Technics has been the be all, end all turntable brand for the past thirty years thanks to its revolutionary SL-1200 model, which became the highest selling and most popular turntable in all history. Technics seems to have realized its tremendous accomplishment, as they haven’t released a successful model since the SL-1200.

That’s all set to change as Technics unveils it SL-DZ1200, a direct drive turntable that has gone completely digital. This model is the first of its kind to offer MP3 playback and the ability to play CD’s instead of LP’s. DJ’s worldwide are crying foul at this — nothing can match the power and sound of a vinyl turntable, right? MP3 files are in essence encoded files, which naturally result in lower sound quality than the big records.

But is the loss in quality small enough that DJ’s can make a living with this turntable and possibly even profit from having all their songs on a memory card instead of tens of LP’s stuffed in a box?

Additional Possibilities For Modern DJ’s

The good news is that the SL-DZ1200 has a lot of potential that, with enough hard work, can truly reap great rewards. Bringing MP3 files and CD playback into the fold was smart, as it’s bound to happen later if not now. Technics also includes many options that DJ’s can use during their shows. The SL-DZ1200 emulates the vinyl sound fairly well, and is built to look and feel like an authentic SL-1200.

You can also save loops into sample banks and recall them on the fly, even play them simultaneously. Save them long term by loading them onto an SD card so you can use them at your next gig. There’s also a series of cues you can save and recall when you want, freewheeling capabilities and a reverse switch. Put all this stuff together and you’ve got a machine perfect for a night on the town.

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.

Another problem is that the vinyl simulation on this turntable simply isn’t good enough to pass for an authentic SL-1200. Any purist could tell the difference, because vinyl is the only thing that sounds like vinyl, and digital can’t pull off the warmth of a good LP. There’s still no true alternative to the beauty of vinyl.

But by far the worst problem with Technics’ SL-DZ1200 turntable is its sound quality. IF you’re dealing with MP3 files, even at the highest bit rates, the sound quality can get sketchy at high volumes. It’s never going to match the sound of a good vinyl, even if you’re careful about ripping your CD’s.

And then there’s the backbreaking problem: its ridiculous price. The SL-DZ1200 is going for a whopping $1,199.95 according to Technics’ website. Who can afford to shell out a couple thousand dollars on a turntable whose sound doesn’t even equal that of machines thirty years older? Buying it simply doesn’t make sense.

A Final Conclusion: SL-DZ1200 Too Little For Too Much

As great as the SL-DZ1200’s features are, its skyline price and numerous performance issues make it hard to recommend. You might be able to talk a live crowd through thirty seconds of depressing silence, and you might be able to scratch like a madman and store all your songs on an SD card, but at the end of the day a digital turntable still does not sound like a good vinyl player. That being said, all the features on this monster make it fun to work over live.

But fun never paid anybody enough to afford the mortgage. Does the SL-DZ1200 live up to its Technics name? Depressing as it is to say, no, it doesn’t.

Technics is for sure the most popular set of record turntables in the world due to the innnovative SL-1200 model released thirty years ago. Pick one of these turntables up today and try your hand at it, and don’t forget a pair of Technics headphones while you’re at it so you can practice late into the night. Buy from trusted web sources for the best quality and durable original equipment.

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