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New direct drive turntables?

At the risk of beginning a DD vs. belt drive debate -- which is not at all my desire, as those so frequently turn into rants -- I'm wondering the following: Are there any new, reasonably affordable, decent-quality direct drive turntables? (I'm thinking about something that might compete with the lower-end Regas and Pro-jects, something in the $1k range, give or take.

I'm asking because it seems so odd that the Technics tables stopped being produced at about the moment that vinyl really took off again. Isn't there some company -- Denon? Onkyo? Technics? -- that has already done the R&d, that knows how to manufacture the motor, etc., that might be able to bring a reasonably priced direct drive turntable back onto the market now to compete with the belt drive units of similar price?

Just wondering.

Thanks.

-- Howard
hodu
vegasears
922 posts
 
The new Pioneer DJ PLX-1000 Professional Turntable appears to be a clone of the Technics SL-12xx.
phasecorrect's avatar
phasecorrect
2,013 posts
 
1200s are plentiful and really the peak off DD engineering. I have the AT lp120 which is a lower cost version. For $200 one gets at 95 cart, built in preamp, and a 25 lb product.
rar1's avatar
rar1
1,578 posts
 
Hi Howard:

Treated myself to a Stanton ST 150 a few months ago and I am really digging it, so to speak. What made me choose the Stanton?

First, there are not many audiophile type reviews out there for what are essentially DJ turntables. What I did pick up though is that Stanton has become the leader in direct drive since two things occurred: 1) Technics patents (for lack of a better word) expired after 25 years and companies like Stanton began introducing serious product 2) Technics stopped offering its SL 12xx turntables.

Second, the on-line reviews of the Stanton 150 all seemed very positive.

Third, Mapleshade Records is offering various souped up versions of the Stanton 150 as its turntable of choice.

I started out chasing the Pioneer PLX-1000 and there was an incredible backlog to actually get one. After 3 months of waiting, I gave up the ghost. In the interim, I did come across a review or two of the Pioneer that said even though the PLX-1000 looked like a Technics clone, it ultimately wasn't and its innards were not up to Technics quality. And yes granted, so much of this is from a DJ perspective.

So for $600 I purchased the Stanton. It comes with a built in pre-amp, which isn't half bad, and a Stanton cartridge, which I have swapped out. For a $100, I picked up a Ortofon Serato OM S-120 Pre-mounted Cartridge , which for the cash is pretty excellent. I also use a Shure M97 and AT 120. These two cartridges I had to mount on universal head shells, which is getting tougher for these baseball mitt hands that I have.

Rich
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