Some excellent features (Numark - PhatTrack)

Member Name: MichaelR

Product:	Numark - PhatTrack
Date:	24/01/01 (105 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good sound quality, quick installation, built-in lamp

Disadvantages: Expensive, Better carts out there

I have to say that I really like these carts.

The main advantage is that you can plug them directly into the tonearm, making installation a breeze, and meaning that if you need to change one quickly in a professional (or even semi-professional!) situation than you can!

The other really good thing that they have going for them is the little lamp built into the cart. There is a small switch on the PhatTrac, that is located right on the outer edge of the arm, and if you press this switch before planting the stylus on the record, (don't try it afterwards boys and girls, that would just be silly.... well, I've seen people try, but I'm sure none of you are that stupid!) then the small lamp comes on for about 30 seconds, allowing you to see what's going on.

If you have a lamp set up over your deck, then you probably won't need it, but I appreciated the extra lighting while setting up the record.

The sound quality is pretty damn good, OK, so there is better out there, but I think the sound quality does hold up quite well, for a relatively long period of time.

I've found that the styli last quite well too... but I'm not sure how long they would last if you're into scratching, that's not really my thing.

They are very expensive, and that is the major thing going against them for me, as you can get carts & styli with better sound quality for less notes, and that's why I've moved away from them.

You do get a spare stylus included, but then you could have an Ortofon Pro Silver Concorde and buy a spare stylus for it and still spend two quid less than you would if you went for the PhatTrac.

Personally, I would go for the Ortofon over the Numark, but the Numark is still a decent enough cart.

Summary: