sonddek
Trade: SUPATRAC
For me it was a ‘flat earth’ musicality/tune-dem type difference. Nothing you could plot on a chart. The 124 was alive, organic and just swung and sang, the SL1200 cold, analytical and detached. Very much a ‘fun’ thing. To be honest I don’t think it is a drive thing, I tend to find this with any high-mass heavily-damped component, e.g. I haven’t ever heard a heavy pair of MDF speakers I’ve really liked. They all just sound dead in the water to me.
Objectively the SL1200G is about as perfect as a record player can be, but I knew within two or three bars I’d be selling it on.
That is definitely the most important question. How much fun am I having? The problem is that I don't have great confidence in my ability to associate that with the right culprit. But I definitely know what you mean about the organic liveliness of a good idler.
This is one of the things which makes fair and objective deck and arm comparisons so elusive. You really need to remove all other differences as far as possible and often it takes time to settle a preference.