Though best known for its music gear, Korg scratched its way into new territory last year with a tribute to the Handy Trax portable turntable. Now the company has added more flavors to its Handytraxx family, to meet the demands of DJs, rippers and audiophiles.
Last year's Handytraxx play announcement didn't come with pricing or a release date, but at least we can satisfy curiosity for those items this time around.
As before, the DJ-focused portable turntable is among a bunch of new product announcements for the NAMM Show, which is open for business this week in Anaheim, California. Along with a single deck that can spin at 33/45/78 rpm, the Play features a crossfader, low-pass/high-pass/EQ filters, cooked-in delay effects, and a built-in looper with variable speed control.
The control panel can be positioned for left- or right-handed use. A pair of 2.5-watt speakers are included for immediate playback or the turntable can be cabled to external audio hardware. And the play can run on AA-sized batteries or via the included AC adapter. This model is currently listed for pre-order at US$399.99.
The first addition to the series is the Handytraxx tube – "a record player designed for those captivated by the timeless allure of analog records." Where the Play ships with a ceramic cartridge, the tube comes with a moving magnet flavor from Japan's JICO plus a phono stage powered by Korg's Nutube technology.
Features that set it apart from the DJ model include a die-cast aluminum platter that's belt-driven by a software-controlled motor; a tonearm with adjustable counterweight; bass and treble tweaking; flat-response speakers; and a USB out for capturing the sounds to digital format. This model jumps in price to $799.99, with Sweetwater expecting stock to arrive from next month.
Interestingly, Korg is offering a limited run of the Handytraxx tube to celebrate its partnership with JICO. Only the phono cartridge has changed, being upgraded from the J44A 7 version to the "groundbreaking Clipper MM Cartridge" for the promise of "an elevated Hi-Fi experience for vinyl enthusiasts." This addition pushes the ticket price up to $1,199.
And finally, Korg has launched a series flagship in the shape of the Handytraxx 1bit. This is similar to the tube model (with the J44A 7 moving magnet cartridge) but allows listeners to back up their collections in high-resolution digital format – including 5.6-MHz, 1-bit DSD.
PCM formats up to 192 kHz/24-bit are supported as well, with conversion undertaken via a free download of the company's AudioGate 4 software. Sweetwater has this one listed for $999.99 with a February shipping estimate.