Petition launched to reintroduce Technics turntables (Update: The SL-1200 is Back!)*

So I'm not the only one who stresses out about forgetting it's down the next day.

 

That means you would crash the stylus before you could locate it in the rest if you didn't hold the arm with your other hand. Can't be right.

 

Haha, I'm sure I'll get used to it after the first few broken styluses!

As per my previous post, it may be undesirable, but that's just how it is, as the manual makes clear

I suppose you could just refuse to lower the cue lever once the arm is in the rest. The only downside is that that leaves the arm lift and the arm itself under strain which doesn't seem very advisable, though I'm not sure what harm would be done.

 

It's strange that I have never heard this issue mentioned before with regard to SL1200 models. You still have the issue with the arm alignment and height adjustment being wrong as a consequence! That sounds rather serious.

 

Am I the only one that sees a connection between the fact that back2vinyl said this:

...and now his tonearm seems slightly bent?

I think you bent the tonearm slightly when you forced it into the clip without lowering the cue lever.

This whole thing is bizarre, I've owned a lot of turntables and every single one of them required you to lower the cue lever in order to fasten the arm. Maybe that idea is crazy on high end turntables, but in the world of Denon, Technics, etc. it was always the standard (and obvious).

 

It´s like complaning the Technics has a DD system.

 

No, nice idea but that wouldn't explain it - it would take a mighty force to bend that tonearm and besides, pushing it down to get it into the arm rest is what the manual tells you to do.

 

Here's my first ever attempt at posting a video to show you what I mean about the jerky movement when I rotate the arm with the arm height control ring.

Link to very short YouTube video

It's not very good but I hope it gives the general sense of what I'm talking about. No matter how slowly and gently you turn the ring, it causes an initial sideways flick of the tonearm, easily enough to flick it out of the groove and make it skip across the surface of the record. If you turn up the volume you can easily hear the "click" it makes each time you turn the ring.

To avoid any misunderstandings, this is NOT a complaint - the manual makes it clear that the VTA is not be changed while a record is playing. I'm simply curious to know whether other GAE owners have this because if they don't, it might suggest there's something loose that could benefit from being tightened up.

My only complaints about genuine defects are to do with the headshell, which was obviously defective and has already been replaced, and the strange issue of the tonearm, which I've written to Technics about. I don't have a problem with the arm lift now it's been explained that that's how it's supposed to be, though I think the design could be improved upon.

 

I would say that the whole arm assembly is turning slightly when the VTA adjuster is used. Can't say if that is normal or not but if it is that is another design flaw.

 

That sideways motion occurs when I rotate the VTA ring on my mk2. There's about 1/8" of play.

 

This already addressed, but again - YES.

Can you make another video showing the headshell wiggle?

 

Every turntable I own and have owned requires the cue arm to be lowered to the play position in order for the tonearm to lay in the rest. I'm pretty sure I've been doing it right for the last 55 plus years.

 

No...after play is finished you lift the arm with the cue lever then return the arm to the rest and lower the arm with the the cue lever. How is it possible to crash the stylus into the record?

 

So you are meant to push the arm into the rest with the lift up?

 

No...you lower the arm with the cue lever....if it won't lower and lay in the rest the arm lift is not adjusted correctly.

 

Looks like that is what is wrong with Backtovinyl's deck. So there is an adjustment screw?

 

He already said what is wrong - he didn't lower the lever. So, nothing is wrong with the table in that regard. Move on people.

 

There has always been this initial jerky movement in the arm lift mechanism on 1200's when the lock is off - about 1/8" as Aftermath says. It's to do with the play in the brass plate that controls the locking mechanism I think, a play that essentially allows the mechanism to lock and unlock. It's disconcerting when you first notice it, but the way these are designed.

Again, though, you wonder why Technics didn't look at some of these small things when they were redesigning the table 'from the ground up'. The picture that seems to be emerging here is that the redesign process appears mainly to have been for the direct drive mechanism and the construction of the base, platter etc, whereas the arm is largely the same, but with better materials, wiring and dampening. Which is great, of course, and I'd love to have one of these tables, but still odd they didn't iron out some of these little quirks.

 

My 1210 M5G has no significant play in the VTA mech. I leave it unlocked. No slop at all, FYI.

 

If there is and there should be, it will be covered in the owner's manual. I'm not anywhere close to either of my Technics decks but typically the adjustment screw is recessed into the arm lift and you press down against the spring pressure and adjust the screw clockwise/counterclockwise to increase or lower the lift height. The OP posted that he didn't read a section of the manual....I would have to say that it's wise to read all sections of the manual before setup and initial use.

 

I'm beginning to see why Sound Hi-Fi change the arm but frankly I don't think they tried it with the stock arm plus SME 309/IV/V are not an ideal fit. More suited to Jelco/Ortofon or even SME M2-9. I hope they do an armless version at some stage! Why they kept the old head shell is the biggest puzzle as replacement with an audiophile model is another£100 approx.

 

Every turntable I've ever been exposed to works like this. The cue lever is for starting and ending playback only. When the unit is not in use the cue button is down. Between this and the pictures with the bolt going up through the headshell upside-down in a manner I've never seen before I'm more than a little tempted to think something is fishy.

Different head shell type but this is how I've mounted carts (I put the spacers on the top so as to not lose them)....

 

Mounting a cart with the screws pointing up is pretty common. Why would that be fishy?

 

Yeah, come on folks, this is the way it has worked from the beginning of time! Record ends -- use cueing lever to lift tonearm -- reposition tonearm over tonearm rest -- lower tonearm. NEVER seen one that worked any other way! Nevermind that damn manual, back2vinyl. Do what makes sense!

 

I think what he means is "suspect" in the sense that a big problem here is lack of turntable experience. And I disagree, the screws in pointing up is NOT correct when using a slotted headshell. The point of a slotted headshell is to let you adjust overhang by moving the cart back and forth by loosening the screws. Putting the screws in upside is counter productive to doing that. They are in wrong. Period.