Home > Reviews > Numark TTx1 Pro Turntable

Turntable Specifications Direct drive ultra high torque open motor (+3.7 kg-cm peak) Straight & "S"-shaped tone arms included “Solid-core” steel top, rubber base Interchangeable pitch fader & button cartridges for club & battle style Detachable power & audio connections Removable target light with super-bright white LED Blue illuminated display w/ 10,20 & 50% pitch range, 33-45-78 RPM, reverse, adjustable brake & startup times Digital out, line output, key lock BPM counter.

Review Date : March 2003

Numark have been producing decent, low-mid priced dj equipment for a around 30 years now inventing innovative ideas that have made other manufacturers sit up and take notice . Until recently, most of their market has been aimed more towards the beginner/bedroom dj, but not anymore. With the release of the TTx1 they’ve got a piece of equipment that will send shudders down the spines of the likes of Technics and Vestax.

The design of the deck is groundbreaking in almost every aspect, weighing in at a respectable 13kg it’s no lightweight either. It has a solid construction comprising of a metal top with a rubber base that provides very good protection from feedback and vibration. You may think as it’s built like a tank that the design team would have scrimped on the deck’s aesthetic qualities but they haven’t, it is a looker!

So what are the groundbreaking features then? Well think for a moment what you would like to see on your ideal turntable.....whatever ideas have just popped into your mind you’ll almost certainly find on this deck. How about for starters having a deck that truly caters for the mix DJ and the turntablists outthere. This deck includes a unique interchangeable tone arm system that allows you to swap between a straight arm, providing more stability for scratch DJs and an ‘S’ shaped arm for all us mix DJs. Add to this the ability to remove and swap the button panel with the pitch fader and you have a deck that can not only be used in "club" mode but also for the first time in true "battle" mode.

With exception to the tone arm system though the other major advance with the deck is the torque, it is a huge 3.7kg/cm! That’s over twice the raw power of the Technics’ measly 1.5kg/cm and it also makes a mockery of Vestax’s PDX2000. If you are uncertain as to what this means, basically the higher the torque rating the quicker the response time is for the deck to get up to speed.

Other features include a digital output, a line output (similar to a cd players output) and the usual turntable phono output. There is also a key correction function that allows a record’s key to be played at 0% when the actual pitch is not at 0%, not a new invention I know but still useful. This does produce some interesting results though if the pitch is a fair distance from 0%, this is not a fault of the deck merely a fault in the way that key correction works. One last point on this matter, the key correction will not work on the phono output. There are also adjustable start/stop settings, the standard 33/45/78RPM, reverse play and quartz lock buttons and a large blue display panel that displays everything from the direction that the platter is spinning to the BPM of the record being played. The BPM counter is a tool that works in both line and phono modes and can be used to learn the art of beatmatching in virtually no time at all, bad news for all of us that had to learn the hard way :)

Ok so having all these features on one deck is all well and good but how does it compare to the big guns? Well it is impossible to separate the TTx from the legendary SL1200 or even the PDX2000 it is that good! Long running mixes are a doddle as performance from the motor is rock solid, the sound quality is also comparable to the Technics, so top marks on that score.

All in all the deck is a major player in all areas of design, features and performance it is basically flawless.

The big two (Vestax and Technics) should heed the warning, the super deck has arrived!!

Price guide around £350 each.