Stanton T80 Digital Direct Drive Turntable - The New Powerhouse

I had a chance to test the Stanton T.80 Digital Direct Drive Turntable last summer at the International DJ Expo and it is a very responsive turntable. It's not a Technics but that's just my bias. It is a very solid turntable nonetheless. The accuracy of the pitch control didn't waiver and was very smooth. The Key Lock was amazing and reminded me of the Key Lock on the Pioneer CDJ1000. The start up time for the platter is spec'ed out at less than 1 second. Not that I could notice but it didn't drag on start up and the brake on stop was practically instant.

The Stanton T80 Digital Direct Drive Turntable put Stanton on the map again in a BIG way. If you hadn't noticed by now Stanton did a complete overhaul of their product line. A totally new look and feel to the Stanton line includes a beefier sturdier turntable in the T.80.

With the advancement in digital technology Stanton has put high end features into an affordable turntable. The tell all feature is the direct drive motor that was revamped to give more control for the DJ. The Key Lock feature allows DJ's to adjust the tempo of the record without changing the pitch and if you are a new DJ or thinking of buying turntables then this little Key Lock gem will open up a tone of creativity for your mixes and samples. Now if you are like me you want to back up your vinyl to the digital realm. The S/PDIF digital output is just the thing. All good features for the Stanton T80 Digital Direct Drive Turntable.

Now when it comes down to tone arms I prefer the S shape of the straight. The tone arm on the Stanton T80 Digital Direct Drive Turntable is straight and a perfect application for turntablists who use their turntables mostly to scratch and do tricks. You can certainly mix on it because of the cardan's suspension system but be careful of the wear on your vinyl.

Another feature to note is that along with the phono output it has a line output. Now why is this important? Well if you own a Technics 1200 like I do you can only use the phono input on a mixer. However, with the Stanton T80 Digital Direct Drive Turntable you can hook up up to 4 of them in a mixer that only has 2 phono/line inputs. Well why would you want to hook up 4 turntables? This is for those DJ's who need to have more than 2 turntables for special applications such as clubs or DJ battles mostly.

Also be aware that the cartridge weight is 6 - 10 grams so adjust and calibrate the tone arm accordingly.

Stanton T80 Digital Direct Drive Turntable
Price Tag: $249 plus free shipping

Stanton T80 Digital Direct Drive Turntable Specifications:

Frequency Response: 30 Hz to 20 kHz +1/- 2 dB/ RIAA filter

THD+N (Line): < 0.03% at 1 kHz

Signal to Noise Ratio (Ref to Max. Level): <-65 dB

Digital Output (SPDIF): 0.5Vp-p (Load 75 ohms)

Type: 3-speed full manual

Motor: 8 pole, 3 phase, brushless DC motor

Driving Method: Direct Drive

Speeds: 33 1/3, 45 rpm and 78 rpm

Wow and Flutter: Less than 0.15% WRMS (JIS WTD) with 33 1/3 rpm