- Battery-powered turntables for home and mobile listening
- DJ-focused Play turntable features filters and looping
- Several premium versions have vacuum tube preamps
Korg has announced a trio of very unusual turntables that you can take anywhere. The new Handytraxx series can run on AA batteries as well as from a wall outlet, and they include integrated speakers for music on the go. But it’s not a toy. They are designed for DJs and serious music fans the way the best turntables are.
There are three or so models in the Handytraxx series. There’s Play, which is designed for mobile DJing; Tube, which comes with a tube preamp for warmer sound and can turn your vinyl into digital files; and 1bit, which offers improved digital recording. There is also a limited edition Tube in collaboration with the Japanese cartridge company JICO.
Korg Handytraxx Turntables: Portability, Power Features and Prices
Handytraxx is sort of a tribute to a tribute; they are inspired by the early Vestax Handy Trax portable turntable, which in turn took its inspiration from the portable players of the 1960s and 1970s and found favor among DJs.
Each model is designed to be highly portable, with Play as the entry level model and 1bit and limited-edition Tube as premium options.
The main difference between the models is that the Play is much more focused on DJ functions: it has a high-quality fader “optimized for scratching”, built-in effects and a live looper. The tube and 1bit remove that hardware and put a Nutube vacuum tube preamp in its place.
The tube offers 16-bit, 44.1kHz/48kHz output via USB, and 1bit also offers digitization to 5.6 MHz DSD and 192 kHz, 24-bit PCM, creating audio files that you can then use on 1bit or one of the best hi-res audio players.
The new Handytraxx turntables start at $399 / £359 for the Play, $799 / £699 for the Tube, $999 / £919 for the i1bit and $1,199 / £1,099 for the limited edition Tube J. Australian prices have not been announced but should be around AU$640 to AU$1,925.
