So early yesterday I did a random Google search for a Technics SL-1200GR that I’ve been itching to get my hands on for a while now. I was hoping to catch one at deal because that $1700+ price tag was just a little too much to swallow. Imagine my surprise when I saw this: A brand new GR from Audio Advice marked down to $1080 from $1800!!! Naturally I was in complete and utter shock to see such a steep price decrease. I immediately clicked on the link and put the deck in my cart, still not 100% sure if this was some kind of mistake. I made the order and then called Audio Advice to ask if this was some kind of open-box special or refurb, but the rep I spoke to assured me that it was for a brand-new, never-used, fully-boxed deck. He wasn’t sure exactly why the price had changed so drastically but everything was lined-out on his end. He even told me it had already shipped and should be arriving the next day (today). I’m equal parts excited, bewildered and nervous. I just hope everything is actually good with the deck once I receive it. It’s already in transit to my house so I’ll take a thorough look once it arrives. Thankfully Audio Advice has a pretty generous return policy in the event I receive a dud. Did anyone else see this deal yesterday? It was listed at that price for at least a few hours but now it seems to have reverted back to regular price. I couldn’t find any related threads on the forums so I thought I’d bring it up just to see if anyone else jumped on this.
Best Buy also had them on sale for that price, and B&H (where I got one) was $1350. MSRP increased to 1799 so it was likely due to a mini-revision or price increase forcing a new SKU and the companies trying to move old stock.
Thanks for the update! While I have you here, how’s your deck treating you? I got mine earlier today and I’m sad to say I’ve noticed a couple issues. The worst one by far is that the platter has a noticeable “wobble” when spinning. At first I just thought the strobe dots were slightly out of alignment, but when I placed several mats and records on top of it they all exhibited the same behavior. The deck that the GR was meant to replace (my AT 120x) does not exhibit that behavior with any of the mats or records I tested. Gotta say I’m super disappointed. I may have to ask Audio Advice for a replacement or a refund. Haven’t decided yet. For what it’s worth, this is a “Made in Malaysia” unit. I don’t know how relevant that is to my specific problems but I figured it was worth mentioning.
No wobble on mine. Or if there is, I can't tell any difference. There are some quirks I had to adjust to, but generally it's been a positive experience. You might want to bring these questions up in the 1200 thread in the Audio Hardware forum. If there are issues, though, definitely seek a replacement. I wouldn't go the refund route because if you decide against this table you could probably net profit while giving someone else a deal.
So after investigating the platter wobble issue thoroughly I finally convinced Audio Advice to exchange my deck for another. Unfortunately they didn’t have anymore 1200’s in stock but they did send me a 1210 instead! That’s even better for me since that model was not on sale (listed at $1800) and that’s the color I preferred anyway. Should be getting it today. Hopefully this unit doesn’t have the same problems as the previous one because I really loved the 1200 while I had it save for the platter issue.
