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24 of 27 found the following review helpful:
 Very good for the price.Jun 20, 2004
Finally, an equipment manufacturer has developed a low priced turntable that functions much like a Technics 1200. The Numark TT200 drastically changes the turntable buying market. With its $199.00 price tag, it easily outperforms similarly priced turntables; and also competes with the 1200 and similar high end turntables in terms of price performance.What makes this turntable different? First and foremost, the TT200 has a powerful direct drive motor. The torque (1.7 kg/cm) is actually stronger than the 1200(!). Second, the construction resembles the durable design of higher priced models: steel top, rubberized bottom, and aluminum platter. The TT200 weighs almost as much as a 1200, and you can feel it when you use it. The all aluminum, straight arm tonearm is the best offered at this price range. It performs with excellent tracking, and higher durability than its plastic counterparts. In addition, the TT200 comes with an extra standard s-shaped tonearm. The pitch control has a wide range of +/-10 (1200s have +/-8), and appears to be accurate. The pitch control response does not appear to be as quick as the 1200, but it is a small detail, that is easily adapted to.
15 of 17 found the following review helpful:
 Good performance... when it worksOct 13, 2005
By Glenn Sadin
"beatcomber"
I bought a TT-200 about 2 years ago because a.) the price was right and b.) it plays 78 speed. I also paid an additional $30 or so for the optional S-shaped tone arm and pilot light. The fact that it has a universal headshell made it easy to switch between my microgroove cartridge and 78 cartridge, which are mounted on their own headshells.
At first I loved this turntable. It seemed solidly built and performed very well, with excellent tone. And it looked pretty sharp, too!
About a month after the warranty expired, the turntable motor went bad, and the table would not spin at the correct speed. I called Numark and they were cool about taking it back for repair at no charge. I have only good things to say about their customer service. Numark replaced the parts that went bad and shipped it back quickly.
Ten months later I noticed that my records seemed to skip a lot. It got so bad that the turntable couldn't even track some records at all! I tried replacing the stylus (with a quality Grado one, BTW) and made sure the tracking weight and anti-skating were properly adjusted. No dice.
My local audiophile repair shop confirmed that the tonearm pivot assembly had gone bad, and was not pivoting freely - that it was causing the tonearm to not move with the records' grooves.
At this point, I had had enough with this machine. Less than two years old and two parts had already gone wrong. Phooey.
I am expecting delivery of an Audio-Technica AT-PL120 today, which will hopefully last a bit longer than the Numark!
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
Best turntable I've ever boughtAug 01, 2004
By Sephiroth
As far as price performance goes, this table beats everything I've played with. This puppy has the strength of a 1200 or 1210, but with more features. The reverse is a nice little touch. What I really enjoy is the tonearm setup, which allows either an S-shaped or straight tonearm to be fitted. The only qualms I have are that, while it can use an S-shaped tonearm and a target light, these need to be bought separately. Also, the "slipmat" that comes with the tables is more rubber and less "slip", so it'll have to be replaced (at least, if I start scratching). Of course, considering I didn't have to drop $400 apiece on the tables themsleves, forking over for the extras hurts much less.
16 of 20 found the following review helpful:
Well, it can play a record...Jan 16, 2006
By Reticuli
That's about it. Oh, and it's pretty. My TT-200's have been such an enormous hassle to own. I don't like that the tone arm is so high up that if you use a low profile cart with the strait arm that the needle won't touch the record without that thick neoprene mat. I don't like how the power supply creates so much interference that Stanton 680 and Grado DJ200i will pick up EM hum from it. The Average Wow & Flutter is rated at better than 0.2%, but that is right at the margin of what is audible. There is no rating for Peak W&F, and from the slightly smeared highs on every cart you try (except for the harshest and brightest ones) I'd guess it's much worse than 0.2%. How much? I have no idea and I'd bet money that Numark doesn't know either.
I absolutely despise how when you try and slow down the record using friction the TT-200's motor can actually overcompensate and speed the record up! That's right. So let's say the record is indeed going too fast. You lower the pitch slightly, then you use your hand to slow the record momentarily even more for just a split second. On any other DJ deck I know of, doing this will have the desired effect, but on the TT-200 the motor may speed the record up. This has the effect of making you think the record must have instead been going too slow and that you were wrong, because now the tracks are even worse. But you weren't wrong, rather the turntable's motor is the problem! Hypothetically you should be able to switch to Butter Rugs to solve this problem, but then you run into the dilemma of the tone arm being too high. Incredible!! I've heard some people tell me this will make them a better mix DJ. Nope. You're going to find it very difficult to learn by ear when a record is too fast or too slow if the deck is constantly giving you incorrect feedback. About the only way it could possibly help you in learning is by forcing you to eventually mix exclusively using the pitch slider, but that assumes you ever figure out why you've been having such a hard time.
The last item I can't stand on ALL Numark decks (not just the TT-200) is the tone arm design. The bearings system they use simply is not sound. There's a reason why EVERY other turntable manufacturer in the DJ world (with the exception of Vestax's new self-adjusting model) use the tried and tested gimbal tone arm system. That's because it works. I've never managed to get any Numark table's tracking distortion down low enough to get Stanton or Grado carts from either skipping too much or distorting in the highs asymmetrically. Already one of my TT-200's tone arm bearings system has outright failed and needed to be replaced. Remember, this is the same tone arm base they use on all their tables. The only reason they've gravitated to this strait arm option is because their S-arms do not track as well as gimbal tone arms from other companies. Another telling factor is that Numark admitted to me they've never even tested for tracking distortion specs on their tables. Numark use to make great analog mixers; still do if you can find them. They also contributed to the development of the DJ CD player. Their company is one of innovation and advancement in the field of DJing products, but they have seriously got to revamp their turntable designs. Numark, hire some turntable experts from the 1970's (they're still around) and let them have at your turntable lineup. I can guarantee you can't do any worse than you've been doing in this department.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 Best direct drive DJ turntable at this pricepointDec 05, 2010
By Ralph
"Ralph"
I just bought both this turntable and the Stanton T.62. Both are about the cheapest direct drive DJ turntables you can find ($199 most places, but you can find both new for 159 or 169). I am a newbie DJ who likes to scratch. The Numark TT200 is hands down the best choice between those two for DJing. The Stanton has much less torque than the Numark. I used the same slipmats on both turntables, and I could easily stop the platter on the Stanton with little pressure on the record. I could not stop the platter on the Numark without exerting a lot of pressure on the record. When stopping the record completely and then releasing, the Numark got back up to speed immediately, while the Stanton had more of a delay because the platter had slowed. Also, the Stanton overcompensates to catch back up when you intentionally slow the platter down to beatmatch (kind of like a whiplash effect), while the Numark does not--the Numark just goes back to the pitch/speed it is set for. Because of this, it was difficult to use the Stanton for beatmatching. Finally, I used the same Shure cartridge/headshell on both turntables. When I tap the table I use for DJing, the needle skipped on the Stanton, while it did not skip at all on the Numark. I had to really hit the table hard to get the needle to skip on the Numark. To test it further, I used both turntables in Serato absolute mode. The Stanton would skip a lot during heavy scratching, while the Numark did not skip at all. And I tried a lot of different stylus pressures using the counterweight on the Stanton and I could not fix the skipping problems. I set the counterweight once on the Numark and never had any issue. So if you are a beginner/intermediate DJ deciding between the T.62 and the TT200, go with the TT200. I am returning the Stanton and going to eventually buy a second TT200. Unless you are going to spend 400 dollars or more for a DJ turntable, I doubt you can do much better than the TT200.
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