Customer Ratings & Reviews

Starting off with the sound. It is crystal clear with perfect midrange and highs. The only problem with the sound are the lows are slightly lacking. They are definitely there but not as flat as the rest of the range. Any scratches and pops on the record are also hardly noticeable. The turntable ran very smoothly, and you couldn’t detect any sort of speed changes. It also comes with a very good high-quality stylus. The turntable has both phono out and line out signals. Both connections sound equally great. It is obvious that a lot of thought and work was put into designing the built-in phono pre-amp. You will get equally great sound regardless of how you hook it up to the receiver. You can also easily set the speed to 33, 45, and 78 with a couple of buttons. It has the ability to raise the arm when the record has completed playing. There is a switch on the back to turn this feature on and off. I found that this only worked on some records and for the records it did work on, it took a long time for it to rise at the end of the record; I’m talking 10s of seconds. It does talk about all of this in the manual, so nothing came as a surprise. Automatically raising the arm was not something I found necessary, so it wasn’t a problem for me. The manual also talks about the arm possibly raising before the record completed playing but I never encountered this. It does require some assembly out of the box, but nothing complicated. Most of the assembly is making adjustments based on the needle being used. The directions are lacking some clarity and doesn’t completely state the settings based on the needle it comes with. It should have come complete with that information. This was especially true with assembling and setting the counterweight which was trial and error to get it right. There is also the ability to set the height of the arm, but I was not able to figure out how to change it. Fortunately, it worked as set from the factory. It comes with an adapter for playing 45 records. There is no real place to store it when not using it. I have seen other turntables and included a peg on top of the unit for storing the adapter, but this does not exist here. It would have been nice to have a better place to store it. The unit is big, very heavy, and very tall even with the dust cover closed. It needs plenty of space wherever you are putting so don’t expect to put it into a cabinet (with or without the dust cover) or on a shelf without plenty of space around and above it. Overall, a perfect turntable I can highly recommend. My only comments are I wish the bass was a little more emphatic and it was easier to understand how to assemble and adjust it out of the box but once that is done, it is all set until you get a new needle.

this is a technics turntable! you can't get any better for sub $2000. this unit is designed for playing music and not DJ'ing scratching as it doesn't include a pitch adjustment slider, for this get the legendary SL-1200

This is my review of the Technics SL-1500C turntable, which I think is the best path for vinyl record audiophiles. Here's my background on turntable use, which is my context for judging the SL-1500C. My father was an acoustical engineer who insisted on a high-end turntable for our family in the 1960s, so I was accustomed to good hi-fi components for playing my vinyl albums. The first turntable I purchased for myself was the classic AR Turntable, which used a belt system rather than the high-torque idler wheel drive system of record changers. The AR Turntable was the choice of audiophiles for a long time because of its speed accuracy and quiet, rumble-free operation. Eventually the AR broke down, so I replaced it with a Pioneer PL-570 direct-drive turntable. In 2004 I inherited a large sum of money and decided to purchase all new equipment for an integrated home theatre and music entertainment system, and I decided on the Stanton STR8-100, a professional DJ turntable with what I thought were cool features like digital S/PDIF as well as phono and line analog output, line input (for MP3 players), blue LEDs and blue strobe. Purchasing the DJ turntable was a mistake because the short, straight tonearm created distortion from tracking error and was probably accelerating groove wear. If you want a DJ turntable with proper tracking, the Technics SL-1200 (originally an audiophile turntable later adopted for DJ use) would be a better choice, but if you want a turntable that simply produces excellent sound, the Technics SL-1500C would be my recommendation. It is a solid, sturdy unit with direct drive. It has an excellent system for adjusting horizontal balance, stylus pressure, anti-skating, and height of the tone arm. There is an option for auto lift-up of the tone arm when your record is done playing (although it does not return the tone arm to the arm rest). You can choose phono or line output. Most importantly, the sound is exquisite. I thought I had decent clarity with my Pioneer turntable, but the Technics SL-1500C blows away all of the turntables I have previously owned. Even my original AR Turntable. There is absolutely no noise or distortion, and I can hear my vinyl music as it was meant to be heard, with every note seeming to come from a live performance. Hands-down, this turntable is an excellent choice, the right path for vinyl audiophiles.

