Turntables
There's nothing that can match the feel of a vinyl record spinning on a turntable. The warm sensation when you touch the record to scratch cannot be matched by any new technology. In fact, the nostalgia of the analogue turntable is one of the primary reasons they are still widely used today. Most old school DJ's will never consider switching from the Technics 1200's to any new technology, and they have good reason:
The vinyl sound is unquestionably warmer than any new technology has yet been able to replicate.
There is no feeling like plundering a record store shopping for new vinyl, a feeling that has never been recreated meandering through the isles of the Best Buy music section
Scratching is nowhere near the same on anything but a turntable
There are multitudes of old records on vinyl that will never be released in CD or MP3 format
CJD's
While the old school feel of a turntable is undoubtedly attractive, the multitudes of blinking LED's and screen readouts of a CDJ 1000's are enough to capture any tech geek's attention. The CDJ is a new rendition of the turntable that allows the DJ to play CD's in the same way a vinyl DJ would. However, the new rendition also comes with a few notable bells and whistles:
You can pack between 20-30 songs on a CD, something unheard of on a record
The higher level CDJ's give the DJ an accurate readout of the Beats Per Minute of the song
You can still scratch on a CDJ, just not as well
It is far harder to damage or break a CDJ than a turntable
The Consensus?
There will never be one. It is, as usual, a decision you will have to make for yourself. There are merits to both sides of the argument. You can't go wrong either way.
