Stanton's T.55 and T.92 USB turntables take vinyl to MP3 sans fuss
By Darren Murph 
posted March 17th 2009 5:42PM
posted March 17th 2009 5:42PM
Stanton Introduces T.92 and T.55 USB Turntables
Newly upgraded DJ decks allow users to archive & convert vinyl records into MP3
HOLLYWOOD, FL – March 17, 2009 – Stanton DJ, an industry leader in the design and manufacture of professional audio products for DJs, announces the addition of two new turntables to their array of pro DJ decks: the T.92 USB and the T.55 USB. Both turntables feature USB and S/PDIF outputs, so any DJ or serious record collector can archive their vinyl library into a Mac or PC with ease. The T.92 USB and T.55 USB each come with special music editing software, Cakewalk Pyro Audio Creator ™ as well as Audacity ™, to make the transferring process simple. The included programs give users the ability to edit and clean up music files, so all of the pops and clicks commonly associated with vinyl records can be removed, restoring the music for professional use.
The T.92 USB is a professional-quality turntable featuring a high-torque direct drive motor for the ultimate in stability. In addition to the USB archiving capabilities, the deck also boasts a number of performance features, including an S-Shaped tone arm for lower distortion and reduced record wear, built-in DSP with key lock for controlling tempo without affecting pitch, and many other optimal features geared toward pro DJs such as UK's Jenna Gibbons, who has already incorporated it into her rig.
The T.55 USB is a reliable and user-friendly belt-drive turntable that features a straight tone arm, which gives the unit superior tracking. "The T.92 and T.55 are unique in that they appeal to the DJ and the consumer. They are equally adept at providing a DJ a great deck while allowing anyone to quickly transfer their vinyl collection to their computer" said Tony Rodrigues, Stanton Group's VP of Marketing.
The T.55 USB and T.92 USB are built on a rugged and sturdy base, but are polished with a stylish new black and gunmetal finish. Each of the turntables also come equipped with a convenient slipmat, a dust cover, and Stanton's renowned 500.V3 cartridge, which features audiophile-level sound quality.
The T.92 USB is priced at $299 MAP, and the T.55 USB at $199 MAP. Both units are available now at leading music retailers worldwide.
For more information on the T.92 USB and T.55 USB, as well as Stanton's full line of DJ equipment, please visit www.stantondj.com. To request additional information or images of the T.92 USB and T.55 USB, please contact PR Representative Breen Halley at (305) 576-1171 x23 breenhalley@maxborgesagency.com.
Not sans fuzz with those cart and stylus though.
Actually, there's virtually no fuzz at all.
I got one of the T.92's for christmas and have loved every bit of it. I've already transferred some vinyl to my PC and the quality is just fine. The standard cartridge it comes with is "audiophile quality" already, and I have zero complaints with audio quality. I'm no expert, but I'd like to think I know a thing or two about audio quality. I think it can hold its own against a Technics 12XX turntable anyday, especially when it's only 60% of the price.
will they come with interns that rip all of my records for me?
20something thousand records aint gonna clean /record/edit/tag themselves!
wizzle wazzle... trickology for life
Not a bad price - I wonder if any of these would hold up to a night of Serato - or for a backup turntable....
Stanton has always had a good line of needles....
They wouldn't. They're belt drive, thus you don't get the same torque to cue like you do on direct drive tables, plus you're straining the motor by even trying to cue.
I thought the T.92 has a direct drive motor... ?
Whoops.. me no read gewd.
Yeah I mean a direct drive table would probably work well. Depends on what they mean by high-torque. A Technics 12xx is the bar, and most tables that have "more torque than a Technics" in fact, do not. I dunno.. as a backup I'd be it'd be ok though.
Turntables was cool years ago when its was a novelty effect but now is just a pity excuse to not replace a DJ with a simple playlist.
"Turntables was cool years ago when its was a novelty effect but now is just a pity excuse to not replace a DJ with a simple playlist."
novelty? Years ago? Like before CDs and WAY before MP3 files?
Also, I don't think you got the point that these are to help you convert your vinyl to digital: "any DJ or serious record collector can archive their vinyl library into a Mac or PC with ease."
please don't feed the trolls
I figured it was lazy ignorance and not trolling, but, who knows?
Ignorance generally breeds trolls. Shoot them all, for the good of the species.
What are you talking about?
Do you understand what these things are and what are they used for?
What?! No more firmware news?! :(
I don't get this. I listen to my turntable because I want to listen to my turntable, not my MP3 collection.
I completely understand the desire to listen to vinyl, especially if you have a huge collection. But since you can't take your turntable with you, you can still copy your music to mp3 and put it on the iPod or other PMP. Of course you can do that with any good turntable, a phono pre-amp and a good sound card too. But for an all-in-one package, this seems like a step up from the gear offered by Ion and others.
Personally I've always preferred belt drive to direct drive. The belt seems to "absorb" some of the rumble from the motor. Maybe motors are a lot better than they used to be?
You bet!
When was the last time you heard a vinyle on a DD TT ?
