emusonacid!

to0

well, i like the sound of my sl1200mk3 or whatever it is. your needle and cartridge will also affect your sound. i use a white lable from shure. however this is probably the lower of the higher quality needles.

some people will tell you to go for audiophile type turntables, they are belt drive typically from what i have read on doa. but i also hear they are really expense.

i guess if you want, you can get a stanton turntable or a gemini, but they are just really cheap and don't seem all that sold compared to higher end dj style turntables like the sl1200 or the vestex line.

of course you will need to get a mixer so you can ground your table, unless you go for the stanton str8 80, that has digital outs. but it felt really cheap and it didn't feel stable at all.

that is all i have for right now.

Sampleandhold pretty much said it, but I'll add this: belt-drive turntables are generally considered to be more hifi, because the belt absorbs the rumble from the motor, giving you a cleaner signal, especially the low end. The problem with budget belt-drives is that the belts are cheap, and can stretch, which can wreak havoc with your pitch, obviously.

I remember hearing that the Shure V15(?) was generally considered the standard for archival-quality audio, so it would probably be a good choice if you'll never DJ with it, but may be expensive, i'm not sure.

I guess I should also say that I've got 1200mk2s, and they are among the most solid pieces of gear I own. You may get some advantage from getting a good beltdrive, but you really can't go wrong with a 1200, i don't think.

The dope thing about the 1200's is that the signal is boosted up to the line level so it's not as weak as most phono jacks are. It's like sampling from a CD player.

Get a belt drive if your on a budget, direct drives are good for DJing because they do not drag when you put your hand on the record , and they have quick start up speed, belts though can be hard to find at your local store , and they do stretch. You can buy a phono preamp , instead of buying a mixer, there is a small one from Rolls. The stylus is a major part of the sound , Ortofon make good ones . If you want to scratch and sample your scratches , a straight arm turntable is best , they stop jumping. I wouldnt put too much weight into the stanton digital output, the convertor probably isnt up too much, much better going out into your A/D convertors in your Emu.

Get a belt drive if your on a budget, direct drives are good for DJing because they do not drag when you put your hand on the record , and they have quick start up speed, belts though can be hard to find at your local store , and they do stretch. You can buy a phono preamp , instead of buying a mixer, there is a small one from Rolls. The stylus is a major part of the sound , Ortofon make good ones . If you want to scratch and sample your scratches , a straight arm turntable is best , they stop jumping. I wouldnt put too much weight into the stanton digital output, the convertor probably isnt up too much, much better going out into your A/D convertors in your Emu.
The good thing about the Technics are the adjustable parts , which allow for the raising of the arm mechanism , to perfectly adjust too different styli.
A good feature of the technics is not really a feature but when you turn the power knob off the table slows down to a stop whilst still producing a signal, some Stantons have a cool reverse feature.