I actually bought a 1200G new when they came out, partly through curiosity, partly because I was at the time frustrated by my progress restoring my TD-124. It lasted maybe two hours in the system. To say I preferred the TD-124 is a huge understatement.
The 1200G is very good, arguably “perfect” as it is totally silent, the speed stability is perfect etc, but it just sounded so dead to my ears. It is a thing I hear with most really heavy and damped turntables to be honest. It just isn’t for me. I remember playing Dexter Gordon’s One Flight Up, as I always do, and the Technics just sucked the life and magic from it to my ears. Nothing was ‘wrong’, but something I really care about was missing. The TD-124 stuck him right in the room and made it sound like he was having fun. Sure, the 124 will never be as deathly silent as the 1200, but it taught me I don’t care about that. The 1200G is a great turntable for folk with no mechanical aptitude who just want something that works perfectly out of the box. It does, it is a beautifully made and remarkably heavy thing. No way would I swap a decent condition restored vintage idler (124, Garrard, EMT, Lenco etc) for one though even if they will never be as quiet and take a little warming up to hit their stride. Idlers are fun. They really groove.
PS I hated the bright blue lights too. Ugh. Cost me £150 to hear it (what I lost selling it on), but I learned quite a bit. Certainly that it was worth continuing and getting the 124 as good as it is right now.