Sampling on a small budget
Audio-Technica AT-LP140XP
A solid direct-drive deck with a Technics layout; the fitted cartridge and the tonearm lift are its weak spots.
Photos: Audio-Technica
Choose it over the RP-7000 MK2 if you are starting on a small budget and want to sample the day it arrives: it is the only pick with a cartridge fitted, and it plays 78s and runs in reverse. Its output is phono level only, with no preamp or USB, so it needs an audio interface with a phono input or a separate phono preamp. Owners say the supplied AT-XP3 is basic; it takes any XP or VM95 Series replacement stylus, so an upgrade is a stylus swap. If your interface has only line inputs, the RP-7000 MK2 saves you the preamp.
- Best for
- Home practice and listening on a Technics-style deck you can upgrade.
- Skip it if
- You need a club-proof deck, a built-in preamp, USB or auto-return.
What people praise
- Solid, heavy and well finished for the price
- Removable headshell and adjustable arm make cartridge upgrades easy
What to know first
- Supplied AT-XP3 cartridge is basic; many owners replace it, and it is not one for scratchingReplaceable part
- Tonearm lift drifts or drops too fast, and one failed within a year
Video reviews
- Andrew RobinsonJan 2021Recommends
Straight into an audio interface
Reloop RP-7000 MK2
A heavy, high-torque deck that mixes like a Technics for less; the box is bare and some units ship with loose bearings.
Photos: Reloop
Choose it over the AT-LP140XP if your audio interface has only line inputs: its switchable preamp sends line level from the same RCA outputs, so no phono stage sits in the chain. It plays 78s and in reverse, and shares the widest pitch range here with the PLX-CRSS12, for slowing a break down on the deck before you record it. The box is bare, so budget for a cartridge and headshell, and listen for hum and check the tonearm bearings when it arrives, since a few owners report both. If the deck is also your listening turntable, the SL-1200MK7 is the one owners rate for sound.
- Best for
- Club-style mixing and scratching on a heavy, high-torque deck without Technics money.
- Skip it if
- You need a lid and cartridge included, or the exact Technics feel.
What people praise
- Heavy, solid build that stands up to gigs and scratching
- Technics-style deck for much less money
What to know first
- Bare box: no dust cover, cartridge or 45 adapter, and no well to keep an adapter
- Raised platter and different feel take adjusting to after a Technics
Sampling and listening on one deck
Technics SL-1200MK7
The club-standard 1200 with a coreless motor: steadier and more precise, but lighter and more plastic than the MK2.
Photos: Technics
Choose it over the RP-7000 MK2 if the deck you sample on is also the one you listen on: owners and reviewers praise speed that holds steady and sound good enough for home listening, and one reviewer found it happy with expensive cartridges. It plays 78s and in reverse, but its output is phono only and the box has no cartridge, so budget for both a cartridge and a phono input. To play your samples back from the deck in rekordbox or Serato DJ Pro, look at the PLX-CRSS12.
- Best for
- Vinyl DJs who want steady speed, precise pitch and the standard 1200 layout.
- Skip it if
- You want MK2-weight build, a hinged lid, or scratch features for less money.
What people praise
- Speed holds steady and the pitch fader is precise through long blends
- Sounds good enough for home listening as well as the booth
What to know first
- Lighter and more plastic than the old MK2; buttons and finish feel cheaper
- Dust cover just sits on top, with no hinges
Scratching your samples live
Pioneer DJ PLX-CRSS12
A PLX-1000-based direct-drive deck that also runs DVS with no tonearm or control vinyl; costly, especially in pairs.
Photos: Pioneer DJ / AlphaTheta Corporation
Choose it over the SL-1200MK7 if you scratch and want to perform with your samples, not only record them. In Digital Vinyl mode any record controls rekordbox or Serato DJ Pro with the tonearm parked, and the pads trigger the Sampler and Sample Scratch in rekordbox, or the Sampler and Scratch Bank in Serato DJ Pro. For capturing records it plays like a PLX-1000 in Analog mode, from phono outputs only and with no 78 rpm; the USB-C port is for Digital Vinyl mode, which also needs a laptop and a DVS-capable mixer such as the DJM-S5. If you only sample into a DAW, it is more deck than you need.
