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

Pricetag for the new 1200 is just ridiculous and simply opportunistic. No thanks to all audiophiles jacking up the price with their snobtalk. Excuse me but had my fingers all up and over 1200 mk2's since I was 18. At one pont they cost about 1200$ new. Now it's triple or quadruple. At what added benefit. Wider pitch adjustment? slightly better motor? Better absorbing feet? Redesigned signal path by dr takamura?

 

That’s wrong. I can’t remember what they cost back when, but if it was $1,200 then, and it is $1,700 (for the SL-1200GR) today, isn’t that the same thing? How is it triple or quadruple? Even the SL-1200G can be purchased new for $3,200, and that’s not even triple or quadruple the MK2 adjusted for inflation, right?

 

Then I am mistaken. I never inquired for the new prices except for reading talk about it on fora.

 

This is not a joke -- I can't figure out how they can sell them so cheap!

 

I actually think Panasonic has priced them this way to disrupt the “audiophile” turntable market. But I assume they’re making a decent profit selling them at these prices too, despite being manufactured essentially by hand in Japan. They’ve clearly taken aim at Pro-Ject, Rega, Clearaudio, VPI and the like.

 

With a quick Google search, I found that $1,200 in 1985 (midway through the mk2 lifecycle) has the buying power of about $2,700 today. So at $1,700 the 1200GR is a steal. The 1200G at full retail doesn't even seem out of whack considering the engineering and mechanical differences. If you want a solid DJ table for less, the PLX-1000 is a great option. But Technics has been fairly clear that the GR and G versions are more audiophile focused. And they have been engineered and designed accordingly.

 

Just wait until the new SP-10 hits the street. Talk about disrupting the audiophile turntable market.

 

Regarding the new SP-10, I read somewhere that Technics will be releasing the plinth and tonearm to go along with the turntable.

 

so i really think i want to add a technics to my stable for the ease of use and durability....is the new 1200GR worth spending 1500-1600 to get over a used mk2 - mk5 which run between 350-400usd in my area?
the motor upgrades and rca jack sound very good

 

Except the price will be unaffordable for most (£10K+?). Add the arm and plinth to that. It may well embarrass turntables at ten times that price however.

 

Considering you can maybe buy 4 used mk2-mk5's for the same amount of money, I would try the used option first. You can get an awful lot of years of pleasure out of an mk2-mk5 for $400. That is if you can get one that's not DJ-abused at that price. It's kind of a crapshoot, but I'd take the gamble if it was me.

Of course if you have the $1600 and want a brand-spanking new table with warranty and all the improvements, go for it.

 

yeah thats the rub all the ones i find on craigslist are obvious dj tables....someone has a really clean looking MK5 though. guitar center sells them used a lot as well and they have a warranty

 

Exactly.

 

I got my used 1210MK2 from Guitar Center. It was a DJ table, but it seemed pretty clean and everything worked well, so I took the chance. Have not regretted it, as I got it for a little under $300 a few years back. I've always wanted to ship it to KAB for a complete "physical," but just have never gotten around to it.

 

Update on the previous update: I just received a call from the local dealer. My SL-1200G is here. I'll be picking it up this afternoon.

 

Congratulations! Please share your impressions when you can.

 

Someone is going to have a great weekend!

 

That's awesome! Did you pick a cart to pair with it yet?

 

Well, I brought the Technics SL-1200G home and performed the setup. I'm not going to be able to put in any listening time this evening, but this gives me something to look forward to tomorrow. Here's some pics.

Fresh out of the box. It's certainly a sturdy sucker.


The underside of the rather substantial platter.


The platter installed and awaiting its rubber mat and Stillpoints LPI. Start it spinning and it seems to go forever. Nice.


Setup is complete, and the Technics is ready for business. The headshell with Ortofon 2M Black is from my SL-1200 MKII (KAB). I'm tracking at 1.65 grams, and the arm height adjuster is set at 1. (I like the blue lights.)


Evidently, the SL-1200GR is very popular. The dealer informed me that another customer who ordered one about two weeks before I ordered my 1200G is still waiting. Poor guy.

 

Congrats. Love mine, and I’m sure you will too. I recently added a Benz Micro Wood SL and I am really enjoying my setup now. It’s absolutely the best it’s ever sounded.

 

When your prized possessions start to weigh you down . . .

First, where I'm coming from. I started collecting records on my 18th birthday--I'm now in my mid-30s--and my first table was a Sony plastic thing with a thin aluminum platter from Best Buy. The PS-LX300, or something. The cartridge wasn't user replaceable, if I remember correctly. My first "real" turntable was the Pro-Ject Debut III. I've used an SL-1200Mk2, but never owned any 1200 before now. Lately, with the Pro-Ject, I'd look at my shelf full of records and not really want to listen to anything in particular. I just wasn't thrilled with the sound I was getting, and I was starting to wonder whether digital might be the way to go after all these years.