1970?
belt is more for just dropping the needle & listening.
direct drive is more for people that actually touch the platter.
either scratching or placing the needle at the start of a track & pressing play
virtually no lag in start up
[for those that don't know the difference]
can we get a price drop on those laser turntables?
real time record ripping is not something i wanna take part in.
seriously, how many people really want this kind of thing? not to mention the way too high price.
People, like me, who have a couple hundred vinyl records, many of which aren't available on CD, who wants to get that music onto his or her computer. The price isn't that bad if the turntable is decent, I had a direct drive Technics turntable that cost $300 in 1980 without the cartridge. I've been holding off, because it's a fairly large project, and I have enough to do, but this looks interesting to me.
This is for people that really love that pure analog sound of atomic resolution, but then want to digitize it for some mysterious reason.
Or maybe, it's for DJ's that have wrist problems from spinning records (because records are too heavy?), and thus want to digitize their music and use a much lighter controller?
I can't see this as a good music backup system. This is a DJ station with convenient USB/SPDIF hookup.
Oh great another one of those 'sound dynamicz are super greatzors on vinyl." **rolls eyes**
Can't you just connect it to a receiver and go through your computer's audio in and record through Audacity or the like? That's what I plan on doing and will cost a third of the t92. $30 for a Beogram 2402 (a miracle price that I got it) and a Marantz receiver of some sort for about $70. Probably will record better than this, but one can never be sure. Stanton is pretty good at making turntables.
You bet!
When was the last time you heard a vinyle on a DD TT?
1970?
Today actually, and countless people in clubs have heard it in the past weekend most likely.
So wait, you still have to edit / cut up the songs once you've recorded them? So, what's the difference between this and straight Audio in/out?
I buy a fair amount of vinyl and while Stanton is a make that totally deserves respect and I'm not knocking their product generally, I think it's up to the labels to provide digital downloads for vinyl buyers, if you go and buy vinyl you really want the damn thing..so to find the little card or label that gives you a legal, high quality download you feel that much better about the band and the label. Within the past month Tindersticks, Final Fantasy and the Cold War Kids have all earned my vote.
ok this is going to sound really silly, but i have an honest question for anyone that might know the answer...
i would like to get one of these to archive my vinyl, but also, i was wondering, if i have an audio recording program open like Sonar for example (which I compose and produce music in), and I hit record, and then start going wikki wikki wikki scratching on the record, will the scratchy noises record like they do currently when going through an actual audio in from my current turntables? if so i'm going to sell my current ones and the mixer i use with them and just get one of these, since I don't actually DJ, i just transfer vinyl and once in a while add a "wikki wikki wikki" to a song.
thanks for the info!
It is transferring analog, so yes. How well the wikki wikki wikki sounds after you encode it is dependent on the encoder you though. I have some early mp3s with scratching sounds and some fact 'clicky' type sounds are just awful.
Whatever sounds the needle picks up are transferred through the USB cord into the recording software. Any "wikki-wikki-wikki-ing" you do will be recorded.
awesome. thank you. i will wikki wikki it up once i get a chance to pick one of these up. in all honesty i'll probably use it like twice in the next 10 years... but i really just have no use for 2 technics sl1200's and a mixer taking up all this space in my studio. haha
Stanton has been around abit to know the basics...
Technics 1200 are still Industry Standard and rightfully so.. as for torque'd, direct drive motors with all the new digital features, don't buy anything else below a Stanton t. 90. (if you are buying stanton)
Tech1200s and Stanton t90/100 series turntables are on-par if you use it for djin' and scratching. (I tried Stanton t.60 thru t.80 and they SUCK. T.90 and higher are quite equal with the Tech 12s)
.
Stanton t120/150 series, Numark tt500/ttx, and other third-party high end ones will give you a stronger direct-drive motor than the Tech1200s. (I have the Numark TT500 and TTX, also tried out the Stanton Str8-150 Series, all had better, stronger motor than the Tech 12s)
But reliability and endurance goes to the one and only Tech1200s. Only time will tell how long the other third-party turntables will last compare to the legends.. My Tech12s been past down from Djs to Djs (ebay/craigslist) and past'd over 15 year mark (serial number verified).
As for Stanton needles/cartridges, they are known back in the day for the famous Stanton 500-series. Djs use these babies and they were the industry standard until the recent 15 years (I still use them as backups with my Shure M-447s )
Unfortunately, these tables are still garbage quality.
When did Engadget become the place where press releases get copied and pasted?
well I suppose now that this article is on page 2 nobody is going to read this, but I don't see how this can be considered high quality audio when the DAC embeded within is just some 16bit chip. Seriously the 24bit chips aren't that much more expensive, and if I'm going to take the time to rip vinyl (which I'm likely willing to pay someone else to do) I want it in 24bit audio.
Having a USB turntable is nice to have when you want to listen to vinyl while on your computer and not have to leave your chair to change records.
I recently got a $50 ION USB turntable on woot. Its pretty freaking cool. Takes 6D batteries, has every input/output/spped/pitch control/etc you'd need, and is totally portable. Of course its still really fragile, and its no 1200MK5, but for the price.....sweet!
I trust this supports 78 RPM like its cheaper cousins?