I don't think a poorly performing cue lever/armlift mechanism can be considered a quirk- it's a basic feature of any turntable, and the one that is utilised every single time a record is played. You should be able to lower the lever and not have to worry about the arm dropping too quickly, especially on a $1700 turntable. Poor design and/or manufacturing. What's the deal- weren't these basic features perfected decades ago?? Have they tried to 'reinvent the wheel'?
I'm guessing it's normal for Technics. The Pro-Ject is just smoother so to speak. The ATLP-120 is smoother/slower as well.
I'd have to see a video of yours, but my GR's tonearm has pretty good down dampening. I do not have to guide it down to the record with the lever, but rather just push the lever all the way down quickly and the arm drops quickly a little ways and then slows down a lot before it finally touches down on the record.
That’s pretty much what mine does. The Pro-Ject on the other hand glides down more slowly at a consistent speed throughout.
Cueing levers /armlift mechanisms are one of the most problematic parts on new turntables, as far I see. They don`t invest in serious design and use too much cheap plastic parts. Most of them are even not dampened. On every vintage turntable, cueing mechanism works with a few drops of a silicone oil.
So Technics can make a world class motor, advanced electronics, great tonearm and proper plinth but fails to build a thingy that makes the tonearm go up and down?
Put me down for being disappointed in the quality of the cue mechanism on my 1500c. The one thing that you touch each and every time you play a record and is completely undamped. As points of comparison, I have a nearly 20 year old Rega P2 who's cueing behavior remains perfect. Conversely, my daughter has a Music Hall USB-1, not an expensive deck, who'e cueing behavior is identical to my 1500c. Kind of embarrassing on decks that cost $1300.
Rega is also OEM to many hi end turntable manufactures because of the unbeatable quality of their tone arm lifts.
That pretty much sums it up. It’s the same issue with the MK7. At least the 1200G has a properly smooth cue mechanism.
The 1200G has a different cue mechanism? I didn't know. It looks the same. What's different? Better down dampening?
Everything. Much smoother damping. The difference is on the inside, the 1200G uses an silicone oil drum-style damper, just like the MK2 to 6: The MK7 uses a damped cogwheel: The second picture is my own; I've done a teardown of my M7L (which is a white colored MK7), posted it here: Mini-review: Technics SL-1200M7L turntable Edit: AFAIK, the 100C and 1500C use that same cogwheel for damping.
Watching some videos, it doesn't seem that bad to me. But it's probably a bit of a feel thing too. Tonearm on my Scout Jr. goes down nice and slowly. As long as the tonearm doesn't come down like a ton of bricks, or jerks to one side or the other, I don't think it should be a major issue. The above pics from @Oelewapper definitely show where one compromises is on these tables.
Nope, I always assumed it would be the same as the 1200G, but I've recently seen a picture somewhere that showed otherwise... not a teardown, but just a picture of the bottom of the tonearm with the lid removed, so it was more of a general overview of the tonearm mechanism. Someone really should do a tonearm teardown of the GR and post some pics of it on these forums... would be greatly appreciated!
Looks like it uses something different from both, at least best I can determine from the DJ Spares parts breakdown below, I left the image full size so it's pretty big ....
Is that of the GR? Because that looks like the same mechanism as on my M7L, but with a different bottom cap.
It's labeled 1200GR, but I'm certainly no expert. The image is copied from pinterest so the poster could've labeled it wrong ... https://www.pinterest.com/pin/629659591637385949/
It’s on the other side of the white plastic part. Next to the brass “tube”. Only a tiny black spot of it is visible.
I will say this about the much maligned ATLP120, the cueing was simple and user adjustable. Just add some silicon fluid for more damping. The GR sometimes has the same issue recently I've read on other posts.
Some reviews suggest that Technics quietly addressed the pitch issue after a bit of noise was created over it. Maybe the same procedure should be followed about this, too.
Or just being honest about it and announce a product update. But yeah... communication has never been a strong point of Technics...
I've had two SME 3009 S2 tonearms, one of which I had new in 1975. IIRC the cue damping wasn't great even then. So what's the beef now with the SL1500C, SL100C, SL1200 mk7 and the SL1200GR? Cueing action is something you get used as long as it doesn't drift left or right while descending, which I find very disconcerting with some mechanisms. My Jelco SA750D will cue smoothly and slowly but if you cue shortly after its initial cue, it will dump the stylus down rapidly; something I have just got used to.
