Stanton vs. Technics

Technics have been the best forever, but Stanton seems to be competing pretty well. What do ya think?

namotu wrote:Technics have been the best forever, but Stanton seems to be competing pretty well. What do ya think?

The real question for me is Stanton or Vestax.

You want a thorough argument that will save you plenty of time here? Just read this thread (you might need to make an account).

namotu wrote:Technics have been the best forever, but Stanton seems to be competing pretty well. What do ya think?

Stanton is made cheap. If we're talking about turntables you need technics for any kind of serious use(Djing,scratching,etc...). The reliability, sound quality and overall ease of use of the 1200's is unbeatable. If you have a problem with a 1200 you can get practically all replacement parts pretty easily. Stanton? NO. You buy 1200's and sell them 5 or 10 years later and you can get a similar amount even after inflation. Stanton's will be worth half or less than what you paid for them in the first place.
GAME OVER.

zapp wrote:If you have a problem with a 1200 you can get practically all replacement parts pretty easily. Stanton? NO. You buy 1200's and sell them 5 or 10 years later and you can get a similar amount even after inflation. Stanton's will be worth half or less than what you paid for them in the first place.
GAME OVER.

I read something a long time ago that 1200's were being discontinued, or their parts or something. Can someone shed some light on that? Prove/disprove..I don't care...

zapp wrote:Stanton is made cheap.

Bullshit. Look inside the ST150 or ST120 and tell me that with a straight face. The ST150 weighs something like 40lbs.

If we're talking about turntables you need technics for any kind of serious use(Djing,scratching,etc...)

The ST150 has more torque than the 1200 and you can get a straight or S-shaped tonearm, depending on your preference. I could never go back to curved arms after having a straight tonearm.

If you have a problem with a 1200 you can get practically all replacement parts pretty easily. Stanton? NO.

Well, in the case of the 1200 -- I'll be ordering it through the mail (I wouldn't settle for used replacement parts really -- not a piece that's subject to wear, anyway). In the case of the ST150? I'll also be ordering through the mail. So the ease of obtaining parts is equal for me. Depending on the difficulty of repair, I may or may not have a technician do it. However I was forced to repair the ground wire, RCA cables, and target light on my 1200s -- since they weren't detachable; they are on the Stantons. Oh, and if you crack it open you'll see an insanely modular design (reminiscent) of broadcast design really. Turntables are simple devices. If you don't treat them bad they don't magically fail out of the blue, regardless of model.

But if you really want know about reliability, go on DJ Forums and see a post every week about a 1200 acting up in some weird way. They're not invincible machines.

You buy 1200's and sell them 5 or 10 years later and you can get a similar amount even after inflation. Stanton's will be worth half or less than what you paid for them in the first place.

That's if you buy them used. You buy a used pair for $250 and sell them for $250. Buy a new pair? You're unloading them for $250 -- 'cause no one is willing to pay more nowadays when you can buy new Stantons of equal quality for less. If you really want to get down to it, a top of the line, brand new, Vestax or Stanton is likely to fetch more used than a 1200 whose going rate is still $250-300 used.

GAME OVER.

Maybe for you. Some of us keep up with technological advances and aren't fan boys.

There was a time when Panasonic still held the patent for the 1200's motor design; that expired 10 years ago. Before that there were no tables that could even closely compare to the 1200s. Some people are still living in the past.

I've heard a quote thrown around that the 1200 accounts for 1% of Panasonic's total revenue; Technics, as a division, is pretty much non-existent. The moniker is kept alive strictly for the 1200 (and maybe the SL-DZ1200 that hasn't seen a revision since its launch). With the overhead of shipping, storing, and manufacturing the 1200 -- even if there's zero R&D costs, how much longer do you think Panasonic is going to bother with them? Especially when guys who've had tables since the early 90s don't really care to own them anymore, or have mixed CD-Js into their workflow somehow?

Vestax and Stanton are offering superior tables, made for scratch and mix DJs while the 1200 is a 30 year old hi-fi deck (which is why it has no replacement cables).

If you have a nostalgic view of the 1200, by all means -- have fun. But don't spread misinformation to kids who wanna get into DJing just because there was a time when the 1200 was the ultimate (and only) DJ table.

damn i hear that all the time. you got your shit down man.
its true though, stanton is a DJing company, they only manufacture DJ related equipment. Panasonic on the other hand, makes every possible electronic. I doubt their main concern are the technics...

Plus the used market on the 1200's is probley 10x as large as new market. Those tables are just be recycled between people throughout the years. Not many people are buying brand new 1200's these days.

if i ever step up in the DJ game, im gonna hook myself up with a pair of the stanton str8-150's.

namotu wrote:Technics have been the best forever, but Stanton seems to be competing pretty well. What do ya think?

you get what you pay for.....


i got 5 techs two that are over 25yrs old...never had a problem and they have done alot of party's and spun alot of records...so you tell me .


plus feel the weight of both tables you choose.


tech 1200 mkII baby they hold there value beleevedat

i voted 1210' because i have owned mine for 10 years. i boughl three of them and the problems i have had have been pretty minimal.

one had a power unit faliure - but this was becasue of a lightnight strike that blew out/up a modem elsewhere in the house -

another one has had the litle white 'record reading' light bulb go.

another has had the audio cables die -

these were all fixed pretty cheaply.

the last time i sent my decks for a check up the guy in the shop got pretty excited saying 'they dont make em like that any more' -

i've heard that they're using lower grade components in 1210's now, and some i saw recently had all kinds of buck rodgers features i wasnt into...

had a bosh on a mates stantons and they felt nice..

