....couldn’t disagree more. The Technics is a work of engineering art and it’s sound is most definitely “audiophile”. The Linn too. The 1200’s heritage and subsequent ‘DJ’ moniker’s a legacy that I’m sure that Technics is proud of but this deck is at another level. Having said that, I for one would be delighted to be at a rave where two SL1200gs were deployed for action! Hmmm, thinking about it, I’d just be delighted to be invited to a rave these days.....
That's the adjective I'd use as well, comparing the two older versions of each turntable that I have here. jeff
......the Linn is more forgiving of less-than-perfect recordings too, whereas the SL is a warts and all portrayal. You pays your money, you take your choice! Both are excellent, but I’m currently bowled over by the SL1200 and understand the MASSIVE price difference for the forthcoming Technics SP10R (and it’s integrated stable mate), as to get an improvement at this level you have to delve into the dark-side of audio; the law of diminishing returns!!... I think the 1200G/GAE will become the turntable high-end bargain of this decade and the competition will be scratching their heads in bewilderment at what’s achievable at this retail point if you have the financial clout of a massive corporation and engineering heritage of Panasonic behind you.
Completely agree with this....I also have both decks. The Linn is to be avoided if you have anything other than a solid floor, this thing bounces if you even look at it! If you want to stop a record while it`s playing you have to sneak up on it! In answer to a poster above, a Linn is really easy to strip down and renovate, some new springs and grommets, and a bit of oil (the Black stuff), and a while to get the famous `Bounce` aligned, and you`re good to go. The Technics is rock solid, and with a good arm and cartridge can sound amazing, it also has the bonus of being able to play 12" singles, and has that pop up light on the front that looks really cool in the dark!
They are both great tables The LP 12 for its sleek and classy look to go with its pure sound. The 1200 for its ruggedness reliability and customizations.
A joke but not far off the mark! I have one. Floor is fairly solid but even a bump to the stand can be an issue. I'm not the most gentle of people when it comes to equipment use, but when I go to lift the arm you'd think I was about to start open heart surgery on someone only without the scrubs.
Technics for sure, and it’s not even remotely close. You will hand the 1200 to your son, and quite possibly to his daughter/son. Mine are old, and still work the same as when new 30 years ago.
I have had many LP12 owners in my circle of audiophile friends, the table has had it's fans. Most have moved on to something else after spending quite a lot of $$ on bits of upgrandingitis. There are many criteria to judge a nice piece of kit, certainly the LP12 has a classic look. The suggestion I have for the OP is to expand your comparison to include the Brinkmann Bardo. It would be interesting to put that in the mix with the technics-1200g, although more expensive it certainly should be considered since it's likely the last TT you'll ever buy, if that's not the kind of thing you want to fiddle with and spend more upgrading and tweaking like the Linn. If you like that look of the Technics, the Luxman Pd-171 might be worth considering too.
i agree, variety is the best. keep looking, there is always better. enjoy the hunt, that is the fun part
Having worked for four different Linn dealers back in the 80s and 90s, I can honestly say that the dealer could stock whatever different products they wanted to. In demonstrations many preferred the LP12. The owners and staff had the opportunity to hear and buy any alternative on the market. Having visited a large number of UK Hi-Fi manufacturers factories and sold many different products over the years, Linn make very reliable and tightly tolerances products, and had zero mainstream magazine exposure for some years. As a precision engineering company, whose tolerances could only be improved once they had moved away from road vibrations, there are very few Hi-Fi companies that can manufacturer to the tolerances that Linn do. Yes, their products are a lot of money, but that doesn't make them expensive or a rip off. Last week at work we received a new, machined from solid aluminium jig, where the tolerances and finish was "industrial"; I was shocked to hear that it cost £1,400. I did think that the Linn Keel was a lot of money for what it is, now I believe it is a lot of money for an immaculately machined and finished item, which improves the sound quality. Down to the individual to decide if price / performance is valid for themself The Kore costs considerably less, and offers most of the performance of the Keel: no-one forces anyone to buy top of the line products, those who want Linn's best have a choice.
Surely any precision item should have love and care? Apart from many hours use on the cartridge, once I had set up and installed my LP12s there was no drop off in performance over a couple of years, BUT, it was transported and installed correctly. Generally any turntable's performance will be maintained / improved, if the cartridge tags are removed and refitted periodically. This should obviously done with care!
