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

If you are interested in one of the new dampers, KAB should have them available soon-ish. A month ago he was still trying to get the finish finalized.

 

Thank you for this. Your response is one of the most detailed and insightful thoughts on this TT I have seen anywhere. And it’s good to know the Nagaoka line plays well because I’ve really enjoyed my current one and hope to move up the line at some point.

 

I currently have an old SL1210mk2 with a few improvements such as external power supply and a Jelco 750 arm.

Has anyone made the leap from a similar setup to the SL1200G?

It's a huge investment...but I am seriously tempted to make this final, once-and-for-all purchase!

 

I had a stock Mk2 with the full complement of KAB upgrades. I paid a bit less than $2500 more for my G than that modified Mk2 and I can't say it was the best money spent, dollar for dollar, in my system but I don't regret it either. My advice is to go ahead so long as your kids won't be going without shoes!

 

I have a Pioneer PLX-1000 and when the time to upgrade comes the SL1200G will most likely be my choice.

 

re. the stock headdhell, is the back portion of the top, just after the connection, is this surface parallel with the cartridge mounting surface?
just curious if this is a good surface to put the bubble level on. obviously the angled surface just above the cartridge is not. thanks.

 

for the mkII, yes - the back portion is parallel to my cartridge body.

I guess I would be concerned about squashing the needle further down to beyond 'normal' if you were to put the level on the headshell with the cartridge lowered onto an LP.

Have you weighed the bubble level?

 

That part of the headshell might not be level.

After spending countless hours over the course of many years trying to nail azimuth by sight, with mirrors, small bubble levels and magic incantations, I gave it all up and purchased a Fozgometer. It makes checking and locking in the best azimuth a breeze. The Fozgometer readily exposes cantilever/stylus misalignment that escaped the factory (rare in my experience once I got into the higher priced cartridges from about $500 and up), but most often exposes cartridge body bending caused by over-torqued headshell screws, azimuth-adjustable headshells that escaped the factory in non-level condition, azimuth-adjustable tonearm wands that escape the factory in non-level condition, and the occasional slight variance from perpendicular of some stylii. Get a Fozgometer and be sure. IMO, anyway.

 

thanks, and yes i adjusted the VTF to cartridge recommended while using the level, its a 1.5 gm mini bubble.
good thing because i set the height based on the manual for my cartridge height and it was way off. now that i levelled it the sound is so much better. im even more blown away by the sound of the GR than I already was. also set the alignment with my newly arrived mint lp tractor. these tables are the real deal.

 

That is odd, because for the mkII the manual table for arm height is practically 'dead on' to a visual check (I use cross hatched graph paper verified to be level when I stand it up on an LP behind the cartridge/headshell).

How far off was your setting from the manual?

I know you are quite qualified, but gotta ask - was the bubble level 'spot on' where you drop the needle on the platter before you checked the arm height? Maybe the platter wasn't level?

 

platter is / was dead on level.
My cartridge is 18mm 1/2mm high so I set the height dial to 1.5 per the manual but wanted to raise the tail 1/2 mm so I set it at position 2.
In order to level the headshell I had to lower it a full 2mm. Thankfully it is sounding even more incredible now.

 

Are you using the thick (1/4") or thin (1/8") mat? My Mk2 was spot on but it needed the thick mat that was supplied originally.

 

Is anyone using a Grado Prestige (or older) series cartridge with the 1200G or1200GAE? I have two older (beige) Grados and would like to be able to use them. However, hum prevents me from using them with my modified (and stock) MKII. I'm wondering if this is no longer an issue when using the Grados with the new 1200s. Added bonus would be if someone could make a 24/96 (or higher) recording of a Grado cue up, hovering over the platter going from the edge, gradually closer to the motor of a G or GAE (recording level should be suitably high enough to hear if there is hum and whether that hum increases the closer the cartridge gets to the spindle).

