Best DJ Direct Drive Turntables
With additional features that include a sleek black steel finish, adjustable tone arm weights, anti-skate control, a pop-up target light, and a sliding pitch control, the SL-1210MK2 is a terrific choice for top DJs and beginners alike. Quartz-synthesized direct-drive turntable.
Find Best Price at Amazon
The PLX-1000 is precision engineered for the booth. Interchangeable power and audio cables can be easily connected and replaced, and pro-grade gold-plated RCA jacks ensure low impedance and and amazing sound quality.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"After years of owning various belt drive turntables from well established manufacturers from the UK, the USA and Japan, I have finally decided to try a direct drive deck. When vinyl really started to diminish in popularity - right around the time Big Hair Metal was rather abruptly made extinct ("with the lights out it's less dangerous..") - the vast majority of turntables from anything other than the entry-level arena were invariably belt drive decks or a Technics SL1200. And because so many of the direct drive turntables on offer in the 80's were plastic plinthed affairs with off-the-shelf arms and motors, direct drive decks were not taken very seriously by seasoned audio enthusiasts. On top of that, the rear of the deck has (high quality) RCA terminals instead of captive generic interconnects, and an IEC power terminal instead of a captive mains cord. A cartridge alignment protractor is rarely provided with a new turntable, but is necessary to get your stylus to track accurately. The buttons here and there have a different shape, but on the whole (from what I can tell), the Pioneer is almost the exact same turntable as the celebrated Technics, plus the additional upgrades as mentioned above. If it is any consolation, this suggests there is that much less to go wrong, and this is also the case when buy a posh turntable from the brands who's models cost up to $250,000. Sound quality: I am using it for listening to music without manipulating the platter with my finger at the same time, so I use a cartridge designed for vinyl traveling in one direction only (Goldring 1042). A shall resist using any further audio-nut superlatives, but I will say this is a very, very good value turntable. The PLX-1000 is a great alternative to a Pro-Ject Xpression 3 or a VPI Nomad, which are price rivals offering much more minimalist designs with great sound for the dollar using a belt drive mechanism."
"UPDATE: I've recently added the Turntable Lab rubber and cork mat which fits perfectly and the LP Gear Zupreme headshell and a Mitchell clamp."
"It does have less features than other super OEM turntables, however if you pair it with a nice mixer and the pioneer SSP1, it Is a killer set up. I have not tired these turntables in the club to check the feedback, but I do have studio monitors and JBL EON club speakers in my studio. When I use serato, it does not have any feedback at all."
Solidly built with excellent vibration damping and precise audio playback, this high-torque deck has a USB out so you can make digital recordings of your vinyl collection in our free rekordbox software. Use the PLX-500 to mix and scratch your vinyl record or combine the turntable with rekordbox dvs, a compatible DJ mixer and the RB-VS1-K Control Vinyl to play and perform your digital files.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"SO FAR THIS IS GREAT WORKS WITH MY WHOLE PIONEER SET."
"Very awesome turntable and the shipping was lighting fast!"
"I think the suction cups on the bottom is great because while Scratching it doesn't budge at all."
"I expected a little more torque but overall very happy with the unit."
"This is a very good choice for a regular vinyl listener also who just wants a new,well built turntable."
"Cork mat is on the way (4mm). 7) after setting it level including the head shell, and the platter, and the weight to 3.5g (middle of the recommendation) I was able to set the anti skate to 6 to hold steady on a CD. 8) platter seems straighter. 9) less speed control at 8% vs 10/20/50 on other models. 10) the album cover holder is so simple yet so needed. 11) the hinges click a bit when opening past the detent position. 12) led light to see where you put the needle down, but putting it down to rest does transfer to the sound. Overall sound is very good, player looks really nice in white, and it seems nice and study."
"The reason is simple when you have an internal preamp, then you must run a loop from the blue wire to ground to make it work properly."
"I haven't had any negative experience with the cable that is provided, but just the presence of a hardwired cable makes me paranoid about the possibility of damaging them, and having to replace them."
