Pioneer's latest white-out turntable proves there's life after Technics - CNET

If you weren't one of the lucky few to snag the remodeled (and absurdly expensive) version of the coveted Technics SL-1200GAE DJ tutable before it sold out in 30 minutes, you'll soon have the chance to pick up a very cool consolation prize.

This week Pioneer announced the PLX-500 tutable that looks almost exactly like the iconic direct-drive deck, and it doesn't cost $3,300.

It's a continuation of the PLX DJ line that we first reviewed in 2014, but this model is an "all-in-one" design with its own built-in pre-amplifier. That means you can hook it up to any pair of speakers without any extra layers in between you and that cozy blanket of analog audio.

If you do decide to throw an all-vinyl house party, the PLX-500's direct-drive engine has a quick spin-up and more than enough torque to handle heavy scratching.

Just like the original 1200s, it has all the essentials you need for mixing, like pitch controls, strobe light illumination, a weighted tone arm and, of course, variable platter speeds for juggling 33 and 45RPM records.

But there's one new feature that really sets the PLX-500 apart from legacy tutables: It has a USB-out port so you can digitize your entire record collection using the company's rekordbox application.

While it's true newer tutables like the Audio-Technica LP-120 already offer digital recording, this is the first one I've seen that includes the software.

The Pioneer PLX-500 will sell for just $350 (£270 or AU$460) when it hits stores in September.

The black model is standard if you want to get as close to the original as possible, but the company also has an all-white version to really challenge your dust-free listening room.

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