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TECHNICS SL1200/1210. HYPE OR FACT?

david ellwood said:
.. dont understand the remarks about pitch stability because rhythmical integrity is without doubt bottom of the list of the technics attributes.

I'll leave you all to your delusion.
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I'm surprised you hear things so differently. Really surprised. But, I can't know what you hear.
 
matt j said:
Have a read of this
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That's funny, I used the same Velleman regulator kit from Maplin, mounted internally as the LM317 performs best when located close to the load. I had a 20v transformer custom would for £30 odd, housed in an external box to keep hum away. I also used a separate rectifier bridge as I managed to fry the diodes on the Velleman board and uprated the smoothnig cap to 4700uF.

SP1210-Reg.JPG
 
nortonl said:
That's funny, I used the same Velleman regulator kit from Maplin, mounted internally as the LM317 performs best when located close to the load. I had a 20v transformer custom would for £30 odd, housed in an external box to keep hum away. I also used a separate rectifier bridge as I managed to fry the diodes on the Velleman board and uprated the smoothnig cap to 4700uF.
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Nice; but where do you shove the DC into on the main board?
 
I used a stock transformer with dual 0-9V secondaries connected in series, and that gave enough headroom for a 21V DC output.
The DC can be connected to point J3 at the top left of the main board - after removing the connection from the transistor on the small Technics regulator board.
If you're planning to do this I would recommend first taking a look at the circuit diagrams so you can understand what you are doing.

John
 
jonne said:
If you're planning to do this I would recommend first taking a look at the circuit diagrams so you can understand what you are doing.
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I've got a circuit diagram, and the knowledge to use it, but I always try to follow what others have done, after evaluating it, in good engineering tradition. The more information, the better.
 
hoiho said:
I always try to follow what others have done, after evaluating it, in good engineering tradition. The more information, the better.
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I agree absolutely.
In the near future I plan to try something rather better than an LM317. I'll post my findings.

John
 
hoiho said:
Nice; but where do you shove the DC into on the main board?
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I disconnected the original regulator and connected the output of mine to the same wire that was connected to the output of the original (the yellow wire). That way everything still works including the strobe although some others who did it before me connected elsewhere to purposely disable the strobe.
 
nortonl said:
That way everything still works including the strobe although some others who did it before me connected elsewhere to purposely disable the strobe.
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Is there any sonic advantage to disabling the strobe (noise?), or is it purely aesthetic - removing the red glow?
 
I didn't try it but people who did it said the benefit was small or non-existent so I didn't bother as I quite like the strobe.
 
Right, that's my weekend's fun sorted, then. Incognito rewire for the RB300, and then building a new PSU! I'm pretty sure I have at least one suitable traffo in the spares box, and maybe even a decent case for it, too.
 
Well, thanks to all who recommended a rewire for the RB300. I spend Friday night hunched over my workbench, fitting the Incognito kit (with Michell tags, as I much prefer them). And it really does make things better - that flat tonal greyness has gone, and there's a richer, more warmly detailed and atmospheric sound, but without sacrificing any of the taut dynamism and control. It also dropped the noise floor noticeably - removing a lot of what I assume was RF hiss.

No, the SL1210/RB300/OC9 still isn't beating the LP12/Ittok/AT33, but it's very much closer - and we'll see how it does when I get around to fitting the Vellman-based power supply that I built on Sunday (I just have to finalise my plans for placing the board & its big cap, and then re-routing the internal wiring in order to retain the use of the rotary power switch).

I also played around with a couple of thin profile (about 3mm) nitrile O-rings, above and below the OL arm plate, between it and the arm tube, and bolt. Doing much the same thing as the Michell decoupling kit for the Orbe, and Rega's new 3-point mount, I guess, by adding a little bit of compliant decoupling, while avoiding the problems of leaving the bolt a bit loose.

Anyway, I think it sounded better - more open, less liable to confusion on complex passages, and a bit more detail. Anyway, I shall continue listening over the week, and then remove them and see how I feel about it. It's easy to remove the arm now, as I finally took the plunge and attacked the rubber base with a craft knife, and opened the arm mounting hole up all the way through.
 
A friend has offered me one of his SL1200 (MK5) for £250. It's not been thrashed and has a Stanton 890SA cart. Is there anything I should know before making the deal? I'm never going to spend > £1,000 on a deck and hoping this will give good sound per pound. I like the idea of adding a PS and arm mods when funds allow. Will all of the mods mentioned on this thread work on a MK5?
 
Yes. Just change the cartridge to something like a denon DL110 or other budget cartridge that you like and get a sumiko headshell (HS-12) (I've got two not doing anything - PM if you are interested).

regards
 
I have a numark 1200 clone. It looks the same, seems to weigh the same. Has a couple of different features:
1. +/- 20% speed on the slider
2. can go backwards as well as forwards
3. offers 78rpm (not sure the Technics has this feature)

The arm seems to be a piece of crap. A lot like the one on the technics I've seen. Wobbly.

Those of you who are swapping out the arm on your technics, what arms are you replacing it with? (I'm thinking a direct replacement.)

Thanks for any counsel you could provide.

Markus
 
Peter Stockwell said:
Yes. Just change the cartridge to something like a denon DL110 or other budget cartridge that you like and get a sumiko headshell (HS-12) (I've got two not doing anything - PM if you are interested).

regards
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Hi Peter, would be interested in the Sumiko head-shell if still available, for a 1200Ltd, bought the litz leads but now need shell to test and compare azimuth adjustment and present technics head-shell. Presently adjusted the azimuth by using a small piece of plastic in between fixing screw on one side of the cartridge to straighten the vertical line with the reflection on the technics. Would there be any reason for not doing this? thanks
 
jonesi said:
A friend has offered me one of his SL1200 (MK5) for £250. It's not been thrashed and has a Stanton 890SA cart. Is there anything I should know before making the deal? I'm never going to spend > £1,000 on a deck and hoping this will give good sound per pound. I like the idea of adding a PS and arm mods when funds allow. Will all of the mods mentioned on this thread work on a MK5?
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Sounds like a good buy, recently purchased 1200Ltd upgraded with litz leads and Denon 110 and 160, used to have Ortofon Pro S. Sumiko head-shell is recommended by most on this forum with litz leads. The leads certainly made an immediate difference in clarity, all the best,
 
This is no Hype, I got an Old SL 150 for my son some time ago and fitted and old SME 3009 pre improved to it and was very impressed with the results, so much so that I almost changed my mind giving it to him. These decks were very much maligned by the magazines some years ago, strange that the mags are now saying how good they can be with a little fetteling and positioning, same as many belt drives really, but much much less p*ssing around......a usual..use your ears..
 
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