Tech 12s, Technics, or just plain 1200s, since the 1970's the Technics turntable has been a constant to both DJs and audiophiles thanks to its rock solid construction, consistent performance, and high quality sound. So high of quality are these decks that they last for years and still command upwards of $300 on the used market.
As I look at and use my own pair, two mid-nineties units, the quality is noticed immediately. I bought these used at a c-note for the pair. They where owned by a local dj for what I can only assume as being most of their lives, and the damage tells the tale. Dings, scratches, missing tonearm assembly parts, and replaced phono cords are a testimonial to all the falls, trips, and abuse, yet still they perform flawlessly. The platter still speeds up and slows down within acceptable amounts, there is no flutter (unlike most other tables I've used), and the sound quality is still as good as a fresh one out of the box (old ass needles notwithstanding). After what was probably 20 years of constant abuse, it remains as a testimate to the engineering that when into it.
Even so, Panasonic (Technics parent company) recently dealt a heavy blow to the world of analog music and vinyl by Announcing that it would discontinue the mk5 version of the product. While there is no word yet on the status of the mk2s, Panasonic's US shop page lists it as not available direct, while the product page still lists it as available.
Is this the death knell of vinyl? Probably not. There is still the high end, snobby hifi market, for which the 1200s would be a perfect fit dispite the bad rep it gets there (see a review by an audiophile Here
Meanwhile, there is still a list of amazing turntables out there, for both DJs and the Hi Fi market, trying to keep analog alive, not to mention the rabid fans of those black vinyl disks out there.
PS. Why a turntable for a soul blog? What else do you listen to soul on? A mp3 player?
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