Technics SL 1500 C

Hello everyone,
I am back into collecting vinyl records for three years now and have been lucky to find over 800 beautiful LPs , classical music for the most part.
Initially I purchased a preowned, vintage Technics SL3200 paired with an Onkyo Integrated Amp. I invested in a Nagaoka MP110 cartridge and am pleased how everything sounds.

I am considering investing in a brand new Technics SL 1500 C that comes with the Ortofon 2M red from factory. I would like some feedback from SH experts and TT owners.
Will this cartridge sound good enough to play classical music (all my records are in near mint condition and were cleaned with my husbands record cleaning machine).
What are your thoughts, opinion regarding the Technics SL 1500 C. Should I just go overboard and get the step up Technics SL 1200 GR? What would be the main considerations besides the price point...
Thanks!

 

Yes! Both are great products- your classical records will sound great.

Go for the expensive model- right first time.

Good luck.

 

IME, it depends on how much you like to "fiddle" around with your turntable. If you don't want to do anything other than plug and play, get the 1500 C. If you are willing to dive in and set up the cart (which shouldn't be hard on a technics) then step up to the GR. If you do get the GR and a nice cart, you will likely get better sound. But I think the Red that comes with the 1500 C will sound nice, too.

 

Apparently the auto lift on the 1500C is useless on any record without a very wide deadwax and is best disabled. Frankly would go for the GR in spite of it's more DJ looks. It really isn't a great deal more expensive but you will have to budget for a cartridge on top and should go for something more refined than the Ortofon Red.

 

It was a trip yesterday seeing KAB offering a KAB all decked out 1500 - I'm sure that is one sweet deck - just like the good ol'days.

KAB Electro Acoustics http://www.kabusa.com

 

I can't find that from the homepage. Maybe because I am using Chrome?

 

If you are pleased with the sound you are getting now, what is driving your interest in replacing the 3200/MP110? The Ortofon Red is no more than a lateral move. Whether you make the move to a new SL-1500C would be up as simple as if you are just wanting a change. I have not heard any real performance comparisons of the SL-1500C with anything that could be used as a baseline (like a 1200GR or G). If you are wanting an real upgrade, I think you should go ahead with the 1200GR (or G).

 

For domestic use that may be all you need and if my current turntable died, would be what I'd get being fuss free and concentrate more on your choice of cartridge and styli which would make a difference for clean tracking essential with things like Opera and what you might consider to be a smooth sound.

 

Mp110 is a much better cartridge than the 2M Red. I’d bet you would prefer the sound of your old rig with the MP110. I would prefer a newer Technics to an older one but would definitely let them keep the Red and put the 110 on it.

That modified KAB deck looks pretty sweet. Wonder what he does for the 1200GR. Most of his old SL1200 mods where always a decent level of improvement for pretty good prices.

 

The GR is easily the better choice, IMO.
But you must decide if you can live without the auto lift/stop feature.
Without that you will be somewhat tied to the table...lifting the arm every 15-20 min..
Some owners of the new 1500C are reporting clunky lift and cueing functions.
I am also hearing that the Red, when run through the onboard phono pre, sounds very nice. Also an easy upgrade path to the smoother Blue.

If auto functions are a must...then I suggest a vintage Technics auto/semi auto with the quartz lock tech as it would work better with the type of music you are drawn to.....better speed control.

 

I like the idea of a built in preamp.

 

If your the patient type, I would call Guitar Center directly to get a SL-1210GR. You can get a better deal than their list price on the website. The problem with this is that they are back ordered, for this very reason.

The KAB 1500 looks great, but you are already set with a cartridge and preamp. I am using an MP-110 on my GR right now while my MC is getting retipped, and it sounds great.

 

The Nagaoka line of cartridges are the top notch match when it comes to resonate frequency pairing with the Technics arms. Good choice.

Just one heads-up. I think Classical music is the hardest genre of music to really enjoy on Vinyl. There are so many deliberate quite areas in and throughout the performances, the record noise during these quite parts, can really detract and take you out of the moment.

I too got turned on and introduced to Classical music through records and how easily attainable they are used and even brand spanking new.

The problem for me is that the record noise and pops were fine at first, but when I really started loving the music, the noise started bumming me out more and more. I think you might also want to start looking at SACD and pick those up from your favorites.

 

The Red is so nasty sounding, just about anything else, even a $20 AT3600 is preferable. That said, the MP-110 is nothing special at all.

