Technics LINEAR tracking turntables

That said, I still love the SL-M3 Technics. It is beautiful. And performs nice. And has a better motor than the Micro-Seikis have. Wish it had the M2 armtube available, which would enhance it's usability today. However, spec sheets are nice. How well it holds those specs is another thing. Technics engineering amazes. But in my world, simple and few moving parts beats complex. And I still want a SL-M2 or SL-M3 even with it's few limitations. It would make one heck of a fine background music deck. It would make an awesome second or third turntable. And the styling is unbeatable.

 

Now, if we're talking about "world class" turntables, the M series does not cut it. IMHO the only Technics TT that is "world class" is the SP-10MK3 drive unit, if expertly and superbly re-plinthed Kaneta/Dobbins style and mated with a top shelf arm. Many Technics decks can be modded to "audiophile class" and beyond; but, when I think of "world class", I think of TechDAS, Goldmund, etc. ...stuff that is/was just a balls out, take no prisoners, cost no object assault on vinyl replay.

 

SP-10 Mk II beats Mk III. Much more reliable, beefier motor, it can still be maintainable. I love the SP-10 Mk III but it has unobtainium IC inside a la SP-15, both still terrific. But the SP-10 Mk II is out there in far higher numbers and really is more practical to keep alive. Agree with you for state of the art, but for me, I favor what I can keep alive which does the job 98% as fine. And will endure. That said, the Technics motor is just that in DD. Built to be maintainable with few exceptions. The Goldmund used the JVC motor, itself classic but like the Micro Seikis weaker and not built to be serviceable. Which is a weakness as Goldmunds age out.

 

I see what you're getting at. Nevertheless, I never judge the performance of a piece of gear based on ease of serviceability or availability of replacement parts. Those have no bearing on it's sonic ability (performance). As such, the MKIII undeniably bests the MKII, as well as any deck Technics ever put into production. If I was to go with a table based on production numbers and how long I could keep it going (which I kind of have) I would (and have) picked the SL-1200MK2. At tens of millions produced over 30 something years, it makes the SP-10MK2 run look rather slim. There is also a healthy aftermarket for the 1200 where bearings, platters, regulator mods and PSUs are concerned. It's not difficult for the average user to modify/upgrade a 1200MK2. Compare the SP-10MK2 and SL-1200MK2 under the hood. Ultimately, all of these tables are now out of production; so, you picks your poison.

 

Agreed there. I love sound quality. But I also love being able to keep a beloved turntable running. So we agree on very much. You're a friend too. And enjoyed.

 

Indeed.

 

There is a pristine SL-M3 listed on Canuck Audio Mart

 

Canuck Audio Mart always has some great vintage gears ...

 

Hey!! Those are my turntables!

And yes, it is an Ortofon X1-MCP high output MC on the QL1.

Both were eBay purchases, which I had serviced, new caps, phono connectors, feet. The QL1 had, in addition, the copper platter bonded to the original (no ringing now!), the power supply moved outboard (in the big grey metal box you can see under the desk), and loads more damping was applied. Both decks sound pretty good, and the QL1 especially easily matched the Michell Gyro SE I had at the time - a heresy to some, I suspect! - this with a Tecnoarm and Goldring 1042 cartridge.

I've quite a collection of p-mount cartridges, including a venerable Technics P22 with both Jico SAS stylus and a NOS 202 stylus, Ortofon OMP40, Sonus SPM4, plus models by Pickering, Grado, Empire, Stanton, AT (LPGear's great sounding Shibata-tipped VS), and Shure. Back in the 80s I had an SL7 from new, with a Shure V15LT on it. That was great . . .

BTW - a word about p-mounts for those who don't know: T4P (Technics "standard") and p-mount are not necessarily the same thing. A T4P is a p-mount but not all p-mounts are T4P! The T4P standard dictated all the dimensions of the body (eg connector to stylus distance) and the weight. Not all p-mounts meet these (though in practise most are close enough), and they only share the connection with T4P cartridges.

I've since expanded my vintage Japanese direct drive collection with a Sony Ps-X600 Biotracer (what a great arm this is!!), and a Kenwood KD7010 (aka 990 etc). These mean I can use half-inch mount carts and get into LOMC action! Like a Zyx R100, Ortofon Rondo Blue and a new Hana EL. I'm always on the lookout for more unusual carts and the best so far of these has been a NOS SAE1000E, which I liked so much I went back and bought the LT (line trace) version as a backup. The 1000E sounds wonderful on the Sony. My SL7 is on long term loan to a friend for vinyl ripping, and the QL1 sits in my living room system where it's sleek, if somewhat retro, looks don't look "too hifi" .

The top-end Technics DD parallel trackers are great decks . . .

Here's my QL1 with an Empire 1080LT playing through a Graham Slee Era Gold V phono amp:

Graham Slee Era Gold V, Technics SL-QL1, Empire 1080LT »



Some of the others bit of kit have changed since the video was done - not the Graham Slee phono amp or Proprius mono blocks though - these are definitely keepers!

Enjoy!

 

A bit off topic, but here's some Sony-SAE-Graham Slee Reflex M goodness:

Sony PS-X600 Biotracer, Graham Slee Reflex M, SAE 1000E »

 

To bring this thread back to life, this information might help others who have had this problem with the SL-5 and potentially others Technics linear tracking models in this series. First, a bit of back story.

I purchased a Technics SL-5 with my second ever pay cheque from a part time job when I was a student back in 1983. For years it performed flawlessly. For more than 20 years I never had a problem with it requiring servicing nor issues with tracking any record put on it. It just played everything every time and was totally bullet proof. I can't say I've had that experience with any other component having moving parts in it. One of the best and most reliable purchases that I've ever made. From about 2003 onwards it pretty much sat in a cupboard and only saw occasional use from then until a couple of years ago.