In a couple of locations I used my LP12 on a wall shelf - it didn't jump! As it was correctly set up, you could tap the record whilst playing and it wouldn't skip. Pre Lingo, you could play 45s using the adaptor, with Lingo, it was simply a case of holding the button a couple of seconds longer.
I do think that the performance of a stock Majik LP12 is clobbered by the power supply. A second hand Lingo, or better still, the new Lingo 4, gives a very large performance improvement, without investing serious amounts of money. Yes, the Kore and Keel are big improvements on Akurate and Klimax spec turntables, but any undamaged LP12, with an undamaged Akito, Ittok or Ekos, with valhalla, or the massively better sounding Lingo, is still a great way of enjoying vinyl. I haven't heard a 1200G, so offer no judgement, but a good s/h LP12 can make a great purchase.
Completely different and hardly comparable things. If you ever want to use a moving coil cartridge the direct drive motor might induce some interference and bass response can be affected compared to a TT isolated with springs. I know I was impressed with the bass improvement with my first Thorens. Other than that the Technics is a very nice TT and I like it a lot.
There is no interference with MCs on the 1200G. Have used both a Kiseki Blue NS and now a Koetsu Urushi Sky Blue with absolutely no problems.
1200's are the perfect beast. reliable, and sound amazing. as mentioned numerous times, i have had 2 1200 MK11's for over 30 years ! 30 years !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! how many TT's last 30 years.??? TECHNICS, thats who ! bought a third about 94-96, been a while , bought the 1210 BLK, its also flawless and nothing will stop it. you can not go wrong with the 1200 TT's. there is no substitute, for reliable quality ! NONE !!!!!
Although I'm far from a Linn fan, quite the opposite in fact, I have to defend their longevity, I know plenty of people with thirty or even forty year old LP12s, some heavily upgraded, some totally stock, but all providing their owners with musical enjoyment regardless of how I or many others feel about them, the LP12 may be more demanding of attention, but both it and the 1200/10 can claim similar long term reliability.
It's surprising to see you are happy to use a $4000 cartridge like a Koetsu with a turntable aimed at Dj's but I've said "might" not that it will but just two cartridges is hardly enough of a sample to make a blanket statement of that kind.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR HONESTY !!!!!!!! not aimed at DJ's, DJ's adopted it because it NEVER DIED< and lasted night after night ! with no breakage, they are ultra reliable, and will last 40+ years with minimal maintenance. that is all. sl1200 and 1200 MKII's will last, and there is nothing you can do to change that. they are the ultimate TT. none better. don't care about if i can hear a triangle from 20 foot away in an orchestra, the 1200mkII is the real deal. and history can not be changed. they just don't break ! plug in, start/stop on a dime, and will continue to spin until the WWIII bomb hits annihilating everyone. even then after the fallout they will still work
I've had my Linn for about 35 years now. And when I purchased it used it was already 10 years old. And I have some thorens tables which are even older and still run great today. So while I have great respect for the very robust construction of the 1200s, it is not unique in terms of pure longevity. However when you factor-in the lack of maintenance and tweaking required with these, I'll hand it to you that the 1200 series is probably very difficult to top in that regard.
Agreed, and well said, but the thread is about a comparison between the SL1200G and a well-specified LP12. Having used both turntables extensively now, with a wide variety of cartridges, my personal preference remains the SL1200G. I also have complete respect for everything that can be accomplished musically with the LP12 too. It’s just that, again in my personal experience, it’s more difficult and more costly to get there when an LP12 is involved. Both turntables - as long as the LP12 is professionally set up - are wonderful. Part of my personal preference for the SL1200G over the LP12 is that the Technics is vastly more suitable for stable use in a wider variety of home listening environments including rooms with sprung floors or over-spaced joists, rooms with lots of activity because of kids, etc., etc., etc. On the other hand, in my experience an LP12 can be superb for use in a dedicated listening room or in a physical environment in which disturbance to the LP12 caused by footfalls and general movement cannot be transmitted to the turntable. By comparison, in the same sorts of somewhat difficult rooms, the SL1200G is almost too easy to set up and use just as it is in most other rooms. The one thing that can be done with an LP12 that can’t be done with an SL1200G, is that the LP12 can - with the expenditure of $15,000 - can be configured as a reference-quality machine (with a suitable cartridge). The thing is, in my personal experience the SL1200G can get a lot of audi0philes most of the way there at a fraction of the cost right out of the box (with a suitable cartridge).
