Review on 🎵 Gemini Sound TT-4000: High Torque Direct-Drive DJ Turntable with USB Audio Interface & Variable Pitch Control by Renee Cook

While Gemini is remembered by DJs as a competitor (along with Stanton) to the mighty Technics in the heyday of vinyl DJing, that was a long time ago. Here we have the Gemini branding, which is a nominal variant of the Audio Technica AT-LP120 (made by the same manufacturer), with a little more motor torque but without some key features like the dust cover. Not a huge fan of the AT-LP120 due to its mostly plastic construction and mediocre arm and controls, and the same issues apply to this turntable. For a DJ turntable, this is a very light, reflective piece of plastic. It seems that there are design simplifications everywhere: the aluminum plate does not have a pattern from below. The anti-skate adjustment seems cheap (and it wasn't properly calibrated for the counterweight in my testing). The feet are also plastic, although they use silicone or rubber compounds to reduce feedback, which is a pretty big deal considering how light the turntable is otherwise. There is also a cartridge. It says Audio Technica but gives no indication of the model. However, it looks like a budget Audio Technica pickup unit. My auditions have convincingly confirmed the high quality of this pickup. Slightly and significantly inferior in performance to the $99 "red" Ortofon 2M cartridge, the cartridge was crushed by the old high-end Audio Technica AT25. Also, there seem to be some issues with QA. My turntable arrived with an oil/grease leak from the platter (see photos). As for the engine, the player worked well. It accelerated very quickly and braked almost immediately when the pause/stop button was pressed. With my finger on the tag, I checked the torque and it appeared to be sufficient, but not at the level of torque you would find on an old Techniques DJ warhorse. So I'm not sure if this is suitable in any design or torque quality for a DJ. At the same time, the lack of a dust cover and the inferior pickup as well as an overall mediocre workmanship speak against use as a home turntable, especially at the current price. No fish, no meat, I'm afraid this pinwheel will probably not be anyone's first choice.