I picked up one of these recently and paired with Denon 103r mc cartridge and Hafler SUT to my vintage Marantz Model 3800's phono and 300DC amp and it sounds amazing. Better than my Denon DP400 with Ortafon Black and separate project tube box phono. Main differences are no discernable rumble (had to turn anti rumble on phono wth denon table), better queuing cause Pioneers is damped, and no discernable footfall distortion (big problem with denon table. Pioneer table just nicer to use and more adjustments like height. Pioneer table slightly more expensive but overall rig cost was about the same when all was said and done. Highly recommended! Also, Denon 400 does stop after thirty seconds which is only thing Pioneer doesn't do the Denon does but arm lift at the end never worked on Denon which is common problem on tables supposedly having this feature. Would love to find an add on arm lift at end of side for the Pioneer if such a thing exists and it would be perfect. Pioneer finish is very cool looking giving the black a silvery sheen on top in certain light looking very cool along with silver Marantz not to mention matching blue lights. Best table for the money out there IMO. Just buy a new one to avoid any qc problems mentioned cause at 700 they"re not expensive and well worth it!

Just came across your channel & I wish I knew about it earlier. Love all your videos & looking forward to future vidoes. Thank you.

Love your detail reviews, I've had the PLX 1000 for a few years, i gone from Rega 6 to Rega 8, that was a magic table, sold it for need of funds at the time. Ended up with the Pioneer, mine did have the tonearm issues, but i was lucky enough to do the tweaks needed which can be tricky. Totally agree with you when all is working as it should a very good table, the timing is it's strength i believe, beats a lot of far greater priced belt drives. Thanks again. cheers

you describe music extremely well! thank u

I just bought this turntable, this video is what sold me! Thankfully i checked to see if i encountered any issues out of factory as mentioned and thankfully mine was good. Amazon anyways has great return policy just in case. I run a ortofon blue on it & even when i half assed the alignment to show it to some friends it blew me & everyone away (now everyone understood why I & others go through so much trouble & investments for vinyl 😭). That same night we had speakers at max volume going through multiple records and it just kept delivering amazing sound. If you have a record that is pressed right, the sound is surreal. Even decent pressings will sound better than before on this. I haven’t broken the cartridge in & i got it setup to a perfection & it sounds even better than the night we first put it to the test. The rca cables that comes with it is very high quality feel. I only have a standard Sony phono pre-amp so if you have something better i can’t imagine how much better it can get. As for now i am content with my current setup which is basically a starting point for audiophiles. I can say with confidence I will be keeping this turntable for a while. I seeked for a dj turntable due to sampling & i like to have the ability to change pitch when it comes to that but don’t have the $ for a technics atm. Next upgrade will be my speakers & amp. Great video, literally everything said was spot on, my only complaint would be that some of them out of factory can have the issues mentioned (thankfully i had 0 off the bat!).

I have about 100 records from pre CD era. I like my CD and streaming. Your review is very enjoyable, I appreciate your relaxed manner and use of your favorite records to describe your experience. It’s been decades since I heard records and I haven’t looked at my collection for 20 years until recently. Good memories though I can hear most of the music streaming 24 bit or CD and they do sound good. Is it nostalgia or will the old records be revelation? I guess I have to try and see. Well, this LX 1000 looks to be right at the sweet spot for me. Thanks. Best of luck with your channel.

Curious about the tweaks you did. Enjoyed your review, it adds to my 'quest' for a turntable. 😄 Btw, great album from APP 👍

I run my PLX-1000 with several different carts, including an AT95ML and the 2M Bronze. I use the Pro-Ject Phono Box S2 preamp and the Pro-Ject Connect-It RCA cable. With the Bronze at 1.6 grams, the deck sounds really amazing. I also use a leather platter mat and a grounded tonearm-style record brush that runs in sync with the arm. Oh, and I also use a platter weight. There is no discernable tonearm resonance and the speed is stable as a rock. I also got lucky. My deck didn't have any play in the gimbal bearings and the platter wasn't wobbly - although the machining of the strobe markings could have been done more precisely. Also, the tonearm lift is kinda weak so you'll have to be careful when lowering the arm onto the platter.

I have the PLX 1000 and I use it with a Cambridge Pre, an Amplifier made by me with 4 EL84-two cathode followers CC82, CC83, and the Linton speakers, it's all I need, the sound seems from another world, keep in mind He says that I listen to vinyl pressed in the 55s to the 90s, that turntable has an impressive construction, everything designed not to vibrate. Amazing Facts

I now own the PLX-1000 and I can say there is no fail on the tonearm, no warp on the platter, every adjustment works perfect, speed is perfect, no rubbing, silent. The weight is more than 14.6kg about 15.5kg so it seems some changes have been done (2023 Oct). Mine has Ortofon 2M Blue that seems to match the good quality of the PLX-1000 and I can confirm that this turntable is true to it performance and price to be a great audiophile turntable.

