TECHNICS SL-1200MK5 Pro DJ Turntable - Silver

Rating:
Summary: Technics Lives On and On....
Review: Basically a carryover of the SL 1200 M3D table (1999-2002) with a few friendly DJ minor adjustments (brighter,long life L.E.D. stylus pop up light, more antiskating for non-skipping during scratching and adjustable braking speed)...Is this Technics 'table worth it's weight in gold (I think between 30 to 35 pounds)? Without a doubt !It's built like a Sherman Tank to withstand vibrations from speakers or the dance floor which would otherwise cause the needle to skip around or transfer unwanted noise to the tonearm and out the speakers; an enclosed loop of unwanted noise. Heavy, heavy, construction of the anti-resonant plinth/chasis, platter speaks in volumes about the craftsmanship Technics puts into the "Wheel of Steel". Other than the build quality, what's the sound quality like?It can yield either professional (DJ use), near-audiophile (for that sound purist who wants to just listen to records or transfer to cd-r format) or club-quality scratching top grade sound (the direct drive motor and torque is built Chevy or Ford tough for the use and abuse).

HOWEVER, the sound quality also significantly depends upon the application the 'table is used for, whether you use a cheap $20 cartridge or the serious high quality type. Is this table going to be used for scratching, regular DJing, or just in-home use? All these factors have to be taken into consideration in getting the most out of the MK5. It is illogical to install an audiophile high end cartridge/stylus normally used for casual listening(jazz, classical, some pop/rock) if you're gonna scratch (vice versa). Simple rule of thumb---you use a DJ needle for club play and scratch and a good to excellent high grade cartridge and stylus for normal playback.It is impossible to tell you which cartridges are of substantial quality to high end because it can sometimes boil down to personal individual sound preference (some yield tight bass, some yield clear high frequencies, some sound neutral, musical, or colored---or a combo of these sound qualities)This can be costly and sometimes aggravating to figure out what to use.It takes trial and error and a bit of set up and experimentation and sound comparisons. Oh, yeah, feed the 'table some decently clean-dirt free records. Some will appreciate the dustcover sans hinges. Others would prefer actual hinges for the cover if used mostly at home.As for aesthetics, it's still the same high tech look that came about in 1979 (forget about the regular wood or mdf plinth and chasis look of the '70s so many other manufacturers used (Denon and Pioneer being the exceptions).Technics was way ahead of it's time in 1979 when creating the "looks" for this table. The same design still looks good in it's somewhat contemporary-modern design to this day.

Now listen up Panasonic/ Technics...the ONLY one request that I have is that SOMEDAY you will really and truly upgrade this particular turntable by giving it high end and fully automatic functions or features that so many in home couch potatos crave.Then, if the turntable is to be used in a dj set up, allow the owner to switch off the automatic functions to perform as a manual.Afer all, anyone who knows the history of the Technics 1200 series, this turntable has it's roots in being first designed as an in-home playback system; The clubbing,dj-ing, radio broadcasting applications came about by pure accident or simple choice! I'm not asking for much am I...Technics came close to making this turntable a successful and brilliant automatic with the SL 1700MK2 and the SL 1600MK2 back in the late 70's (semi-automatic,fully automatic).Now and then you will see these beauties on eBay up for grabs(but usually with a" buyer beware, automatic arm does not work" disclaimer. The only design flaw was a belt that controlled the auto return mechanism which would deteriorate after so much use and render the auto function useless (costly repair)...With all the focus on Technics "subtlely" upgrading about every 2 to 4 years the 1200 series they can finally use some of this state of the art modern technology for a high quality automatic/manual with no design or function issues !!!

P.S. I also highly recommend this website on Techics past and present products. It's an unofficial website that carries some awesome information on their turntables at www.vintagetechnics.com. My personal favorites and after owning some of these models over the years is anything in the SL 1200 series, the SL Q3, and the SL-5300 (this one built in 1979 was loaded with all the sweet full automatic features, bells and whistles for it's time---all of it's controls were on the outside of the cover) !

