Hi Howard:
Treated myself to a Stanton ST 150 a few months ago and I am really digging it, so to speak. What made me choose the Stanton?
First, there are not many audiophile type reviews out there for what are essentially DJ turntables. What I did pick up though is that Stanton has become the leader in direct drive since two things occurred: 1) Technics patents (for lack of a better word) expired after 25 years and companies like Stanton began introducing serious product 2) Technics stopped offering its SL 12xx turntables.
Second, the on-line reviews of the Stanton 150 all seemed very positive.
Third, Mapleshade Records is offering various souped up versions of the Stanton 150 as its turntable of choice.
I started out chasing the Pioneer PLX-1000 and there was an incredible backlog to actually get one. After 3 months of waiting, I gave up the ghost. In the interim, I did come across a review or two of the Pioneer that said even though the PLX-1000 looked like a Technics clone, it ultimately wasn't and its innards were not up to Technics quality. And yes granted, so much of this is from a DJ perspective.
So for $600 I purchased the Stanton. It comes with a built in pre-amp, which isn't half bad, and a Stanton cartridge, which I have swapped out. For a $100, I picked up a Ortofon Serato OM S-120 Pre-mounted Cartridge , which for the cash is pretty excellent. I also use a Shure M97 and AT 120. These two cartridges I had to mount on universal head shells, which is getting tougher for these baseball mitt hands that I have.
Rich
Treated myself to a Stanton ST 150 a few months ago and I am really digging it, so to speak. What made me choose the Stanton?
First, there are not many audiophile type reviews out there for what are essentially DJ turntables. What I did pick up though is that Stanton has become the leader in direct drive since two things occurred: 1) Technics patents (for lack of a better word) expired after 25 years and companies like Stanton began introducing serious product 2) Technics stopped offering its SL 12xx turntables.
Second, the on-line reviews of the Stanton 150 all seemed very positive.
Third, Mapleshade Records is offering various souped up versions of the Stanton 150 as its turntable of choice.
I started out chasing the Pioneer PLX-1000 and there was an incredible backlog to actually get one. After 3 months of waiting, I gave up the ghost. In the interim, I did come across a review or two of the Pioneer that said even though the PLX-1000 looked like a Technics clone, it ultimately wasn't and its innards were not up to Technics quality. And yes granted, so much of this is from a DJ perspective.
So for $600 I purchased the Stanton. It comes with a built in pre-amp, which isn't half bad, and a Stanton cartridge, which I have swapped out. For a $100, I picked up a Ortofon Serato OM S-120 Pre-mounted Cartridge , which for the cash is pretty excellent. I also use a Shure M97 and AT 120. These two cartridges I had to mount on universal head shells, which is getting tougher for these baseball mitt hands that I have.
Rich