TECHNICS SL-BD20D Belt Drive Turntable

Rating:
Summary: But can you find a replacement belt?
Review: I have a nearly identical turntable. Yes the sound is great, yes this is a good price on the surface, but after several years of use the belt broke that drives the platter. I can't find a replacement anywhere! So, cough up the extra dough and buy a direct drive. With fewer parts to break and more support from the DJ community the direct drive is the way to go.

Rating:
Summary: But can you find a replacement belt?
Review: I have a nearly identical turntable. Yes the sound is great, yes this is a good price on the surface, but after several years of use the belt broke that drives the platter. I can't find a replacement anywhere! So, cough up the extra dough and buy a direct drive. With fewer parts to break and more support from the DJ community the direct drive is the way to go.

Rating:
Summary: Decent and Reliable for a Technics Entry Level Deck
Review: I have owned this turntable for several years now.You cannot compare this to the DJ famous standard 1200MK or M3D or even the newer high end models from Technics;They are worlds apart in every way and basically opposite each other on the spectrum for performance and durability ! Plain and simple...It is a no frills, easy- to- operate -for- home- use- only turntable. Do not expect this to be able to perform DJ scratching functions.It's belt driven. To replace the belt when it wears down you may have to search online for a company or hi-fi parts/turntable distributor direct (it's always wise to purchase more than one at a time like the cartridges/stylus).

Now, the positives. It's a sweet and smooth semi-automatic which means you put the needle down and it will lift the tonearm,return it to it's resting position and the whole unit shuts itself off (awesome for couch potatos and to avoid ruining your needle)at record's end. It uses a P-mount cartridge which is nice and easy to replace and use.You literally plug in a new cartridge and use only one screw to secure the cartridge to the headshell and tonearm.There is no gauging or measuring or guessing the stylus pressure and anti-skating settings for the unit;all are prefactory set. No fuss.No muss.The profile and aesthetics of the 'table look slim and sharp as a stereo/audio component addition to what you may already own.It's a contemporary styling and the charcoal or dark brown bronze color looks cool.Overall, the slim profiling and size of the unit will not take up too much space or look like an outdated record player of the 70's. The other plus is that the RCA jacks (left and right output plugs) are detachable along with the ground wire which is nice if you ever have to repair or replace them.

How does it sound? Mechanically, it is a very ultra-smooth dc servo motor that keeps the platter rotation speed in sync for accuracy.Many audiophile purists claim that belt operation is much preferred over direct drive due to unwanted motor noise and rumble transmitted to platter and out your speakers...Unless, you are going to really be fussy and only play classical music or music with a lot of quiet passages will you be able to tell the difference if a belt-drive is preferred over direct drive...I've owned both belt and dd motor tables and have yet to be able to sonically tell the difference over the other and which is sonically better.It goes along with other turntable debates such as straight arm versus s-shaped arm, linear versus radial playback, manual versus automatic, etc. etc....You get the picutre. It all comes down to personal preference and experience with turntables. Ultimately, whether you choose to go with this belt-driven reliable deck or their higher end direct drive you may never be able to tell the sonic difference in performance. Technics builds only highly reliable and above average to near excellent quality sounding turntables in both the mechanical workings and electronics to almost near perfect audiophile sound quality or musical output! In fact,if you choose one of their direct drives over this belt driven model, Technics' direct drive motor engineering and quality are superb for quiet performance over lesser known name brands. The only drawback is that all 1200 series models are manual (have been for about almost 30 years now)...Hey, in this day and age when most people claim that vinyl is dead, one listen on a Technics turntable and they'll regret tossing out some of their album collections (particularly since some records will never be releassed on the cd format---plus, you can now burn records onto a cd recorder/cd-r system) !!!The Technics SL BD20D is a remarkable and wonderful simple semi-automatic and reliable unit to own if you are not an audiophile vinyl purist looking for the perfect analog playback system! This deck will do the trick in just playing your records with a great sound quality...


Rating:
Summary: Beware!
Review: Please be advised that this turntable is shipped without a belt! If you order it you also need to order the belt separately. At least that's what the folks at Panasonic said when I called to ask them about it.

Rating:
Summary: Technics for this cheap?WOW
Review: Technics is one of the highest quality turntable companies out there, this is a steal $70 for this. That should be illegal it's so great!