Direct Drive Turntable question: Numark TT200 and others

My current DD (Numark TT200) doesn't seem to have the strength to handle long periods of scratch practice. During extended periods of scratch practice the platter stops spinning easily with minimal pressure. Is this normal behavior for all direct drive turntables? I'm not sure if the problem is the TT200 (bought used) or myself putting to much pressure on the record/platter during practice.

I did a torque comparison of a few popular turntables just to see if this was a torque issue (ratings below). I was shocked to find that the classic Technic's 1200 has less starting torque than the TT200. If anyone can shed some light on this it would be most appreciated. I don't wanna have to join a DJ forum just to get to the bottom of this LOL.


TT200 torque rating= starting torque of 1.6 kg/cm

Technics SL-1200 MK2 torque rating= starting torque of 1.5 kg/cm

Numark TTxUSB torque rating= starting torque of 4.7 kg/cm and a constant torque of 3.7 kg/cm

how old is the table? Maybe the motor is gettin' tired?

homedude is right it's probably just yer motor being worn out. sucks, but aren't those about the bottom of the basement dd tables from numark? makes sense...all the budget dd tables ive messed with have the motors start going wonky after a few years and a bit of abuse.

as for torque...forget it. it's marketing and numbers hocus pocus. wtf does torque matter if you are using a slipmat and the platter basically keeps spinning normally? (im not a motor expert but common sense tells me that the slipmat makes the 'power' of the motor basically irrelevant as it continues to spin while the slipmat does all the moving around).

part of the reason technics are so popular is cause of how robust they are...that motor can stay pretty accurate for like 30+ years. a cheaper table, even with higher torque still might crap out in as little as a year or two depending on use / abuse.

one final thought, all the scratch greats never complained about the torque on a technics being too low...

Sorry double post.

b.read wrote:how old is the table? Maybe the motor is gettin' tired?

Yeah good point...that's exactly what I was thinking. I've only had it for about 2 years but only up until just recently have I used it for scratching. Who knows how long the original owner had it. I think I remember him telling me that he had just bought it and only used it a few times.

tapedeck wrote:homedude is right it's probably just yer motor being worn out. sucks, but aren't those about the bottom of the basement dd tables from numark? makes sense...all the budget dd tables ive messed with have the motors start going wonky after a few years and a bit of abuse.

as for torque...forget it. it's marketing and numbers hocus pocus. wtf does torque matter if you are using a slipmat and the platter basically keeps spinning normally? (im not a motor expert but common sense tells me that the slipmat makes the 'power' of the motor basically irrelevant as it continues to spin while the slipmat does all the moving around).

part of the reason technics are so popular is cause of how robust they are...that motor can stay pretty accurate for like 30+ years. a cheaper table, even with higher torque still might **** out in as little as a year or two depending on use / abuse.

one final thought, all the scratch greats never complained about the torque on a technics being too low...

Ah,....wise words. I hear you on the torque comment. With the classic 1200 being less torque I figured there had to be more to the equation than torque. Years ago I had turntablist friend that had the Numark TTXUSB's he seem to like them a lot maybe I'll look into getting one of those or maybe even look into getting a used 1200. Oh and yeah I think the TT200 is an entry level direct drive TT though it's advertised as a "professional high torque turntable"

Look around on ebay if you decide to go for a 1200...the used market can be dicey, but they are built like tanks so unless it was grossly abused, you should be ok.

yea im sure its an ok table but fact is it's the bottom of their dd line.

a used tech will likely be in better working order than a used budget table, even if it's in worse cosmetic shape....that can make it tough. also, they cost more used than those tt200s are brand new :\.

dont get me wrong i think there are great tables that have far surpassed technics capabilities (stanton str8-100 or 150, vestax pdx, never tried the numarks...), but you also just cannot deny 30 years of total market dominance with minimal design changes from the original.

It's numark, what do you expect? reliability?

Have you tried putting wax paper under your slipmats? Slippery slipmats are a requirement for scratching even with the strongest motors. You should be able to hold your record with the platter still spinning at set speed (or close to it). What I did was take the paper out of one of my records, popped on top of the platter (poking a hole in the center), then put the slip mat and record on top, and finally spun the platter by hand as I cut the excess paper around the edge of the record.

I'm sure your motor is fine and it's just your slipmat gripping the platter.

^^amen.
you generally want to finesse it enough so the platter keeps doing it's thing...if your fighting the motor itself it's gonna be tough.

not to mention getting it back up to speed is part of the technique, not the burden of the motor.

DJ Hellfire wrote:Have you tried putting wax paper under your slipmats? Slippery slipmats are a requirement for scratching even with the strongest motors. You should be able to hold your record with the platter still spinning at set speed (or close to it). What I did was take the paper out of one of my records, popped on top of the platter (poking a hole in the center), then put the slip mat and record on top, and finally spun the platter by hand as I cut the excess paper around the edge of the record.

I'm sure your motor is fine and it's just your slipmat gripping the platter.

Yeah definitely. I have the D-Styles joint on there right now....the "Table Cloth" but it's not helping. I can practice for about 15-20 minutes before it starts dying on me. Maybe I'm just putting to much pressure on the record....I don't know.

Not at all...just think, turntables need to able to withstand scratching for a whole show and even longer. You aren't doing anything wrong, it's the tired motor I'm bettin'.

Upright wrote:

DJ Hellfire wrote:Have you tried putting wax paper under your slipmats? Slippery slipmats are a requirement for scratching even with the strongest motors. You should be able to hold your record with the platter still spinning at set speed (or close to it). What I did was take the paper out of one of my records, popped on top of the platter (poking a hole in the center), then put the slip mat and record on top, and finally spun the platter by hand as I cut the excess paper around the edge of the record.

I'm sure your motor is fine and it's just your slipmat gripping the platter.

Yeah definitely. I have the D-Styles joint on there right now....the "Table Cloth" but it's not helping. I can practice for about 15-20 minutes before it starts dying on me. Maybe I'm just putting to much pressure on the record....I don't know.

Sometimes the aftermarket slipmats still aren't any better for scratching than the stock mats, unless its something like butter rugs. But wax paper is essentially free and very effective. Try it. If the problem still happens with wax paper, then it's most likely the motor, or a warped record.

If you have any of those notebook paper reinforcement stickers layin' around, try those for the center. you may have to trim out the center hole, but it'll keep the wax paper from ripping.