Stanton ST.150 Turntable with Cartridge and S-Shaped Tone Arm

This turntable is garbage compared to the technics. When you try and scratch with this platter the needle moves all over the place. People are saying to put paper in between the pivot of the spindle on the rear of the arm. What the heck! You should not need to do anything on a brand new piece of equipment. I will get my $ 700.00 back and take my chance on a used 1210. I say until stanton gets it right, bring back the old 680 cartridges and leave the turntables to someone else. Very disapointing stanton

Ever wondered what it would be like if a CDJ and turntable had a lovechild? You're basically looking at it (DON'T even mention the Numark CDX...it's not anywhere near this)I'd been a CDJ user for a long time, with a brief fling with some less-than-stellar entry level Gemini turntables. I knew how to mix on vinyl, but generally preferred the CDJ for its added features, reliability, etc etc. Well I started growing bored with my setup, and I wasn't spinning as much as I used to, so I sold off everything and bought two of these with a Traktor Kontrol Z2 mixer. I considered a pair of Tech 1200s, however at the absurd price people were asking for a set of used ones, and these proved to be a better deal ($373 per table from Amazon Warehouse Deals).Since everyone compares almost any set of TTs to the iconic Technics 1200, I'll follow suit and use it as a reference point.Torque: Plenty on tap, more than the 1200. Adjustable start/stop times (to give you that slow spin-up/spin-down sound if wanted).Durability: I have a feeling this thing could stop a bullet. Heavily damped, never had a problem with vibration. Of course, this is also a bedroom setup and I haven't put this thing on a subwoofer with 1200W going through it, so take that with a grain of salt. However according to info I read elsewhere online while researching this table, this thing is considerably more dampened than a 1200, however this comes with some extra weight (Technics are roughly 30lbs, these suckers are 45lbs a POP). If you're putting them in a coffin, be ready for a workout. I opted for individual cases for just this reason when I travel with them.All in all, for basic playback operation, you're looking at something pretty close to the 1200. However these are considerably newer than the 1200s, and as such, have a lot of modern features available that really allow this turntable to shine over the 1200, in my opinion at least.Line preamp: This is perhaps the best thing anyone has come up with for DJ turntables. I can't stand walking into a club, setting up the house Techs, and realizing one of the ground lines is jacked up, or someone screwed up trying to ground it internally and just left it there. Not a problem with this bad boy. There is a built in digital line preamp available that boosts the phono input to a line level signal. These tables are also internally grounded, something that I would have done via mod to a set of 1200s anyway, so this was an added perk. However this is only the half of it. With this line preamp, it enables you to do all sorts of nifty things like pitch lock, key lock, and oh, you know...+/- 50% PITCH BEND. This lets you do all sorts of nifty tricks with track tempo. The standard +/- 8% is still available, as well as +/- 25. After being on CDJs for so long, the wide pitch bend feature has probably been my favorite.Stop/start buttons on either side, so whether you have them in standard or battle position, reaching the stop/start shouldn't be a problem.A Stanton 680 cartridge comes with the turntable, and for a stock cart/needle combo, it's not half bad. I use these with timecode records and Traktor Scratch Pro 2, so at the moment can't attest to how they sound when playing straight vinyl. As a DJ/scratch cart though, it does pretty well. Die-hard turntablists will probably replace it with the classic M44, but for people like me just starting their foray into vinyl, it'll serve just fine as a starting point. Also, saving an extra $100 on not having to buy a needle/cart combo was a bonus for me.Finally, this table will spin 33, 45, and 78rpm records. A 45 adapter comes with the table, however there is no slot on the table to put the adapter when not in use like there is on a 1200. I have no 45s, so this was a non-issue for me. The fact that it has a 78 option I thought was a pretty cool perk.Let's go to the Con's now:One thing I liked on the 1200s and my old Geminis was the ability to put a spare cart in the corner of the table as a place to hold it. No such luck on these, but no big issue. I don't have a spare set anyways!This final part actually is a legitimate issue, and has been brought up in multiple reviews of this turntable: The ST-150 does NOT ship with a dust cover, nor is there an aftermarket one made, at least to my knowledge. "It's ok though, I'll just wipe it off occasionally" you say. This sucker attracts dust like crazy. I have to gently pull the dust out of the needles just about every session. Find a way to cover this thing, because it'll look like a massive 45lb dust bunny otherwise.Despite these shortcomings, I love this table so much that none of the cons I listed were enough for me to deduct a star. All in all for DJ use, this thing is just as good if not better than a Tech 1200. If I had to do it again, I'd probably choose this one over the 1200. For strict playback, it's almost identical, but the march of technology has given the Stanton a few extra bells and whistles that some people will love (myself included) and some people could care less about. For those looking for old school playback with new school features, you would be hard pressed to find a better turntable.

All I have to say is that if you have ever had the chance to use a technics 1200 turntable, then you would understand why this is garbage compared to the original. Take my advice and invest in the pioneer 1000. They got it right.

This beautiful, responsive turntable is suited for hiphop DJs and other experienced users of high end turntable, not so much for the casual listener like myself perhaps. It starts and stops instantly, since it is belt less, and has a few incomprehensible controls that seem to be catering to the needs of scratchers and mixers that are entirely superfluous for the player of music to enjoy music. It sounds nice, especially since I bought a decent cartridge to replace the stock DJ-style cartridge it comes with.Replacing a cartridge is difficult, requiring tiny wires to be wrenched out of tight connections, and then jammed back in. I had to use a needle nose pliers to remove some of them. Tiny screws need to be removed and replaced, and they are easy to lose. There is a 2 gram weight screwed into the top of the cartridge carrier that I still haven't really understood, about which I'll say more in the setup problems I found.Setting up this turntable seemed to be almost impossible, if one follows the vague, almost incomprehensible instructions they provide. There is a separate weight that needs to be installed on the end of the tone arm. Fine. But it slides on the tone arm and can be positioned almost randomly anywhere, without any indication I could see or feel as to where it needs to be positioned.I spent days trying to figure out where they expected this weight to be positioned. In one positions, the needle would go straight upward, in another, it went down. Finding the position that allowed it to float freely, neither up or down, was impossible until I removed the 2 gram weight. Once I balance it, I was able to reinstall the weight and make all the calculations about how heavy I wanted my weight to be - I simply guessed than between 2.5 and 3 grams would be sufficient.I think I adjusted the anti-skate correctly, but am still unsure. What I realized is that the manufacturer of this turntable has no interest in providing any guidance for anyone interested in any use for this turntable but scratching and mixing records. This is probably why you can't turn the damn thing off all the way unless you dig around deep behind it to a very well hidden switch, which, if you don't keep your turntable on anything but a surface where it is easy to reach around the back and under it, you will never turn it off as long as you own it.If I were sophisticated enough to judge the sound quality, I would weigh in on it, but I feel like I bought the wrong turntable for my needs.