chris@panteg
pfm Member
Glad you like your Techy ! , was that a Rega 3 ? Why sell it though .
TECHNICS SL1200/1210. HYPE OR FACT?
- Thread starter John P
- Start date
A P7, I've used the Planar 3, the P3, and the P5 too. I'm thinking most people would prefer a Rega, I was wanting more body or fullness than I got from the Rega (the 7 has a little more than the 5). The Rega has more detail and imaging. The SL1200 has more drive, The Technics had a musical quality I fell in love with, especially the way it plays my jazz records. Measuring with a highly accurate KAB speed strobe the P7 was about half a percent fast, so I can confirm Rega runs fast, I'm not saying all, only what I measured on my P7 (The 5 also sounded fast but I never measured it) the 1200 speed is rock solid with near zero fluctuation.
Peter Stockwell
Back for more ...
Yep, don't you just love it ? Almost as good as CD can get ! (Plan to bring my teccie up to date soon)
sonddek
Trade: SUPATRAC
Yes, I do: it's like CD in pitch and timing accuracy, but with realistic high frequencies. Very musical. I regret spending 26 years with a Sondek.
Peter Stockwell
Back for more ...
26 years! Some addictions are hard to kick. I always wanted an LP12, but Garrards cured me of that. The Teccie brings a lighter touch to the Garrard punch.
chris@panteg
pfm Member
Wasn't that bad was it , if you used it for 26 years , it must have done something right ! Enjoy what you have now though
sonddek
Trade: SUPATRAC
Wasn't that bad was it , if you used it for 26 years , it must have done something right ! Enjoy what you have now though
It wasn't bad at all, the Sondek is a wonderful deck in many ways, but I might have spent less for as much or more musical enjoyment if I had discovered the Technics sooner. That's all I regret.
So an over engineered quality Japanese direct drive turntable with strobe light was the way to go? Recommended by Sond(d)ek?!
Do I throw out all my hi fi answers magazines now?
I threw out all my audio magazines last year. It was just this huge box sitting there. Need to do some pruning of the vinyl collection too.
Yep. Best thing I ever did. In my case HFW, but I was only reading Old World
and Classifieds and I can get more information on here without having to put up with the thinly veiled advertorials that pass for a "review" there. Yes, I know they post here, they can reply here if they like, but that's my opinion.
Nigel
pfm Member
I read in the July edition of Hi-Fi World that Noel Keywood tested the Timestep power supplied Technics SL1200 measured performance as, "one not bettered elsewhere."
"Overall unweighted wow & flutter together measured 0.065%. This compares to a common figure of 0.1% or thereabouts for a good deck."
"Speed accuracy - no error."
"Overall unweighted wow & flutter together measured 0.065%. This compares to a common figure of 0.1% or thereabouts for a good deck."
"Speed accuracy - no error."
darrylfunk
Banned
very strange review that though....no technical discussion at all really....very disappointed.
this timestep stuff needs to be properly evaluated against a regular technics....so much smoke and mirrors in these mags now....
same as the rubbish origin live review....not a single comment about how heath robinson the add ons are....
this timestep stuff needs to be properly evaluated against a regular technics....so much smoke and mirrors in these mags now....
same as the rubbish origin live review....not a single comment about how heath robinson the add ons are....
sonddek
Trade: SUPATRAC
So an over engineered quality Japanese direct drive turntable with strobe light was the way to go? Recommended by Sond(d)ek?!
Do I throw out all my hi fi answers magazines now?
Have you actually listened? Surely that's the best way to assess whether you like how some kit sounds. Buying based on magazine opinions isn't very reliable.
In the last year I have twice done a/b comparisons between full spec Sondek and my Technics DJ deck (albeit with external power supply and Ekos 2) and on both occasions I found the Sondek more detailed but with audible wow. In my old age I have realised that speed stability matters more to music than detail, hence I prefer the Technics.
