technics 1200 MK2 vs MK5

[yummy]

I'm looking for a bit of advice from people who have experience with either (but preferably both) of these technics. So far, the only notable differences I've found are:

"...these differences from the original MK2: 1) power switch is sunken to prevent accidental turn-off 2) includes a button which overrides the pitch control to zero (regular speed) 3) no "click" at zero on the pitch control 4) comes with a high quality Technics 2 piece slipmat..."

and (this seems a lot more substantial)

"MK5's have a superior speed control circuit. The MK5's speed is quartz locked at all speeds whereas the MK2 is only quartz locked @ 0%, hence the switch @ zero. The MK2 speed is just a variable resistor to motor speed and can be prone to drifting due to things such as voltage fluctuation etc."

I've noticed a lot of people on here are using the MK2's, so are the MK5's THAT much better? (ie, worth a couple hundred dollars more?)

[mks]

Don't forget about the M3D's which came in between the MK2's and the MK5's. Like the MK5's they do not have the center indent and the sunken power switch, both of which are great and were great additions to the 1200 line of turntables. Not really sure what the difference is between the M3D's and the MK5's but there is def a big difference between the MK2's.

[staticcast]

I'm looking for a bit of advice from people who have experience with either (but preferably both) of these technics. So far, the only notable differences I've found are:

"...these differences from the original MK2: 1) power switch is sunken to prevent accidental turn-off 2) includes a button which overrides the pitch control to zero (regular speed) 3) no "click" at zero on the pitch control 4) comes with a high quality Technics 2 piece slipmat..."

and (this seems a lot more substantial)

"MK5's have a superior speed control circuit. The MK5's speed is quartz locked at all speeds whereas the MK2 is only quartz locked @ 0%, hence the switch @ zero. The MK2 speed is just a variable resistor to motor speed and can be prone to drifting due to things such as voltage fluctuation etc."

I've noticed a lot of people on here are using the MK2's, so are the MK5's THAT much better? (ie, worth a couple hundred dollars more?)

Quartz locking isn't a big deal IMHO; the imprecision is insignificant compared to the other discrepancies when mixing with vinyl (human error etc). There's always the calibration screw that you can adjust, though it does mean removing like 30 screws to get inside. The centre detent can be a little annoying on the mkIIs as it means you can't reliably set the tempo between +/- 0.1% or so, but you can always shift the tempo half a percent to get away from it and nobody will notice. I've never accidentally turned a mkII off during a set, though I could see it happening if you're not careful.

....frankly I wouldn't bother spending the extra unless you're desperate to have the very best, but maybe I would think differently if one of my decks had powered down in the middle of an important gig. In fact I'd probably recommend having mkIIs at home so you can get used to them; not all clubs have mk5s.

[mks]

I'm looking for a bit of advice from people who have experience with either (but preferably both) of these technics. So far, the only notable differences I've found are:

"...these differences from the original MK2: 1) power switch is sunken to prevent accidental turn-off 2) includes a button which overrides the pitch control to zero (regular speed) 3) no "click" at zero on the pitch control 4) comes with a high quality Technics 2 piece slipmat..."

and (this seems a lot more substantial)

"MK5's have a superior speed control circuit. The MK5's speed is quartz locked at all speeds whereas the MK2 is only quartz locked @ 0%, hence the switch @ zero. The MK2 speed is just a variable resistor to motor speed and can be prone to drifting due to things such as voltage fluctuation etc."

I've noticed a lot of people on here are using the MK2's, so are the MK5's THAT much better? (ie, worth a couple hundred dollars more?)

Quartz locking isn't a big deal IMHO; the imprecision is insignificant compared to the other discrepancies when mixing with vinyl (human error etc). There's always the calibration screw that you can adjust, though it does mean removing like 30 screws to get inside. The centre detent can be a little annoying on the mkIIs as it means you can't reliably set the tempo between +/- 0.1% or so, but you can always shift the tempo half a percent to get away from it and nobody will notice. I've never accidentally turned a mkII off during a set, though I could see it happening if you're not careful.

