Pioneer DJ PLX-500 Direct Drive Turntable

While it may not have quartz-regulated speed, the speed is very accurate and there is no audible wow and flutter. Currently I have no equipment to measure that. The motor is at least as good as Audio Technica AT-LP120XUSB, or better- it spins up and slows down faster. The tonearm is exactly the same. The build quality seems better (buttons and general feel of the device). Sadly, the output cable is attached permanently and quite short - about 90cm. And there is no ground connector on the turntable. The built-in preamp is OK to see if it works, but that's about it (same story as AT-LP120XUSB that I had before moving). You really should get a separate preamp (Fosi Audio X2 is good and cheap-ish), that improves the sound more than upgrading the cartridge. The included cartridge is actually pretty good, I was happily surprised by it, since it's conical and has no specifications given other than that - I will keep using it until the stylus is old and then upgrade. And it does come adjusted well enough, at least on mine. Sounds best with 3g tracking force and 2.5g anti-skating. But to get it to sound best, get a much thicker slipmat, or just put a rubber one ON the included felt one - the tonearm height is adjustable, but at minimum setting it's still a little too high for the included cartridge. Mine sounds best after adding a 3mm rubber mat on the existing one, and then setting thearm height to 0.8mm. The height adjustment does audibly affect the highs and lows, and it is the reason to get this over the AT-LP120X (there is a bit more or less bass, but more importantly the highs get least distorted with the correct arm height, especially in the inner groove). This height adjustment lets you use cartridges of different heights in the future, without customizing the headshell or doing something equally wacky- the angle at which the cartridge is is important, as it makes the sides of the stylus parallel to the sides of the stylus used to cut the original record, and thus your stylus will follow them more accurately. And that angle xepends on the arm height. You can also get an Audio Technica AT-LP140X and it has that height adjustment, but has no preamp and is more expensive than this Pioneer PLX-500 AND a better preamp. So the Pioneer is a more cost-effective option that will probably be at least just as good.Also the lid on the black version of PLX-500 is darker-tinted clear instead of just clear, this may affect your colour choice (there is also a white version of this turntable).The legs have a lot of travel, so you can level it properly even on a saggy old shelf. But probably don't use furniture so flimsy that it tilts when you open the lid, this would make leveling difficult.The anti-skating does work, as in adjusting it does make the arm move inwards or outwards on a smooth surface, no idea if it's accurate though.And it does seem to have quartz speed control, as there is in fact a quartz resonator connected to one of the chips on the motor controller board (the chip name is painted over though. A second resonator is for the USB ADC, but I don't mean that one). And you most likely will need to do some simple modifications if you want an Audio Technica cartridge, as there is a low-pass filter on the preamp board, and it's after the switch for some reason. So it's always in circuit. And that increases the capacitance, and most AT cartridges require an extermely low capacitance that probably the cable alone has. But it's literally bridging 2 inductors and removing 2 capacitors, and maybe replacing the cable with jacks if you are so inclined.

A great turntable for the money. Well made, easy to set up and it plays great. I was impressed by the design, the materials and the performance. Highly recommended. It will not return the tone arm after the last song has played, if that is what you are looking for. But, it does have adjustment for gram force on the stylus, track alignment and platter spin accuracy. The tone arm release allows the arm to "float" down at a slow speed so the stylus is in the track groove with jumping or skipping. The feet are adjustable so the platter is level and there is enough mass to the unit to absorb being bumped. I have had this table for about three months and as you can tell I am very happy with it.

best turntable in its price range, that you can purchase. Absolutely happy with everything about it. Solid, high end construction, and amazing sound. I remember how esteemed pioneer audio equiptment ( especially turntables) , were , when I grew up in the late 70's and 80's. Nothing has changed. Great company, amazing turntables. You will be glad you chose this. I am !

What happened to the days when turntables would automatically lift the arm at the end of an LP? This turntable plays great and sounds great, but you've got to be on your toes to lift the arm when the album ends, otherwise you're grinding your needle.

I recall looking pretty closely as this is important to me being overseas. I almost bought the Audio Technica for it's external (laptop-style) dual voltage power supply. That was until noticed they had eliminated the tone-arm height adjustment from the model. For me that was an even bigger deal-breaker. So bought this one accepting the fact I'd have to run it off a transformer. Unpacking it I got a big surprise. Under the platter is a Voltage input selector SWITCH. (see pic) In the specs it does reference "110 or 220", and the plate on the back of the unit it says the same, normally, most people, seeing these two things, unless told otherwise, will assume "auto switching". So don't be fooled. The switch is not for looks. It is REQUIRED. The unit is "defaulted" to "US/north american sales" so 110 is preselected. If you're 220 where you are you must flip the switch.Now the turntable. LOVE it. Nothing about it, or the parts included feels at all cheap. and yeah I'm probably giving it extra points for the Voltage selector switch. Still, basic turntable no complaints. very happy. NOW, one last heads up, if you're counting on the "USB" function to record-mp3s to a PC, you may have to find your own software/app. There is none provided in the box. The app Pioneer says to use is downloadable and you can check it out without buying the unit first. rekordbox.com. it's free! *cough*, there are 4 versions of it, only the bottom one is free. My disc recorder just died, SO I WILL be checking this app out more closely, and return with an update, but just from glancing at the webpage, my bad-feeling radar is up. I'm betting there are other free-ware USB sound recorder apps out there that could work with this device, possibly even the sound recorder, or other Windows toy, included with Windows. BUT I've heard some rumblings that sound-quality can be an issue with the USB to PC process. Again I'll check it out and return here to update. FOR NOW I'D SAY, if you're an "audiophile" and want the highest possible quality, using this to transfer your Vinyl to digital, plan on buying a CD RECORDER that produces "audio format" CDs which you then rip with media player just as you would any store-bought CD. I rip to WAV or FLAC and then use media-human to covert those to M4a's.