Following the recent recommendations, I had been
planning to buy a reference turntable, but being a private collector first and
foremost, had a small budget precluding the purchase of (for example) a Garrard
501 or SME deck.
I was delighted to find a new product, made in
Belgium, which is actually designed and sold as a DJ turntable - and thus has
"pitch bend" and "reverse" controls. It has direct drive and to be honest the
bearings are not the quietest in the world. BUT the deck has 78 speed, and up to
+/- 30% continuous sped variation, a quartz speed lock, a simple antiskating
dial (no silly weights) and seems well constructed.
The deck, which I bought last week, is the LIMIT
DJ3500SE. I love it - nice and solid, not perfect by any means but the
improvement in sound quality over my 10 year old Dual deck (using the same
cartridge & stylus) was marked. It is available in the UK through Richer
Sounds for a few pennies under £200 - I have no idea about US availability. I
came across this by pure chance while looking for a CD Recorder!
Stephen Sutton
Director Divine Art Record Company 8 The Beeches, East Harlsey, Northallerton, N. Yorks DL6 2DJ, UK Tel +44 1609 882062 Fax: +44 1609 882091 web: www.divine-art.com |