Rating:
Summary: Technics Lives On and On....
Review: Basically a carryover of the SL 1200 M3D table (1999-2002) with a few friendly DJ minor adjustments (brighter,long life L.E.D. stylus pop up light, more antiskating for non-skipping during scratching and adjustable braking speed)...Is this Technics 'table worth it's weight in gold (I think between 30 to 35 pounds)? Without a doubt !It's built like a Sherman Tank to withstand vibrations from speakers or the dance floor which would otherwise cause the needle to skip around or transfer unwanted noise to the tonearm and out the speakers; an enclosed loop of unwanted noise. Heavy, heavy, construction of the anti-resonant plinth/chasis, platter speaks in volumes about the craftsmanship Technics puts into the "Wheel of Steel". Other than the build quality, what's the sound quality like?It can yield either professional (DJ use), near-audiophile (for that sound purist who wants to just listen to records or transfer to cd-r format) or club-quality scratching top grade sound (the direct drive motor and torque is built Chevy or Ford tough for the use and abuse).

HOWEVER, the sound quality also significantly depends upon the application the 'table is used for, whether you use a cheap $20 cartridge or the serious high quality type. Is this table going to be used for scratching, regular DJing, or just in-home use? All these factors have to be taken into consideration in getting the most out of the MK5. It is illogical to install an audiophile high end cartridge/stylus normally used for casual listening(jazz, classical, some pop/rock) if you're gonna scratch (vice versa). Simple rule of thumb---you use a DJ needle for club play and scratch and a good to excellent high grade cartridge and stylus for normal playback.It is impossible to tell you which cartridges are of substantial quality to high end because it can sometimes boil down to personal individual sound preference (some yield tight bass, some yield clear high frequencies, some sound neutral, musical, or colored---or a combo of these sound qualities)This can be costly and sometimes aggravating to figure out what to use.It takes trial and error and a bit of set up and experimentation and sound comparisons. Oh, yeah, feed the 'table some decently clean-dirt free records. Some will appreciate the dustcover sans hinges. Others would prefer actual hinges for the cover if used mostly at home.As for aesthetics, it's still the same high tech look that came about in 1979 (forget about the regular wood or mdf plinth and chasis look of the '70s so many other manufacturers used (Denon and Pioneer being the exceptions).Technics was way ahead of it's time in 1979 when creating the "looks" for this table. The same design still looks good in it's somewhat contemporary-modern design to this day.

Now listen up Panasonic/ Technics...the ONLY one request that I have is that SOMEDAY you will really and truly upgrade this particular turntable by giving it high end and fully automatic functions or features that so many in home couch potatos crave.Then, if the turntable is to be used in a dj set up, allow the owner to switch off the automatic functions to perform as a manual.Afer all, anyone who knows the history of the Technics 1200 series, this turntable has it's roots in being first designed as an in-home playback system; The clubbing,dj-ing, radio broadcasting applications came about by pure accident or simple choice! I'm not asking for much am I...Technics came close to making this turntable a successful and brilliant automatic with the SL 1700MK2 and the SL 1600MK2 back in the late 70's (semi-automatic,fully automatic).Now and then you will see these beauties on eBay up for grabs(but usually with a" buyer beware, automatic arm does not work" disclaimer. The only design flaw was a belt that controlled the auto return mechanism which would deteriorate after so much use and render the auto function useless (costly repair)...With all the focus on Technics "subtlely" upgrading about every 2 to 4 years the 1200 series they can finally use some of this state of the art modern technology for a high quality automatic/manual with no design or function issues !!!

P.S. I also highly recommend this website on Techics past and present products. It's an unofficial website that carries some awesome information on their turntables at www.vintagetechnics.com. My personal favorites and after owning some of these models over the years is anything in the SL 1200 series, the SL Q3, and the SL-5300 (this one built in 1979 was loaded with all the sweet full automatic features, bells and whistles for it's time---all of it's controls were on the outside of the cover) !