Customer Reviews

Stanton T92USB USB Direct Drive DJ Turntable

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Stanton T92 is a solid built and excellent performing turntable. I bought it for converting my vinyl records to mp3 format and it works perfectly for that task. It comes with a Stanton 500.v3 cartridge which works very well for 33 and 45 rpm records. If you are going to record 78 records you will need to purchase an additional cartridge that is made specifically for use with 78 records. A hard acrylic dust cover would be the one thing I would like to see added to this already fine product.

In previous reviews of Stanton USB turntables, many have complained about not being able to hear the audio as it is recorded on the computer. If your equipment and software are configured properly, you can hear the audio as it is being captured.

My setup for recording is as follows:

1) The T92 is connected to the computer via the provided USB cable.
2) The computer soundcard Line Out jack is connected to a set of powered stereo speakers.
3) I use the free download of Audacity 1.2.6 available at [...] for capturing the recording. Be sure to set the Preferences in Audacity as follows:
- Playback Device: The computer's soundcard.
- Recording Device: USB Audio Codec - Input
- Check the "Software Play Through" box. (This is what allows you to hear the audio as you record it).

With this configuration you will be able hear the audio as you record it. The switchable Phono Out/Line Out capability also allows you to connect the turntable to your home stereo system when not using it with the computer for audio capture.

All-in-all a great flexible use turntable.

The Stanton T.92 USB turntable is a fairly heavy, fairly well-made piece of gear...I was suprised by the build quality when I took it out of the box. I got mine on Amazon for $199, but the day after I bought it the price went to $299. It's a steal at $199 and still worth the $299, although in that price range you will have more choices. It's not as well made as the Technics SL-1200MK2, but the T.92 is less than half the price.

The turntable platter is fairly heavy cast aluminum. It doesn't come with a rubber mat, just a wool-like slip-mat. I guess that's more use to a DJ, but a rubber one would have been nice for home use. The tone arm seems to be decent quality for a turntable of this price. It's like Stanton ripped off the design of this turntable from the SL-1200MK2. But then, so did Audio-Technica on their direct-drive USB turntable. It takes a standard headshell, so you can buy an extra one if you have more than one cartridge. The controls and switches seem fairly solid and well-made. For all you get it's a bargain.

If you're really concerned about getting the best possible sound out of this thing, toss the cartridge that comes with it. I upgraded to a Shure M97Xe ($59) and that was a mild improvement, then I did some homework and went with a Audio-Technica AT440MLa and that is one great little cartridge for $99. It's well worth it to me.

There is a learning curve to the software, so be prepared to spend some time learning it, like we used to actually LEARN software in the old days, not simply hit the "gimmie it now" key like some chimp. You're going to have to break up your song tracks or record them song by song. It's no big deal for me, really, and it's actually fun.

If you REALLY want to get the best sound out of this turntable, plug it into a proper stereo system, using the "phono" out rather than the "line" out setting. The difference is the fairly muddy bog-standard cheapo pre-amp that's built into this thing. I have a home stereo CD recorder, and I did some test recordings using the different outputs on the T.92 USB. Here are my conclusions:

USB Out: I couldn't get it to work cleanly on my computer, without loads of static. But that's probably down to my PC or the other USB devices I have plugged into it, such as a wireless mouse and wireless keyboard. I Googled this and I guess it's a fairly common problem. I gave up on it. I suspect that since the USB also comes off the built-in phono pre-amp, it too would be muddy by comparison to the "phono" output.

Line Out: The worst quality, relatively speaking. It's muddy. Your cartridge (whichever one you choose) and this turntable are capable of so much more. You're limiting yourself and shooting yourself in the foot using this.

Coaxial Digital Out: A little better quality than the analog line out, but remember that this "digital" output still comes off of the not-so-high-quality built-in phono pre-amp.

Phono Out: Hooked to my receiver, this is the best sounding mode available. The wav files (CD's) that I burned in all three modes show this very clearly. Using it as proper turntable, the quality is like night and day. Really.

So the bottom line is if you're buying this to tranfser your old vinyl to CD, the best bet is to plug it into a receiver, the way God intended turntables to be. Even if you have to get your receiver and PC side by side to do it, it's worth it. Use the phono pre-amp in your receiver rather than the one in the turntable, you'll be glad you did. Or buy a separate, better phono pre-amp. If you have to use the "line out" setting because you have no "phono" input on your amp or receiver, just know that you're not getting the best performance out of this turntable and your cartridge. But I suppose if you never hear the A/B comparison, you won't know what you're missing.

The only other drawback is the lack of a real, plastic dust cover. Stanton gives you a cloth cover that fits really well, but it looks a little naff and of course it won't really protect the tone arm.

I would give it 5 stars but for the slightly muddy built-in pre-amp and the cloth dustcover.

