New Pioneer PLX-1000 vs. VPI Traveler and SL-1200

wushuliu

Super Member
I recall there was a PLX-1000 thread not too long ago that went on and on with no real review to speak of so I was surprised to see CNET's Guttenberg did a review but no mention of it here. He compared the new PLX against a VPI Traveler and SL-1200 and thought the PLX had the edge on both...

We compared the PLX-1000 with a belt-drive VPI Traveler turntable; that one's bass sounded a little soggy and bloated next to the PLX-1000's tighter low-end. Frankly, I was surprised; VPI sounded so lackluster, the PLX-1000 had more get up and go. Wow, the direct-drive beat out the belt-drive; it was no contest!

Michael also brought over a Technics SL-1200 Mk2 direct-drive turntable so we could compare it with the PLX-1000, while swapping the same cartridge between the turntables. The two 'tables look very similar, and had near identical feature sets, but they didn't sound the same. The SL-1200 MK2 had a warmer tonal balance, with better-defined bass; the PLX-1000 was brighter and clearer-sounding, so it was more fun to listen to. With my old Beatles albums, John Lennon's vocals popped out of the mix more on the PLX-1000.

He used decent carts and a respectable preamp. Hopefully more reviews are forthcoming.

Read the rest here
 
I'm loath to. Its not that I have any bias against the Pioneer, I just despise Gutenberg's style of drawing the wrong conclusions from evidence or simply not going into enough detail to support his conclusions.
 
I'm loath to. Its not that I have any bias against the Pioneer, I just despise Gutenberg's style of drawing the wrong conclusions from evidence or simply not going into enough detail to support his conclusions.

Yeah but it's still an actual review from an audiophile. Beats all the hypothetical spec-centered debate. More effort than I expected frankly for a Cnet review, especially with the Zu DL-103 and 2M Black carts being used as well as a Schiit preamp.
 
pioneer_PLX-1000_vs_Technics_SL1210.jpg


A buddy of mine has a Stereo shop here in Toronto and he ordered the new Pioneer PLX-1000's. Before he put them on the shelf, we decided to see how it holds up performance wise, and scoping out its build quality.
He also had a Technics Sl-1200 mk2 just to compare the two side by side.

To be frankly honest here, besides the small pitch control upgrades on the pioneer table, this is an almost identical design of the Technics 1200 mk2.
It almost seems that the parts themselves were actually manufactured from Panasonic/Technics tooling and mould machines and rebadged to Pioneer.

The Torque on the PLX-1000 feels identical to the 1200, and had the same start up / stop: brake characteristics like the 1200 as well. The Tonearm also seems to be an exact replica of the Technics as well and also has the same pivot structure.
Both tables weigh relatively the same, and perform exactly the same as well.

Now I will say that before anyone can automatically slam the PLX-1000 as solemnly built for DJ's, I would beg to differ. I think Pioneer played it safe to design the table much like the 1200 m5g specs to please both the Audiophile and the DJ.
Another thing worth mentioning is that the 1200 mk2 was not designed to be an official DJ turntable. Technics designed the SL-1200 mk2 as a flagship Hi-Fi model and was somewhat a spinoff version of the earlier SP series.
It was the great Grand Master Flash who discovered the 1200 mk2 in the early 80's and deemed these decks to be the best suitable turntable for DJ usage. Since then every wannabe low budget brand tried to clone their design but couldnt come close to the perfomance and build quality.
So when Panasonic pulls the plug on a Turntable like this, it makes sense for Pioneer to pick up where they left off and make whatever money's left to be made on what really looks, feels and sounds to me a Technics SL-1200 mk2 under a Pioneer badge.
 
Thanks for sharing that info. Part of the reason I think the Pioneer maybe a contender is their recent focus on high quality affordable products for audiophiles like the speakers and subs designed by Andrew Jones <$200 and the inexpensive Elite 2 channel amps. That's a major shift in focus and a willingness to make less if any profit to create inroads with more discerning customers using economy of scale. In that context a high quality turntable makes sense.
 