Fan Boy? Aren't you the one with a practically all Stanton setup?. I've been Djing for 7 years and not once did I enter a club that had Stanton turntables so I think it's much more important from a practical point of view as well to know how to use 1200's. I personally have had bad experiences with Stanton products and know people who have had the same thing happen to them. The weight of a turntable is not what matters. What matters is that 1200's have been proven over 20 years of quality. Stanton? NO. Besides what do you know about turnatbales ? You rock CD players's. GTFOOHWTB

bedouin wrote:

zapp wrote:Stanton is made cheap.

****. Look inside the ST150 or ST120 and tell me that with a straight face. The ST150 weighs something like 40lbs.

If we're talking about turntables you need technics for any kind of serious use(Djing,scratching,etc...)

The ST150 has more torque than the 1200 and you can get a straight or S-shaped tonearm, depending on your preference. I could never go back to curved arms after having a straight tonearm.

If you have a problem with a 1200 you can get practically all replacement parts pretty easily. Stanton? NO.

Well, in the case of the 1200 -- I'll be ordering it through the mail (I wouldn't settle for used replacement parts really -- not a piece that's subject to wear, anyway). In the case of the ST150? I'll also be ordering through the mail. So the ease of obtaining parts is equal for me. Depending on the difficulty of repair, I may or may not have a technician do it. However I was forced to repair the ground wire, RCA cables, and target light on my 1200s -- since they weren't detachable; they are on the Stantons. Oh, and if you crack it open you'll see an insanely modular design (reminiscent) of broadcast design really. Turntables are simple devices. If you don't treat them bad they don't magically fail out of the blue, regardless of model.

But if you really want know about reliability, go on DJ Forums and see a post every week about a 1200 acting up in some weird way. They're not invincible machines.

You buy 1200's and sell them 5 or 10 years later and you can get a similar amount even after inflation. Stanton's will be worth half or less than what you paid for them in the first place.

That's if you buy them used. You buy a used pair for $250 and sell them for $250. Buy a new pair? You're unloading them for $250 -- 'cause no one is willing to pay more nowadays when you can buy new Stantons of equal quality for less. If you really want to get down to it, a top of the line, brand new, Vestax or Stanton is likely to fetch more used than a 1200 whose going rate is still $250-300 used.

GAME OVER.

Maybe for you. Some of us keep up with technological advances and aren't fan boys.

There was a time when Panasonic still held the patent for the 1200's motor design; that expired 10 years ago. Before that there were no tables that could even closely compare to the 1200s. Some people are still living in the past.

I've heard a quote thrown around that the 1200 accounts for 1% of Panasonic's total revenue; Technics, as a division, is pretty much non-existent. The moniker is kept alive strictly for the 1200 (and maybe the SL-DZ1200 that hasn't seen a revision since its launch). With the overhead of shipping, storing, and manufacturing the 1200 -- even if there's zero R&D costs, how much longer do you think Panasonic is going to bother with them? Especially when guys who've had tables since the early 90s don't really care to own them anymore, or have mixed CD-Js into their workflow somehow?

Vestax and Stanton are offering superior tables, made for scratch and mix DJs while the 1200 is a 30 year old hi-fi deck (which is why it has no replacement cables).

If you have a nostalgic view of the 1200, by all means -- have fun. But don't spread misinformation to kids who wanna get into DJing just because there was a time when the 1200 was the ultimate (and only) DJ table.

theres you go... if you pick up some used 1200 thats all you'd ahve to pay till they die out , sure you have to maintain them but if you know how to work on them thats all you have to pay

there's alot of recycled 1200's floating around still , i'm about to pick up my 6th one, now i can get each of my kids there own set up.

^

zapp wrote:Fan Boy? Aren't you the one with a practically all Stanton setup?.

Replacing my c314s with CD-J 800s when the opportunity arises. I'm on the fence regarding whether I'll go with a ST150 or PDX-3000 though. Technics were awesome -- in 1992.

I've been Djing for 7 years and not once did I enter a club that had Stanton turntables so I think it's much more important from a practical point of view as well to know how to use 1200's.

If you can't DJ on any set of turntables with a pitch control and reasonable torque you have no right playing live. What you're saying is the equivalent of, "Everyone has Toyotas; if you want to drive a car, you can't buy a Nissan."

What matters is that 1200's have been proven over 20 years of quality. Stanton? NO.

There's plenty of people on DJ Forums who have Stanton decks. I've yet to see a ST150 failure post. Of course, they can't prove themselves to you (and others) aren't open to trying anything else.

Besides what do you know about turnatbales ? You rock CD players's.