 

OP, I purchased the Technics SL-1210GR a little over a year ago from B&H. I'm very satisfied with the TT. It's easy to align a cartridge to perfection without a protractor just by setting the stylus to headshell tail distance at 52mm and then squaring the cartridge to the headshell. VTA is also easily to set with cartridges 17mm in height or taller. And, even azimuth can be set if needed, loosening a set screw on the underside of the headshell, which allows for headshell rotation around the locking collar. I initially, fitted an Ortofon 2M Red to the headshell and I tried out a Shure V15V-MR, as well as a Shure 97xE. All sounded OK; but, I was most satisfied with a Shure V15V-MR fitted with a Jico SAS stylus. The sound from it tracing the grooves is natural, free of distortion, and detailed. In fact the sound is difficult to distinguish from CDs of same music but for the ocassional snap, crackle, and pop. My phono preamplifier is a Sony TA-E9000ES which matches the gain needs of the cartridge very well, producing no noise at all. At any rate, I'm glad I purchased the SL-1210GR to play all genres of music. One thing though, while the TT delivers Classical nicely, multi-channel SACD and multi-channel downloads have a breadth and depth which LPs just cannot match, so if you're really into it, ya might want to think about buying a Universal Player.

 

Who in the forum purchased the SL-1500C and what are you impressions?

Many comments in the thread, but I think no one who has posted so far owns it?

 

I don't!

 

I don't either, but if the circuit is true bypass when it's switched off it's not as big of a negative as most TTs with a built-in preamp.

 

I think Technics determined the market for the 1500 would be receptive to a turntable that would play out of the box connected to any modern amplification sans phono preamp. My only thought is what would the TT have been sold for without the phono preamp. I speculate that it would not be but a few dollars; thus, with phono preamp, the impression of value exists without much manufacturing expense to achieve it. I also get the impression the TT is fitted with the Ortofon 2M Red having been purchased for peanuts from Ortofon, since after all Ortofon will make lots of money when the TT buyer upgrades to a 2M Blue stylus.

 

I have also read that the built pre has been tuned to the Red's strengths. If that is true, then it may give a better presentation than the mainstream suggests?
Also, it is prob designed more as a - what do they call it now - lifestyle product.

 

Yeah, lifestyle product. That fits like a glove. One of my adult Son's has interest in my 45 year old Sony TT and I am certain for him it would be a lifestyle product, since he has zero interest in the TT lifting a non-existent hobby interest.

 

I think you nailed it. However, I believe including a MM preamp onboard is an excellent strategy. Most folks are going to run MM cartridges on these. I can see that it might not be a bad thing to not have to purchase another box before use. Saves on cable losses and rack space. I have heard reports that the internal preamp is quite good. There is a switch on the back if you want to replace it with the preamp of your choice. I really don't see a negative side - unless the internal preamp sucks. I don't have any personal experience. But, that would not be something I would expect from Technics.

 

It probably sucks if you have experience of proper phono preamps. The TT is not in the price bracket were an inboard pre is the norm. It is priced in a different market were buyers have a separate phono stage or a good one in their amplifier. Cambridge have done the same thing at this price level but the included phono stage is actually based on the internals from their £250 duo phono stage (unfortunately you can't bypass it). So probably a much better phono stage without any upgradability (+ a much better cartridge). Both companies at this price should have put all the money into creating the best TT they could. If you can afford £900 - £1500 for a TT you are in the market for a decent budget phono stage at least. At this level the GR1210 makes more sense as well as Rega P3/6 or Michell Tecnodec with Rega arm.

 

It's not going to suck to someone who'd use an internal phono. Not a dedicated hobbyist, in other words. This would be someone who's looking for a "lifestyle" product. The other market for it is someone who wants something in the Technics league of performance and is not interested in the belt-drive competition. The internal phono does not have to be used in this case this case. It does not even have to be bypassed, as such, there's a separate "passive" RCA output from the cart.
Technics seems to have thought about this a bit.

 

Your take on it is how any audiophile would see it. It's how I see it; but, the market for this turntable may not even understand the need for a phono preamp. I think this market expects the purchase will yield out of the box play. On a thread I read today on the Audioholics Forum, a poster complained that his new Project TT did not play out of the box. He was upset, discovering he needed to buy a preamp. He said he was going to return the TT. All of this reminds me of the time back in the early 70's I bought my first TT. I expected it to play out of the box and of course it did as many amps then had phono preamps.