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Yeah but it's still an actual review from an audiophile. Beats all the hypothetical spec-centered debate. More effort than I expected frankly for a Cnet review, especially with the Zu DL-103 and 2M Black carts being used as well as a Schiit preamp.

Agree, better then what we usually see from that guy. I'm pretty skeptical of his A/B test with the VPI, but the more apples-to-apples test with the Technics was of more interest to me as they were swapping the same headshells back and forth.

People will show up in this thread with the usual blather about grubby little Chinese hands being unable to build anything but garbage, but there's absolutely no reason why at a $700 price point this can't be identical in spec to the Technics.
 
It's probably is a "copy/clone" of the SL-1200mk2 when you get inside the guts of it all, though I could be wrong. Looks like it can take a few KAB upgrades as well.

EDIT: After a quick Google search on the Technical aspect, the released specs on the Pioneer seems to be inferior to the Technics. Now I am even more curious in what's underneath the hood of this table.
 
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No the inside is no identical. The inside looks like other Super OEM DJ decks.

You are correct, I found a picture that compared it to Stanton and the Reloop, looks very similar to the Reloop. Definitely no the SL-1200mk2 innards. Now, I am a bit sad on finding that out.
 
Here's a video review from a DJ (oh no, get thee behind me!) that's actually fairly informative. He has a couple minor complaints but otherwise thinks it performs just like the 1200. Worth a look.

http://youtu.be/fWL0RV-P2Z4

Well performing like the SL-1200 in the DJ world is a bit different from performing like the SL-1200 in the audiophile world.
Audio quality and specs are not important priorities to DJ's.:yes:
 
There are articles that claim that Hanpin (which is the root of the Super OEM turntable) have a hand in the manufacturing of the PLX-1000. However, Pioneer went the extra depth to apply their own engineering to create a turntable that can feel and sound more of a high quality Pioneer unit.
The truth be told here, what long standing Japanese brand isn't being outsourced to China to manufacture goods. If the manufacturing company has specific engineering to be set out, then surely the plant in China will carry out what is requested at probably half the cost. Its really not a bad thing, if the criteria is met when it comes to the accuracy of design, quality of materials and the acuracy of sound reproduction, then shouldnt we be pleased with the results?
Its the old game of simon says, Pioneers tells Hanpin here's how to make their product.
There are defintiely parts on the PLX-1000 that are exact in design as the 1200 mk2, which are in question if those parts were from Panasonic and sold to Pioneer?.............Or the tooling sold to Pioneer??
 
Not really that hard to reverse engineer the look of a turn table really.
I have to wait and see a 3rd party test results to see if it really is as good as the SL-1200.
 
They mostly use Serato software today and all the turntables are doing just reading timed coded signals to the computer, really.

I'm afraid I don't see what that has to do with a video of someone going over the physical features of the table for us to see and comparing the look and feel with a 1200, including precision stop and start when scratching. The Guttenberg review is one side of the equation, this video shows another side that I think is very relevant as it deals with build quality and precision behavior of the table. The 1200 is the reference so any real world comparison is going to be of value.
 
There are articles that claim that Hanpin (which is the root of the Super OEM turntable) have a hand in the manufacturing of the PLX-1000. However, Pioneer went the extra depth to apply their own engineering to create a turntable that can feel and sound more of a high quality Pioneer unit.
The truth be told here, what long standing Japanese brand isn't being outsourced to China to manufacture goods. If the manufacturing company has specific engineering to be set out, then surely the plant in China will carry out what is requested at probably half the cost. Its really not a bad thing, if the criteria is met when it comes to the accuracy of design, quality of materials and the acuracy of sound reproduction, then shouldnt we be pleased with the results?
Its the old game of simon says, Pioneers tells Hanpin here's how to make their product.
There are defintiely parts on the PLX-1000 that are exact in design as the 1200 mk2, which are in question if those parts were from Panasonic and sold to Pioneer?.............Or the tooling sold to Pioneer??

Good post. Its hard to get a lot of folks around here to understand that factories build things to the specs they're given, and unless the conversation is about knock-off ipods being sold at swap meets, China didn't create the bad taste in mouths left by "made in China", the westerners that had them build race-to-the-bottom gear did.
 
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