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Any Love for the Pioneer PLX-1000 Yet?

Early in the year, Steve Guttenberg (C-Net, formerly S'phile and others) and Herb Reichert (longtime high end figure; new to S'phile) posted favorable reviews of the new (released last year) Pioneer PLX-1000 direct drive turntable.

Although the PLX-1000 is obviously filling the gap left by the discontinued Technics SL12x0 series, Guttenberg and Reichert reviewed the table from an audiophile standpoint, and not as a DJ deck.

Reichert and Guttenberg auditioned the turntable together but wrote about it separately, so their reports mention the same electronics and cartridges as well as the other turntables they compared the Pioneer to. Both reviewers came away with an enthusiastic recommendation and consdiered this the one to beat at $2K and under. Not bad for $697.

Now in my latest issue of Stereophile, Reichert wrote a followup, where he revisited the turntable on his own, made sure he used LPs he's familiar with, tried out a bunch of his own cartridges, and compared the Pioneer with yet another group of turntables.

His conclusion? The Pioneer is even better than he thought the first time around.

I found it encouraging that the Pioneer improvements were very similar to what I did to my SL1210 M5G--damped the tonearm and replaced the feet. I also got the KAB fluid damper and record grip and a discontinued Oracle sorbothane mat. However, the Pioneer has a couple of other improvements I couldn't perform--a higher torque motor and extensive internal damping between (I think) the plinth and chassis. Also, the plinth is a zinc alloy now, which should be more rigid and sonically inert than the Technics' aluminum.

Has anyone here heard the deck yet? Thoughts? Feelings? Opinions?
johnnyb53
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
Pioneer is a nonsense since the Technics is back to business with $1700 SL1200GR and more expensive G model for serious audiophiles.

Pioneer lovers should look for PL70 II instead.
At that time Pioneer did not tried to copy Technics design.
Their original Pioneer P3 and P10 are amazing !

In my opinion the original Pioneer desing from the 70’s is better even today.
It would be much better if the Pioneer could continue with their own design based on flagship models from the past.

But Pioneer today is no longer a High-End manufacturer, they are in PROFESSIONAL AUDIO field, in that field the Technics is an iconic turntable, every manufacturer just copy Technics design to sell their product when Technics was out of business, let’s face it! This strategy crashed with Technics return!

Now when brand new fully upgraded Technics (Made in Japan) is available who need a bad clone made by Pioneer in China ???

Who cares about reviewers, anyone can touch Technics to compare it to the Pioneer.
New Technics is superb, no doubt

Technics SL1200GR is just $1700 new in USA, watch this video

Forget about old Technics turntables, look for the brand new GR, G or GAE (depends on the budget).

They made an affordable GR version for everyone and it’s better than old mkII, mk3D, mk5 or whatever version, because the whole Matsushita tooling is brand new and from the old design we have only the Dust Cover. The rest is completely brand new and way dirrefent from the old Technics.

schubert
7,386 posts
 
The Pioneer IS an excellent TT and to most Americans a thousand bucks is a lot of money !
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,470 posts
 
I wonder how my Superscoutmaster/rim drive/Classic platter/3D 2nd pivot from about 10 years or so ago would stand up.
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
@schubert i’ve tried that Pioneer few years ago in Paris, it’s just a clone of old Technics DJ classics, it’s OK and better than cheaper clones from Stanton, Audio-Technica and some other no-name turntables that looks just like the old Technics SL1210 on the picture, but in reality they are all cheap plastic toys. I just don’t understand what is "excellent" about that Pioneer, have you ever tried Technics ?

I am happy that Technics returned to wipe away all those clones.

I think Pioneer PL70 II is excellent Pioneer turntable with a nice Pioneer tonearm (made by Micro Seiki), but it wasn’t a clone of Technics, it was an original Pioneer design.


schubert
7,386 posts
 
Whats nice about it ? With a lowly Grado Red it plays a Symphony in my condo very near to live concert . And having been to thousands of classical concerts I know what they sound like . Simple
Only help I have given to it is a Orsonic head shell. and a Project Heavy base .
Two Orsonics actually, other one has a new Empire 3000 ME/X which has rock steady .placement and depth for jazz group or string quartet .Also have a Pro-ject perspex 6 with a Nagoka 200 and a Rega RP6 with a Rega Exact .All have their place but the tremendous torque and heavy zinc body of the Pioneer is outstanding on Symphony.Oh,and about 6 old Sony PS-X5 and 6 in storage . I have owned 5or 6 Technics over the years .Of the hundred or so TT's I ever owned my all -time favorite was the beautiful Sansui 929 .Worst sounding to me was the first one I ever had , a Linn12 .
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