VOXOA T80 Mk2

A professional turntable that won't break the budget. One of the best alternatives to the mighty Technics range of DJ turntables.

 

TeknowDJ Summary

 

A REVIEW - By Nimbus

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TIME TO REPLACE THE OLD TECHS?

I learned to mix on the mighty Technics 1200 Mk2 turntables. I have a pair of mint condition 1210M5G's sealed in an airtight container back in New Zealand and they are my pride and joy. Of all the items dear to me that I parted with before heading overseas, they were the only thing I could never bear to sell. Now that they are no longer in production they are even more coveted. My reasons for this rather obsessive connection to my Technics that I share with probably millions of others is due to the symbolism of the era they represent. Nostalgia is a powerful thing that ripples through generations and has been a large part of the huge success to the Technics DJ turntables range for over 35 years.

It is, for this reason, a lot of DJ's are still hanging on to their old, tatty, damaged and worn out Technics despite their obvious need for a very expensive refurbishment, or replacement. In fact, you will generally hear Technics DJ's comment that they could never get used to different feeling that the other brands of turntables offer. I remember when the Vestax PDX series of turntables was released and most DJ's gave them a very poor review despite the advanced technology they employed.

The T80 Vs The Techs... does it compare?

Well, I am very pleased to announce that there is now a turntable available that feels very similar in performance, offers rock-solid design, and comes at an affordable price range. The T80 has the power, the stability and extra features that make it the obvious choice when contemplating a new turntable setup.

 

PERFORMANCE:

We tried the T80 for ourselves and were astounded at the familiar feeling they offer. The platter spins up to full speed in a fraction of a turn and doesn't flutter when it reaches full speed or when pitch correcting. The Techs and the T80 both boast a powerful 4.5Kg/cm motor, but the T80 definitely seems to rotate more smoothly when you are holding the record on a slip-mat while cueing and scratching. You can even adjust the start/stop speed of the platter from controls on the front panel (no more digging around with screwdrivers!)

Overall we were very happy and surprised at how great they feel to use. The response for mixing and scratching was as natural as drawing breath. I found my adjustment time from the Techs to the T80 was ZERO. We played for a few hours with the Techs and the T80 side by side.

 

FEATURES:

The T80 has a few extra features that can pack quite a punch for the more adventurous turntablist. With two Start/Stop buttons you can use the T80 in regular or battle style orientation and always have the button right where you want it. Also having three speeds can be handy at times with 33,44,78 rpm modes. The T80 also has multiple pitch ranges, 10%, 20% and 50%, and you can even swing your wheels of steel into reverse (just in case you feel the need to check if there are any demonic messages in your latest tune).

I'm particularly fond of the removable audio leads and also power lead, this is a great design feature that can save a lot of hard work when you have worn out or damaged the leads. On the Technics a broken lead would mean an expensive trip to the turntable doctor!

At first I was a little put off by the rounded edges as I am used to my turntables having square sharp corners, however, after lifting them in and out of a DJ coffin a couple of times I realized this is so much easier when you can fit your fingers down the corners. Also, you are much less prone to bumping a rounder corner during a performance than a square one.

The Newer T80 Mk2 model has the added features of a Hard Plastic cover and a place to put your 45 adapters. I must admit that I don’t use 45's anymore, and my gear all gets put into road cases, to these advances are not that much excitement... However, they have added a built-in phono pre-amplifier so you can choose between Line output and Phono output for your mixer or audio devices. This means you can have a lot more connection options than the Mk1 model. Nice!

 

 

CONSTRUCTION:

The T80 is 11+KG of solid serious business. It feels like the real deal and has excellent performance in heavy vibration environments. The shock absorbing feet work really well, and the sexy looking tone-arm does a great job of tracking at any weight I set it to. The anti-skating actually works well in this model, which is a rare thing in any DJ turntable. It was very difficult to get the T80 to skip and the tracking signal on the worn Serato record we were using to test came through perfectly balanced at all times... despite a wonky table, and of course some wonky DJ's

Overall the design is very good and suitable for a fair amount of punishment. But just when you are thinking the VOXOA T80 is winning hands down against the mighty Technics, we find the T80's kryptonite. Well, for the price range the performance and features are astounding, so we can expect to take a small hit on something right? Let’s face it, the Technics of old were indestructible and were designed to last for decades, but we can we really expect the same from another brand? Well, the answer is ALMOST.

We managed to lose the little silver knob of the end of the tonearm lever. One of the feet got smashed in transit (because we didn’t use road cases)... although the cracked foot casing did not affect its operation, and the start-stop buttons seem a little 'flappy' and occasionally one of them would spin around. But that’s it. I would recommend using a solid flight case to protect them unless they are in a fixed location because they will not take the same level of abuse we are used to seeing with the old techs.

 

OVERALL:

After about 5 of us spent hours hammering away on these things they performed great and felt really good. These beautifully designed T80 turntables really out-perform the old Techs on almost every level... that is unless you do handstands on the platters as part of your act!

PRODUCT INFO

 

 

Direct-drive motor with super high Torque (4.5kg-cm)

Adjustable torque (2.5 kg/cm – 4.5 kg/cm)

Height adjustable S-shaped pickup arm

Super bright LED illumination

Metal chassis with an extra heavy design

Forward and reverse playback

Adjustable start/stop speed (0.2 - 6 sec.)

Pitch range +/- 10%, +/-20% & +/- 50%

Pitch lock

33, 45, and 78 rpm

S/N ratio: > 60dB

PHONO OR LINE output (with grounding connector)

Additional start/stop button for vertical placement for battle DJs

Model T80, Direct-drive Turntable

Power AC110-220V, 50/60Hz, 13W

Dimensions 450mm (W) X 353mm (D) X 156mm (H)

Weight 11 kg

Turntable Section 3-speed full manual

Motor : 16pole, 3phase

Driving: Direct drive

Platter : 332mm dia. aluminum diecast

Speed: 33 1/3 and 45 rpm and 78rpm

Wow and flutter: Less than 0.1% WRMS (JIS

WTD) with 33 1/3rpm

S/N Ratio: More than 55dB (DIN-B)

Pitch controls : +/- 10%,+/- 20%,+/-50%

Electronic brake

Starting torque : More than 4.5kgf.cm

Starting time: 0.2~6 sec. (Adjustable)

Braking time: 0.2~6 sec. (Adjustable)

Time for speed change

- Less than 0.2 sec. from 33 1/3 to 45 rpm.

- Less than 0.2 sec. from 45 to 33 1/3 rpm.

- Less than 0.5 sec. from 33 1/3 to 78 rpm.

Tone-arm Section Type: S-shaped

Effective arm length: 230mm

Tracking error angle: Less than 3 degree

Anti-skating range: 0~3g

Applicable cartridge weight: 13 ~18g (Including

Head-shell )

Output : 1.5~3.6mV at 1KHz 5cm/sec (HP-4005)

Cartridge: AT-3600L

Frequency response: 20Hz~20KHz

Channel separation: More than 15dB

Channel balance : Within 2.5dB at 1KHz

Accessories supplied

- 1 Counterweight

- 1 Target light

- 1 Head-shell

- 1 Platter

- 1 45 rpm adaptor

- 1 Slip-mat

- 1 AC cord

- 1 Connecting cable

- 1 User Manual