Stanton T52B Straight Arm Belt-Drive Turntable with Pre-Mounted Cartridge

Bottom Line? This is a terrific turntable if you're just getting into vinyl. I recommend purchasing Stanton T52B Straight Arm Belt-Drive Turntable with Pre-Mounted Cartridge (this item) if your budget is $500 or less.First, let's talk about this item itself. It comes in a box (mine was refurbished) that requires you to put a few pieces together. The instructions are pretty clear and you shouldn't have any issue assembling the turntable (TT). The parent company of Stanton is "Gibson" so you're backed by a pretty strong warranty.-+ This TT uses a "belt" drive, which means there is a large rubber-band that you'll install which ultimately makes the records spin. The rubber-band can break but they are very cheap to replace and it should last for years.-+ There is a "tone" adjustment slider on the TT, which makes the voice on the record sound lower (baritone) or higher (soprano) without changing the "speed" of the record. It isn't too useful if you aren't DJ'ing, but it is fun to mess around with when entertaining friends.-+ This TT does not have any sort of capability to change the "speed" of the record. If the record is spinning too fast or too slow (due to your "belt" being frayed) you can't change the RPM (rotation per minute). The standard RPM for an LP record (the larger records you're most familiar with) is 33.33.-+ The platter of this TT is actually quite cool; you'll see in the photo the "stanton" logo -- that's actually a nice piece of felt that fits over the machined platter itself. You'll also notice that the platter is raised a bit off the base of the TT and has a bunch of small circular dots going all the way around the edge so that when your record is spinning, a red light shines onto the dots and gives an illusion of them moving slowly in one direction. As you change the "tone" using the slider, the dots will move faster in one direction, or go backwards... it gives you the ability to quickly glance down and see what you've set the "tone" (more useful in the dark, I suppose).-+ The tone arm itself is straight (which works just as well as a curved arm) and has a weight balance that you can attach to the end. Giving the weight balance a twist or two can make sure that your needle stays in full contact with the record during play.-+ The record keeps spinning after it's finished playing, so be on the lookout.-+ Something called a "45 adapter" is included, but if you're purchasing newer records (like the latest Adele LP) you won't need to worry about it, as the adapter is used to player older 7" records that spin at a higher RPM.-+ One other interesting accessory that comes with this TT is a small "light" that plugs into the base which shines directly down the record next to the tone arm, which means you can easily switch tracks in the dark (by being able to see where each song starts and stops on the record).-+ Finally, to keep dust off the TT while not in use, a cloth cover is provided which fits over everything quite nicely.Now let's talk about the accessories you'll need:1. The audio-out for this TT is called "phono" so you'll need a "phono to line" converter, also known as a "pre-amp" -- I recommend this one: BEHRINGER MICROPHONO PP400 ($25)2. The TT comes with a cord that will connect the TT to the "pre-amp"; it includes two grounding wires which you MUST attach to both the TT and the "pre-amp" in order to remove a high pitch whine you'll hear when you crank the volume up on your speakers. You may want to tape the grounding wire to the grounding "nub" to make sure it's always in contact.3. You'll need a pair of speakers, preferably something that is "active" (meaning the speakers plug into the wall). I recommend these speakers as they are compact and sound really nice: Bose Companion 2 Series III Multimedia Speakers ($100)4. Finally, you'll need a cord that connects your "pre-amp" to your speakers. If you go with the Bose speakers I linked, the cord you need is this one: Mediabridge 3.5mm Male to 2-Male RCA Adapter (6 Feet) - Step Down Design - (Part# MPC-35-2XRCA-6 ) ($10)5. Once everything is plugged in you'll have a terrific setup that looks great and sounds even better.

Nice turntable, heavier than any other product in the same price range, that means a lot of metal parts, the stanton 500 cartridge is very good, plays scratched LP's without skipping like other turntables, play any kind of music with good quallity in this price range, with modern amplifiers you need to buy an extra preamp, like the Art DJ Pre II, cheap and good quallity sound, also you can get a Shure cartridge to improve the output sound, or use the brand of your choice, remember that an straigth tonearm requires a spherical needle-cartridge. An excellent choice for an entry level user, also looks nice

Everything about this table @ the $150 price point is excellent. Not sure about durability ( only had it a few weeks) but seems really well built and upgradable. Need a preamp or an amp with phono input to use it. Sounds amazing. The only critique I have is that the speed isn’t super consistent between records. Unless you are really sensitive to tones it doesn’t affect the sound and it can easily be adjusted. I wouldn’t really notice if it wasn’t for the timing strobe. Not having a hard cover kind of stinks too.Update (10/15)- the speed consistency has leveled out over time. It ended up running fast. There is a servo adjustment on the bottom. You need a really tiny but fairly long flat screwdriver to reach it. There is one for 33rpm and a different one for 45rpm. I adjusted it really quickly and easily and the speed is much more accurate now. There is a very small variation up and down (can only tell because of the strobe, the sound/pitch doesn’t change). Still very happy with this. Haven’t had any skips and it even has played through some ugly scratches. Really good turntable.

Maybe I should have done more research but since this turntable wouldn't work with my home system which includes a small mixer it was a complete let down. Otherwise all the features on it are exactly what I was looking for. For DJing only and NOT for home use.

I hate 1 star reviews. The fact is this: I bought this for my 19 yr DJ son as a surprise. He accidentally caught the needle and broke it without playing a single record. No problem I will order another styus..... this turntable shipped with an unknown cartridge (the metal electronics interface to the stylus/needle). I spoke with Stanton three times in 24 hours and finally their Customer Service (Tim) person identified the stylus I needed. It is NOT the N500S.....I needed the N300S.The N300S is no longer made by anyone and I cannot locate it anywhere. It's clear that Stanton has a bunch of older cartridges and stylus's and they needed to rid themselves of useless inventory on some sucker like me. Now I have a brand new T.52 turntable that needs abother $100 in NEW CARTRIDGE and stylus to play the first record ever. I have attached a picture of the metal cartridge and matching N300S plastic stylus so you know exactly what this is....there are no part numbers on ANYTHING.While the T.52 turntable looks nice, I feel like I have been burned by Stanton on this one. They should ship me a new shuttle, cartridge, and needle with a current and available parts.

I started out collecting records a few months ago and bought a low end lower quality turntable. It worked for its purpose but a lot of my brand new mint condition records were skipping on the table as the stylus wasn't heavy enough. I bought this because my friend with a degree in audio engineering had one and recommended it to me. This works great. I had a little bit of trouble balancing the stylus because I had no idea what I was doing and the directions were unclear, so if you've never done it have a friend help or watch some youtube videos to get you started. Other than that it was super easy to set up and sounds FANTASTIC. Note: the turntable I had before had a built in preamp, this one does not. I had to go buy one.

At this price what's not to love! Once I unpacked it, I modified it heavily: changed the tonearm for an s-shaped one, installed a cue lever and packed the empty hollow body with Roxul soundproofing material; that little table plays like a champ now!

Es un buen equipo, aunque muy básico. Recomendable para quiénes empiezan o hacen uso moderado del equipo. No es equipo para DJ