Rega RP10 or Technics SL1200G - which should I buy?

[hockman]

I've not heard the 1200G but really want one.

I am using a SL1200mk2. It may sound a bit relentless at times but one thing that really stands out is the correctness and steadiness of pitch and rhythm. This I find makes a huge difference in communicating the music better. I have a high end belt driven turntable as well but am very happy to have both side-by-side. They each give a slightly difference perspective to the music.

The Technics is up and running and the Gyro SE is is a collection of boxes.

I played three sides last night. The first thing I notice is the presence of the musicians is not so great. The Gyro and the SME IV produced very natural timbres with a real sense of presence.
It was a treat to have the Gyro playing.

I played two records from sets that sounded so bad on the Gyro that I was thinking of putting them on Ebay.

I was once told , by a very well known British pianist, to avoid if at all possible playing a piano after Alfred Brendel has played on it. As if I'd ever have the chance. I had never before heard in Brendel recordings anything that would suggest piano murder. But the set of Schubert recording on Philips from the late 1960s and early 19070s sounds like just that. I played them on the Gyro and he's beating the life out of it. And the recording is very boomy. So bad that I bought the 1980s digital recordings to play on CD. They were never issued on vinyl and the later recordings sound better on CD than the earlier vinyl on the Gyro.

I played the vinyl on the Technics and whilst I'm still conscious that the piano is getting a thorough service the next day, it was more listenable. I could hear the Schubert. The sound of the piano is smaller but perhaps the sheer stability of the Technics prevents the problems from being exaggerated.

Similarly, I have been working through the Mozart piano concerto recordings with Ingrid Heabler and was thinking of selling those as well (except that the accompanying booklet is so good).
The recordings are very dull, life less and she plays with finesse but without character.
On the Technics, I can actually hear the Mozart within the mess.

The sound of the Technics is smaller, flatter in presentation and more distant. Perhaps I should have looked out for a second hand SME309 for the Gyro which would have made cartridge maintenance in the medium term easier. I'd like to find one for the Technics one day. I won't put the SME iv on the Technics. It took me 90 minutes to safely remove it from the Gyro just to get the cartridge off. I don't want to be doing that too often.

I prefer the Gyro. But for me the Technics will be easier to live with and I may end up listening to more vinyl on it.
I'll be looking for ways to tweak it to get best performance.

 

[alanbeeb]

I find solo piano music is one of the great strengths of direct drive decks - with almost any belt drive I can hear the pitch wobbling. Less of an issue with other types of music. Particular favourite of mine is Brendel's 1970's Philips recording of the Schubert Impromptus, I have two copies just in case!

 

[Ward]

There is a Rega RP10 for sale as part of this advert if that is the way the op has decided to go
https://pinkfishmedia.net/forum/thr...cyrus-phono-psx-r2-abbey-road-chc-dc3.235941/

 

[JoeJoe]

The 2 Regas I had both played fast. If you have pitch-perfect hearing this is really unimpressive..... the Technics SL1200G is absolutely faultless in this respect.

 

[Mr Pig]

The 2 Regas I had both played fast.

The RP10 doesn't. And if it did, you can adjust it.

One of the first things I noticed about the RP10 is the speed stability. To me, the deck combines the best bits of belt and direct drive. It's got the flow and rhythm of belt drive but the solidity of direct or idler drive.

I'm not saying the Technics is a poor deck, I'm sure it isn't, but I have zero regrets. In fact I was just sitting here thinking 'good grief but this turntable is flippin' brilliant'. It's not a little better than my LP12s but massive shift in quality.

 

[gx502]

Different presentations appeal to different people, gotta spend some time, and find the one you like.

(I had a modded sl1200, and was very happy with it within the context of how much it cost. In my opinion it punched well above its weight class. If I was hyper-critical and judged it in ultimate terms, its sonics sounded to me to have a slight metallic caste over it. I put it down to a resonant top plate, and perhaps platter. Perhaps I should invest in some time in damping the upper chassis (?).)

 

[Alex S]

The easiest way to do that is plonk one of these on it: http://www.sounddeadsteel.com/hifi.html

 

[Purité Audio]

Different presentations appeal to different people, gotta spend some time, and find the one you like.

(I had a modded sl1200, and was very happy with it within the context of how much it cost. In my opinion it punched well above its weight class. If I was hyper-critical and judged it in ultimate terms, its sonics sounded to me to have a slight metallic caste over it. I put it down to a resonant top plate, and perhaps platter. Perhaps I should invest in some time in damping the upper chassis (?).)

Where was the cause of that resonance ?
Keith

 

[gx502]

Where was the cause of that resonance ?
Keith

On the older decks the ferrite boss on the underside of the platter is an obvious culprit for ringing (I was able to address that somewhat by unscrewing this boss, and packing the void with some blu-tak). This made a sonic improvement, that I can vouch for.

For the rest, or that "metallic caste" that I feel is over the sound, I don't know, but I suspect that the alloy casting that makes the upper half of the turntable plinth might be the cause of it. This could be addressed by adding some damping material like Dynamat to the underside of the upper plinth. (I might try it if I can be sufficiently motivated in the future, but at present I just don't listen to records enough to make me take action.)

