The past thirty years have seen Technics become the undisputed leader of the turntable industry ever since its groundbreaking SL-1200 model saw the light of day. The SL-1200 has sold more units than any other turntable in history, and has remained popular enough that Technics has never released a successful followup.
All that has now changed. Technics has unveiled its SL-DZ1200 digital direct drive turntable. This, the first model of its kind to playback CD's and to be MP3 compatible, has drawn mixed reactions from professionals and amateurs alike. Vinyl is vinyl, and MP3 files can't properly imitate the sound of vinyl due to the fact that each file is encoded, which leads to natural losses in sound quality.
The question remains: is the quality loss insignificant enough that DJ's can still go out and play professionally with this model? And might it even be better to have all their songs on a memory card rather than having to haul boxes of LP's to every gig?
New Possibilities In Modern Turntable
The best part about the SL-DZ1200 is that it has many features that, when used properly, can help deliver a dynamite stage performance. CD playback and MP3 file compatibility makes sense -- if not now, then it'll be incorporated later; there's no way to avoid the change that's coming. Technics has built the SL-DZ1200 to look, feel, and sound like the original SL-1200.
DJ's can use sample banks to save loops and bring them back up whenever they want, even spin these loops at the same time, and keep them longterm for use at the next gig courtesy of an SD card. There are various cues that the DJ can use to save and recall, a reverse switch, and freewheeling capabilities. Wrap all this stuff together and you have a solid touring machine that has enough options to keep a show interesting for hours.
The Down Side
Unfortunately for Technics, there are just as many downsides to this bad boy as there are benefits. First off, there is a distressing lag time when loading CD's. I've seen complaints anywhere from eight to thirty seconds. That's a lot of dead air for a beginning DJ, but if you're a professional you can work the crowd for half a minute while you get your music in gear. Even so, if you're not prepared for it, this can cause some headaches.
The second biggest complaint is the vinyl simulation of this turntable. The idea is to present a turntable that sounds similar to the groundbreaking SL-1200 model, but it's obvious to anyone listening it's not authentic. It's a very good imitation, but it's still just an imitation. Authentic vinyl honestly can't be beat.
The most troublesome issue with Technics' SL-DZ1200 turntable is the loss in sound quality courtesy of MP3 files. Even if you're careful to rip all your MP3s as high bit rate recordings, the loss is still noticeable at high volumes; it's never going to match the vibrance of vinyl.
As difficult as it may be to weigh the pros and cons at this point, there is one massive factor determining whether you buy this turntable or not, and that's its mammoth price. Technics prices this monster at $1,199.95, which is an awful lot of money to spend on a model that doesn't even sound as good as turntables thirty years older.
My Conclusion: SL-DZ1200 A Mixed Bag
The SL-DZ1200 has a lot of features to like and a lot of problems that will take away from your experience as well. You can fool around with the crowd for thirty seconds to allow your CD to finally spin, you can scratch until you're blue in the face and store as many songs as you want on an incredibly portable SD card, but at the end of the day vinyl sounds like vinyl, and this isn't vinyl.
Even so, no other turntable on the market is as close to an all-in-one experience as the SL-DZ1200. Are the problems worth it? It's up to you to decide. - 31486
All that has now changed. Technics has unveiled its SL-DZ1200 digital direct drive turntable. This, the first model of its kind to playback CD's and to be MP3 compatible, has drawn mixed reactions from professionals and amateurs alike. Vinyl is vinyl, and MP3 files can't properly imitate the sound of vinyl due to the fact that each file is encoded, which leads to natural losses in sound quality.
The question remains: is the quality loss insignificant enough that DJ's can still go out and play professionally with this model? And might it even be better to have all their songs on a memory card rather than having to haul boxes of LP's to every gig?
New Possibilities In Modern Turntable
The best part about the SL-DZ1200 is that it has many features that, when used properly, can help deliver a dynamite stage performance. CD playback and MP3 file compatibility makes sense -- if not now, then it'll be incorporated later; there's no way to avoid the change that's coming. Technics has built the SL-DZ1200 to look, feel, and sound like the original SL-1200.
DJ's can use sample banks to save loops and bring them back up whenever they want, even spin these loops at the same time, and keep them longterm for use at the next gig courtesy of an SD card. There are various cues that the DJ can use to save and recall, a reverse switch, and freewheeling capabilities. Wrap all this stuff together and you have a solid touring machine that has enough options to keep a show interesting for hours.
The Down Side
Unfortunately for Technics, there are just as many downsides to this bad boy as there are benefits. First off, there is a distressing lag time when loading CD's. I've seen complaints anywhere from eight to thirty seconds. That's a lot of dead air for a beginning DJ, but if you're a professional you can work the crowd for half a minute while you get your music in gear. Even so, if you're not prepared for it, this can cause some headaches.
The second biggest complaint is the vinyl simulation of this turntable. The idea is to present a turntable that sounds similar to the groundbreaking SL-1200 model, but it's obvious to anyone listening it's not authentic. It's a very good imitation, but it's still just an imitation. Authentic vinyl honestly can't be beat.
The most troublesome issue with Technics' SL-DZ1200 turntable is the loss in sound quality courtesy of MP3 files. Even if you're careful to rip all your MP3s as high bit rate recordings, the loss is still noticeable at high volumes; it's never going to match the vibrance of vinyl.
As difficult as it may be to weigh the pros and cons at this point, there is one massive factor determining whether you buy this turntable or not, and that's its mammoth price. Technics prices this monster at $1,199.95, which is an awful lot of money to spend on a model that doesn't even sound as good as turntables thirty years older.
My Conclusion: SL-DZ1200 A Mixed Bag
The SL-DZ1200 has a lot of features to like and a lot of problems that will take away from your experience as well. You can fool around with the crowd for thirty seconds to allow your CD to finally spin, you can scratch until you're blue in the face and store as many songs as you want on an incredibly portable SD card, but at the end of the day vinyl sounds like vinyl, and this isn't vinyl.
Even so, no other turntable on the market is as close to an all-in-one experience as the SL-DZ1200. Are the problems worth it? It's up to you to decide. - 31486
About the Author:
The Technics SL-1200 and Technics SL-1210 are the most acclaimed and best selling turntables in history -- the SL-1200 is even still available today, a casual three decades after its birth! Why not shell out the cash and purchase a piece of hip hop history today? Only buy from an authorized Technics supplier so you'll know you're getting genuine equipment for a fair price.