When I went to use it sometime in 2013/14 it had the same problem as above but about 1/4 - 1/3 of the way into a LP. I took it in for service and the arm lube and arm belt were replaced. Brought it home, it played about six LPs and exhibited the exact same problem. I took it back to the technician and he was very reticent to spend more time on it given the age of the unit. Luckily for me I work in the AV industry and he said to just leave it with him and he would look at it when he had time. I told him that there was no hurry and just look at it hen he could.

So for the past two years it basically sat on his shelf and I would check in with him around every four months or so to see if any progress had been made and to ensure that he hadn't disposed of it. So no real progress until a couple of weeks ago when I received a phone call to say that it had been repaired and was working.

We had a long discussion over the phone and he informed me that for such a "cheap" turntable it had a lot of engineering built into it (over-engineered in his words). This would be due to the trickle down effect from the models above it I guess. He said it was a real pain to work on because the unit needs to be horizontal and the lid obviously needs to be closed for it to operate and the main PC board is under the platter so there is no easy way to operate the table and take measurements from the board at the same time. After chatting to a number of his colleagues and working through the schematic it was determined that the feedback signal from the tonearm mechanism to the arm controller was faulty and that the that the arm was "sticking" in position due to this error.

Turns out that the OPAMP turntable controller chip was faulty. One of the technicians had seen this particular Panasonic chip fail after a number of years and of course it was unobtanium. They did their homework however and after going over the specifications of a number of current OPAMP chips found a compatible replacement chip and now it is all up and running again.

So for those who might have one of these or similar tables and are experiencing this problem, the fault could very well be that that OPAMP chip labelled on the schematic (from the SL-5 service manual) IC401 AN6554 is faulty and needs replacement. The replacement IC that they used is LM348M.

Hope that this is helpful for either current owners of one of these tables or those considering purchasing a second hand unit.

 

This problem is quite similar to the problem I have with my Beogram 8002, a much more expensive linear tracker from B&O. The turntable has been in the box for much of the past fifteen years. The arm would start playing the LP but part-way through it, the arm would return to arm-rest. Somehow, the speed sensor went bad and caused the arm to return, after mistakenly sensing that the end of the LP had been reached. Some fellow in Denmark was selling the repair kit a while back but the repair would require some soldering, which I hesitate to take on since I have no experience with soldering ...

 

How timely that this thread has sprung back to life when my Technics SL7 is away being repaired for exactly the fault SpudOz had.

Thanks mate, for the information regarding the replacement op-amp. I'll pass it along to my engineer

 

No!!!! Does this mean my SL-7 will eventually fail?

 

I have a SL-DL-5 that I bought new in 1981 or 82. Still works fine, except that it will often pick up before the side is complete. Not sure if this is something that is easily fixable or not? It's not currently in use as I got a KAB SL-1200MK5 7 years ago and haven't looked back

 

Upside down????
Not a myth. My SL7 has done that.
They had an accessory to mount them on an angle.
You can hang it on a wall if you want.
They even have a 12v input so you can take them along in your car.
They isolate exquisitely.
My wife prefers it so it's front and center in the living room system.
Sweet cause nobody touches the tonearm.
Shure V15 pmount cartridge.
Mcintosh pre/Fisher SA16 / Belle Klipsch

 

Wow! You still have an operating SL7? It has been over thirty years since it was sold ...

 

Probably the speed sensor has gone bad ...

 

I've serviced it. It's idiot proof.
I could be my newest table! Ha!
Down in the audio dungeon things get more vintage,

 

I recently sold my SL-7 (still have an SL-QL1), but here's a video of it:

 

I've been a fan of Technics LT's since the 80s. Regrettably I've sold mine, but here are a couple photos. I'd like to get a J2 again just to have one.

 

All P mounts ARE NOT T4p compliant. T4p compliant means it will function correctly on all T4p mount arms, including those with no tracking force adjustments nor anti-skate adjustments. Mount is the same in P mount, but quite a few P mounts are not T4p compliant, Ortofon's X1-MCP needs to be tracked heavier than standard (1.8 grams is optimum tracking force, and Grado is also not compliant. Many such cartridges were adapted from existing designs. Audio-Technica and Shure cartridges were always T4p compliant. Specifications to be T4p compliant are, 6 grams effective mass, 1.25 grams tracking force, and T4p mount plug in. Thus sayeth Matsushita/Panasonic/Technics, the inventor of said system. P mounts plug in and fit, but tend to be outside the allowable standard to be compliant with the T4p specification. Either their effective mass is outside spec, or the optimum tracking force is outside spec. Just some education on what is and what isn't compliant.

 

^^^ This is correct - there are numerous examples of Pmount cartridges and replacement styli that are not compliant. There is a great thread over at another forum detailing which ones are/are not compliant and some of them....the styli is too long (21MM) the weight is off etc.

Question regarding this SL-7 OPAMP: Is this OPAMP in all the Technics linear tracking tonearm mechanisms?? I am curious if I will be facing this issue with my SL-M3.

Also - you guys who mention you took your linear tracking TT "in for service" where are you taking them? Who actually works on them! Reason I ask is, everyone I inquire with locally refuse to even look at them. If anyone knows someone in the NY/NJ area, please chime in.

 

Wow! An SL-V5 if I'm not mistaken . . . I've never, ever, seen one up for sale, let alone heard one playing . . .

 

Er, that's what I said, isn't it?