After my 40-year-old Dual died, I selected this unit as its replacement. The sound quality is quite good - comparable with the Dual. The USB output is also a bonus. At $199 it really couldn't be beat. I see now that the (Amazon) price has been raised to nearly $300. I probably wouldn't buy it at that price.

The good:
* includes a decent cartridge and stylus (about a $40 value right there)
* Plenty of mass on the turntable platter
* Counterweight and anti-skating controls all work as they should.
* USB output works like it should
* Built in preamp can be turned on or off. Nice feature if your pre-amp or receiver does or doesn't have a phono input.
* Pitch control and strobe all seem to work like they should
* three speed (lots of turntables only have two)
* Fairly easy set-up - especially if you have experience with turntables.
* Nice layout on the controls
* Quiet
* Very good sound quality
* Beautiful industrial look to the whole unit

Not so good:
* No leveling controls - a minor annoyance
* The cloth dust cover is sort of useful - I'd like at least an option to buy a hard acrylic cover or something similar. Stanton doesn't make one - perhaps a 3rd-party vendor will offer one soon.
* The included software isn't too good - but I really didn't expect it to be.
* If you download the owner's manual from Stanton's web site, you'll notice that one illustration shows that the unit has a tone-arm lifting lever. That's a mistake, this unit does not have one. (not a huge deal for me - but a bit misleading)
* The included USB cable is pretty short - I would think most folks would need would need something at least a couple of feet longer.

If you can find one of these still for $200 - it's probably the best in that price range. If you're willing to pay $300 or more, there are better options.

After struggling with an excellent but old Dual turntable trying to get a clean signal at the proper level through my PC's line input, I figured a USB turntable would be worth a try and the Stanton T92USB had generally favorable reviews. Was amazed at the difference! Got a clean, strong signal over USB without the need for any adjustment. (Output to a Mac mini running Audacity.) Also sounds great going to my amplifier for normal play.

The cartridge and stylus that ships with this player are decent, but if you're looking for optimal sound from hi-fi LPs or old 78s you'll want styli that better match the different grooves these two record formats have. An elliptical stylus matches the LP groove shape better than the conical stylus the Stanton T92USB ships with. And a fatter stylus for 78s keeps the needle from bottoming out in the wider grooves of the 78s.

Because these are difficult to locate, I'm sharing one source I found that can provide both types of styli. At [...], I found the Stanton D500-3M standard 78/transcription stylus, which fits the cartridge the T92USB ships with. Also found a cartridge/stylus combination better suited for hi-fi LPs, the Stanton 680E.V3 cartridge with an elliptical LP stylus.

Overall, I am fairly satisfied with the turntable. It has been at least 15 years since my Technics spun records so I don't have fresh memories of how things sounded that long ago. I will say that my 30 year old high school varsity band album sounds as good as I remember it sounding many years ago. I have noticed a slight imbalance in the platter but at this price point, it is probably expected.

The Good
- Build quality seems good overall
- Needle and cartridge come with turntable
- Setup was easy

Not So Good
- Platter isn't flat(or balanced)
- Software supplied is poor (not user friendly and after completing my first album and saving, it crashes trying to open saved project...get Audacity
- Had some trouble with USB connection

I would have given 4.5 stars if it weren't for the platter and stinky software.

I picked this up on the recommendation of a friend after looking for something a little more high-tech than the common $100 ION turntables, but nothing that would break the bank. I honestly don't use many of the DJ options, but as a turntable for the home, I've got it set up through digital coax with a Logitech surround system, and the sound is great. Entry level vinyl fans may have trouble finding the sweet spot of pressure and skid control, but it's otherwise a great player.

I've connected the T92 to my Yamaha and I've started to enjoy an excellent sound! I've replaced my old Kenwood turntable and my home now sound like a real Disco.
Excellent sound response for bass and treble.
This turntable is solid and very good made.
Thing to improve: AC outlet, it is easy to disconnect the ac cable accidentaly.

I bought this turntable to replace a belt Sony PS-LX300USB USB Stereo Turntable System - Black . I really had many problems with that belt turntable (skipping and tone arm not responding to stop button) so I decided to get a direct drive turntable.
The anti skating system is great and after using the turntable for more than two months I've never had a skip!!!
The construction is really solid and setup was easy following the little instructions they provide.
The usb conection and software provided are easy to use and the few test I've made tranfering lp's to mp3 were great.

This is a great sounding, solid feeling turntable. It's a great step up from cheaper or inferior turntables. Believe me you will notice a HUGE difference in sound quality. It's worth noting that even though the turntable comes with a built in line-level amplifier, I still found the sound to be much quieter (all be it at higher fidelity) than my previous numark portable PT USB turntable. This can be problematic for sampling, and so I decided to purchase a $50 phono pre-amp to acquire the sound level than I was used to. If you are using this for generally listening however you should have no problems.

