Save your money (Numark TT1510)

Member Name: MichaelR

Product:	Numark TT1510
Date:	24/01/01 (2225 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cheap, easily available, nice layout

Disadvantages: Poor build, poor pitch accuracy, weak motor

Yes, the Numark TT-1510.

When you're first starting, these will probably be one of the first decks that you consider. They're nice and cheap, and they have a nice silver finish!

You would be well advised to avoid them though in my opinion, unless you are not too sure that you are going to like this whole DJing malarkey and you are willing to get rid of them and spend a LOT more cash two months or so down the road if you turn out to be any good at all.

These were the first decks that I owned, and I soon felt the desire to move on to something, well, something more like a DJ deck!

The main problem with the TT-1510 is that it lacks power to the platter. I can easily stop the platter rotating with one finger. This is not good. I can also pull the platter back with one finger. This is even worse, it makes cueing a nightmare, because the stylus has an added tendency to skip when you pull the platter back with the record.

The build quality is also poor. The piece of plastic that is the platter visibly sinks when you apply any sort of pressure, and the pitch control slider feels very plasticy, and flimsy, and I'm not too sure about the stability of that tonearm either.....

Oh, and then there's the other major reason NOT to buy this deck.... and that is the pitch accuracy.

The trouble is, it seems to have a mind of it's own. The pitch control can be as much as 2.5% out either way, and how much it is out seems to vary with the temperature. This is probably down to the rubber drive belt expanding and contracting in the heat. There are obvious problems with this, as your +/- 10% can soon become 12.5 up and 7.5 down on one deck, and something completely different on the other, and it's not nice trying to keep two tunes in time when their pitch is wavering all the time.

Really, it has all the problems associated with a belt drive deck.

You could do worse than the TT-1510, but
you could do a lot better too.

It is hard when you've got no money and desperately want to get started, but you would be much better off saving that little bit harder and buying something with Direct Drive.

If you really insist on going the Belt Drive route, then look towards the Citronic RT-1 or the BDX range of decks from KAM.

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