I was bought this deck for Christmas. Initially, I was disappointed by the lack of 33 1/3 to 45 RPM switch. It's a direct drive via a pulley, so to move speeds you have to remove the turntable and slip the drive belt over the different drive wheels. However, I hardly ever play 45 rpm discs, so actually, it's not been a real-world problem for me. The build quality is superb, it is solid so doesn't jump at high volumes so tracking is awesome and I can't recommend this deck highly enough. Would I pay the extra for a speed switch? Probably not - I'll save my money for a new cartridge and more albums!