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

I'd still like to hear a "theory" about why the power cord matters on a TT. Especially for a 1200 when the test results show such low noise and rock solid pitch.

 

Not sure where you got such ideas, but they’re not accurate.

If you’re hearing hiss from an LP - hiss that can’t be attributed to noisy electronics (e.g., phono preamp, amp, etc.) - it means the LP is audibly worn or in need of thorough cleaning.

A stylus does not have the mass or the correct sort of contact with a rotating LP in any way that could excite the plastic enough to cause high frequency oscillation of any kind, much less oscillation loud enough to be heard in any way.

A turntable mat is designed specifically to damp low frequency and low amplitude vibration that may find its way from the plinth and motor and up the spindle. Conveniently too, a mat is also made of material that won’t scratch or mar LPs.

 

LOL

 

I've read that the stylus generates G forces in the 1000s (or was it 100,000s?). Even with low mass, 1000s of Gs will cause induced vibration. I don't know if this is the "hiss" referred to above but there are induced vibrations. Otherwise, how could audible sound be produced at the record itself?

 

Really? You felt sucker-punched by a reviewer who most likely got bad results out of the box because he misaligned the cartridge he was using? That’s a lot more likely than the SL1200G just eking out a win because the reviewer started messng around with hundreds of dollars worth of after-market cables. What monumental nonsense.

The review, on its own merits, is little better than toilet paper. Rank amateurs are easily getting stellar, top class results out of the SL1200GR/G, but this reviewer struggled. Useless review - the outlier that should be discarded - because the reviewer just blew it.

 

My GR sounds superb with its own mat, its own power chord and its own arm.

 

This review did not make me regret my decision to buy the 1200G one bit.

But I was rather surprised to read a negative review coming up in google's first page in the midst of all glowing reviews from professional reviewers and plain listeners.

I believe that every honest reviewer is free to evaluate the equipment he reviews to the best of his abilities and to form his/her own opinions about the products.

I was also curious to see what the other forum members think and that's why I posted the link. And it seems that all members so far feel that the review does not reflect reality, which makes me even more excited about my Technics.

 

Negative reviews aren’t the issue. The issue is with reviews that speak nonsense. A power cord does not transform said piece of gear from being a POS to a giant killer.

 

I agree, that did not make any sense to me. However he is not the only one who thinks that an aftermarket power cord improves the sound of the 1200G.

The Technics SL-1200G – Reviews | TONEAudio MAGAZINE

 

I roll my own power cords...but only when I need a longer length than the stock ones provided...

 

I had to laugh, I just noticed that I had changed my stock cord for a Pangea on my G. I had forgot that I drank the Kool Aid too!

 

First off, the tone Audio review is significantly more comprehensive and less BS than the other one. The power cord comment I think was just a throw away “might as well change it up” kind of thing; rather than a hardcore advocacy for power cords glorifying the sound into the heavens like the other review. I think the reviewing process for the tone Audio one was significantly more objective for sure.

 

Did you notice a difference good or bad?

 

and its own four feet?

 

yep

 

An excellent decision by any measure.

Google is largely agnostic in its indexing of everything except paid listings. Successful search engine optimization of any given web page (reviews, news, etc., etc., etc) can gain a high position in the search results depending on the actual search term that was used. Google doesn’t care if a product review is positive or negative and Google indexing can’t (and shouldn’t be able to) tell a bad review from a good one in the first place. Next week (or tomorrow) someone else’s current or previous SL1200G review will be at the top of the SRPs.

We can’t possibly know whether or not a reviewer had some marketing in mind or was being wholly honest or was just having a bad day or did a quick and lousy cartridge installation, or genuinely believed that the only remedy for his (he says) unsatifactory sounding SL1200G was a clutch of hundreds of dollars worth of aftermarket wire. My take on the matter is that the reviewer descended haplessly into absurdity.

I add my voice to the throngs of fully satisfied SL1200G/GR owners. It’s a fabulous turntable.

 

excellent!

 

No difference at all! I think I must have ordered a Pangea 14 gauge cord for another component (amplifier type) and figured, "why not?"

 

I have my G on an additional isolation platform. Isolation is one thing I think one can never have enough of. The G does a much better job in this area than my Mk2 in any case.

 

Lol!!

 

isolation does makes a big difference, power cords do too. I noticed a difference. The table seemed a bit quieter and exhibited better bass articulation, especially in the lower midrange. I know its a snake oil thing.

 

Question for any SL-1210GR owners: Do these units come equipped with dustcovers or not?

 

Yes.

 

I received the Herbies mat yesterday and for those who've never seen one, they are a thick spongy white pad with a thin, denser black pan laminated to the top. There is a hole in the black in the center for the lp label and the black stops short of the outer edge to give room for the thickened lp edge.

Almost immediately I noticed an improvement in detail, clarity (in bass too) and soundstage space and width. I am pleasantly surprised. I don't know if all carts and TTs would similarly benefit from this mat but with my 1200G and my Ortofon Kontrapunkt b cart that has a compliance of 12 and a VTF of 2.4 gms, it brings more out of the lp.

Thanks to all who have posted about this mat since I would never have tried it otherwise.

BTW, the Herbies 3mm X 292mm mat has essentially the same dimensions as the stock G mat.

 

My 1210GR arrived yesterday. And I have been planning on trying a Herbie's matt on it.