I offer my, most, gracious appreciation for this offering. Now that I am, nearly, 55 and my daughter is, nearly, old enough to start her own life - it’s time for a hobby - DJ’ing (on a, personal, level). Only; in an, audiophilic, sense. I believe I’ve located the, ultimate, hand-built DJ mixer for audiophiles (out of London). And Now I need to wed it to a couple of, fitting, turntables. Perhaps, this may be the ticket. Thank you.

Funny - I’ve been using a PLX1000 with Nagaoka MP110 for over a year. They are a nice combination. The MP110 has a mild elliptical bonded stylus that is safe for playing Lps, 45rpm records and styrene records (according to Joe Collin’s review). I mounted the MP110 to an original equipment Technics headshell. I have a Lehmann Audio Black Cube SEII for a phono stage. I’m very happy with the combination of the four.

I use my Technics 1200 MK5G for listening, Nagaoka 110 too!

Excellent review, thanks for sharing ! This table is on my short list for a future purchase. Possible cart choices would likely be either a 2M Blue or the Nagaoka 110. Your thoughts on this ?

Like you I have a Pioneer plz 1000 with a Nagaoka mp110. I think it’s a great sounding cartridge/table combination. I also have a Technics 1200mk5 with an Ortofon mono cartridge. The Technics is better built. That said, enjoy both tables.

You purchased an open box turntable that people use for scratching. some young buck probably played a party over the weekend and returned it Monday morning

got the plx 500, it sounds great. got the cheapest mc cartridge from audiotechnica.

Thankyou very much for your videos on the PLX1000: soon to receive one but have yet to choose the stylus and phono pre to feed new dance heavy vinyl into a MOTU M4 for recording: budget somewhere around $600/£500 to get both - what would you recommend? (focused on detail and low noise for later remastering)

Thank you for the review. When I listen to this review I take in count that you bought it as open box 5 years ago when this review was done. If this was a display model it has been through 100 pairs of hands if not more. July 17, 2014 was when these first came out. So maybe yours is one of the first build put on display. Chinese build quality has really got so much better since. Would I be worried about the issues mentioned? I would take note but not really worried. Same factory makes the Technics, Reloop, Audio Technica and Pioneer and maybe more brands. Also note the first specs as weight were Main unit weight 13.1 kg and now from 2022 manual the Main unit weight 14.6 kg. I'm actually curious about this if they have improved the product or did they just forgot to add the platter weight. If so the platter weight is 1.5 kg but this seems a bit light considering the construction. For example Reloop Turn 5 has 1.8 kg platter and my impression is that the PLX has more insulation and though put into it. This in my logic could make the Pioneer platter heavier.

I’m using a pioneer pl518 as a secondary turntable. Direct drive turntables are bomber.

You said you used a separate phono amplifier but you didn't say whether it actually had an inbuilt phono amplifier. Please tell me if it has or not ?

hi Rohit! i'll give the albums a listen thru the Aegir., looks promising...btw, do you have any experience with Magnepan LRS's ? i am really curious about it and sounds like a steal at $650 a pair

Great turntable for audiophile’s and scratch dj’s. If you’re a dj that likes long mixes then forget these. They have a digital pitch that cant hold a mix for longer than about 30 seconds without drifting off.

I bought and returned three Direct Drive tables which are made by Hanpin. Two by Technics and one by Reeloop. As far as I know, they all share the same TT and drive mechanism whatever the named brand. All had turntable wobble. As did two other models from Hanpin (Technics) which I had seen at a dealer. The quality control has failed in these Hanpin TTs unfortunately.

@analogholic_reviews what values of anti skate do you set for the ortofon black cartrdige, users are reporting that the anti skate has to be 2x the VTF.

Is a good turntables for battle DJ too as a turntablist is a great turntables for scratch mix battle too mine pioneer torn arm I check is in great condition the antic skate is working fine I never had problem with mine pioneer pls 1000 n the arm don't skip as much as the 1200 technic I was shock when I first tried the pioneer heavy as a rock 😂 is worth it for the price is cheap don't know if they going to be like the legend technics 1200 mk 2 that lasted for years to come

Can you turn of the blue lights?

Still bummed I sold Caravanserei along with other albums. At least I am able to record them onto the Nakamichi ZX-9.

are those 4pi speakers in the backround?

You shouldn’t lock the tonearm in while the lifter is still up it can damage it

Better than the Panasonic SL1200/1210🙈 give your head a shake.Countless reviews show the Rumble and Resonance from the deck leading direct to the Stylus.As well as Feedback at high volume also reverbing back to the Stylus🤷‍♂️Technics does not have that problem.It may have weight and Sound proofing but I’ve compared the 2 side by side and there’s no comparison.Give me my SL1210 MK11 every time. The pioneer is a wannabe just like the Audio Technica clone.The Original is still the best out there. Why do you think everyone tries to copy the SL? MONEY!!!!