I have had a few turntables over the years, all ranging in price and features. My first turntable was a budget model, but offered fully automatic start/stop. I did not realize how much i appreciated automatic features until I upgraded to a mid-range unit that was fully manual. The sound and build quality were a huge improvement, but I missed the automatic start/stop of that more affordable unit, simply for convenience. This new Technics SL-1500C is semi automatic, which so far has been the best of both worlds. Very premium build quality, weight, and features, while offering an auto-stop function when it reaches the end of an album. If I end up walking out of the room for a bit, I don't have to worry about my record continuing to spin and scratching my stylus once it reaches the end. Setup was pretty straightforward, though it did take some time to make it through the manual and get everything dialed in. Sound quality has been excellent. The size and build quality definitely make an impression when guests see it. I love the direct drive, and the fact that it's controlled via magnets under the heavy metal turntable itself. I have tested multiple 33's and 45's and the user experience and sound quality have been top notch. Controls are easy to use and understand. The feet are also adjustable and damped, to not send vibrations to the stylus. While the price can be considered steep, you will definitely get a quality piece of equipment that looks and feels premium. My dad still has his premium turntable from the 70's and it still works perfectly, and I have no doubt this Technics will offer me years of service as well.

I am so glad the technics brand is back, and this turntable does not disappoint. While I imagine with this nice of a turntable that people may have an audio / hi-fi expert set it up, I opted to DIY the setup. Assembling the turntable was easy--the turntable comes partially disassembled. Since it’s a direct drive and the turntable plate is magnetic, it was as simple as removing the magnet cover from shipping and placing it on the turntable. The most difficult portion of setting the turntable up was the calibration. If you’ve ever set up a turntable before you’re probably familiar with the process, but for those who are not, it consists of getting the height, weight, and angle of the tone arm perfectly calibrated so it puts enough (but not too much) pressure on the record to produce the playback of the record. It took me awhile to get the perfect calibration (and Panasonic packs a pretty good guide on how to do it), but now that it’s set I really haven’t had to mess with it at all. The turntable is built really well. The first thing I noticed about it was its weight. It’s aluminum die-cast and it’s heavy at 21 pounds. They did not cut any corners on the materials. One of my favorite features of this turntable is that it includes a built in phono pre-amp which eliminates the need for an external one (though if you own one you prefer you can also opt to bypass the built in one). I thought the one that was built in performs well. The included record needle is the Ortofon 2M Red cartridge which is a very nice needle. The cartridge is removable as well so if you wanted to replace it with a different one it should be relatively simple. To put this record player through its paces, I hooked it up to to floorstanding speakers and a center channel. I picked some of my favorite records so I could adequately benchmark the sound. I started with a classic—Rumours by Fleetwood Mac. The record player captured Stevie Nicks’ unique voice and Mick Fleetwood’s intricate guitar melodies. Next, I listened to Blonde by Frank Ocean to get an idea on how something with electronic production would sound, and it was also great. The drums sounded crisp; the composition is extremely intricate and it does a great job at capturing all of the details. It’s really a versatile machine that seems to be able to take anything that I throw at it. Overall I'd recommend this turntable to people who are looking to add a hi-fi record player to their hi-fi setup.

This is my second turn table since I started getting into vinyl. The build quality of this turntable is gorgeous. All the parts are very well-made and very finally balanced. In fact, the arm controls and weights are so very finely balanced that I’m having a hard time calibrating and playing new records. The assembly is very easy in and of itself. Instructions are very well laid out. The aesthetics make it a statement piece as well. The Finish in White I think is very attractive. My wife, who is very picky about displaying my speakers and audio equipment gave it a high approval and let us leave it out on our living room consul table. So I think it has a very high wife approval factor as well. However, the hardest part for me is that it, I’m having a hell of a time attempting to calibrate and balance, the arm, so that it please a record smoothly without it skipping and skating. I’m fairly new to vinyl so I thought my older turntable was more forgiving, but it had less granular control. Turntables and vinyl are definitely an invested hobby timewise, but when it does play, the sound is magical and then brings you back to a time when music was listen to one album at a time. I definitely recommend the product.

The Technics SL-1500C direct drive turntable system is an excellent choice for someone looking to fall in love all over again with their vinyl collection! This unit is solidly built, weighing in at over 20 pounds. Aesthetically, it looks like it was chiseled from a solid block of metal and sports a minimalist look. It offers all of the basic controls that you need and nothing "blingy". The "plug-and-play" and "system" references are more than hyperbole. The product requires some basic assembly out of the box but the included printed(!) manual is comprehensive and easy to follow. The product has one important "system" feature and that is the inclusion of a switchable integrated phono pre-amp. This means that regardless of your choice of external amplification your table will be up and running in moments. Technics even includes a phono cable and even an earth lead (for use if you choose to bypass the integrated pre-amp). Operation is dead simple. You have a power button, a large start/stop button and two speed select buttons. That's it! You have a cue lever that will gently lower the stylus to the record surface and even a switchable auto-lift function that will lift your tone arm when you reach the end of the record! The sound from the pre-mounted Ortofon Red cartridge is crisp and, to my ear, neutral. That is not a criticism, the attack and dynamics are very crisp and I am enjoying listening to everything from Beetles to Anya! In summary - the 1500C continues the excellent lineage of Technics turntable lore and I highly recommend that you give it a listen!

das ist fantastisch! this product is very goooood!