Customer Reviews
SHORT SHELF LIFE! 
2008-07-06
I purchased this turntable for $250 5 yrs ago after my 1 yr old Sony belt drive fell apart. I figured a direct drive was worth the investment since it has fewer moving parts. While it has far surpased the Sony in both sound quality and reliability, I didn't expect it to stop working after just a few yrs of gentle use. I can't deny that I have loved this turntable but I'm left wondering if it's possible to find a player that won't let me down!
Great for the price - Lengthy but informative review 
2006-12-13
I have been using these for a year and a half. These turntables are ideal for people who want to try DJing out. These aren't the best for anyone who wants turntables for pro applications. I would have to disagree with Mike about beat matching. If you know how to beat match, these are very good. They start and stop instantaneously, and hold their speed perfectly. These turntables have an equal torque to the Technics 1200, but less than some numark and other stanton turntables. You don't need all the extra torque to DJ. You can beat match and scratch very well with these.
There are two things you must consider when buying turntables. Firstly, you have to decide whether you are going to DJ or just listen to music. If you are just listening, you need an S-shaped tone arm. These turntables have straight tone arms. The S-shaped gives superior sound quality, so this is not the deck for you. If you are DJing, this is better for scratching than mixing, because mixing is better with better sound quality. So mixing is better with an S-shaped ton arm. If you are doing both scratching and mixing, I say go with the S-shaped, and use scratch needles with extra weight - but only scratch records that you aren't afraid of ruining. There are many different straight and S-shaped turntables. Your style makes your choice.
The only gripe I have with the STR8-80 is that the body is made of plastic. If you want your turntables to last a very long time, plastic is unacceptable. Go with the stanton 150s or technics 1200s. Another feature that this turntable doesn't have that the two aforementioned do is the ability to change the height of the tone arm for stabilty.
This is better for newbies, like me when I started.
I just regret not saving up for a few more weeks, to get a longer lasting set. These have been good to me so far, but I don't have faith in their plastic bodies.
Here's a tip for if you do buy turntables like this, that have key correction. Sure the key correction is a cool little tool, but you sacrifice sound quality and volume. You shouldn't really mix songs that are have very dissimilar tempos, so use phono output (louder and does not allow key correction).
Great Turntable 2005-04-20
I bought a pair of these turntables about a year ago. They were my first tables. I use them for mixing breakbeat and I use them to scratch. These are very good for scratching, within a month I was impressing myself and all of my friends. Very good for scratching. I have been practicing mixing on these tables also, but the only bad thing I can say about these tables are the wow and flutter on them. The records do not stay matched up for very long when you beat match, but the sound and features on them are great. Reverse, 33,45, and 78 speeds and the pitch control also comes in handy, especially when the records you are trying to mix start going out of sync you can adjust the pitch to sync them back up.
Awesome Starter/Intermediate tables 
2005-03-17
I have had my turntables for about 6 months now, and I love them. The reverse function is great for getting more sounds out of your records. The platter starts and stops in an instant, which is essential for good scratching. Also, I can lock the pitch of the record but still adjust its speed. That is crazy!!
Anyway, great buy, definately recommend. The guy below doesnt know what he's talking about.
Listen to the others below him.
Old rocker says THANX to all you DJs! 2004-12-09
We put the Stanton STR8-80 into our system about a month ago and since then our CD player has gotten downright lonely. Records I had previously considered almost unplayable sound pretty good, and records that are in good condition sound excellent. I'm not a DJ, I'm a music lover old enough that my music collection contains hundreds of hours on vinyl, but I'm really pleased with the DJ capabilities of this 'deck'. One major advantage of a DJ turntable is that the motor can withstand the resistance when I'm cleaning a record before play -- critical when many record in a collection are 30 to 50 years old. It tracks well, and the blue lights are really fun too. Also, if I want to play along with the record, the capability to adjust pitch but not tempo is very cool (yes it sounds a little weird, due mainly to the envelope distortion -- but way easier than retuning a piano). No hesitation, I'd recommend this highly.
Plays 78s! 2004-05-13
The Stanton STR8-80 is one of the most feature-laden turntables on the market. It starts with a direct drive motor and straight tone arm and adds reverse, a mini line input jack, key adjustment to maintain pitch with tempo changes, 3 speeds, and digital output. If that is not enough it also includes a dust cover and slipmat.
Nothing like the sound of vinyl!!!!!!! 2004-01-29
This player is so awesome.The sound is great and it is fancy,the looks are so cool.The straight tonearm is the way to go.For all you analog freaks dont be alarmed by the digital part.You get full analog with the red and white cables which has a built in preamp.The digital part is for your computer or hooking up other stuff.For sound i give it a 5.(Whoever thinks digital music is better is a true moron).Durability I give it a 5.This machine is a beast.Accually I give everything about this player a 5.Just dont be frightened because its a djs turntable,i just listen to vinyl on mine and im glad I got a djs turntable.