 

[Tarzan]

@k90tour If you still have the Gyro and you fancy another go with it do try The True Point Pylon tweak- this is a dramatic upgrade to the Gyrodec, they really are that good, they bring a solidity to sound which for the money is off the charts.

Just saying.

Oh and another thing, the Audionote arms are spectacular on a Gyro, the Arm 1v2 for the money is insanely good- this replaced an SME V on my gyro....now have an Arm 3v2/Hana ML and this combo is incredible!

Good luck whatever you choose.

 

[Purité Audio]

On the older decks the ferrite boss on the underside of the platter is an obvious culprit for ringing (I was able to address that somewhat by unscrewing this boss, and packing the void with some blu-tak). This made a sonic improvement, that I can vouch for.

For the rest, or that "metallic caste" that I feel is over the sound, I don't know, but I suspect that the alloy casting that makes the upper half of the turntable plinth might be the cause of it. This could be addressed by adding some damping material like Dynamat to the underside of the upper plinth. (I might try it if I can be sufficiently motivated in the future, but at present I just don't listen to records enough to make me take action.)

And where does the energy come from to create and sustain this audible resonance?
Keith

 

[AndyU]

And where does the energy come from to create and sustain this audible resonance?
Keith

I think it’s called the needle. Some of its energy is also used to wiggle a coil or a magnet inside a magnet or a coil to produce the signal that comes out of the phono leads.

 

[k90tour]

@k90tour If you still have the Gyro and you fancy another go with it do try The True Point Pylon tweak- this is a dramatic upgrade to the Gyrodec, they really are that good, they bring a solidity to sound which for the money is off the charts.

Thanks very much.
But I didn't change for a different sound, rather than a need for an easier to live with deck given the circumstances. The Technics is different but will be fine for me. Especially knowing that if I need to move it, which I will, it is more straight forward.
The Gyro will appear in the classifieds soon.

 

[gx502]

And where does the energy come from to create and sustain this audible resonance?
Keith

Don't know if it is a sustained resonance as such. I am just saying that if I judge the sound quality of my turntable in ultimate terms, completely ignoring its modest cost, then I would describe it subjectively as sometimes having a metallic property. Not all the time, not on all records just sometimes, and to some extent. Again just subjectively speaking, I would say that it is not reproducing the timbre of instruments accurately.

But I am comparing it to the best turntables that I have ever heard, which have cost factors of between 10 and 100 times more than my turntable.

I also I don't know what I am doing, I am just trying stuff, and if i don't like a change, I just undo the change I have made. But right now, I don't listen much to vinyl, so I am not trying to make any more changes.

 

[Purité Audio]

If you are going to make a valid comparison, you really need the two tables side by side, ideally fitted with the same arm, certainly the same cartridge, playing through the same system.
If there was resonance it would almost certainly come from the motor/bearing but that would be a very poor design.
Keith

 

[Konteebos]

I fitted the KAB damper to my SL1200G this week. It definitely brings out more detail - I can hear things on several records that I couldn't hear before.

 

[linnfomaniac83]

The RP10 doesn't. And if it did, you can adjust it.

One of the first things I noticed about the RP10 is the speed stability. To me, the deck combines the best bits of belt and direct drive. It's got the flow and rhythm of belt drive but the solidity of direct or idler drive.

I'm not saying the Technics is a poor deck, I'm sure it isn't, but I have zero regrets. In fact I was just sitting here thinking 'good grief but this turntable is flippin' brilliant'. It's not a little better than my LP12s but massive shift in quality.

My P5 with the Neo is spot on too, but as with any Rega powered by a Neo, they can be adjusted if they’re not running at the correct speed... PS the Neo is derived from the RP10 PSU and has the same speed adjustment controls on the rear panel. I think the biggest difference between the Neo and RP10 PSU is the case work, the RP10 being deeper and heavier/more solidly built, and the RP10 PSU having a built in mains transformer VS the wallwart that comes with the Neo.

 

[gx502]

If you are going to make a valid comparison, you really need the two tables side by side, ideally fitted with the same arm, certainly the same cartridge, playing through the same system.
If there was resonance it would almost certainly come from the motor/bearing but that would be a very poor design.
Keith

Yes unfortunately this is not possible, so I am having to rely on my unreliable sonic memory. But I think we are going OT. My key point is that IMHO the Technics decks punch above their weight class, its simply a matter of whether or not you like their sonic presentation.

 

[al2002]

Both decks have been reviewed in Hi Fi News. You may want to read the reviews before making a decision.

The Rega review is here:https://www.rega.co.uk/uploads/documents/HFN_Rega RP10.pdf

Couldn’t find an on-line copy of the SL1200 review.

Note that the RP 10 measured by Hi Fi news ran a bit fast.

 

[Mr Pig]

Note that the RP 10 measured by Hi Fi news ran a bit fast.

How fast is a bit? I've measured a few turntables and not many run dead on. There is no technical reason why speed accuracy should be an insurmountable problem on a hi-end Rega turntable.