and also the company doesn’t exist anymore. The stantons again were nice and tourqey but thats about it. The straight tonearm lacks the counter balance system of the vestax.
Other than technics and vestax all other turntables are made by a company called hanpin. They are not the best. They are made cheaply and are rather plasticy. Manufacturers just have there own looks and a few features on to the basic shell and sell them as their own. If you look at all the tonearms they are the same. If you leave the needle on the record with nothing playing and listen to it then you can hear some electrical buzzing. Now you can hear this on the technics but you have to turn the gain up a lot louder to get the same amount.
I have had cheap decks, and used cheap decks. I now have technics and love them. They are not the best sounding turntables in the world, because they were middle of the range hifi kit that was addopted by DJs. But the best sounding kit is unsuitable for DJs. I’m not saying you shouldn’t buy some stantons, because if you really like them then go for it. I’m just giving you some points to consider when choosing what is right for you.
Ive honestly never had an issue with Hanpin decks. I love str8-150’s due their adjustability. 1200’s are boss, but adjustable start stop speed knobs, etcetera make for a more fun experience.
I never said to stay away from any deck. I was just saying what I have noticed. I really liked the vestax decks, but nobody else I know did. That said I still went with 1210’s. But then your talking to a person who stills vinyl and plays vinyl records over the digital versions of tracks given the choice.
To the original poster, if money really is no object I would go with technics 1210 mk5g.
The best bet though is to go try as many decks as you can.
Thanks for all the input, any thoughts on the reloop rp 8000, I’ve heard it’s fairly torquey, but still awesome. I’ve heard technics require a light touch, and I’m worried I have a bit of a “heavy” hand when scratching. At this point debating between technics (for build quality) and the stantons/reloop (torque and features/midi)
Your “touch” (heavy hand) will adapt to whatever turntable you use. You shouldn’t make a decision based on your current skill level - because you WILL get better.
The Reloops are nice - I imagine they are a LOT of fun to use.
Here’s the thing, as a 1200 user, I never will (and can’t imagine) ever using any other TT. The only thing I envy Reloop users on is the on-deck midi buttons. But I have Dicers for that.
Honestly - for the decks you;re looking at, you can ignore the torque. They’ll stand up to scratching just fine.
You’re only real issue, is USED Technics, or new Reloops. I have to be honest, I think if I was in your situation, I’d want to buy new. You;ll get a warranty, and piece of mind…
Including the plasticy hanpin Stanton St-150 that weighs a very plasticy 18kg…
I own both a pair of 1210s and a pair of Vestax PDX2000mk2s and they are great TTs but to discount all the super OEMs as cheaply made and plasticy is a new one on me! I’ve used a few of the OEMs and would personally rate the Reloop rp7000 and the Stanton st/str-150 higher than both my Techincs and my Vestax as all-round solid turntables. I prefer them to the Technics for their higher (variable) torque, removable cables, more pitch options etc, and they are far more pleasing aesthetically than the otherwise similarly featured PDX’s.
I keep my 1210s for nostalgic reasons and that awesome pitch fader, if it wasn’t for those two factors I’d trade them in for a pair of brand new Rp-7000s in a heartbeat. And the Vestax are essentially worthless these days for some reason, so wouldn’t pay for the Reloops on their own anyway.
I’ve used Technics in clubs and at WNUR but honestly the start and stop time drives me nuts. The exact opposite is true of the STR8150s; they start like a CDJ and for me that’s all that counts! Oh and I love having S/PDIF out.
With that said I really like my Denon DJ SC3900’s more than any turntable.
I say that because all my mates with them have bits falling off and things stop working a bit sooner than I would like for such an expensive piece of kit. Just because something is heavy doesn’t mean its good. The other thing to ask is why if the OEM turntables are all based on the same basic equipment, do the all weigh different amounts?
Like I said its just what I have noticed, I’m not speaking against them. I like the start/stop time also.
The reason I went for technics for my latest set was because of the sound quality.
