Welcome to the future of vinyl DJing. Now you have the power of the Technics, but with MORE power and more features and a more modern look. So how well does the flagship Numark Deck fair up against it's arc-enemy Technics 1210s? Very well in my opinion, infact better!
I bought these as my first decks and am very impressed. I have used technics before in the club I work in and in my opinion the Numark TTX1 rules the roost. Many believe the un-altered historical technology of the technics cannot be beaten, but times are changing as technology moves on and DJ's get more vigourous and adventurous with their music mixing, especially the Hard Dance / Scratch DJs.
The heavy steel outer casing and amazing centre of gravity provides the most stability one needs when DJing
in clubs or at home. The interchangable tone arm lets you choose which is best for your music style (straight or S-arm). The torque of the platter (3.7kg/m^2) is amazing compared to the Technics (2.2kg/m^2). But this may pose problems to DJs used to playing on Technics. No longer can u slow the record down/speed it up using the spindle (too much power!).
The extra digital features are AMAZING and make DJ'ing a lot easier and precise. Some might say you don't need as much skill to use these as it does it for you, they might be right! The pitch shifter is monitored to the nearest decimal place on the LCD monitor and the speed range is incredible. You can have as slow as 33rpm @ -50% all the way up to 78rpm @ +50% (good for cleaning records!).
The new digital features may be trivial to some DJs but theres no harm in having them! For example each deck holds its own signal processor and gives a digital output. There is a feature called Key Lock that enables you to change the speed of the record with the pitch shifter but at a locked pitch. (i.e. the singing doesn't go deeper if it's slowed down). Not only is that amazing for a built in feature, considering the processing involved, but it comes in handy if you are mixing two tracks together at completely different speeds, (as I sometimes do). However for this you need the output from the digital source (rather than analogue).
The signal processor also incorporates a BPM counter function, which is very accurate as well, apart from if your music is like mine (Drum & Bass / Hardcore) and has a BPM well over 160, in which it won't register it. lol. The processor also ensures crystal clear sound output (depending on your stylus grade), and also has normal analogue outputs if you wish to use that. I've recently been using these for ripping (through analogue using Numark CS-1 stylus) and I can vouch that the sound is indeed crystal. The target-lamps are very bright, detachable and precisioned, again for accurate RPM rates.
These decks are also ready for battle mode! The pitch fader, LCD display and buttons can moved around to suit the position for DJs going head to head! This is also beneficial with the fact you can change the pitch fader easily if it were to become faulty. The brakes are also really good on these decks, and because the platter is heavy and has so much torque it has an almost instant start-up, making queing much much easier. The torque also benefits scatch DJs as the platter is very friction resistant (given the correct slipmatts).
The only downside I can think of is the Numark slipmatts that they are provided with. The ones I got are very spondgey and grip too hard on the vinyl, and hold A LOT of static (but these are proper low-noise ones). So I recommend you get some proper low-friction slipmatts in. Another possible thing some might see as a downside is that they are REALLY heavy, but you should expect that because of the steel casing and platter. The rule of thumb is, the heavier the deck, the better it is! Be sure it wont bounce across the table either!
So overall, the Numark TTX1s are top dog for professional DJs and they look the part with that glowing blue LCD display. If you have trained up on Technics, bear in mind that these may take some getting used to. It's like driving a new BMW after a Ford Fiesta.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Amazing review - I'm a beginner and have a pair of Kam DDX 2000 - but these definitely look cool.
x_helix_x 18.05.2005 10:12
They look the part, but i have never used these before. Prefer the trusty old Technics 1210s myself. Great review by the way! :0) h.xo
blue_wkd_chick 13.05.2005 00:05
excellent review - sounds like a wkd set of deck to own, I have numarks but used to have technics 1210's and I must say I prefer the technics but then the numarks I have are quite basic direct drives. would love to have a mix on them to try them out !!!
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