Best DJ Belt Drive Turntables
All the must-have features audiophiles demand for top-flight musical reproduction are here: a quiet belt-drive system with a mechanically-isolated motor that eliminates any residual motor noise and vibration, a heavy die-cast aluminum platter that ensures an exemplary signal-to-noise ratio, a rubber non-slip mat so there’s no record slippage, imperceptible wow and flutter and a low-mass straight tone arm with adjustable counterweight and precision damped cueing. A high-quality pre-mounted Audio-Technica magnetic cartridge with elliptical stylus in removable head shell completes the package. In addition, the BT500 has many new-school flourishes that make it even more enjoyable and convenient, such as a built-in switchable phono pre-amp so you can use it with a traditional stereo or connect it directly to powered speakers. The BT500 also boasts the ability to convert your analog records into digital files using the included software and USB port for quick computer connectivity. If you have a Bluetooth speaker that you already use with your mobile device, tablet, or computer, you can now also stream your vinyl using the BT500. Note: Maximum range will be achieved when using devices with Bluetooth 4.0 or higher. Finally, power cycle the BT-500, then press the Bluetooth button to try pairing it again. Technical Specs • Turntable Type: Belt-driven. • Motor Type: Isolated DC motor. • Speeds: 33 1/3 & 45 RPM. • S/N Ratio: 67 dB (A-weighted). • Output Level: 2.5 mV (preamp off); 155 mV (preamp on). • Phono Preamp Gain: 34 dB nominal, RIAA-equalized. • Preamp: Switchable. • Wow and Flutter: < 0.2% (weighted) @ 3 kHz (JIS). • USB Function: 44.1–48 kHz (user-selectable), 16-bit; USB 1.1. • Replacement Cartridge Type: Dual moving magnet. • Replacement Cartridge: AT95E. • Replacement Stylus: ATN95E. • Power: 12V DC, 500mA. • Base: Heavy MDF base. • Output Connections: Gold-plated RCA jacks. • Platter: Die-cast anti-resonance aluminium platter. • Included Slipmat: Non-slip rubber mat. • Leveling System: Level bubble with adjustable feet. • Tonearm Material: Aluminum. • Pivot Material: Aluminum. • Controls: Aluminum. • Dimensions (width x depth x height): 17.48” x 14.3” x 4.84”. • Weight: 13.8 lbs. Box Contents • 45 RPM adapter. • USB A to B cable. • RCA Audio cables. • DC 12v 500mA Power Adapter. • ½” mount universal headshell with AT95E Dual Magnet phono cartridge and .4 x .7 mil elliptical diamond stylus. Low-mass straight aluminum tone arm with adjustable counterweight for precise tracking.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I bought this for my office; my turntable at home is a Rega RP6. By no means did I expect this to compete, and it doesn't, but it very much punches above its weight. This looks very very similar to the Teac TN-300 with a few additional features. Trick to doing this is to slide the belt up towards the holes as far as you can BEFORE putting the platter on the turntable, then slide the belt upwards through the hole and grasp it between your thumb and forefinger. (Pro-Ject Phono Box DS+, which costs more than the turntable). Dummy me; there's a volume switch on the front that also controls Bluetooth volume to allow you to reduce volume for records that're cut extremely hot/high level which cause the BT connection to distort."
"I initially bought an ION LP Air but was horrified by the sound quality. I know purests out there will insist on RCA connections but built in Bluetooth was one of the reasons I bought this one. Edit 1/14/18 - I bought a Google Home Max to connect to this turntable."
"But it just looked so darn nice, love the wood finish. After some experimenting, the Audio Technica cartridge A95E definitely sounds best with the counterweight set at 2.25 grams."
"A must have for any adult that likes vinyl."
"Great price, do like I did read the reviews the really helped me decide what to buy."
"I bought this to replace a Crosley that only lasted a couple months past it's warranty."
"It's been a long time since I've heard my vinyl."
"My GF loves it, even her parents have fun with it."
Best DJ Digital Turntables
Pioneer has also implemented larger jog wheels for precise mixing and scratching, multiple inputs for expandability, and 4-channel mixing flexibility. First 4-channel performance DJ controller/mixer for Serato DJ software. Mixing with Serato DJ Sold as a complete system that includes the controller and new Serato DJ software, the DDJ-SX provides additional features to provide direct, tactile control of the software's capabilities, which include a four-deck sampler function, dual deck control, slip mode, FX mode and more. The new interface also offers two and four deck view modes for four deck controllers, alongside improvements to the cue point and looping controls, which now allow you to display either 8 cues, 8 loops or a combination of both depending on how you perform. Dual Deck The DDJ-SX enables two tracks to be controlled at the same time, allowing scratching or setting and recalling hot cues on both tracks as if they were performed on a single track. Customized Control Layout Works as Great as it Looks The DDJ-SX can quickly access the multitude of features Serato DJ offers through its buttons, knobs, sliders and performance pads. Performance Pads Pioneer added eight "performance pads" located below the jog wheel for four different functionalities: HOT CUE, ROLL, SLICER, and SAMPLER. Includes Serato DJ software featuring 4 decks, dual deck control, slip mode, sync-able sampler and high-quality FX.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Even though that I go quite often (every weekend, twice) to deep/ tech house parties And you can see the dj's doing stuff that I'm not able to comprehend, and I'm really awed by their ability, I know that this DJ controller might be a good starting point to start to awe other people."
"a very good one controller I'm very happy with the hot cues and the scratching technology on the job wheels Sinatra program I really don't like it I use Virtual DJ that would both work fine the Pioneer."
"This is the best 1 piece dj controller out there."
"I've only had it for about a week now, but I have learned more about DJing in this time period than I did with a year and a half with my Numark Mixtrack (a good beginner setup, by the way)."
"I love this thing."
"I have had my ddj sx for about 7 months now and absolutely love it."
"I love this controller, but after some time using it (I've followed all the operating instructions), it has started to sound weird, I don't know how to describe the sound but I guess it is a distortion of some kind."
"This is a must have unit really gets it done having a lot of fun with it LOVE IT!!"