Yes, I did read the thread title and all of your excellent post. To be honest, it wasn't your post that I was trying to balance out, as all the main facts are there, it is rather more open-minded and based on actual real life experiences, rather than the extreme, (a) is so much better than (b), replied by, no, (b) is better than (a)! It was simply to offer my honest experience based on 15 years working in Hi-Fi shops, assembling and installing dozens of LP12s, with the opportunity to hear many other turntable, arm, cartridge combinations for myself. Having bought a Rega turntable as a customer, I was put off the LP12 by some over the top reviews, and without ever listening to a Linn LP12, like many, I had a dislike of the product!! Some comments on turntable threads are so anti-Linn, that I wonder if they are based on prejudice rather than fact and listening. If this is the case, then it simply not good and honest advice, as a 45 year old undamaged LP12 is still an enjoyable way to enjoy vinyl playback. When I did eventually listen to a LP12, I found it to be a big upgrade from my Rega Planar 3! Unfortunately, I ignored my dealers advice and stupidly bought by magazine review rather than demonstration. I bought a LP12, with the then fairly new Rega RB300 arm and Audio Technica moving coil cartridge, both of which were gaining rave reviews. Some time later, I compared it to a Linn LP12 with Linn Basik Plus arm, fitted with the freebie Linn Basik cartridge, a budget AT moving magnet. I was crushed to find that the cheaper Linn combination outperformed the magazine recommended combination. Big lesson learnt. I had actually found a dealer whose opinion I could trust - I simply ignored his advice, and took the advice of a journalist I had never met: at that stage!! I started working Saturdays at this dealer, and shortly after traded in the LP12 (with cut out in the bracing, to facilitate fitting the Rega arm!) RB300, for a new LP12, Linn Ittok and Linn K9 cartridge. This gave an improvement that I was delighted with, and gave me hundreds of hours of listening enjoyment. Later on, when I was working full time in a different Hi-Fi dealership, I started listening to lots of other turntables and equipment, lesson learnt, I wanted to make my own informed opinion to what was available on the market. If in my opinion, it outperformed what I owned, bad review or not, I would rather own the better sounding product - simples! At the least I could hold an honest and open discussion with a customer based on genuine listening experience, but obviously my opinion. The Technics SL1200 mk 2, was a turntable I got to hear on several occasions, and my opinion was that it was very well made, and sounded better than the largely negative reviews. Typical review of the time being that whilst being well made, a Dual 505-2 sounded better. Time has obviously been kinder to the sonic merits of the Technics turntables, but I definitely preferred a Rega Planar 3. I could understand someone's preference for the 1200 over the Rega: especially if they had perfect pitch! I thought performance wise that the Linn LP12 was a considerable improvement over the SL1200 mk 2, and when the Lingo was introduced, the gap widened further. For me, reducing motor vibration gives surprisingly large sonic gains. Because of my real life listening experiences, I am bemused at the negative comments often given to the LP12 on this forum - inferior turntables that were traded in against a LP12, with the resulting sonic improvement, now being recommended over the Linn! Very strange, but your money, your choice. Yes, a LP12 requires suitable positioning, sometimes a wall shelf being a necessity, but that doesn't explain the huge amount of negativety it garners. My LP12 is actually in pieces as some things are even more dangerous to vinyl and cartridges than wobbly floorboards: two cats, a wife and son. Even a Technics SL1200g wouldn't be safe!! Whatever you use, I hope you enjoy the music.
I don't remember the RB300 ever being recommended with an Lp12. Indeed it is a known mismatch. Works better on a more rigid platform. I think the thing is you need to look at the LP12 in the context of current pricing. With the exception of the Klimax I think there is better at modest prices. The Roksan Xerxes 20, Michell Orbe and Notts Analogue Hyperspace are fundamentally better designs that don't hang onto a basic sprung design essentially the same as a Thorens TD150. For the price of the Klimax you are close to some serious and exotic designs. Even then the above mentioned designs with a top arm and phono stage are likely stiff competition. Problem if I had £2oK + to spend on a TT I would be looking at Kronos, Helix etc.
Technics. All day long. Linn's LP12 is an iconic (albeit ripped off as Ariston might reasonably claim) deck. But the price can't be justified IMO for what it is. The Technics is a design and performance classic with arguably one of the best drive mechanisms going.
