[skyskraper]

a few things i reccomend to my customers and friends about decks:

1) if you're just starting out, you can get all the advice you want but you won't know what you really want/need until you have a bit of experience behind the decks. each dj is different and will have different nuances that are impossible to predict, you have to experience them.

2) a lot of dj gear is (relatively) low fidelity. particularly mixers. if sound quality is a concern then the best place to spend your money is on the mixer. hell even high end rane mixers still use TL07X op amps and 30c instrument amps. so instead of spending hundreds modifying a turntable for better sound from straight tone arms etc the money would be better spent on a better mixer.

3) get your decks calibrated and setup properly. i take the time to calibrate my decks and the decks of my customers repeatedly over each service period. most people can't calibrate the internals but a good service should be cheap. also what YOU can do and the most common thing that people ignore are the cartridge and tone arm setup combined with a perfectly level playback surface. the technics will come with a stylus alignment guage and the manual will have a guide for balancing and setting up the headshell and tone arm.

4) clean your records! argh it sh1ts me, it's the most oft forgotten things that affects the sound. use a good record cleaning cloth and fluid.

i like the kab fluid damper but it doesnt really suit all dj's styles. i found similar performance gains were gained by using freefloat cushions which are 1/10th of the cost per deck. i personally just levelled out my surface and used two layers of a thick rubber matt, i don't really have a need for the fluid damper or cushions in my setup. if i wasnt about to sell my last pair of 1200's then i'd finish my PSU modification experiments as i suspect that it would make a huge difference for a relatively low price. straight tone arms ala origina and rega i simply cannot justify spending on right now, i dj mainly with cd's and my records get played and recorded at home off a rega p3 so i can dj with cd recordings.