DEFECTS WARNING:
About a month and a half after my purchase I began noticing a small issue with the cartridge and sound being produced. At points during playback the left or right channel would gradually decrease in a matter of a few seconds, eventually leaving me with only one channel producing sound. I unscrewed and re-attached the cartridge many times (it seemed to be an issue with the connection of the cartridge to the tone-arm) and after a few times I haven't had problems since.

As much as this small glitch worried me about the life of the turntable, after the problem faded I thought not much of it. Then a few weeks later I started scratching...(Direct drive was a big part of why I purchased it!!) ...and shortly after there was a huge problem with the speed of the motor. All of the sudden during playback the pitch would gradually decrease to a set speed below 33rpms. Since the problem is so similar to the gradual channel decrease, I am assuming this is an issue with the circuitry and not the motor itself. I will be returning this for another and hopefully smooth sailing from there because I am very happy with it.

As my moniker suggests, I have a large collection of old vinyl, which I have not played for the past 6 years. It has been a treat to dredge up the old LPs and listen to music I haven't heard for 6 years...and longer in many cases. I bought the Stanton to replace a dysfunctional Sony turntable and to burn CDs directly to my laptop. I've had this turntable hooked up for less than two days, so this is a preliminary assessment of its strengths and weaknesses.

Let's dispense with what i don't like about it:
No functional dust cover
Awkward placement of power switch
No cueing lever
No optical digital output
Felt turntable pad (vs. rubber one)

On the plus side:
Build quality
Excellent vibration isolation
Easy setup
Layout of controls (aside from power switch)
Quiet direct drive

The dysfunctional part of my old Sony TT was its viscous damped cueing, which no longer works. As a result, I had to disable the automatic shutoff mechanism to avoid scratching my records as the tone arm swept across the surface, which happened once or twice before I disabled it. So, I was somewhat disappointed to find that the Stanton does not even have a cueing device. My hands are not as steady as I'd like, so extreme care is needed to manually cue the tone arm. But I'm adapting.

The Sony also has a hinged plastic dustcover, which I like, although in some placements, there is insufficient clearance for it, so I had to remove the hinges. The Stanton comes with a cloth cover, which can be used only when the turntable is not in use.

The controls on top of the unit are logically placed and include two start/stop buttons, speed select buttons for 33, 45 and 78 rpm, a separate motor switch which allows the platter to freewheel when the power is turned off, and a set of controls for adjusting "pitch" and key. I put pitch in quotes, because I consider pitch and key to be synonymous. A more appropriate label would be tempo, because with key lock on, you can speed up or slow down the tempo without affecting the tonal quality. On the other hand, with key lock off and pitch lock on, you can adjust tone without affecting tempo. All this is done electronically.

The main power switch, on the other hand, is placed in an alcove on the back of the unit, which in my installation is difficult to reach. This is the only means by which to turn off the unit, except for pulling the plug or hooking it up to an external switch.

Since this is a DJ oriented turntable, the platter comes with only the felt pad for "scratching." I would prefer a rubber mat, but again I'm adapting. Frequently, the mat will stick to the record due to static charge. I may remedy this with carpet tape.

On the positive side, this machine has substantial weight to it, which I suspect is intended to make it less vulnerable to vibration. It appears to work very well. My TT is installed in a drawer under my center channel speaker. Normally placing a TT so close to a speaker would be a bad idea, but this one seems invulnerable to feedback (I wouldn't put it on my subwoofer, though). Fit and finish, as well as the feeling of the controls, say "professional quality."

It comes with 3' RCA cables, which were too short for my installation. Fortunately, I had another pair that were too long, so I swapped them out. There's no ground wire, but that doesn't appear to be an issue (no hum). The RCA cables, power cord, USB and coaxial digital outputs are all located in the same alcove as the power switch, but once they're plugged in there's no need to access them during routine operation. I had planned to use the coaxial output, but after reading a critical review, I decided to use the phono input on my AV receiver. I had forgotten that I bought this receiver, in part, because it had a phono input. Most in its price category do not.

I'm very pleased with the sonic quality using the phono setup. I can't evaluate the digital outputs because I haven't tried them, and I only have fiber optic cables on hand. I did spring for the Shure M97xE cartridge that was recommended by several reviewers. Sonically, I have no complaints with it. But from the standpoint of installation, I would have preferred the same setup as the included Stanton cartridge. The ears of the Stanton by which it mounts to the shell are threaded, so installation is a simple matter of inserting the screws and tightening. The Shure, on the other hand, comes with tiny bolts and nuts, which make the installation process far more cumbersome.

All in all, I'm happy with the purchase (though not at first). I'm enjoying my vinyl again, although some of it could be in better shape. Perhaps pristine vinyl does produce better sonic quality, but even with decent playback hardware, vinyl just doesn't stand up as well as CD. I found that setting my receiver on faux surround mode provides better sonic results by bringing the subwoofer into the mix. The opposite is true with CDs, where using the subwoofer seems to overemphasize the bass.