 

I've just returned home tonight from many weeks in Idaho, I purchased a Prestige 2 Black while I was there. Tomorrow I will be trying it out on my 1200G but I don't have the means to make high a quality recording unfortunately.

 

Let us know what your ears hear, if you don't mind. Just don't forget to turn the volume back down before spinning a disc.

 

the 3mm mat that came with the table.

 

I bet that's why the VTA scale isn't lining up. My Mk2 came with the 1/4 inch or 6+ mm mat. The 1200G comes with the thin mat and I can only assume they calibrated for that since I haven't tried using a cart with a known height.

 

- Before I started playing the new cart on the SL1200G, I slowly turned the volume to maximum & all I get is slight hiss from the phono stage (as expected). No hum whatsoever.
- Then I moved the cart to the centre spindle, no hum.
- I lowered it onto a static LP at the centre - no hum.
- Finally I played an LP side right through at normal listening levels (LOUD in my case!) with nothing apparent but surface noise between tracks. No hum at the run-out & none when I lifted the cue at the centre with the platter still turning.

I can confirm that with my 1200G & my system there is no hum whatsover with the Prestige 2 Black. Its a nice sounding cartridge by the way - well balanced sound, excellent midrange, very pleasant (but not the deepest) bass and much more treble than I was expecting.

This cartridge sounds like something I could listen to for hours at a time without the slightest fatigue. I just tried my 'torture' LP - a Buffy St Marie album with paint-stripping vocals & sibilance & the P2 Black tames it much better than all the other, much more expensive MMs I own (cart set slightly tail-up, I.5 VTF & 0.7 Bias. For now, I'm using Technics gauge alignment, not my usual Baerwald as I mounted & checked the cartridge on someone else's TT whilst in America).

 

Great test/mini review. Honestly I expected nothing less, especially with that massive brass plate on the 1200G platter.

 

Not sure it's the brass plate that would do it, but they moved to a switch mode power supply on the new models, partly (I think) to help cut down on the hum fields from the power transformer on the older analog supply. On the old SP10 (and some of the other high end decks from others), they positioned the power supply and digital circuits in a separate box.

 

I guess I should have said overall design. I just know a thick sheet of metal is one of many ways to help shield a cartridge from picking up any electrical interference from an under mounted motor/power supply. So when I saw the brass plate I figured they'd have all the bases covered for any cart someone would want to use.

 

I just meant that non-magnetic materials don't make very good shields against magnetic fields, such as from a power transformer. But you're right, it does seem they have their bases covered based on the test above with the Grado.

Timestep has been marketing external power supplies for the 1200 series for about 10 years now, and has a new analog power supply for the Technics SL-1200G, doesn't come cheap though ...

Power supply:

As for the power supply, the EVOke replaces the SL-1200 GAE’s internal switch mode with an external linear PSU designed by Timestep. While the SL-1200 GAE’s power supply is very quiet a number of reviews have mentioned a ‘haze’, which our modified supply removes. Constructed with supreme attention to detail, the Timestep power supply’s cable exits the SL-1200 GAE via a custom-made adapter plate; the gold-plated power connector is made by Furutech while the PSU connectors are both gold-plated Neutrik.

 

I haven't seen any reviews mentioning this "haze".

 

Well, like I said, they've been "marketing" the PSU and other mods for quite awhile

You'd probably have to look for a review featuring the Timestep mods for comments on the power supply updates. The "haze" comment above is from the designer, Dave Cawley, who does seem to know his stuff, but is also trying to sell a rather expensive product. I do recall reading a couple brief reviews of the updates when the 1200GAE was released, but don't recall any specific comments on the PSU.

 

It never ceases to amaze me, the obsessive levels of OCD in this damn hobby where absolutely everything 'needs' improvement - I'm too old & well past that fortunately.

I will use my SL1200G as the manufacturer intended & will continue to enjoy every minute of the music it plays. Sorry if that offends anyone.