Technics SL-1200MK2 Turntable > Reviews > INDUSTRY STANDARD

Author's product rating:   

Sound quality	Excellent
Look & design	Excellent
Range of Features	Excellent
Durability	Excellent
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	Standard in all 99 . 9% of Clubs
Disadvantages:	Price

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Some think its old fashioned, some think there is nothing better, for me, there is nothing better. I have been DJin for around 5 years now and have had many sets of turntables but have always found the Technics 1200/1210 series to be the most reliable, sturdy and hard wearing of all decks. I am not Turntable boffin who knows all the statistical facts of a deck but I do know an amazing deck when I use one. Not only is it a legendary deck but it is a fact that most professional Disk Jockeys would favour a Technic over any other brand of deck. People have tried comparing them to other brands but for me Technics will always be the best. Although people may say that the price is a huge part to buying a deck, my theory is that if you are serious about DJin then money does not matter and you will pay for the best.

The Technic series is originally branded by a company called Matsushita, who first released this direct drive deck in the early 70s as a Hifi player! It was the first Direct Drive deck to be released ever. The layout of the deck hasn’t changed much from the simple design, compared to a few other turntables (e.g. Numark TTX1); everything on the Technic is clearly visible. It was originally developed to solve many of the problems that normal that, at that time, occurred with a turntable design. The start up of the deck is efficiently quick and it stops immediately with a click as it uses a Frequency Generator Control Quartz lock system, that is claimed to produce the most accurate and consistent speed possible.

Now owned by Panasonic, the Technic has lost no creditability in the last 30 years. Its sturdiness, weight and high torque have all played a massive part in its success. As many other items in today life the Technic has been reproduced/copied by other brands including many other big name DJ equipment including the Gemini XL500 MK2, the similarities are very convincing.

As DJin is now starting to become digital with such decks as the Pioneer CDJ100 mk3s out now, if I had the choice at the moment of buying CD decks or Turntables, I would go for CD Decks for the following reasons, cost effective on music as vinyl is expenses and by the day dieing out and also the for the reason you can loop, use a better pitch and you don't have to lug around a massive vinyl box around with you. All in all though, if you're a vinyl fanatic like me, Technics are the only option.