That will be interesting.
TECHNICS SL1200/1210. HYPE OR FACT?
- Thread starter John P
- Start date
That will be interesting.
Peter Stockwell
Back for more ...
I believe a technics is significantly cheaper than an SME30. I do wonder how an SME10 holds up against an SL1210, especially one with an improved power supply.
The only time I heard a system with isobariks (RKR's) I didn't care for their way of presenting music. I also didn't like the physical bulk.
The other thing I've recently discovered is that streaming audio from a computer can seriously rival a ££££ CD player combo! So I think our foundations are well and truly cracked!
David, and others who don't believe a 1210 sounds any good, go and listen to Leigh's if he'll let you in the house after the stuff you have spouted about something you haven't seen or heard.
I bought an amp from Leigh, while I was there he said "fancy some music?" and stuck a record on. I glanced at the deck and thought, "oh, a techy or similar DD Japanese affair, this might be interesting." The music that came out was staggering and I have never heard a Linn that came remotely close, which is disappointing as I've owned 3. As for Rega, I've owned P2 and P3, forget it. My current Garrard 401 is similar in terms of having rock-solid timing and rhythm, but I have different arm and cart. I'd love a VdH Grasshopper but £3000 is a bit stiff.
Leigh's system flies in the face of the "wisdom" of system hierarchy but it's ultimately about engineering, not cost to buy. A record deck has a simple task,to spin a record silently at 33rpm regardless of load. If it can do this well, whether it costs £40, 400 or 4000 is irrelevant.
I bought an amp from Leigh, while I was there he said "fancy some music?" and stuck a record on. I glanced at the deck and thought, "oh, a techy or similar DD Japanese affair, this might be interesting." The music that came out was staggering and I have never heard a Linn that came remotely close, which is disappointing as I've owned 3. As for Rega, I've owned P2 and P3, forget it. My current Garrard 401 is similar in terms of having rock-solid timing and rhythm, but I have different arm and cart. I'd love a VdH Grasshopper but £3000 is a bit stiff.
Leigh's system flies in the face of the "wisdom" of system hierarchy but it's ultimately about engineering, not cost to buy. A record deck has a simple task,to spin a record silently at 33rpm regardless of load. If it can do this well, whether it costs £40, 400 or 4000 is irrelevant.
hoiho
A small mind in the North
But then a brand new bearing assembly is only about $30 from KAB...
Where do you get this stuff ? The manual clearly states every 2000 hours. You think that your Linn dealer doesn't lubricate your bearing and motor when you take it in for it's recommended annual service ?
Yes, quite a bit cheaper! I wasn't suggesting it was as good as an SME (it's 15 years since I heard one), just that in both cases, the rock solid pitch stability is the first thing I noticed. It would be an interesting comparison though.
I can understand that, but I did used to like them. There are better though!
sq225917
Bit of this, bit of that
i think he meant the 1210 bearing.
Steve, i know a 1210 can sound decently good, that's not in doubt, but it can also easily sound much better, as evinced by the numbers of modders coming out of the woodwork all crazy for the djdeck dollar. I'm impressed by their shamefaced charging for what is no more than a simple £30 regulator circuit in some cases, you would think they were regenerating the mains frequency or something, not dropping voltage and smoothing.
Steve, i know a 1210 can sound decently good, that's not in doubt, but it can also easily sound much better, as evinced by the numbers of modders coming out of the woodwork all crazy for the djdeck dollar. I'm impressed by their shamefaced charging for what is no more than a simple £30 regulator circuit in some cases, you would think they were regenerating the mains frequency or something, not dropping voltage and smoothing.
Thanks Steve. Anyone who shares a passion for audio is welcome here.
Just for the record, I didn't spend £3000 (wish I had that sort of pocket money), I swapped it for my Voyd but provided AJ stays in business, in the long run it should be better value than other cartridges of similar cost as he will rebuild to as new condition for about £450.
With this deck, platter and motor bearing are one and the same.
I agree I spent about £40 on mine (most of that for the transformer). Commercial products usually retail for about 10x the cost of the parts though, especially low volume ones. I think you will find this holds true for Linn and most others in the business.
Oh, well in that case it's positively a budget item then!
I agree that once you own the thing retipping/rebuild every few years at 450 is reasonable. It's still a non-trivial sum but we could all live with what, £2 a week?
Joking aside swapping gear does make sense. I'm in the process of gradually disposing of my older gear, the hobby stuff if you like, which I'm no longer using, and buying stuff I will actually use with the proceeds. I reckon I can roughly break even, end up with a better system and dispose of the odds and ends in the process, a result all round. I still have Garrard 401s and Quad 405s as projects so I'm not exactly hard done by. To be honest if I really put my money where my mouth is and got rid of *everything* spare I'd be able to buy something very special indeed. It will happen , in due course.
hoiho
A small mind in the North
I'm not quite sure what you mean. After all, the bearing is discrete, and easily replaceable, even though the motor coils are in the deck, and the magnets in the platter.
That's right, the motor is made from coils fixed to the deck and magnets fixed underneath the platter, hence one bearing is shared by the platter and the motor, or if you like, the platter forms part of the motor.
I think what hoiho is getting at is that the bearing can be separated from the platter if necessary for replacement. Presumably it presses or bolts in, looking at that spindle it looks like a taper fit, which is a good engineering solution.
As for 100 hours lubrication, my car runs longer than that on its engine oil! 2000 hrs sounds better, which will pan out to every year on something used professionally, 40 hrs pw. I'd say there are few of us lucky enough to be able to listen to a TT in leisure use for 40 hrs pw!
As for 100 hours lubrication, my car runs longer than that on its engine oil! 2000 hrs sounds better, which will pan out to every year on something used professionally, 40 hrs pw. I'd say there are few of us lucky enough to be able to listen to a TT in leisure use for 40 hrs pw!
ultrawomble
Sith Lord
ultrawomble
Sith Lord
Looking at the image in the manual, part # SFTE172-01Z1 is just the platter. Worth investigating though.
bennyboyph
pfm Member
Are there any published modifications for the power supply? I'm not keen on splashing out over £300 for a new transformer and a couple of regulators!
As you know David,when Linn and Rega want a quality arm built they contract it to people who have the know how quality machining and production tecnique.......The Japs. 1210 arms may be made by the same outfits.
BSR was my first deck............Never the same after the merger with McDonald
Surprised no one corrected this as Regas Rb 300 is made by themselves. I`ve just bought one s/h for a project.
david ellwood
Kirabosi Kognoscente
over the years that i worked in hifi retail i have had quite a number of 1210's in to compare against other decks.
i dont understand the remarks about pitch stability because rhythmical integrity is without doubt bottom of the list of the technics attributes.
This is the last thing I have to say on the subject.
I'll leave you all to your delusion.
i dont understand the remarks about pitch stability because rhythmical integrity is without doubt bottom of the list of the technics attributes.
This is the last thing I have to say on the subject.
I'll leave you all to your delusion.