Thanks, I'll probably go for the Pioneer as the Technics are keeping their high prices (over 400 Euros, second hand in -apparent- good condition) vs. the 650 Euros for the Pioneer PLX-1000. I have a couple of Ortofon Nightclub II needles (I very occasionally DJ -7" only-, and bought these to minimize damage on my own records as they are elliptical and I always try to keep weight as light as possible, within specifications). They will probably match well with the Pioneer turntable, I guess. Yep, over 13Kg.... quite massive it is =D
----------------------------- Compared to the number of 1200 sold, there are not that many for sale, so some people are quite happy with them.
As far as I understand, my Numark TTXUSB (which is the brand's top of the line) is made by Hanpin. I'm VERY happy with it. You can check it in action on my YouTube channel (link in my signature).
Right; glad you're happy with it (as many other users are). What I meant was whether the more expensive Hanpins (like the AT-LP120) are comparable to good japanese vintage TTs in good condition in terms of long-term durability and performance.
How do those Nightclubs sound? I'm considering buying the Nightclub MK II but need some input from actual owners. I know it's a "special elliptical" which makes me think it's Microline like the AT440mla. Perhaps I should write Ortofon directly and ask? Forgot to add that the Concorde series match perfectly. It's a conversation piece at my home. I have the low end of that series, the Pro S.
Well, actually, the AT-LP120-USB is the cheapest Hanpin turtnable. The most expensive Hanpin TT from Audio-Technica is the AT-LP1240-USB.
Youre using Ortofon Ellipticals on 45s do DJ with? Ellipticals will chew those styrenes up. You need to see if Ortofon makes conical stylii for that cart and you'll be better off.
Well, when I mentioned the occasional DJing I mean -really- occasionally (like 3/4 times a year) and that's just playing the 45s in sequence. I do backcue them, of course, and I know it is never very healthy to do that, but I wonder if spherical vs. elliptical makes that much of a difference with this usage. I know this is a very discussed topic and I read some stuff when deciding on the stylii to buy, but actually it seemed as the elliptical ones were less agrressive to the vinyl. But I'm by no means very versed on this, so please do add any info/experience that can be useful. Oh, and I don't think I have styrene records (but I could be really wrong on this...). Is there a way to tell? Were they manufactured only in the US? (I am located in Portugal / Europe and much of the stuff I have is european pressed) As for the turntable, I only mentioned my preference for the Pioneer as the 2nd hand Technics out there seem to be almost the same price, it just seems logical to get a new piece of equipment with a 2-3 year warranty...
No, youre fine with the pioneer turntable, its a good one. If youre in Portugal and youre not using any USA made 45s made in the 1980s or before, then you most likely wont have any styrene. Styrene is mostly made in the US, and maybe UK. If you are mixing and you back cue often in the sets, depending on the tracking force, the elliptical stylii could dig into the grooves a little bit. If youre only back-cueing once just to press play and let it go, you'll be OK. But the elliptical stylii will burn vinyl with any kind of abuse. So depending on how youre cueing, you might have to use the spherical. Elliptical sounds better, but for heavy DJing, depending on how you value your 45s, you might want to consider the spherical.
Thanks for the feedback! That does make sense, I only got the elliptical 'cause I knew I would use it at home also, and read it would probably sound better. In the coming months I won't be doing any DJing, just getting the new turntable in, organising stuff and listing the 45s in my discogs collection (only 20% listed so far) unlike the LPs that are 95% organized. I'm sure there are american pressings (not many), is there a way to tell if they are styrene or vinyl? I read somewhere about glued labels? As for value there were some records I never took as they are probably too expensive to play in some contexts (although I can't understand having records and not playing them, it's not like I own a museum or anything), anyway, here are some of my rare gems!
Glued and/or printed-on-the-plastic labels are the biggest giveaway when it comes to American 45s. That's not foolproof, though ... there were a couple of factories in the 1950s making styrene 45s and LPs that look exactly like vinyl pressings. Styrene has a different "feel" to it, and is lighter weight than comparable-thickness vinyl. It's also more resonant and "ringy" when you tap on it. I seldom had trouble with styrene using the Ortofon OM series ... but if you're going to be back-cueing, I'd strongly suggest sticking with conicals, regardless of whether the records are styrene or not. TBH, back-cueing in general is just asking for trouble when it comes to record damage. Personally, I would not DJ with my rare gems at all because of that.
Thanks for the feedback and message! I probably don't have any styrene record (actually there might be a couple but I'm not going through 500 records just to sort that out! ) Very few of my 45s come from the US and that's where -apparently- all styrenes were manufactured, so no additional worries about that. As for the back-cueing, there seems to be no way around it, and it does seem to burn away your records (I never noticed anything, but played in the last 3 years something like 5 times a year, not that much, and the records don't repeat themselves that often). Anyway, there were some 45's I never carried with me (being rare) and I'm actually taking until the summer to sort the collection out (45s are becoming easier to list on discogs as the database gets more complete), clean the records (knosti machine on the way), and decide what to use for djing. And I'll probably just use the elliptical ones at home (being the Ortofon Nightclub II, they won't probably be that gentle on the records, but oh, well, I'm not exactly running a museum archive either =D
Pioneer PLX-1000 turntable reviewed in March 2015 issue of "Stereophile".... "....it is a serious contender for the best audiophile-grade turntable for less than $2000. Unabashedly recommended." The review will be available on Stereophile's website in a week or two.
I knew it! Take that Dj table haters. I've been loving it since October. Gonna get a Concorde Nightclub and AT440mla soon to add some variety. However, it already sounds awesome with the entry level Concorde spherical.
No hating here. I think it would be great if the Pioneer could replace the Technics 1200. I would really like to read that review.
Actually, the entire quote is "Pioneer's new PLX-1000 is not only a worthy successor the the legendary Technics SL-1200MK2, it is a serious contender for the best audiophile-grade turntable for less than $2000. Unabashedly recommended."
It will never replace it. The T1200 is a superb table, but buying a used one, which is the only one you can buy now, comes with a history of use and abuse if all you want is a home turntable.
I haven't heard an SL-1200 in many moons so can't personally comment on the sound quality, but from what I've read, the stock SL-1200MK2 doesn't compare favorably to the major players in the $1000-2000 range (Rega, VPI, Clearaudio, Etc.). So does the review say the Pioneer is better than the SL-1200?