It really is a very good deck once set up properly. IMO removing the power supply from the innards, whether you put it in an external box, or replace it with an alternative, is an important step in getting the old DJ workhorse performing at a very high level. The arm is also surprisingly good if it hasn't been trashed, and you probably need to spend five hundred quid to better it.
Right now I'm listening to a 1210 whose power supply I have moved to an external plastic box, stock arm, Goldring 2500, DV P75, and it's magical. I put this together for a friend because when he heard mine he said "I want one".
Give it a try - you might be surprised.
It would have to have at least an RB300 on it.
Why is that? Have you tried both the stock arm and the RB300 on the Technics? Some brightness and fowardness I got on my Rega arm and deck is now gone using the SL1200 with stock arm. I always thought it was my cartridges, but it was the Rega deck and arm. The other thing I've read in certain places is how inadequate the SL1200 bearing is because, well you can buy a replacement bearing for 40 dollars, so obviously the stock bearing needs to go in the trash. Most of the "upgrades" for the 1200 are so overpriced you might as well buy a better deck anyway. KAB has something that grounds the stock bearing (stationers wax, which he sells as his thrust plate treatment). The bearing itself has a very low rumble spec, and is able to provide vanishing wow and flutter, and if you give the platter a push, you will see that it rotates very freely.
Why is that? Have you tried both the stock arm and the RB300 on the Technics? Some brightness and fowardness I got on my Rega arm and deck is now gone using the SL1200 with stock arm. I always thought it was my cartridges, but it was the Rega deck and arm. The other thing I've read in certain places is how inadequate the SL1200 bearing is because, well you can buy a replacement bearing for 40 dollars, so obviously the stock bearing needs to go in the trash. Most of the "upgrades" for the 1200 are so overpriced you might as well buy a better deck anyway. KAB has something that grounds the stock bearing (stationers wax, which he sells as his thrust plate treatment). The bearing itself has a very low rumble spec, and is able to provide vanishing wow and flutter, and if you give the platter a push, you will see that it rotates very freely.
naimnut
Deep in the Mines of Soul
I'm on the verge of either:
A) Picking up an SL1200/1210 for $350 to play with or
B) selling my 1980 vintage LP12 w/Ittok to free up funds to pursue a newer LP12 with cirkus, lingo and Ekos.
I could buy an awful lot of good records with the cash I'd free up if I could switch from LP12 to Technics.
So I'm reading the comments of those of you who have already been down this road with a great deal of interest. Please keep sharing your thoughts.
A) Picking up an SL1200/1210 for $350 to play with or
B) selling my 1980 vintage LP12 w/Ittok to free up funds to pursue a newer LP12 with cirkus, lingo and Ekos.
I could buy an awful lot of good records with the cash I'd free up if I could switch from LP12 to Technics.
So I'm reading the comments of those of you who have already been down this road with a great deal of interest. Please keep sharing your thoughts.
Yes that would have been interesting if they had done measurements in the review of the modded SL1200 table. How could the effect of each in isolation be evaluated. Did'nt they stick a mega priced arm on it? Not saying measurements are everything, but the price of the mods are questionable from a performance cost standpoint. For example what is the audibility of a "strobe disabler" mod.
darrylfunk
Banned
yes i have been asking for a couple of years various modding companies to see the improved measurements but no one seems to want to show them off.
the only company that i have spoken to about actual mods who have had even a modicum of bullsh#t free advice was a company called vantage audio....they didn't promise anything outrageous.
one certain modding specialist couldn't even tell me where he terminated the wire from the pitch control in the technics that becomes loose when you put any other arm on the deck!!!
naimnut
Deep in the Mines of Soul
I'm intrigued by your comment regarding the additional detail pulled out of the groove by the LP12. I don't find my deck to have any distracting audible wow. I do have more records than I'd like that are not pressed perfectly on-center. But my deck seems rock solid, even with a belt that's 20 years old.
Aren't you using an Ekos on your SL1200? I greatly appreciate the detail and overall sound provided by the LP12 and would hate to lose it by going to the Technics. I would have thought that, with an Ekos, the Technics would be close to par with the Linn. Are my expectations too high?