Look in my direction, I'll be 'round

Enter the SL-1200GR. I've long coveted a nicer turntable, but never really bothered to save up for one until now. I had to sell a bunch of stuff to get there: a silk screen Pearl Jam concert poster from 2003 that wasn't hanging on my wall, a resonator guitar that I'd barely touched in years, some records I wasn't spinning anymore (some of which I now regret selling), etc. I got there and pulled the trigger on Monday. The table arrived Thursday evening. And apart from family time and conference calls, I've pretty much been spinning records since. I work from home, thankfully.

When your bird is broken, will it bring you down? You may be awoken, I'll be 'round

How's the build quality? In a word, stunning. Fit and finish are immediately impressive right out of the box. This is a heavy, substantial turntable, machined to tight tolerances and efficiently damped where it counts.

You tell me that you've heard every sound there is, and your bird can swing

So, how does it sound? Godly. I first spun, what else, Kind of Blue, the MOFI 45 rpm edition. I've previously defended this pressing against the crowd that deems it too bass-heavy. This time, I was able to hear what they do. There was a noticeable bass bloom that can overpower some of the more delicate sections of this music. Uh oh, I thought. Are the 1200 naysayers right? Is the arm the weak spot on this deck, and am I condemned to a life of muddy, bloated low end with poor definition? Better spin another record.

Next up, Music from Big Pink, the more recent of the two MOFI pressings. Oh. This is really, really nice. Every vocalist has a clearly defined place in the soundstage. Every instrument is clear and detailed. Best of all, the bass sounds natural and isn't boomy at all. The music all has a palpable presence, across the frequency spectrum. The rhythm and timing is like nothing I've heard. When Garth Hudson introduces "Chest Fever," you stop what you're doing, sit up, and take notice. I've never cared much for that intro before.

Alright, so let's get away from MOFI. They maybe have a house sound, right? Let's try a different mastering engineer, namely Kevin Gray. Next up, the Music Matters 33 rpm pressing of Out to Lunch. Holy God in Heaven. This is it. Tony Williams' attack is in your face, but tightly controlled. Richard Davis' bass is tuneful and tonally accurate. Eric Dolphy's wild solos are as untamed as ever, but never smeared. The full weight of the emotion he put into every line is right there. Best of all, Bobby Hutcherson's vibes produce stable overtones for days. The reverb tail on everything is pitch perfect and hangs in the air right in front of you.

Finally, on my first night with the 1200GR, I spun Pearl Jam's Merkinball single, with Neil Young, who famously wouldn't permit the band to tune between takes. This music can sound sludgy, with pitch shifting a bit by the dissonance of several out-of-tune guitars. On the Pro-Ject, the added wow and flutter rendered this pretty much unplayable. On the Technics, the decidedly low-fi approach is still there, as recorded, but the turntable isn't adding to the mess. It gets completely out of the way and leaves you to the power of two of Vedder's best ever melodies, with swirling, crashing guitars on the A side and Neil's quivering pump organ on the B.

In short--this bird can sing.

 

Around '95, give or take a year, a bought a brand new MK2 (in black) for $600. I remember it well; because, we were not doing well financially back then and I ended up taking it back within the return period. It was a sweet machine. I've made up for it, since.

 

OK, I was going to wait until tomorrow to do my first vinyl spins on the new deck, but temptation won out. After some TV time I headed upstairs and listened to two titles--Dead Can Dance/Into The Labyrinth and Allan Holdsworth/Road Games.

The result? Well, there are definite improvements, and I noticed one of them as soon as Lisa Gerard started singing during the first Dead Can Dance track, Yulunga. Her voice sounded more full bodied--or to be more accurate--less peaky in the upper midrange. This was the case with all instruments/voices, and I even noticed that groove noise was less pronounced. Overall, the midrange was slightly warmer than with my SL-1200 MKII.

Another thing I noticed was an increase in low level resolution. Little details previously obscured were more apparent, and there was more ambient information. The soundstage had gained air and space.

Finally, the treble was more refined, and the response time with high frequency attacks was quicker. The cymbal work on Road Games displayed this improvement. Also, little deviations in low level dynamics were revealed. In other words, micro dynamics were improved.

I believe the majority of these performance improvements over the old SL-1200 MKII can be laid at the feet of the new magnesium tonearm. It's less resonant than the old aluminum arm, and a more stable arm would certainly improve detail retrieval, resolution, and response time. It would also be less likely to add any kind of peaky behavior to the frequency balance.

I also believe the more heavily built plinth and platter have helped lower the noise floor. This would aid low level resolution performance.

So, the SL-1200G is a winner, for sure. Honestly, I don't know how Technics can improve on this. But I guess they're going to try with the new SP-10.

 

Not sure, but I suspect $600 in 1995 was a discounted price, i.e. not full retail. That’s about $1,000 today. Still not far from $1,700 retail for the GR today, when the cost of retooling and cost of labor in Japan in 2017 gets factored in.

 

"...The headshell with Ortofon 2M Black is from my SL-1200 MKII (KAB). ..."

DPM,

I think you are the first to put a 1200G up against a KAB MK2. I'd be very interested in what KAB mods you have and more on how the two TTs compare (or don't compare!). I keep telling myself that my KAB MK2 gets me close enough (I have a few of my own tweaks too) but if the 1200G is clearly a step up than, let the saving begin!