....frankly I wouldn't bother spending the extra unless you're desperate to have the very best, but maybe I would think differently if one of my decks had powered down in the middle of an important gig. In fact I'd probably recommend having mkIIs at home so you can get used to them; not all clubs have mk5s.

Yeah, I have accidentally turned off the power on Mk2's before especially because I like to set up the tables battle style, and the switch is right there. I've also noticed that the power switch gets looser on a well used set of MK2's whereas on the M3D's it doesn't as it is more protected.

The center dentent is super annoying sometimes, when you are in a club, about to lock in a mix and find that you need to re-pitch both records a bit because you are about to hit the center. Not something that will really affect you that much, but it was nicer once Technics removed that.

EZ

[ninjadog]

Mk5 also has 16% pitch while the mk2 is only 8%...One of the reasons I prefer the mk5 especially if you scratch or do pitch tricks.
The mk2 is the original design since the early 70's, by todays standards the mk5's features are pretty outdated.

[yummy]

Mk5 also has 16% pitch while the mk2 is only 8%...One of the reasons I prefer the mk5 especially if you scratch or do pitch tricks.
The mk2 is the original design since the early 70's, by todays standards the mk5's features are pretty outdated.

the mk5's features are outdated?

[ninjadog]

Mk5 also has 16% pitch while the mk2 is only 8%...One of the reasons I prefer the mk5 especially if you scratch or do pitch tricks.
The mk2 is the original design since the early 70's, by todays standards the mk5's features are pretty outdated.

the mk5's features are outdated?

Yeah, newer tables have 50% pitch control. Assignable start stop times. Better torque. I'm even talking about the TT500 here. The Stanton STR8-150's and Vestax decks slay technics in every way but possibly long term reliability.

[collige]

The craigslist deal on decks I'm looking at offers an mk2 and an mk5. Would buying both be a good idea? Would mixing on two slightly different decks screw me up?

Also, who in the hell needs to pitch something up 50%???

[Depone]

Im going to go against the grain and say that theres bugger all difference to be honest.

The updated mark 5 doesnt really grab me as being 'updated'. Stick with Mk2's and it will be fine.

[JFK]

Im going to go against the grain and say that theres bugger all difference to be honest.

The updated mark 5 doesnt really grab me as being 'updated'. Stick with Mk2's and it will be fine.

This. I love mt Mk2's they are the best turntable on the planet.

M5's are ok, but not worth the extra £££ imho.

[Ennayess]

I play on both regularly and can hardly tell the difference between them tbh.... maybe its cause i'm used to my crappy stantons. MK5's probably aren't worth the extra £.

[gravity]

the main difference as far as i can tell is that the pitch seems to waiver a bit around 0 on the mk2s and its a pain to get things locked, and this doesnt seem to happen on mk5s. that might to do with the indent thing, not really sure, but it can be a pain.

[lowpass]

Get the mk2's, the reason you're getting them in the first place is because they're industry standard (in most clubs) right? and you want to be able to easily transfer from your bedroom to playing out.

I find that there are more mk2's out there than 5's so I wouldn't want to get accustomed to a deck that's easier to use (mk5) then get into the club only to struggle with the mk2's

[yummy]

the main difference as far as i can tell is that the pitch seems to waiver a bit around 0 on the mk2s and its a pain to get things locked, and this doesnt seem to happen on mk5s. that might to do with the indent thing, not really sure, but it can be a pain.

how big of a setback do you think this will be for a beginner?

[CBK81]

I've mixed exclusively on mk2s my entire career, as have many other djs. It won't hamper you at all really.

[abZ]

I have the mkII I have had them for years. Tbh I would like to upgrade because of the notch. You can mod them and take the notch out but then you can't zero anymore and I use them to listen to old rock and jazz too. The recessed off button is nice too I have defo switched the power off by accident before. The extra range I don't care about. I think tunes sound like shit when you pitch them more than 6 percent.