Price Paid:  $250.00 from ebay

Summary:
These tables are good. Decent torque (i dont scratch) so im not sure how they are for that. The sound with new stanton 505 needles is surprisingly clear. We hooked up a techniqes 1200 and one of these back to back and the only thing i noticed was the techniqes had better pitch control. These are one of the best deals in beginer decks. I got a PAIR on ebay for $250 plus shipping. I played with these as I learned how to beat match and what not and then jumped on a techniqes and again the only noticable difference was slightly less torque (than techs 1200's) and the pitch control was not quite as smooth. I have no plans to even replace these now unless they were to break, then and only then would I consider a better table.

Strengths:
Good torque, great sound, durable (ive taken these to parties and the have been exposed to both high heat high humidity as well as very cold temps. ( they sat in my garage for a year before i even used them) PRICE!

Weaknesses:
Pitch control is not very smooth.....COMPARED to a tech 1200 table wich is a far more expensive table.

Similar Products Used:
Way better than the direct drive gemini tables which are comparable price (forgot the model number)

Price Paid:  $300.00 from upstairsrecords.com

Summary:
First off, I paid WAY too much for this deck. If you are gonna pay $300+shipping for a deck, you could probably do better than this. HOWEVER, here is an interesting little bit of info I found out kinda late:
The GLI SL-2500, the Next (By Stanton) NT-2500, and the American DJ TTD2500 are ALL the EXACT SAME turntable sold under different brand names. Gli sells it for the highest price, then comes American DJ, and then you can pick up a Next version of it for around $200 with a decent Stanton cart! My home DJ setup includes a Vestax mixer with a GLi SL-2500 and a Next NT-2500, and the two turntables are absolutely identical except for the fact that Next deck has yellow trim on it. I got the Next deck used at a steal of a deal for $100, which evened out how much I paid for the GLi and made me feel a lot better about.

Alright, on to the actual turntable... I am a hardcore DJ that plays out regularly. I do scratching, backspinning, backcueing, scratchmixing, etc, etc on these decks and they handle them beautifully. I use Technics regularly when I play out, and the transition between using these and using the Technics is quite subtle... the main differences in feel are in Pitch Control (of course), the fact that the Technics are a little more stable, and that these have slightly less torque than the 1200s. However, these decks are no slouchers... they have PLENTY of torque for scratching and cueing and all that, one just has to be a little more careful when correcting beats so as not to overcorrect since there isn't as much torque to fight against. And they have plenty of stability for scratching and all that, but once again you just have to be a little more careful than on Technics.

What really makes them worth it is the value. Sure, for over a thousand bucks you could get the Technics and have the standard. But, for $400 you can have a great pair of home decks on which you can do just about everything and which come with a Stanton cart. Thats the best deal I've seen...
http://www.pssl.com for the Next deck with cart.

Strengths:
Bang for the bucks, and an all around good deck.

Weaknesses:
Lacking a tad in the torque and stability department, but not bad at all.

Similar Products Used:
Technics 1200 (MKII and M3D), Numark TT1700, GLI SL-1900,
and various others.