I use both vinyl and CDs, and owned 1200s for a good portion of my life -- and have no interest in going back to them. Matter of fact, I saw a used 1200 with a busted ground wire on Craigslist for $85 a few weeks ago. I was thinking of buying it but realized I'd be throwing away money that could go toward something I really want, like a ST150 or PDX-3000.

bedouin wrote:

zapp wrote:Fan Boy? Aren't you the one with a practically all Stanton setup?.

Replacing my c314s with CD-J 800s when the opportunity arises. I'm on the fence regarding whether I'll go with a ST150 or PDX-3000 though. Technics were awesome -- in 1992.

I've been Djing for 7 years and not once did I enter a club that had Stanton turntables so I think it's much more important from a practical point of view as well to know how to use 1200's.

If you can't DJ on any set of turntables with a pitch control and reasonable torque you have no right playing live. What you're saying is the equivalent of, "Everyone has Toyotas; if you want to drive a car, you can't buy a Nissan."

What matters is that 1200's have been proven over 20 years of quality. Stanton? NO.

There's plenty of people on DJ Forums who have Stanton decks. I've yet to see a ST150 failure post. Of course, they can't prove themselves to you (and others) aren't open to trying anything else.

Besides what do you know about turnatbales ? You rock CD players's.

I use both vinyl and CDs, and owned 1200s for a good portion of my life -- and have no interest in going back to them. Matter of fact, I saw a used 1200 with a busted ground wire on Craigslist for $85 a few weeks ago. I was thinking of buying it but realized I'd be throwing away money that could go toward something I really want, like a ST150 or PDX-3000.

I think your opinion in this matter is biased if you're using CD players you shouldn't be talking about 1200's even if you used them 10 years ago specially not when your gear is practically all by Stanton. It's not a matter of being open to technology, hell I use Serato half the time for showmanship and practical reasons. But I've tried other gear by Stanton as well as other brands like Numark and they don't compare. I don't care what the manufacturer says on their website they gets no props from me or any serious DJ I know. Regarding the clubs, that's not what I was saying. What I meant is that for practical reasons if you're going to be playing in clubs you better be comfortable and good at using the gear that's there. Different brands and gear react and work differently. If the torque on a Stanton turntable is different when it comes time to scratch a record, backspin or whatever it is that you're doing than the result may be different.

It's all good though, if that works for you than keep doing it. To each his own.

zapp wrote:I think your opinion in this matter is biased if you're using CD players you shouldn't be talking about 1200's

Once again, I use both. I use vinyl almost every day. Rarely do I practice scratching on CD decks, and I certainly don't sample from them.

And I probably have owned, disassembled, and used more turntables than you ever will. Not to mention, I can identify the model number of any Technics deck by heart in the 1xxx line (and others too), and that a pristine 1100A at the right price would be a great find. Of course, I can admit my love for the 1100A is purely nostalgic and has no technical justification in light of recent offerings by other companies -- too bad you can't.

If you'd bother to have read the post I linked to, you'd know the history of the 1200. Technics had a number of decks out that matched the 1200 in performance, containing both the same tonearm and motor mechanisms. Many (most?) DJs were using these; the favorite table of choice for Disco DJs was actually the 1100A. Technics slowly forced DJs to move to the 1200 by eliminating cheaper models that performed at similar levels. Go watch Wild Style. Flash is rocking 1500MKIIs -- and that was post record contract, so I'm sure he could've picked up some 1200s if he really wanted to. Actually -- go check out that old interview with Flash in the Source "True School" issue from 93 or whatever. When asked what table he really wanted, he said he wanted the 1100A "because the torque would rip your arm off."

Technics monopolized the turntable market by keeping a patent on their motor design, and when that patent expired, other people (like Vestax) stepped on the scene to fill the void. Technics made it worse by forcing bedroom DJs to fork over $499 for 1200s when other model turntables in the 1xxx line had the same framework. Never mind that though. They actually started discontinuing the parts for those tables very shortly after they discontinued the tables themselves. In time, nobody could get their decks fixed and were forced to 1200s. And since no other table had the torque due to Technics' motor patent, no competition arrived until about '96. After 20 years of having no other choice, it's easy to understand why people still think the 1200 is some sort of indestructible device; there people out there still rocking the original Vestax decks. I was using an old Gemini deck from 1992 for a while to rip vinyl. So what? The 1200 isn't some mythical device that never breaks down.

I'm not advocating Stanton. The ST150 is actually an OEM deck that's branded with Stanton's logo. Have you ever used one? No. Okay, then please don't give your opinion. Have you used a Vestax PDX-2000 or 3000? No? Okay, your opinion is special then. Gemini's PT-04 has gotten some excellent reviews both at Scratchworx and by owners on DJ Forums. I'm no Gemini fan, but I'd definitely give those decks a chance based on research and evidence.

What's pathetic is when a guy wants to start DJing and instead of getting say -- some $250, brand new Stanton decks (the T80 is quite capable), people have him go buy some 12 year old, beat up Technics decks off of Craigslist -- that might need fixed, but there's tons of parts man! Great call.