- Best for
- Scratch and open-format DJs who switch between vinyl and Serato or rekordbox DVS.
- Skip it if
- You only play vinyl, or have no DVS-capable mixer to pair it with.
What people praise
- Tonearm-free DVS: no needle skipping, and any record works as the control
- High-torque direct-drive motor with adjustable torque and three brake speeds
What to know first
- Expensive, and twice that for the usual pair
- Layout quirks: sideways battle-style labels, front brake switch, side power socket, fiddly step pitch
Video reviews
- Passionate DJSep 2023Recommends
Also considered
- Pioneer DJ PLX-1000. A heavy club deck with the same wide pitch range as the RP-7000 MK2, but for sampling it loses on every extra: phono output only, no 78 rpm and no reverse. Pioneer DJ still lists it, and three of five reviews recommend it.
- Audio-Technica AT-LP120XUSB. A direct-drive deck with a USB output for recording straight into a computer, a switchable preamp for line level, 78 rpm and reverse play. It led the old version of this guide, but it has no record yet, so it can't be compared with the picks on equal terms.
- Pioneer DJ PLX-500. Pioneer DJ's entry deck records over USB into rekordbox, has a phono/line output switch and comes with a cartridge on its headshell. It has no record yet.
- Reloop RP-2000 USB MK2. A direct-drive deck with a USB audio output, a switchable phono/line output and an Ortofon-made OM Black cartridge in the box. Its pitch range is narrower than any pick's, and it has no record yet.
- Numark PT01 USB. A belt-drive portable with a USB output, battery power and 78 rpm, for capturing records away from the desk. Many retailers now list it as discontinued, and it has no record.
How to choose a turntable for sampling
Phono, line or USB output
A cartridge puts out a phono-level signal that needs a phono preamp before it reaches a line input. The AT-LP140XP, the SL-1200MK7 and the PLX-CRSS12 send phono level only, so they need an audio interface with a phono input, a mixer's phono channel or a separate phono preamp. The RP-7000 MK2's switchable preamp sends line level, so it plugs into any interface's line inputs. A USB output, as on the AT-LP120XUSB, the PLX-500 and the RP-2000 USB MK2, records straight into a computer with no interface, while a separate interface lets you choose the converter. What an audio interface does covers the basics, and the best audio interfaces compares them.
Pitch range and reverse
Pitch range sets how far you can slow down or speed up a record on the deck before you capture it. Changing speed on the deck moves pitch and tempo together, like repitching in a sampler, with no time-stretching. The RP-7000 MK2 and the PLX-CRSS12 have the widest range, then the AT-LP140XP, then the SL-1200MK7; each product page lists the exact figures. The AT-LP140XP, the RP-7000 MK2 and the SL-1200MK7 also play in reverse, so you can record a phrase backwards from the record itself.
78 rpm records
Shellac 78s need a deck with that speed and a stylus made for them. The AT-LP140XP, the RP-7000 MK2 and the SL-1200MK7 run at 78 rpm; the PLX-CRSS12 and the PLX-1000 don't. The guide to 33, 45 and 78 rpm records explains how to tell them apart.
Direct drive
Every pick is direct drive: the motor sits under the platter, so the deck gets up to speed almost at once and holds it while you cue, stop and replay a section. Belt-drive decks take longer to reach speed, which matters less if you record whole sides. The direct drive and belt drive explainer covers the difference.
What else you'll need
Every pick except the AT-LP140XP needs a cartridge, and every pick needs a phono or line input to record into, a DAW or sampler, and monitors or headphones; see the best 5-inch studio monitors. A recording keeps every crackle on the record, so clean your records before you sample them.
How these picks are made
Each pick is the turntable with the strongest evidence for its situation. The evidence is what professional reviews conclude and what owners report on retailer sites, compiled for each product, with every source linked on its product page. No turntable here was tested in a lab. Prices come from daily tracking across the retailers we link to, and the status beside each one compares today's price with the lowest recorded. The methodology explains the whole process.
